10 Most Radical Wrestler Attitude Adjustments

8. Jerry Lawler

Vince McMahon
WWE.com

For years the very definition of professional wrestling’s most famous local hero, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler was an icon to the Memphisians that turned up and tuned in in droves to see him as both a heel and babyface vanquish the various other threats that swung through the southern territory.

Lawler had ‘World’ title reigns too great to count, often hot-shotting the belt with a rival in order to shift as many tickets as possible to see his heroic recapture. As part of his part-renegade part-royal persona, he wilfully criticised the company “Up North”…until he shockingly debuted for them in late-1992.

He was an immediate hit as a red hot heel thanks to his 1993 series with Bret Hart, and though he never abandoned the fans that had afforded him such a unique career, he equally never strayed far from “New York” ever again. With the exception of a brief and unsavoury 2001 sabbatical, Lawler has remained part of the fabric of the organisation for over 25 years, etched into countless legendary moments by virtue of the howling soundtrack he supplied on so many Monday Nights. There are few performers to this day as entrenched in WWE that spent just as long raging against it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett