10 Most Elaborate Works In Wrestling History

2. Everything About Jerry Lawler And Andy Kaufman

MJF Promo AEW Dynamite
Pro Wrestling Illustrated

So committed to their legendary rivalry were Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman, it was only after the comedian's death that it was revealed the feud had indeed been a work all along.

With Kaufman a lifelong fan of pro wrestling - and in particular the nefarious heels of the business - he started to proclaim himself as the Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World as he offered $1,000 to any woman who could beat him in a match. This eventually put the funny man in the crosshairs of Lawler, and that in itself would result in Kaufman breaking his neck after being hit with two piledrivers.

From there, Kaufman would wear a neck brace to sell his kayfabe neck break, and he'd then have an iconic exchange with the King on a 1982 episode of David Letterman. There, Andy would storm off after being slapped by Lawler... only to later return to drop some F-bombs and throw coffee at the Memphis icon.

The truth about all of this being a work only came to light in a 1995 documentary - A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman - which in itself premiered 11 years after the passing of Kaufman in 1984 at the age of just 35.

In this post: 
MJF
 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.