By the late 1990s, everybody knew wrestling was predetermined, but in the early 80s, fans - especially those of more traditional regional promotions - lived and died by what happened to their favorite wrestlers. When Andy Kaufman joined the Memphis territory in 1982 and immediately began antagonizing top babyface Jerry Lawler, he became the most hated man in the city. To their credit, Lawler and Kaufman never broke kayfabe - at least not during the storyline. When they famously got into a profanity-filled fight on Late Night with David Letterman, the host hadn't received any prior warning, nor did he get any apology afterward. Kaufman died in 1984, and since then, Lawler has missed no opportunity to take a potshot at one of his most hated rivals. The critically-acclaimed film Man on the Moon was released in 1999, with Jim Carrey playing Kaufman and Jerry Lawler playing himself, and it revealed what wrestling insiders had known all along - the feud, like everything else in wrestling, was a ruse. Lawler and Kaufman were revealed to be great friends, with scenes depicting them working together. In a touching moment, a tearful Lawler was shown singing along with the crowd at Kaufman's funeral. The Lawler-Kaufman program was legendary. While kayfabe was eventually broken, it was done so in the most heartwarming manner possible.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
