The WWE recently removed Jerry “The King” Lawler and Lita from their active roles as on-air talent. Both WWE Hall of Fame stars were hosts on the WWE pre-shows for PPV events, but their final appearances were at the Survivor Series . While no one knew the exact reason for their removal, PWInsider reported that Jerry Lawler openly spoke about the move .
Jerry Lawler said that the reason the WWE removed him from television appearances was a cost-cutting measure. Lawler said that the move was decided on by WWE producer Kevin Dunn and that he has no problem with the decision. Jerry said that Dunn is a top decision maker and it made sense from a financial point-of-view.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, Lita not only left her position as the WWE pre-show host but she completely left the company . Originally, many people thought that both Lita and Jerry Lawler were removed from television but remained onboard under a Legend’s deal. It sounds like that is not the case for either wrestler right now.
Jim Ross said he had heard that Lita was under the WWE Legends deal, but she contacted him and said that was not true. Lita told Jim Ross that she was not with the WWE at all anymore. While on her latest stint with the WWE, Lita served as a trainer for NXT women before moving on to the hosting duties.
As for Jerry Lawler, he claims he is still under his basic WWE contract, but that will change soon. Lawler said that his WWE contract actually expires in January and Jerry said that he would be working on a new deal at that time. Lawler did say that it will be for less money, but he said that is expected since he will not be doing as much as he was before when he was an announcer.
411mania reported that the WWE had previously announced that Jerry Lawler was under a Legends contract , so it is a possibility that the amount he is paid is determined by his appearances and the pre-shows kicked in extra money that the WWE won’t have to pay him anymore.
“Jerry Lawler has a Legends agreement with WWE, however, he will no longer regularly appear on our pre-shows. He will continue to host special events, including WWE’s annual Hall of Fame celebration at WrestleMania.”
Jerry Lawler said that Vince McMahon called him personally after Kevin Dunn broke the news to him. Jerry said that McMahon told him that he had a job with the WWE “for life” and that he will always be the WWE Hall of Fame Master of Ceremonies.
Lawler also said that he has some things he would like to do with the WWE after they come to an agreement on his new deal. One very interesting thing that Jerry mentioned was that he wanted to work on a WWE Network project detailing the history of Memphis wrestling.
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Everything comes down to the new contract, but Jerry Lawler made it seem like that won’t be a problem. According to Lawler, he is very well off financially and has done very well over his career with his money. With money not an issue, it sounds like it all comes down to Jerry Lawler wanting to remain with the WWE in one way or another and whether the WWE feels he is worth the money down the line.
Jerry “The King” Lawler has been with the WWE since 1992 where he served as a wrestler, announcer, and more. He is best known for his feuds with Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Jake “The Snake” Roberts and his legendary announcing combo with Jim Ross.
[Featured Image by WWE ]