1. He Quit WWE In 2001 Because His Wife Got Fired; Returned Later That Year
Lawler's third wife was a woman named Stacy Carter, who portrayed a character named "The Kat" on WWE TV. It was a terrible name for a performer, but that's what it was. Anyway, they didn't acknolwedge that the two were dating (Lawler is 21 years older) when she started in WWE in 1999 or that they got married in September 2000, but Lawler always made a point to put her over on commentary. She wasn't a wrestler, but she was nice to look at. Her most famous career moment was when she took off her bra at Armageddon 1999 and showed her bare breasts on camera. In late February 2001, The Kat was released by WWE while she was in a storyline with the Right to Censor group that also involved Lawler, who was sticking up for her "right to nudity" against them. There were stories of her being difficult to work with, which is why she was gone. It also could have been due to her limitations as a performer because she really wasn't a wrestler. Lawler ended up quitting WWE after they fired his wife. It was a big news item online because Lawler had been a part of WWE for nearly a decade and his voice was something we were used to hearing calling the matches for so many years. For him to just quit was a major shock. It's understandable that he would stick by his wife, though. The March 5, 2001 edition of Raw was met with a lot of anticipation because the product was really hot at the time, but also because there was a new announcer in place: Paul Heyman. It was his debut as an on-air employee of WWE. It was weird seeing Ross with somebody other than Lawler. At least Heyman mentioned that Lawler quit the company and that was the end of it. The King made his return on the November 19, 2001 edition of Raw. What wasn't mentioned was that he was going through a divorce with his wife. That's why he came back. He quit for her. Then he came back when his marriage was done. Apparently she had cheated on him with some indy wrestler. That was the story that was going around anyway. If you missed Jerry Lawler in 2001 and you were glad he returned, thank his marriage falling apart because that's why he came back when he did. The wrestling business is weird. That's for sure!