Tagged: Jerry Lawler

Hopefully Vince McMahon’s “Stand Back” airs during the 2012 Slammy Awards

I’m sure Monday Night Raw’s Slammy Awards show will be full of juvenile gags and jokes as only Vince McMahon can love them, complete with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler guffawing at it all.

These Slammy shows have been stupid since they were created in 1986, and none have led to any long-term business with angles or cool ideas.

All that said, I hope during tonight’s show that the WWE airs the incredible McMahon video, “Stand Back,” which Continue reading →

The WWE had low-brow angles and gimmicks long before CM Punk mocked Lawler’s heart attack

A certain segment of the pro wrestling community was up in arms after Monday Night Raw featured an angle that played off the real-life heart attack and near death of Jerry “The King” Lawler.

Some said the angle was in poor taste, particularly when Paul Heyman feigned his own heart attack and WWE Heavyweight Champion CM Punk pretended to administer CPR.

But such garish actions on wrestling aren’t exclusive to 2012. Unfortunately for all of us, the McMahon family has set a low bar at least since the early 1980s about what types of angles and heat are appropriate.

Here are some less-than-stellar moments that I can recall growing up Continue reading →

Lawler has a real heart attack; Fritz and Andre had fake ones

This world of wrestling we watch sure is a weird form of entertainment sometimes.

On Monday Night Raw, Jerry “The King” Lawler was taken out on a stretcher during the live broadcast after suffering a real-life heart attack.

Lawler’s woes are serious health concerns, and Michael Cole’s updates were somber.

But wrestling’s foolishness at times is brought upon by itself, so it’s no wonder that given Lawler’s very real circumstances, I am still thinking about the fake heart attack gimmicks I remember: Continue reading →

“What a maneuver” and other great lines from McMahon’s commentary days

I guess every wrestling TV commentator has his sayings that take on a life of their own. Certainly, Jim Ross’ “slobber knocker” phrase is well-known to WWE fans, as is Jerry “The King” Lawler’s penchant for racy suggestions during diva matches.

But no one had more well-remembered one-liners than the chairman himself, Vince McMahon, back when he was the lead commentator on WWF Championship Wrestling in the 1970s and ’80s. Here is a collection of McMahon-isms that I bet many of you can still hear in your mind: Continue reading →

Like Triple H, the Honky Tonk Man’s vote of confidence bombed

It’s been a while in the WWE since we’ve seen a public vote-of-confidence angle. Triple H standing in the middle of the ring at the end of Monday Night Raw, with even the referees and camera crew walking out on him, was at least a unique visual.

But HHH isn’t the only wrestler to have suffered an ill-fated vote of confidence. Back in 1986, it also happened to the Honky Tonk Man. Continue reading →

The top five lamest 1980s WWF promos

There’s been an awful lot of talk about how some longtime pro wrestling stars, such as the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jerry “The King” Lawler, have swooped into angles on WWE Monday Night Raw and delivered promos better than anyone else on the current roster.

Let’s face it: The on-the-job training for interviews was a lot better in yesteryear. In the 1980s, the WWF had a lot of wrestlers and managers who could talk well on the microphone. People like Roddy Piper, Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Hulk Hogan, and Jake “The Snake” Roberts understood how to push matches and angles.

However, more than a few promos in that decade were stinkers, which made me ponder the worst ones I had heard during the ‘80s. One of my qualifications here is that it had to be an interview that anyone could have seen (so house show promos really can’t count). And a bad segment doesn’t mean you gave a bad promo, as plenty of gifted talkers have been saddled with lousy circumstances (think about some of those corny Saturday Night’s Main Event skits). 

Instead, my choices are reserved for those who truly butchered the art of the pro wrestling promo. With that, below are my five lamest promos from the ‘80s:  Continue reading →

Raw’s “Old School” features Iron Sheik, praise of Bob Backlund, and a lie about a lousy manager

The WWE took a nostalgic turn this week with Monday Night Raw “Old School,” with many nods to the former stars of wrestling, including plenty of 1980s characters.

I’m not going to give a play-by-play on the show because many of you saw it, but I wanted to write about a few observations.

To start, the night would not have been complete without the Iron Sheik once again pissing on Continue reading →

Vince McMahon goes nuts when Terry Funk pummels attendant Mel Phillips

On YouTube long-time fans can relive one the wildest little scenes ever from WWF Championship Wrestling: The day in 1985 on which legendary Terry Funk beat the shit out of ring attendant (later ring announcer) Mel Phillips.

The clip of Funk’s attack on Phillips is so great for many reasons. For starters, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a wrestler since then brutalize a ring attendant like this. Secondly, the angle firmly established Funk as out of control right from the start in the WWF.

But the best part comes from all the Vince McMahon-isms that pop up, meaning his one-liners Continue reading →