Jerry Lawler joined Bill Apter on “The Apter Chat” and delved into a wide range of topics. Here are the highlights.

Lawler on his relationship with Brian Christopher:

Brian and I….we had more, we did have a father and son relationship; but, rather than – even more than the father and son relationship, we had like a wrestling buddy relationship. Brian got into the wrestling business not long out of high school. I wasn’t really around him. He and Kevin – his brother – grew up with their mom. I first started seeing him after he graduated on a regular basis and right after that he got into the wrestling business. We missed the young childish father and son relationship and then it became – once we were in the business – it was more like wrestlers have with each other. He became one of the boys.

Lawler on their bond over football:

It was so poignant that the first game of this season was the Browns against the Steelers. It’s all I could think of during the game was that we’d be watching together or talking on the phone back and forth, if we weren’t in the same city, about who was gonna win. Lo and behold it was a tie. Neither team won and that was almost fitting for that.

Lawler on How He Became Known as The King.

I went on TV one week and I don’t even know why, just out of the clear blue trying to make some colorful speech. I said, ‘[Jackie] Fargo, you’ve been the King of Memphis for some time; but, your looking at the kid that’s gonna knock you right off your throne.’ I didn’t even know what I was thinking when I said that, just some kind of colorful speech. Anyway, that Monday night I went on, I won the match and I was going back to the dressing room some young fans that were heel fans were slapping me on the back and saying, ‘Hey, you’re the King. You’re the King now.’ That Friday night I go down to Atlanta and into the locker room comes Bobby Shane, first time I ever met him.

Bobby Shane went by the moniker The King and had an elaborate royal costume, which included a crown. I inquired as to where I could purchase such a getup and after I explained the current angle he was involved in, Shane agreed to allow me to borrow the robe and the crown.

He loaned me the crown. I showed up the next morning with the crown on and the robe and that was the beginning of Jerry “The King” Lawler.

Lawler on the time he forgot his crown in Memphis:

Larry Burton brought me over to Disney Studios and said, ‘This idiot came all this way to wrestle and he forgot his crown. Somewhere in the Disney Studios, you guys have to have a prop crown don’t you?’ Within a few minutes, a young intern brought a green crown to me.

I thought, ‘Where did this come from?’ This had come from a movie that I had seen when I was a little kid called Darby O’Gill and The Little People. I had actually seen that as a kid and said, ‘I can’t take this to a wrestling match, something will happen to it.’ Anyway, I wound up using that crown.

Lawler on his WWE beginnings and that he never actually wanted to do color commentary:

To me wrestling commentary – all I’d known my whole life was Lance Russell and Dave Brown and they were the two best ever. Even though I admired them so much, I never wanted to be a commentator, never wanted to be a wrestling announcer at all. I didn’t even think about that. I new they were an integral part of the show; but, I never even thought about that side of it. I was always just into the wrestling end of it.”

Lawler on The Saudi Arabian shows not featuring women:

I still think that it’s good in the fact that it’s helping bring about change. I think that eventually, if we keep going, women will be allowed there. I didn’t think there’d be women even allowed out at the show; but, oh my gosh, I was so surprised and so shocked at how its almost they want to be so westernized. They want to be like we are; but, I think it’s this deep seated religious leaders that are still somehow in power; but, as time goes on I think that’s gonna change. I was shocked. There was so many families there – women, some beautiful women too there – and some of them would have on burkas, it ran the whole gamut. There were women with the complete burkas. There were women that didn’t have their faces covered and then there were women that were just dressed like anybody here in Florida or whatever. They were just dressed normal with their husband and their kids. I think it’s a great thing that we get to go. I really think it helps bring about change. While I was over there, just in the short time I was there, I saw things on television. It has been weird over there. Women weren’t even allowed to drive; but, it’s all changing now. It’s changing and I think a time will come when the WWE women will be allowed to go there.

(Transcription: Michael McClead, WrestleZone)

You can listen to the entire episode of The Apter Chat here: