Fans of a certain age will forever wax poetic about WWE’s “Attitude Era.” That period of head-to-head competition with rival WCW in the late 90s saw professional wrestling change from family-friendly entertainment to something more edgy and for an older audience.
Virtually any standout moment from the era featured the commentary of Jim Ross and former legendary wrestler Jerry “The King” Lawler. Ross and Lawler spent more than ten years as the commentary voices of Monday Night RAW. But it’s looking increasingly more likely that the duo will never be heard again on WWE broadcasts.
Ross left the company in 2019 and is currently an announcer for All Elite Wrestling. Lawler, however, has remained with the company during that time. But on Monday afternoon, PWInsider reported that the 74-year-old Lawler did not have his broadcasting contract renewed after it expired in early 2024.
Lawler joined WWE (then WWF) in 1992, and has remained with the company ever since, excluding hiatuses in 1993-94 and 2001 while dealing with legal and personal issues. He suffered a heart attack while on the air in 2011, and is still recovering from a stroke he suffered in February 2023.
While his broadcasting contract wasn’t renewed, PWInsider notes that Lawler is still under a WWE Legends contract, allowing the company to sell his merchandise, include him in video games, and more, while continuing to provide an income for the retired wrestler.
One source that PWInsider spoke with noted that things are different in a post-Vince McMahon TKO-led WWE.
“The old company is dead,” they remarked. “People can say they hate Vince [McMahon] and Kevin [Dunn] all they want, and they’d be right to do so. But certain people would have been taken care of. Lawler would have been one. But this isn’t the old WWE.”
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