On February 7th it was reported that Jerry Lawler had been rushed to the hospital 24 hours earlier after suffering what was described as a “massive stroke.”
It was noted that Lawler’s condition was severe as he underwent surgery. However, a number of positive updates have slowly started to emerge with long-time friend Jim Ross stating that the WWE Hall of Famer’s prognosis was positive. Meanwhile, Dutch Mantell shared that Lawler is improving and doctors expect him to recover after initially losing feeling in his right side and struggling to speak.
In a fresh update, writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer quotes Dave Brown as saying that he feels “optimistic” about Lawler’s recovery.
“There are conflicting versions from those close to him as to what happened but he was rushed into emergency surgery from what was reported as a major stroke that at first left him with no movement on the right side and unable to talk.
There was fear of those close to him that the massive stroke could have had terrible repercussions, with fear of being unable to move on his right side. But within hours he was face timing Dave Brown, who he worked with for decades and said he could understand Lawler’s speech and he was able to move both arms and legs.
“Some of the initial reports were just horrible, so I feel much better than I did 18 hours ago when I felt like I got hit in the face with a shovel,” said Brown, the longtime area wrestling announcer as well as for a long time the most popular television news personality in the Memphis market as the WMC-TV meteorologist. “I was incredibly encouraged after I did a FaceTime. Jerry was alert. He talked to me. He could only say a couple words at a time, which is pretty normal, but was able to move both legs and both arms. I feel very optimistic that he’s eventually going to recover.”
Doctors Hopeful Jerry Lawler Will Make A “Full Recovery”
This report comes after Jerry Lawler’s partner Lauryn revealed that he is out of the ICU and will return to his home in Florida to continue his rehabilitation. She added that doctors are “hopeful of a full recovery.”
Lawler was most recently featured on WWE television as part of the panel for the Kick-Off Show for the Royal Rumble on January 28th. Just days earlier he made an appearance on the 30th-anniversary special of Monday Night Raw where he briefly served as a guest commentator. The star was also involved in a signing event over the weekend.
Everyone at Inside the Ropes continues to send our best wishes to Jerry Lawler and his family during his recovery.