11 Awesome WWE Title Moments That Became FORGOTTEN
5. The ‘King’ Is Nearly Crowned
It seems wild to think about, but Jerry 'King' Lawler didn't receive a WWF/WWE Title shot until the 29 November 2010 episode of Raw. Nope, not even when he was one of the federation's top villains during the well-known promotional struggles of the mid-1990s.
He had to wait until The Miz was WWE Champ for a crack at the big one.
Something else worth noting that's even more astonishing: Lawler's first WWE Title showdown came in a TLC match! The 'King' was hardly known for crashing through tables, flying off of ladders or even wielding steel chairs, but he gave his all for the biggest bout of his legendary career vs. Miz.
It was a cracking effort from both, and acts as a reminder of how useful TV main events like this can be. No, it might not have flown on pay-per-view as a headliner, but the TLC scrap went over well on Raw. The fact it was better than their rematch at Elimination Chamber 2011 speaks volumes.
Maybe that's down to Lawler's freshness (?!) as a title challenger. He'd never gone after champs like Bret Hart (the fact that wasn't a title showing remains a crime), Diesel, Shawn Michaels etc when riding high as a heat-seeker during the 'New Generation' days, and yet here he was in the PG era gunning for The Miz.
Michael Cole's grating heel act threatened to derail everything, of course, but Jerry was going to enjoy himself regardless of that sideshow. This mini-feud deserves a lot more love from fans than it's ever going to get. Long live the 'King'.