December 30, 2002 Observer Newsletter: Jerry Lawler’s new book, more
Of all of the thousands of pro wrestlers who have come along in the past 30 years, few subjects are more intriguing than Jerry Lawler.
Lawler is the last remaining headliner from the early 70s who is still a visible major star in American wrestling. While all his contemporaries except Ric Flair (who started his career a few years after Lawler, although both are 53) are gone and forgotten, with the exception of people like Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes or Abdullah the Butcher on the Japan or indie scene, Lawler is on Raw every Monday night in his latest guise.
The King has gone from a stereotypical 70s Southern rasslin’ heel with no body and a smart mouth with a Southern accent, to one of the greatest regional draws and local babyface icons in wrestling history. When regional wrestling ran its course and his career appeared over, he was reinvented on the national stage as a TV announcer, and one of the WWF’s great heels for a run with Bret Hart.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.