Photo: JP Yim
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry 'The King' Lawler has reportedly been hospitalized due to "a serious medical episode" that occurred while he was "staying at his condo in Florida" on Monday (February 6) afternoon, PWInsider.com reports.
Lawler was reportedly having lunch with friends when the episode took place. The website said it "learned of the issue" Monday night but opted not to report it at the time "out of respect to Lawler and his family."
ActionNews5 in Memphis reports that Lawler suffered a stroke in Fort Myers and underwent surgery.
The report was published after fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Morton shared a photo of Lawler and wrote that he hoped Lawler was going to be okay on his Twitter account Tuesday (February 7).
"Please direct good vibes, thoughts, & prayers to Jerry at this time," Morton added. "Genuinely appreciate it & hope to hear good news in the very near future."
Veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer also tweeted "Hope for the best for Jerry Lawler" on Tuesday.
Lawler had previously suffered a stroke in 2018 and a heart attack while on commentary during a live broadcast of Monday Night RAW in 2012.
Lawler's professional wrestling career has spanned six decades, gaining notoriety in the Memphis region during the 1970s, which included winning the United States Wrestling Association's Unified World Heavyweight Championship a record 28 times and serving as the promotion's final owner in 1997. The 73-year-old also famously wrestled late legendary comedian Andy Kaufman in 1982 during his run with Continental Wrestling Association, which included an incident in which the wrestler slapped Kaufman during an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, which was later revealed to be staged during the Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon in which Lawler appeared as himself.
Lawler signed with the then-World Wrestling Federation in 1992 as both an in-ring competitor and commentator, most famously being paired alongside play-by-play man and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross during the late 1990s.
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