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WWE News: Jerry Lawler Arrested For Domestic Violence

By Robert Jonathan

From the archive: published Jun 17, 2016, 10 years ago. Details may have changed since.

Police charged pro wrestling icon Jerry “The King” Lawler and his girlfriend with domestic violence after an incident in their home in East Memphis, Tennessee, late last night.

The WWE responded this morning by suspending the former professional wrestling champion and current TV commentator indefinitely.

A WWE Hall of Famer, Lawler, 66, was a color commentator on WWE Raw for 19 years before he brought his irreverent microphone talents to Smackdown. The King won title belts in the AWA, WCWA, and USWA promotions, although he never was a WWE champion.

“WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving domestic violence, and per our policy, Jerry Lawler has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest,” the WWE announced in a statement.

Cops originally responded to the Jerry Lawler residence on a 911 hangup call.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, things had gotten out of hand between Lawler and his girlfriend Lauryn McBride, 27.

“According to an arrest affidavit, when police arrived McBride told officers that she and Lawler, who she has lived with for five years, got into an argument that turned violent. McBride alleged that Lawler held her against the kitchen counter and then hit her on the left side of her head and pushed her against the stove, according to the affidavit. She alleged that Lawler went upstairs and retrieved an unloaded pistol that he put on the kitchen counter and told her to ‘go ahead and kill yourself.’ Lawler told police that he and McBride argued over her lying about where she had been. He told officers that the argument turned violent when McBride allegedly scratched him on his face, threw a candle at him and kicked him in the groin. He said that McBride was intoxicated and alleged that she was the one who brought the pistol in the kitchen after getting it out of his garage…”

Cops reportedly were unable to determine who was the aggressor in the domestic dispute, so both were taken into custody at about 1 a.m. this morning. They are currently in Shelby County Jail pending a Monday court appearance. No bail has been set.

In a jailhouse phone call, Lawler told WMC Action News 5, among other things, that his girlfriend/fiancée allegedly had too much to drink at a friend’s house while watching a basketball game (presumably NBA Game 6 between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers). “Sometimes when she overdrinks, we get into a little bit of a shouting match,” he claimed. Lawler downplayed the incident, insisting that no one was hurt and denied any physical contact with Lauryn despite what was contained in the police affidavit.

Lawler also claimed in the phone interview that his girlfriend allegedly got into a fistfight with her aunt last week as result of intoxication.

According to the WWE, Lawler and McBride both face charges of domestic assault–bodily harm, a misdemeanor. The King has been a WWE employee since 1992.

Jerry Lawler, who bounced back from a September 2012 heart attack in Montreal, rose through the professional wrestling ranks in the 1970s, making a name for himself first in Memphis before moving on to the Mid-South Wrestling circuit and various other promotions as alluded to above. Lawler famously feuded with comedian Andy Kaufmann in the 1980s.

“The King is perhaps best known for a 1982 feud with comedian Andy Kaufman that blurred the lines between what was legitimate and what was staged in professional wrestling,” the Bleacher Report explained.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc-QCy6VIpk

Jerry Lawler told Fox13 that he is hopeful that the WWE indefinite suspension will be lifted. “It’s just a shame. But hopefully when they realize and when the whole story comes out, things will be okay.”

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