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WWE: Jerry “The King” Lawler isn’t needed on Monday Night Raw

By Raphael Garcia

ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 08: Thousands pack the Honda Center on Monday, August 8, 2016 to watch the WWE Monday Night Raw live broadcast.///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: scan..WWEmondayraw ?ê 8/8/16 ?ê LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER - _DSC4069.NEF - WWE Monday Night Raw,?ì a live broadcast of professional wrestlers John Cena and others from the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 08: Thousands pack the Honda Center on Monday, August 8, 2016 to watch the WWE Monday Night Raw live broadcast.///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: scan..WWEmondayraw ?ê 8/8/16 ?ê LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER - _DSC4069.NEF - WWE Monday Night Raw,?ì a live broadcast of professional wrestlers John Cena and others from the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images) /
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Jerry Lawler is recognized as a legend in wrestling, but he’s also a problematic presence on WWE Monday Night Raw each week.

At some point, the WWE must decide when enough is enough. Month after month the WWE seems to be involved in a controversial matter that causes fans to stir against the product. Many of these could be avoided by simply avoiding the inclusion of people like Hall of Famer, Hulk Hogan.

Instead, decision-makers within the WWE continue to include names like Hogan and Jerry “The King” Lawler in various aspects of content. It’s the latter’s inclusion back on commentary for Monday Night Raw that has many wondering why he had to be placed back in the chair. There is a wealth of reasons why that should not have occurred, but alas the WWE continues to look the other way in matters such as these.

This September, Lawler returned to the commentary team to join Dio Maddin and Vic Joseph as the three voices millions of fans would hear each week. The 2007 WWE Hall of Fame inductee comes with the knowledge and experience that one would want a commentator to have when covering a fast-paced, story-driven industry like professional wrestling.

Lawler, along with Jim Ross, is one of the more recognizable voices for many fans that enjoy WWE content. But one must wonder if whether it is time for the WWE to move away from his placement on screen when there are so many controversial matters around his name.

With Lawler, there is a laundry list of issues that come up when asking whether he should be one of the main voices on a WWE brand. The most egregious of such is his 1993 rape case in which he was accused of raping two young girls who were 13 and 14 at the time. David Bixenspan wrote an in-depth piece on the rape case back in 2018 – one that is mandatory reading for anyone unaware of the transgression.

That alone should be enough cause to force Lawler out of the spotlight; especially as we live in a society today that is pushing for more awareness of men in prominent positions that have used their power to silence the voices of their victims. Lawler is aware of the #MeToo movement and made some unfortunate comments about it during his podcast “Dinner with The King.”

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“It appears that eventually anybody that’s ever flirted with anybody, or had any kind of sexual contact with anybody, is all of a sudden you could potentially be a target in the future,” Lawler said after laughing at the introduction of the #MeToo movement.

That rape case, which is easily accessible via legal documents, isn’t the only problem with Lawler. In 2016 he, along with Lauryn McBride, were both arrested on charges on domestic abuse. The WWE responded by suspending Lawler, but that sanction was lifted when the charges against he and McBride were dropped.

It goes without saying that Lawler is the epitome of one that is called “problematic.” Yet, the WWE continues to keep him involved with the organization in a centralized way. While he may not scream “Puppies” on screen every week, he still compares Mexican wrestlers like Humberto Carrillo to “jumping beans” like he did this past week on Monday Night Raw.

Just like Hogan’s hateful rhetoric that got him jettisoned for years from the WWE; there isn’t a place for this type of behavior or commentary. At least, there isn’t a space for that type of behavior in organizations that are governed in a different way than the WWE. Organizations that are pulsing with more diversity in decision-making positions are quicker to recognize and respond to problematic situations and people.

Just like the Jordan Myles issue; the WWE is struggling with matters like this due to a lack of diversity within positions of management. For some, these matters aren’t a big deal and can be ignored once time passes or an “apology” is issued. Often, these controversial matters point to a larger failure in the person’s character; and underlying situation that is not easily remedied.

That doesn’t mean that people can learn from their mistakes. But that does mean that trends can’t be ignored, and the WWE has a trend in keeping problematic figures around like Lawler when their behavior should be met with dismissal.

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Jerry Lawler being on Monday Night Raw each week isn’t a deal-breaker for millions of viewers. But it is a reminder that the WWE continues to struggle with properly handling controversial situations and individuals in a way that meets stricter standards of today. If that front office lacks diversity and different voices, this will not be the last time this conversation will show its face.

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