Jerry Lawler Suffers Heart Attack During ‘Raw,’ WWE Releases Statement
Jerry Lawler, a professional wrestling legend, suffered a serious medical incident last night during the broadcast of Monday Night Raw, one that WWE officials have since confirmed was a heart attack.
Jerry Lawler’s collapse stunned viewers, many who are used to the outsized dramatics and complicated staged events that make up the theater of televised wrestling. But calamities are known to have occurred during past Raw theatrics, and it quickly became apparent that Lawler was affected by a true medical emergency.
Raw co-host Michael Cole, visibly upset by Lawler’s sudden collapse, explained to viewers that Lawler was indeed not acting and that they were witnessing an “extremely serious situation,” saying:
“This is not part of tonight’s entertainment … This is a real-life situation.”
Worried wrestling fans monitored Jerry Lawler’s progress through the night, waiting for updates on the health of the 62-year-old wrestling star. Early this morning, WWE released a statement on the Jerry Lawler situation, confirming that the announcer had suffered a heart attack but stopping short of updating fans on his condition:
“Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler suffered a heart attack while commentating during last night’s broadcast of Monday Night Raw in Montreal. We are hopeful Jerry makes a full recovery and returns to WWE in the near future. Our thoughts are with Jerry and his family.”
Most recently, fellow WWE announcer Jim Ross tweeted:
It’s possible via my own experiences Jerry Lawler may have had blocked arteries associated w/ his heart. That matter can be addressed. TBD
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) September 11, 2012
About 45 minutes prior to Lawler’s collapse, the former wrestler competed in the evening’s events. After Lawler was taken ill, Monday Night Raw continued without announcers working the show for its duration.
