Update: PWInsider.com clarified its initial report and said that while Lawler’s broadcast contract was not renewed, WWE confirmed he will still have a Legends deal with WWE.
A WWE Legends deal typically includes rights to use talent’s likenesses for merchandise and video games, and pay for television appearances.
It appears that Jerry Lawler‘s broadcasting tenure with WWE has come to an end.
According to a report from PWInsider.com, Jerry “The King” Lawler is no longer under contract with WWE. It was noted that multiple sources confirmed Lawler’s status, and said that WWE “quietly declined” to renew his broadcast contract.
Jerry Lawler’s departure from WWE was met with some surprise. One source said that under previous ownership, Lawler would have been “taken care of” and connected with WWE contractually, but this is a new era.
It was noted that Lawler’s contract expired at the beginning of 2024, but news of his departure only began to gain traction in recent weeks. Lawler has been out of the spotlight since having a stroke in 2023. This was the second stroke he had, following an initial one in 2018.
Jerry Lawler in WWE
Jerry Lawler’s tenure with WWE lasted more than 30 years, most of it uninterrupted. He first appeared on WWE TV back in December 1992. He quit in February 2001 in protest of his then-wife, Stacy Carter (The Kat), being fired, but was back on RAW by November of that year.
Lawler was then off of TV after suffering a real-life heart attack during the September 10, 2012 episode of RAW. He returned to television in November of that year, and was moved to SmackDown commentary in January 2015.
In recent years, Lawler moved back to RAW commentary, and hosted pre-show panels and the annual WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony.
Lawler made two final appearances for WWE in 2023. First, he appeared at Raw in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 28, 2023, in a segment for the live audience. Later, he was on the November 28 episode of NXT to select the Iron Survivor participants at NXT Deadline.
