Lawler is joined on today’s show by his co-host, Glenn Moore, and Jim Ross.
Ross informs that he’s very excited to be reuniting with Lawler for RAW’s 25th anniversary next Monday night. He and Lawler will be working out of the Manhattan Center in Brooklyn, and Ross thinks the atmosphere will be absolutely electric there that night. It’s been nearly ten years since they called in-ring action together, and they’re both really looking forward to it.
Ross says he can’t promise that they’ll be good, but they’re damn sure going to have fun. Ross believes he and Lawler are going to sound very different than what fans are accustomed to hearing from WWE’s commentary teams, and this might actually put WWE’s current commentary teams in an awkward position.
He goes on to say that WWE put a lot of work into making this a special night for their fans, but some fans are still complaining because one specific legend or personality hasn’t been announced to appear. He points out that fans should just enjoy this night and try to have fun with it, because he sure will.
Ross says that he and Lawler had such tremendous chemistry when they worked together years ago. He adds that Lawler was so good and nothing Lawler said ever surprised him. On the other hand, Ross could never predict what was going to come out of Paul Heyman’s mouth when he worked with him. He loves Heyman, but Heyman would legitimately piss him off some nights.
Moore asks Lawler if he’ll be using his “puppies” line during this show. Ross doesn’t see any reason why that’d be an issue, but Lawler points out that time has moved on, and there are a lot of rules that commentators must abide by in 2018 that weren’t even dreamt of in 1998.
Ross feels that he and Lawler could still entertain fans on a weekly basis but he’s not sure if he would like a full-time work schedule anymore. Lawler agrees, saying he’s been thinking about that a lot lately. He’s just not convinced that he’d want to be on the road 300 days a year anymore.
Ross points out that his book is currently in its fourth printing and sales have been going so well that he plans on writing another book at some point. Lawler points out that he didn’t enjoy writing his first book many years ago. He and his ghost writer didn’t have a good relationship, and that made it a difficult project to be a part of. Ross thinks Lawler has a tremendous story to tell, but he needs to be in the right situation to make it happen.
Ross says that he’s showing up in Brooklyn next Monday to “get after it”, and he’s going to treat this like WrestleMania. He points out that while this is meant to be a fun, light-hearted event, this is also a great opportunity for him and he’s determined to make the most of it.
Ross says the only three-man booth he’s ever enjoyed being a part of was when he, Lawler and Vince McMahon worked together on early episodes of RAW. He found it easy to commentate during those shows because McMahon, the owner, was sitting right there next to him and he could ask him questions during commercial breaks.
Ross doesn’t think that McMahon gets the credit he deserves for how well he portrayed the heel character that rose to notoriety during the attitude era. McMahon had very little in-ring experience as a character, and he was immediately thrown into the top storyline with Steve Austin and he didn’t miss a beat.
Moore asks Lawler if he’s going to be “old-school King Lawler” during this upcoming Monday’s RAW. Lawler confirms that he’s not going to be “lovey dovey” at all. He’s going to be the Jerry Lawler character that fans remember from RAW 25 years ago.
That sums up this week’s episode of Dinner With the King. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
