10 Wrestling Shows That Survived Real-Life Disasters

2. Jerry Lawler’s Heart Attack

Moving on from scalping a minor into something a bit more serious, on September 10th 2012, Jerry the King Lawler had a heart attack, live on commentary, about an hour after competing in a match at the age of 62. 

Wrestling.

During a match between Team Hell No and the Primetime Players, commentary suddenly went silent for about a minute. Cole then started to provide sporadic commentary on his own, before more silence. Then, even though the camera never panned there, people watching at home started to notice the crowd were all staring at the commentary desk. Knowing what we know now, that Lawler had keeled over at his desk and Cole had muted commentary to call for the ringside doctors, it’s a really disturbing few minutes of footage.

Lawler was stretchered to the back leaving Michael Cole to do commentary by himself, not knowing if his friend was dead or alive. Of course as you’ve come to expect, the show carried on and it’s worth pointing out that Michael Cole did an amazing job, holding it together when he shouldn’t have had to, remaining calm & professional to prevent causing undue emotional stress or panic to the viewer at home. 

Finally, after almost an hour, WWE mercifully let Cole stop talking and have the remainder of the show play out without commentary, apart from the occasional medical update from Cole, and again, we can only offer giant amounts of respect to the man for his composure. Thankfully, despite being medically dead for twenty minutes, Lawler survived and returned to WWE a mere two months later. 

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1. WWE Holds First Mass Gathering After 9/11

Vince McMahon has no fear. On September 13th, 2001, a mere two days after the attacks of September 11th, with the US still confused, traumatised and half-expecting more attacks from every corner, WWE gathered thousands of people in Houston Texas for the as-scheduled edition of Smackdown. 

It was the first public gathering since the attacks. With the security questions, emotionally vulnerable wrestlers and crew, some with friends in New York, an argument can be made that the show should not have gone ahead, but wrestling always goes ahead, in some form. 

Vince opened the show with a monologue about how America was not afraid, and you believed him. The show had a few matches, but mostly the episode took the form of a series of talking heads of wrestlers offering emotional support, barely suppressed rage, and Stephanie McMahons comparing the attacks to her father being indicted by the government for distributing steroids. 

This show more than anything should have reassured us that, even now, as the world stutters and stumbles with confusion and fear, as we all have to look out for each other and screw our courage to the sticking place, that of course there would be a WrestleMania. Maybe there shouldn’t have been. But there was, because the show must go on. 

Stay safe out there, everyone.

• Disaster
• wrestling
• 9/11
• wwe

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