I did say the 2015 version of Jerry 'the King' Lawler on commentary isn't much better than Michael Cole, the human smoke alarm. Fortunately, the new iteration of Smackdown is blessed by the old Jerry Lawler: the heel King that used to play off Jim Ross so well, back in the days of the Attitude Era. The difference between the two is like night and day. Lawler's been treading water for years, playing the white knight announcer, nobly defending the honour of the babyfaces in the ring. Now, on a single episode, we've had the King siding with heel Charlotte and her doting dad, sniffing at Kalisto's upset win over Del Rio and calling him "lucky", defending Kevin Owens and his consummate villainy by insisting that you can't be friends with everyone. Jerry 'the King' Lawler is one of the greatest heels of all time, possessed of a quick wit and a natural affinity for the bad guy. His stuff in the WWF/E isn't remotely the best work of his career, but it's still lovely to have the real King back.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
