Lawler Brawling Again

He got no respect from Andy “I’m From Hollywood” Kaufman, and now Jerry “The King” Lawler is considering legal action for not getting it from organizers of a Memphis mayoral debate Sept. 26.

Lawler, the Memphis professional wrestler probably best known for his feud with the late comic and wrestling neophyte Kaufman, is beefing anew – this time with the city’s Commercial Appeal newspaper and a television station that didn’t invite him to debate other mayoral candidates.

Lawler threatened legal action in the days before the Sept. 26 debate on WREG-TV because only the top four of 25 candidates in a commissioned poll were invited to participate. Lawler was No. 6 with 2 percent of those polled intending to vote for him.

The Commercial Appeal reported the newspaper and WREG-TV received letters prior to the debate from Lawler attorney Christine Stephens saying she would ask a judge to stop the debate until “The King” of the ring was allowed to join in.

He wasn’t. The debate went on as planned with the four top candidates only.

Memphis City School Board member Kenneth Whalum, who finished fifth in the poll, and a crowd of supporters came to the television studio to protest his exclusion, but the Commercial Appeal did not report if Lawler joined in the protest.