WWE Going More Unscripted, Superstars Preparing For Saudi Arabia

Jerry Lawler: WWE More Freedom To Superstars

Jerry Lawler has been around pro wrestling since 1970. And “The King” has literally seen it all in the sport over the last five decades, including in the WWE.

With Paul Heyman in charge of much of what goes on during WWE RAW each week, Lawler is seeing a trend to give superstars more freedom in creating their character.

During a recent appearance on The Steve Austin Show, host “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Lawler discussed just that.

“Now with Paul sort of in charge of RAW, it’s not so much the characters that are being predetermined by the writers or creative,” Lawler said. “They’re giving the guys a chance to be themselves just like (Austin) back when he became ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.

“Nobody was telling you, ‘Oh, this is how it’s got to be done.'”

Austin agreed, adding “When you’ve got somebody micromanaging you and telling you every single thing to do, you kind of turn into a robot and you, ‘Am I doing this right? Am I doing this wrong? Am I screwing this up?’ You’re too much in your head.”

“The King” Sees Positives From Heyman’s Influence

Lawler, who still works for the WWE as a commentator on RAW, sees it as one of the benefits to Heyman being around backstage.

“I really do think a little bit of that is changing now with Heyman in charge of RAW,” he said. “He’s letting guys, giving them bullet points and letting them go on their own.”

WWE Superstars Taking Precautions Ahead Of Saudi Arabia Return

Last year, many WWE superstars were left stranded in Saudi Arabia after flight issues. Now, they are taking precautions to avoid that happening again.

While Vince McMahon and others made it out, several spent an extra 24 hours waiting for travel plans to be made.

“I have been told that basically in the company there was an unofficial edict that stated like ‘We’re all going together, we’re all staying together, nobody is leaving early if there’s an issue, everybody is staying together,'” Mike Johnson said on PW Insider Elite (thanks to Ringside News for the quotes). “If you’re not a wrestler and you’re part of the support staff you’re not leaving until the wrestlers leave. There was some anger on the wrestlers’ end that some people who worked for the company left before the wrestlers did and the wrestlers got stuck.”

The WWE Super ShowDown is scheduled for February 27 live on WWE Network. The event will take place from the Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Among the announced bouts are Brock Lesnar defending his WWE tite against Ricochet, Roman Reigns facing King Corbin in a steel cage match and Bray Wyatt putting his WWE Universal title on the line vs. Goldberg.