10 Wrestlers Who Escaped Certain Death

1. Jerry Lawler

Ric Flair
Twitter/@JerryLawler

It's now been just over five years to the day since Jerry Lawler collapsed on live television deep into a Monday Night Raw broadcast, but the footage remains no less chilling each time the company re-roll it to talk about their own incredible response and 'The King's own remarkable reboot.

Having wrestled earlier in the night, Jerry re-took his seat at the commentary table, but his announcing came to an abrupt end half way through a nothing tag team match between The Prime Time Players and Team Hell No.

Snoring could soon be heard on the air, as Jerry almost instantly faded to black. Somehow managing to stay professional as Lawler slumped by his side, Michael Cole briefly laid out before returning to the call whilst medics urgently rushed to the Memphis legend's aid.

After the initial furore, Michael Cole made a solemn address down the lens to acknowledge his partner's plight, informing the audience that there would be no further commentary for the remainder of the show. Fighting back tears, it was immediately clear how serious the situation was.

The episode concluded with brighter news, as the company were able to confirm that he was at least breathing independently, but the nature of his cardiac arrest had literally left him for dead for several minutes before resuscitation.

That he survived was remarkable enough, but that he continues to work regular independent dates in conjunction with his WWE schedule is even more miraculous.

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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