Makin The Tag – Jerry Lawler is a Cheat and a Liar
Submitted by Krueges on Saturday, October 19, 2002 at 3:30 PM EST





Makin The Tag – Jerry Lawler is a Cheat and a Liar

For those of you who are not all too familiar with me or my column, that title is a prime example of just how subtle I am. Before I get into today’s column, I would first like to send out a big thank you to “da man” Mr. Tito for being kind enough to stop by the Krueges Compound for a get together celebrating my 25th birthday. It was one hell of a time. Now on with the show.

The words “cheat” and “liar” may at first glance appear to be rather harsh, but as you will soon see I believe that they are completely and totally warranted given the circumstances. Recently, I personally witnessed Jerry “the king” Lawler doing some very questionable things and it is my mission to get to the bottom of this situation and get some answers.

On August 31st, I heard an advertisement on the radio claiming that WWE personality Jerry “the king” Lawler would be at a local JD Byrider signing autographs. Being a lifelong wrestling fan, I thought it would be fun to go meet “the king” and add his autograph to my collection. The ad also mentioned that a small independent group would be putting on matches as well. It sounded like fun. However, I found what I saw that day at the autograph session to be rather disturbing.

I stood in line with the rest of the fans in attendance waiting my turn to meet “the king”. I was only a couple of people away from him when I noticed two large stacks of promotional pictures sitting in front of him. When I got a closer look at those pictures, I noticed something odd about them. The promotional pictures looked like any other WWE promotional picture except for a small, but important detail. Unlike typical promotional pictures, these did not include his name or the company logo at the bottom of the picture. I thought that perhaps he had run out of official pictures and had to go to some back up pictures. That wasn’t quite the case.

I saw his a lady sitting next to him ask the little boy in front of me, who appeared to be no more than 10 years old, if he would like to have one of the pictures so that he could get it autographed. The little boy said yes and was then asked for $10. At this point I became a little confused. The boy handed the woman the money and she handed him a picture. She then asked if he would also like to have his picture taken with “the king”. The boy once again said yes and once again was asked for another $10. I was Krueges’ total lack of understanding.

As the little boy approached the table, “the king” signed the picture and his assistant then took their picture with a Polaroid camera and handed him the picture.

I watched this strange situation occur a few more times. After watching this happen over and over, I got out of line and stood about 20 feet away from the table so that I could watch what was happening. I looked for signs that might explain why people were being charged or what the money was being used for. I saw none.

In the past, I have never seen anything like this happen at a WWE/WWF autograph session. When I met Chris Benoit last year, he didn’t charge anyone a single dime. In fact, he signed two official promotional pictures featuring his name centered underneath his picture in big bold type and the company logo in the lower left hand corner beneath the picture. I also had my picture taken with “the wolverine” without parting with a single red cent.

I posted what I saw on the LoP message boards asking if anyone knew why Lawler was charging when no one else that I have ever met had. I was told that Lawler has a special clause in his contract allowing him to appear with independent groups and that he could also charge fans for various items.

It appears that “the king” is taxing his subjects. Even worse, it appears that he is doing this with the blessing of WWE management. I have attempted to contact Lawler and the WWE on several occasions now asking for an explanation as to what I saw. I have yet to receive any explanation at all concerning what I saw or why it was allowed to occur.

Jerry Lawler is cheating his fans. During the past couple of years, Lawler has gone through some difficult times in both his professional and private life. He has stated on several occasions that he really appreciated the way his fans helped him through those rough times and that their care and concern towards him really meant a lot to him. If his fans truly mean that much to him, then why in the world can he take their money at personal appearances when no one else in the company does? I don’t think that he likes his fans; instead he likes their money. The statement that he cares about his fans in an outright lie.

But this isn’t the first time Lawler I have had to call Jerry Lawler out. When his son was caught at the Canadian/US border with illegal substances, I was following the story for Wrestlepalooza, the site that used to do the audio show that was the official audio show for LoP. At the time, I had read a report regarding comments Lawler made to a Memphis news outlet. He had told them that his son was only caught with a small amount of marijuana. A few days later, the official report was released and was posted all over the Internet. The official report stated that his son was caught with more than just a small amount of marijuana.

I posted a column asking Lawler for an explanation. To my surprise, he did respond to my posting via email and as I had promised, I posted his comments as a follow up to my column. Here is a small excerpt of what he had to say about the situation:

”Your last question implied that I intentionaly lied for Brian to the Memphis press in order to cover up what he was really arrested for. Once again, that is not the case. When I gave my statement to the Memphis tv station, I told them exactly what I had been told up to that point. I had not yet talked to Brian. As a matter of fact I first got a call from my friends Steve Lombardi and Bruno Lauer, (Harvey Whippleman) and they are the ones who first told me that Brian had been detained for 5 hours at the Canadian border and that he had missed raw, and that Brian had told them the reason was muscle enhancers that were legal in the U.S. but illegal in Canada. While that was true, it obviously wasn't the whole story. Brian was no doubt ashamed to tell them the entire truth. I didn't learn the entire truth myself, until two days later when Jim Ross called me and told me the rest of the story. That was the first I heard about the cocaine. Brian still didn't call me until after he returned from Canada as I'm sure he was embarrassed as well he should have been. So, when I talked to the Memphis press I didn't know the full extent of the story. I was not trying to cover up anything because I think Brian must realize he made a huge mistake...not a mistake you can cover up, but one you must face up to and do something about. “

I thanked him for setting the story straight and answering my questions. I am once again asking Lawler and the WWE for that matter for an explanation for what I saw happen on August 31st of this year. Any comments or explanations that I receive from either party (if I receive any at all) will be posted as soon as I receive them.

I would like it to be noted that I am not out to simply bash Lawler for his over the top antics or his personal life as many on the Internet like to do occasionally. I would simply like to know why he was charging fans that day, why the WWE was allowing him to do so, why no mention of it was made in the advertisements for his appearance, where the money was going, and what it was being used for.

If you have any comments on this situation, have witnessed something similar in the past, or can provide me with any additional information on why and how this was allowed to happen I would like to hear from you. Until then, the ball is now in the court of Jerry Lawler and the WWE, and considering the way business has been I believe that it is in their best interests to offer an explanation as to why the fans are getting played for fools.


Thanks for reading and thank you for Makin The Tag.




Krueges




 




Movie of the Week: Fight Club
I am Krueges’ total love of this movie.

Song of the Week: “Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi
This should be our national anthem.











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