41 Most Disgusting Promotional Tactics In Wrestling History RANKED

29. 2012 - CM Punk And Paul Heyman Exploit Jerry Lawler’s Near-Death Experience

On September 10, 2012, Jerry Lawler nearly died live on the air after suffering a heart attack.

Medical staff were unable to revive him for several minutes so agonising that it was thought oxygen deprivation may have led to permanent brain damage. Fortunately, after a gruelling trial, he made a full recovery after a balloon was used to widen and clean up his arteries. He was even able to wrestle a match, of sorts, as recently as 2023.

Lawler’s colleague Michael Cole was rightly praised for his phenomenally composed and professional handling of the event.

This being wrestling, WWE made an angle of it. Lawler made his emotional return to Raw on November 12; top heels CM Punk and Paul Heyman mocked Lawler’s heart attack before the latter reenacted it. Even before the angle, this was a bit unseemly. WWE actually sweetened the noise a snoring Lawler made when hunched over.

Steve Austin was appalled, saying WWE should have let it go. Chris Jericho was more realistic; “It’s wrestling”, he reasoned, putting Punk’s promo over as “awesome”.

As nasty and cheap as this was, Jerry Lawler was an architect of the Memphis scene, and its biggest ever star. He knew his way around a heat angle. Jerry Jarrett was disgusted, but it was reported at the time that Lawler wasn’t. Lawler actually mocked Bruce Prichard for suffering a more minor attack the very next year.

Classless and unnecessary - Punk Vs. Lawler was hardly going to make it to pay-per-view - this nonetheless agreed-upon fiction told after anybody was in serious danger.