WWE Raw TV announcer Jerry Lawler detailed how he got his start as a pro wrestler, how the late Jackie Fargo influenced his career, and how Lawler was nearly convinced to never become a pro wrestler in an exclusive interview on the June 28 PWTorch Livecast.

The following is an excerpt of Lawler's interview with PWTorch editor Wade Keller and PWTorch columnist Bruce Mitchell on how he started as a wrestler in the early 1970s...

LAWLER: I literally had no clue what I was doing or anything about the business. I went in the ring there (in West Memphis, Arkansas) with Jerry Vickers, got thrown out of the ring, landed on my head, and was knocked completely out in probably less than five minutes of my first match.

After that, I thought this was so great, I would want to do this. I would plug those matches every week on the radio. And then one day Jackie Fargo came to me and said, “Look, kid, that wrestling over there in West Memphis is what we call opposition to our Memphis wrestling. You talking about them on the radio is not good for us.” I said, “I’m sorry.” He said, “If I get you a match over with Nick Gulas in Memphis, will you quit messing with them and quit talking about that?” I said, “Oh my gosh, yeah.” Jackie stuck his neck out and went to Nick Gulas and said he knows this here in Memphis, can you start booking him in some matches. That’s how I got my first start.

I remember Jackie telling me, “Kid, you really need to stick with art. I promise you, you’ll have a much better career being an artist.” I said, “Let me try this just this one time, and I’ll go back to being an artist.” And 43 years later, here I am still doing the wrestling.

[ AUDIO: Lawler's entire 60-minute interview is available on-demand HERE at PWTorchLivecast.com. If you want to understand and truly appreciate wrestling legend Jackie Fargo, Lawler goes into great detail on his legacy in the interview. ]

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