Jerry 'The King" Lawler has reportedly been taken to the hospital.
PWInsider reports that the WWE Hall of Famer suffered a "medical episode" at his condo in Florida on February 6. The word making the rounds is that Lawler had lunch with friends, and he later "took ill", so he was taken to the hospital. PWInsider notes that, since neither WWE nor Lawler's family have commented on the situation, they have chosen not to report the nature of the issue.
Action News 5 reports that Lawler suffered a stroke and has undergone surgery.
Dave Brown, a longtime friend of Lawler, told Commercial Appeal that Lawler is doing better as of Tuesday afternoon.
“Some of the initial reports were just horrible, so I feel much better than I did 18 hours ago when I felt like I got hit in the face with a shovel,” he said. “I was incredibly encouraged after I did a FaceTime. Jerry was alert. He talked to me. He could only say a couple words at a time, which is pretty normal. But (he) was able to move both legs and both arms. I feel very optimistic that he’s eventually going to recover.”
Lawler has had a legendary career, both as a wrestler and as a commentator. He has been in the business since 1970, and he has won numerous titles. Among many other highlights, he memorably feuded with Andy Kaufman. Lawler was one of the voices of WWE programming throughout the Attitude Era and the 2000s. He has continued to make sporadic appearances over the years.
Lawler appeared on the January 23 episode of WWE Raw, which was the special 30th anniversary show.
On behalf of Fightful, we send our best wishes to Lawler for a speedy recovery.
Fightful will continue to monitor the situation and provide more information as it becomes available.
