The departure of Jerry Lawler from WWE in 2001 created a huge shock when the color commentator was gone for most of the year. Lawler walked out of the company when they fired his wife Stacy “The Kat” Carter and WWE called his bluff. Paul Heyman replaced Lawler on commentary as another partner to have strong chemistry with Jim Ross.The time away from WWE saw Lawler holding his ground for months before eventually returning and never leaving again. WWE was surprised at how far Lawler was willing to go since he was viewed as a loyal employee. There were also some interesting attempts at finding new opportunities in wrestling that didn’t work out. Lawler’s WWE walkout is one of the most fascinating WWE stories and deserves to be examined.
Lawler's Wife, The Kat, Was Fired From WWE
Jerry Lawler getting his then-wife Stacy Carter hired with minimal wrestling experience was a risky move in many ways. Most wrestlers are taught to avoid getting too personal in a world of business. Lawler learned that at his old age when Carter was fired in early 2001. There were rumors of WWE not liking Carter’s backstage attitude and feeling her angle with the Right to Censor was not living up to expectations.
Lawler quit on the spot and left the company with The Kat. Loyalty to his wife was the main issue, but there is some belief that Lawler’s ego took a hit having his wife fired without even running it by him. WWE didn’t expect him to leave the job after forming a very successful commentary team with Jim Ross during the Attitude Era.
The anger and betrayal felt by Lawler towards WWE made it an easier decision to leave rather than the right one since he ended up regretting it. One decision from WWE was all that Lawler needed to feel justified in his choice. WWE did not budge and instead let them both walk instead of bringing back Carter to keep Lawler on board.
Lawler Spent Some Time Away From WWE
WWE was without Jerry Lawler from March to November 2001, missing the epic WrestleMania 17 event and the Invasion storyline. Lawler continued to look for other avenues to continue his career outside the biggest promotion. WCW was a couple of weeks away from being purchased by WWE, but Lawler reached out to Eric Bischoff. Bischoff's goal was to put together a group to buy WCW would have likely seen Lawler involved if the company continued that year.
Vince McMahon purchasing WCW and ECW took away the viable options for Lawler to keep getting booked in a major promotion. A couple of other promotions tried to start the early process of replacing WCW and brought in Lawler for commentary. XWF put together the commentary team of Lawler and Tony Schiavone, but the promotion ended up going nowhere.
Word Wrestling All Stars was another huge project with international tours meant to create buzz as a #2 promotion. The Australian shows saw Lawler on commentary with Jeremy Borash, but that also failed to live up to expectations. Commentary gigs in wrestling are always hard to find due to how few jobs are available. Two of the three viable promotions going under right when Lawler quit WWE made it the worst possible timing.
Lawler Eventually Returned To WWE
The relationship between Jerry Lawler and Stacy Carter ended during the short break from WWE. Lawler returned to WWE in November 2001 when the couple separated. However, it wasn’t an easy situation since WWE moved on without Lawler. Paul Heyman had great chemistry with Jim Ross and added something new to the commentary team.
WWE was allowed to have a traditional heel and face dynamic after Lawler became too respected to be a true heel. Heyman could have easily thrived in the color commentator role for another decade, but WWE felt he was better off in other roles. The desire to have Heyman as a manager and backstage employee made it easier to bring Lawler back for his old position at ringside with JR.
Vince McMahon didn’t hold anything against Lawler and had the right timing to bring him back. Heyman was “fired” on-screen as one of the figureheads of The Alliance after they lost the Invasion storyline. Lawler getting to laugh at Heyman while taking his chair back was also a cool moment for fans at the time. The controversial departure of Lawler and his failed time away culminated with a return in the same year to continue as if the walkout never happened.