10 Moments That Literally Stopped WWE Wrestling Matches

3. Jerry Lawler's Scary Close Call

John Cena ECW One Night Stand 2006
WWE.com

The 10 September 2012 episode of WWE Raw is one that so nearly ended in true tragedy.

That edition of WWE's red brand action is the night where Jerry Lawler collapsed live on air, with it later revealed how the King had suffered a heart attack. Thankfully, swift medical assistance and care meant that Lawler would be okay and survive this scare.

While it would only be addressed formally by Michael Cole later in the show, this incident actually took place during an earlier Team Hell No vs. Prime Time Players contest. And of course, the sight of Lawler collapsing obviously brought this tag match to a temporary halt.

The match didn't outright stop, but there's a very clear moment where all four competitors realise that something's going on at the commentary desk, and you can see the pace slow to a near-halt as, in particular, Kane and Bryan try to see what's happening.

Once it became clear that Lawler had taken ill, the match itself became redundant, as did the rest of that episode of Monday Night Raw - with the thoughts of all watching hoping for the very best outcome for Jerry Lawler.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.