Jerry Lawler has faced a swathe of health issues over the last decade and beyond, most infamously suffering an on-air heart attack during the September 10 2012 edition of RAW. Most recently, The King of Memphis suffered a stroke in his home this past February as first reported by Action News 5, just over a week after appearing on the pre-show of the 2023 Royal Rumble.
Lawler was taken to a hospital in Fort Myers, Florida, and underwent surgery. At first, his speech was limited following the procedure but he went through rehabilitation and has thankfully made a full recovery since. Now for the first time since January, Lawler has returned to WWE and made a surprise appearance during last night’s episode of RAW from Memphis, Tennessee.
During a commercial break, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn welcomed Lawler to the stage to a rousing ovation from his hometown crowd. Lawler, who was sporting a new grey beard, did not speak and simply took in the reaction for around a minute before returning backstage. The segment was not aired on TV but was uploaded to WWE’s YouTube and social media channels following the show.
The WWE Hall of Famer has made sporadic appearances in the promotion since stepping away from his full-time commentary position in 2016. He continued his role as host of the WWE Hall of Fame until 2018 when he was replaced Corey Graves and Kayla Braxton and occasionally returns to host King’s Court segments as well as to provide guest commentary during major WWE events.
Lawler made a brief return to commentary full-time between 2019 and 2020 on RAW alongside Vic Joseph and Dio Maddin but the three were been replaced within just seven months of their appointment. Lawler lasted the longest out of the trio, being replaced by Samoa Joe in April 2020.