Jerry Lawler Looks Back On Infamous WWE WrestleMania Match With Michael Cole

Many fans may remember WrestleMania 27 for its main event match, which pitted John Cena against then-WWE Champion The Miz. For Jerry Lawler, it marked his first and only time performing on WWE's grand stage, with fellow commentator Michael Cole as his opponent.

During an interview with "Notsam Wrestling," Lawler looked back on his now infamous match, which also involved WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Jack Swagger, and Cole's bright orange singlet. "We got to work out one time before we went in the ring," Lawler said, reflecting on his pre-match preparation with Cole. "I busted his lip. I did something and it hurt his arm. It was just his first time, so just everything was hurting him. And I said, "How did that bust your lip?' He just [said] 'I don't think I can do this. I don't think I can do it.' I said 'Believe me, you'll make it, too.'"

Regarding the match itself, which spanned nearly 14 minutes, Lawler believes it ran far longer than necessary. "We had so much more time than we needed," he said. "We had two guys that could be put in the match. Stone Cold was the referee, and that was his height of his popularity. They he had [Jack Swagger,] and they did nothing. I'm sitting there and thinking, 'why aren't you guys doing something? Please do something.'"

At one point, Lawler's repeated stomps prompted Swagger to throw in the towel for Cole, whom he had trained in the lead-up to WrestleMania. Austin, the special guest referee, denied the gesture for surrender, however, and nailed Swagger with a stunner. Left to fend for himself, Cole then tapped out to an ankle lock for what should have been a submission victory for Lawler. Instead, the anonymous "WWE Raw" General Manager ruled that due to a mid-match shove from Austin to Cole, Cole ultimately won via disqualification.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Notsam Wrestling" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.