Gems weekend
Tonight: vs. Evansville, 7:30 (Jerry “The King” Lawler Night/Jersey Auction)
Saturday: vs. Quad City, 7:30 p.m. (Youth Jersey Giveaway – first 500 fans under 12)
Sunday: vs. Fort Wayne, 5:00 p.m. (Kroger Family Sunday)
TROTWOOD — He might just be the most recognizable voice in professional wrestling. But Jerry “The King” Lawler never expected a career as a color commentator.
During the Monday night television wars of the mid 1990s, World Wrestling Entertainment (then the World Wrestling Federation) owner Vince McMahon asked Lawler to temporarily fill in on a Raw broadcast because color man Randy “Macho Man” Savage had fled — to the competition.
“We put on the WCW (World Championship Wrestling) show and there was Randy Savage,” said Lawler. “He jumped ship without telling anybody.
“It was natural for me. Sixteen years later, I’m still doing it.”
But the Memphis-born wrestling legend and piledriver expert, the guest of honor for Jerry “The King” Lawler Night at tonight’s Dayton Gems game with the Evansville IceMen, still laces up the boots. Lawler, 61, just wrestled WWE champion The Miz for a belt last weekend and gets into the ring once or twice a week because his love of the business runs deep.
There’s a parallel between Lawler’s introduction to commentating and his start in pro wrestling. He’s an accomplished illustrator who once received a full tuition commercial arts scholarship from the University of Memphis and has done comic book work for characters like the Green Hornet, Zorro and Vampirella. Lawler was 17 when he sent a drawing of a match he and his father attended into a local television wrestling show.
“Tojo Yamamoto beat Jackie Fargo that night so I drew this caricature of Tojo doing this big karate chop and Jackie being chopped in half like a piece of cord wood,” said Lawler. “They used my caricature to illustrate what went on in the match and I became sort of like a courtroom artist. I became a ringside artist. Each week, I would illustrate what the outcome was of the live events.
“I thought if I could wrestle just one match, that’s all I want to do, then I could go back to being an artist the rest of my life. Forty-plus years later, I’m still wrestling but I’ve gotten back around to spending some time on my artwork.”
Lawler’s career as a wrestler, commentator, author, illustrator and businessman has spanned more than five decades, one of the highlights being his feud with the late actor/comedian Andy Kaufman. The King’s memorable slap of Kaufman on the David Letterman Show in 1982 recently ranked 30th on the Hollywood Reporter’s 80 Greatest Moments in TV History. Lawler played himself in the film Man on the Moon, a bio of Kaufman’s life starring Jim Carrey.
“I slapped Jim Carrey even harder than Andy Kaufman,” the King said, who unlike his experience with co-stars Courtney Love, Danny DeVito and Paul Giamatti, described filming with the star as “miserable.” “Carrey was trying to be so in character and he thought Andy Kaufman and I hated each other so he was playing the role.”
Rather than slap faces, Lawler will be using his hand to shake others tonight. He’s excited to be in Dayton for a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with fans. And the King likes hockey, calling the physical sport “wrestling on ice.” He actually lived in Amherst, 25 miles west of Cleveland, from the age of 8 to 16 and became a lifelong Browns and Indians fan after watching stars like Jim Brown and Rocky Colavito.
The outspoken Lawler even made a prediction for the Tribe’s upcoming season.
“They’ll do pretty good for basically fielding a minor league team,” the King said.
JAKKY'S BACK: Goaltender Jeff Jakaitis returned to Dayton on Thursday after a stint with the AHL's Worcester Sharks.
“It was a good experience but I was more or less frustrated, “ said Jakaitis, who won once in three starts. “I made most of the saves I had to make but didn’t make any big saves that changed games.”
The call-up was bittersweet because it came in the middle of a visit from his girlfriend Jenn and their infant son Liam. He had to fly them back to Myrtle Beach while he went to Worcester. But after the experience of playing against some high-end talent that “make the right play every time,” he’s pleased to be back to help the Gems down the stretch.
“It’s an important time for us,” he said. “They’re must-win games.”
LOOKING TO REBOUND: With three wins in the past 12 games, the Gems have dropped to eighth in the CHL's Turner Conference with a 23-22-4 record. That slide makes this weekend's trio of games against conference foes all the more critical.
“These are three opponents (Evansville, Quad City and Fort Wayne) that we’re battling for playoff positions,” coach Brian Gratz said. “We need to find the back of the net with a little more frequency.”
And if that lack of offense continues (four goals in the past three games, all losses), then playing shutdown hockey becomes a greater necessity. But Xs and Os aside, Gratz wants to see improved morale.
“We get down on ourselves pretty easily,” he said. “We just aren’t answering the bell.”
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