TheWWEhas declined to renew its contract with Hall of Fame wrestler and broadcaster Jerry The King Lawler.
Lawler joined the WWF (which later became the WWE) as a commentator in 1992, working onSuperstars.
In the early 90s, he defeated Bret Hart and was named Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation.
Jerry “The King” LawlerDaniel Boczarski/Getty Images
While he continued to wrestle, Lawler was a broadcaster forRaw,SmackDown!and WWE pay-per-views until 2016.
Indeed, he was backstage atSmackDownin Memphis in March.
Lawler drew boos as he began to bad-mouth the comic.
Kaufman demanded an apology from Lawler, who was having none of that.
Lawler seized on that, saying, What kind of a guy are you?
Chaos ensued when the show returned from break.
It was riveting television.
He was rushed to the hospital where he underwent an angioplasty.
Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.
