Actually the "man" was somebody Lawler was wrestling. So apparently at some point Lawler starting hitting the "Big Cheese" for real (because he thought the "Big Cheese" hit a fan according to reports). Anyone know of any other instances were a match turned into a shoot and legal complaints were later filed?
Also, apparently Lawler could put this off forever if he chooses to not step foot into Mississippi again. Tunica will not cross state lines to serve a warrant, and Lawler won't have to go to court if he is not served papers.
The Bored are already here. Idle hands are the devil's workshop. And no... we won't kill dolphins. But koalas are fair game.
Originally posted by ges7184Also, apparently Lawler could put this off forever if he chooses to not step foot into Mississippi again. Tunica will not cross state lines to serve a warrant, and Lawler won't have to go to court if he is not served papers.
Originally posted by PWBTS.comThe court date is scheduled for August 1, 2007, but only if papers are served to Lawler before that date. Lawler is scheduled to wrestle on the July 20, 2007 Sam’s Town Memphis Wrestling show and Mississippi authorities are expected to serve Lawler the papers that night.
So does Lalwler fulfill his promise in the booking or not? Someone as carny as Lawler, I would expect him to show up.
The rest of the article...
Originally posted by PWBTS.comPosted on 6/21/107 by Bob Magee
(Courtesy: Brian Trammel)
Charges were officially filed this morning against Jerry Lawler. Lawler was charged with assault charges stemming from the incident at Sam’s Town last Friday night.
[At the show], Jerry Lawler allegedly punched “The Big Cheese” Sal Corrente more than once and then yelled at me, “You stupid mother fucker, don't you ever hit a fan.” Lawler had believed that Sal, who had been hit by a fan, had retaliated and hit the fan back. Eyewitnesses at the show believe that Sal did not hit the fan, but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Lawler did hit Sal.
----This could be a landmark case in this crazy world of professional wrestling. A business that is supposed to be worked to the mark so he believes it is real, but when it is real then it is considered assault. Jerry Lawler, who is the color commentator for the number one cable wrestling show in the country [and sometimes #1 cable show in the country], will face criminal charges in the state of Mississippi.
----The court date is scheduled for August 1, 2007, but only if papers are served to Lawler before that date. Lawler is scheduled to wrestle on the July 20, 2007 Sam’s Town Memphis Wrestling show and Mississippi authorities are expected to serve Lawler the papers that night.
Lawler responded to 1wrestling.com's Bill Apter:
"Sal Corrente, who is the Big Cheese on our show, got in touch with Tunica, Mississippi Police filed assault and battery charges, claiming I hit him too hard during a wrestling match!
This has got to be a joke. If I got arrested every time I hit a wrestler or manager during a wrestling show, I would be on death row by now! Koko Ware was on the show and he hit him a lot more times than I did. Maybe Koko will now become the official Birdman of Alcatraz!
You know Bill, I am just shocked that the authorities, the law enforcement authorities in the great State of Mississippi are so gullible that they are letting themselves get sucked in by this guys obvious publicity stunt.
Who ever heard of one wrestler having another arrested after a match at a wrestling show?"
Updated comments:
----Three things I know about the story that I know are 100% true - #1: Jerry Lawler slugged Sal Corrente. #2: Koko Ware and Corey Maclin – neither one of these guys were stiff with Corrente. #3: Sal Corrente is gone from Memphis Wrestling and will not be back.
----I have talked with various people within the company about this incident. No one wants to go “on the record”, because all are in fear of a lawsuit. It is really funny how people that were there seen the incident in two different ways.
----On one side you have the group of people that are saying that Sal was hit by a fan and that Sal hit the fan back. Sal was then running from Koko Ware/Corey Maclin as he was supposed to be doing and Lawler just stepped out to help Ware/Maclin. He motioned for Sal to come over to give Sal a punch, but then slugged him real hard. Sal was supposed to take the hit and just go on with business as usual. Sal did not take the hit and he overacted and wouldn’t get off the stage when Koko/Maclin came after him and those two guys had no idea what was going on. Sal should have sucked it up and just went on with the show.
----On the other side, you have a group of guys who were shocked at what happened. They told me that Sal did not hit the fan [“I was right there” – as I have been told]. They believe that Lawler handled the situation wrong – very wrong for him being someone that represents the company. They knew that Lawler did not like Sal, but they did not expect something like this.
----Here is something else that has been reported to me by 3 different sources – Lawler was going to get Sal after he had already punched him. He was still pissed. He actually chased him out of the building. Others said he was just trying to talk to him, but that was not the case – Lawler was making sure that Sal never stepped foot here again.
----So you have to ask yourself, why would Lawler do this?? I have been told that he had broken Jimmy Hart’s jaw one time. I was also a witness one night in Hayti, MO, when after a bout, Lawler said to me, “I think I just broke Paul’s jaw.” He was talking about Paul Heyman, who later told me, that Lawler broke his jaw because he wasn’t doing exactly what Lawler wanted him to do.
----The funny thing is that a lot of the workers – and I am talking about 90% of the guys here said something like, “It couldn’t have happened to a better man.” I heard things like “Sal was an asshole…Sal was “stuck up”…Sal was from the North and he just didn’t fit in…Sal was a goof…Sal was horrible…Sal got on my nerves…” If Sal was all of these things, then why did they not get rid of him?? Was it because he was viewed as Jimmy Hart’s buddy or what?
----I also know that Lawler never liked anything that Sal did. He never said a nice word to him or gave him a compliment. Could this have been Lawler’s way of trying to “teach” Sal and The Assassins? “You sometimes have to slap their hands and tell them how to do it right.” said one of the workers. Did Lawler think Sal had hit the fan?? Was that the last straw?? Was he finally done with Sal, when he felt like Sal had hit one of the fans and it was going to hurt their “Sam’s Town” shows??
----“Lawler handled the situation all wrong. You don’t sucker punch someone,” said another worker. “If you have beef with someone then you wait until you get backstage to settle the differences – one on one.” I have to agree with that. You can be stiff in the ring on mistake, but when you get backstage, and then you can settle your differences if you have any. Have you ever heard the phrase “He hit me like I owed him money”?? It does happen – people do get hit and hurt. But, I still don’t think it is ok to sucker punch someone. The main point should be that Lawler broke the “cardinal rule” – you are suppose to be taking care of your “brother”, not hurting him
While I tend to agree with the last point, I also agree with the "Sal should have sucked it up and gone on with the show."
That said, I have never been stiffed in the ring. Of course when I am in the ring I am only the announcer. I have been pushed around a few times. Pistola once knocked me on my ass with an unplanned shoulder block out of nowhere because I had cracked a joke about the Simpsons beating Gunsmoke's record for prime-time shows. I was so pissed I completely forgot to sell it, I just bounced right back to my feet and yelled at MVP to kill him.
Generally speaking, in these sorts of cases, the court makes decisions based on what's the reasonable expectation of someone who voluntarily avails himself to these sorts of athletic activities. For example, if someone kicked you in the shin and broke your leg in a soccer game, you wouldn't be able to successfully sue, 'cause one of the reasonably expected risks of playing soccer is that someone might kick you & injure you. In the boxing ring, if someone hits you after the bell or headbutts you, you couldn't successfully sue 'cause late hits & headbutts -- although illegal -- are a reasonably expected part of the sport that you've voluntarily decided to participate in.
In this case with Lawler, punching someone stiff would probably be considered a reasonably expected risk of participating in a live pro wrestling show -- especially when you factor the industry norms of pro wrestling / sports entertainment.
Unless there's something going on here that isn't being reported, I don't think Lawler has much to worry about. JMO.
Oooh, we're moving into the final stretch towards Takeover: New Orleans, and it's getting good. Tonight's main event will be Cole vs. Kassius Ohno, and even without fanfare, that sounds pretty good.
Thread rated: 4.69
#
#