MANILA, Philippines - Memphis wrestling legend and Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has been arrested and subsequently suspended by the WWE.
Lawler, 66, was taken into custody of the Shelby County Jail in Memphis, Tennessee along with his longtime fiancée, Lauryn McBride, 27, on charges of domestic assault in the early morning hours of Friday, June 17.
According to the report published by WREG.com and Wrestlezone.com, both were arrested by local police after they were unable to determine who started the altercation.
McBride claimed that Lawler struck her head and pushed her to a stove. Lawler countered that by claiming that an intoxicated McBride scratched his face, threw a candle at him and kicked him in the groin.
McBride also claimed that Lawler put an unloaded pistol on a table and told her to kill herself, but Lawler rebutted that it was she who brought the pistol.
After the arrest, WWE stated on its website that Lawler has been suspended indefinitely because it has “zero tolerance for matters involving domestic violence.”
The company has not yet stated whether the “zero tolerance” policy involves releasing Lawler from the company, as they had released midcard wrestler Adam Rose who was facing the same charges at the time in May.
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Lawler has been the voice of WWE’s color commentary for the better part of the last two decades, having joined the company in 1992 as a wrestler before bringing his sarcastic heel stylings to the broadcast table.
Lawler has since been relegated to color commentary for Smackdown, WWE’s secondary show to Monday Night Raw. He previously made headlines when he suffered a heart attack on-air on September 10, 2012 in Montreal, Canada. According to Lawler, McBride was there to help him with his recovery.
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Aside from longtime commentary work, Lawler is also a graphic artist and opened a new restaurant this year in Memphis, where he is a popular figure and former mayoral candidate. – Rappler.com