Jerry Lawler says he almost had a match with Elvis Presley
Memphis, TN's own Jerry Lawler almost shocked the world with a match with rock and roll icon, the other King, Elvis Presley. This might come as a surprise to most wrestling fans, but a potential match between Jerry Lawler and the King of Rock 'N Roll almost happened.
History shows that Elvis was an avid fan of professional wrestling, and Memphis was a place where pro-wrestling promotions prospered from the mid 1950s to mid 1990s.
Jerry Lawler has shed new light on Elvis and his love for wrestling in the latest episode of Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw. He said that the The King agreed to a karate vs wrestling match shortly before his death.
“We hired this guy named Mickey Poole, who it was like he wasn’t exactly right, maybe just a little bit off. Anyway, he was a good driver. Anyway, we were driving to Louisville, and an Elvis Presley song came on. The news was out then that Elvis was doing this martial arts stuff with Kang Rhee who was a famous karate instructor down in Memphis. I said to Mickey, ‘You know what would be cool is if we could somehow get a hold of Elvis Presley and do a wrestler vs karate match’, because they already did the Muhammad Ali and Inoki match". stated Jerry Lawler.
Jerry Lawler further added that he and Vernon Presley, Elvis' father, had a conversation about the whole thing. Elvis loved the idea but he was on tour and his physical condition was shaky.
"I’ll never forget how he said this. He said, ‘I’ll be honest with you Jerry. Elvis is not in too good a shape right now, but he’s fixing to start working out. He’s got this tour coming up next month. He’s going to work out for that, and as soon as he gets back from the tour, we’ll get in touch with you and we’ll put this thing together’, and then of course, he died before he even did the tour". Lawler said
Unfortunately to the dismay of the wrestling world, the historic contest couldn't take place as the musical legend passed away before he could complete his tour.
At the home of Elvis Presley in Memphis. https://t.co/3J1TrtLbty
Jerry Lawler is still signed to the WWE
Jerry Lawler had a magnificent career in WWE. From offending Bret Hart's family during an intense rivalry with The Hitman to challenging The Miz for the WWE Championship, he has done it all.
During his culminating days with the WWE, Lawler worked alongside commentators Byron Saxton, Vic Joseph and Tom Phillips.
Regardless of being taken off the commentary team for RAW, Jerry is still a part of the organization as an analyst for WWE's pay-per-views.
Lawler took part in a Casket Match against former WWE superstar nZo (fka Enzo Amore) at Wrestlefest 25, conducted by Northeast Wrestling in August
The 71 year old veteran is still an active wrestler on the independent circuit facing competitors like Leatherface, Scott Steiner and W. Morrissey.