The WWE Controversy Seldom Talked About From 1993

Let us take you back to a time when Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart got along, steroids in wrestling were all over the news, and a WWE controversy took place outside the ring, causing Jerry Lawler to be taken off television tapings for a short period of time.

The WWE Controversy in 1993

1993 was a strange time for Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation. Vince had been indicted in federal court after a two-year steroid controversy engulfed the promotion. As a result, Vince had to temporarily cede control of the WWF over to his wife, Linda.

This was also a transitional period for the company as Hulkamania had run its course, with Hogan leaving the company in mid-’93. Ratings and storylines plummeted as Vince looked to build up new stars to take his place (see ‘The All-American,’ Lex Luger).

While the steroid scandal was playing out all over the news at the time, one particular WWE controversy occurred, which somehow managed to go unnoticed.

According to local reporting from the Louisville Courier-Journal at the time, Lawler was indicted on charges of rape and sodomy involving two girls, ages 13 and 14, which caused him to miss Survivor Series 1993. The charges came twelve days before the pay-per-view, forcing WWE to make sudden changes to the planned card.

The 1993 Case Against Jerry Lawler

The investigation into Jerry Lawler began unexpectedly in late 1993. According to police records obtained by Deadspin journalist David Bixenspan in 2018, the investigation started when one of the girls (age 13) was questioned about a separate relationship. During this questioning, she mentioned having sexual contact with Lawler and Bill Martin (who wrestled as Bill Marino in Lawler’s USWA promotion). After her mother confirmed details with her, she contacted the mother of the other girl (age 14), and they discovered their daughters’ stories matched.

Jerry Lawler was arrested in Louisville on December 11th, 1993, and the WWF immediately suspended him the following day.

He was charged with rape and sodomy involving the two underage girls, causing him to miss his scheduled match at Survivor Series 1993.

A preliminary hearing where both accusers testified took place on December 20th, 1993, with a grand jury formally indicting Lawler in January 1994.

The Police Investigation Findings

Both girls gave matching accounts to police about what allegedly occurred in Lawler’s hotel room, which involved Lawler stripping bare, the girls being hesitant, and all of them watching cartoons before the alleged sexual contact. During the initial police interview, one of the girls broke down in tears while recounting what happened.

The police file revealed contradictions in Lawler’s statements. He initially denied the girls were ever in his room but later admitted during a 90-minute interview that they had visited his hotel room, though he maintained they only used the phone. This admission directly contradicted the public narrative Lawler had promoted that the allegations stemmed from girls simply bragging about contact with him.

Lawler’s Response During the Investigation

Before the case went public, Lawler—with a tape recorder running—called the girls’ homes and spoke with at least one of them and/or their mothers. There were allegations that he suggested resolving the matter by talking to his lawyer. Following this call, one of the girls maintained her story was true but expressed uncertainty about pursuing the case.

Documents obtained by Deadspin revealed that Lawler wrote an undated letter to prosecutors “Lisa and Nick” (presumably prosecutor Lisa Schweikert and colleague Nick King) where he attempted to discredit the accusers by making claims about their character and sexual history while highlighting his own community standing. Lawler also produced several witnesses who signed affidavits on his behalf, generally attacking the credibility of the accusers.

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Case Resolution and Plea Agreement

The case never went to full trial. On February 23rd, 1994, Lawler accepted a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to harassing a witness (not one of the complainants), while all sexual offense charges were dismissed. He paid approximately $500 in fines and court costs but served no jail time.

A key factor in this resolution appears to have been the accusers’ reluctance to testify. Despite conflicting public claims that the girls had recanted, retired Louisville detective Mike Redmond told Deadspin that they never formally withdrew their allegations. Instead, they simply refused to testify against Lawler, with Redmond’s interpretation being that “the girls didn’t want ‘The King’ to get in trouble.” One of Lawler’s attorneys cited this reluctance as a factor in the deal being made.

It’s worth noting that accepting a plea deal does not necessarily indicate either guilt or innocence regarding the original charges. Defendants often accept plea agreements to avoid the financial burden and publicity of a trial, obtain certainty about the outcome, or simply move forward with their lives and careers.

Aftermath and Later Revelations

Following the resolution of the case, Lawler returned to WWF television by March 1994, with the matter never being mentioned on programming.

His son, the late Brian Christopher Lawler, would later claim that the girls’ story “fell apart because it was just a ploy to make her boyfriend jealous”—a narrative that contradicts the police documentation.

While the legal case was resolved through the plea agreement, the full circumstances surrounding the allegations remain disputed, with conflicting narratives from various parties involved.

Bret Hart’s Perspective: How Lawler’s Legal Troubles Changed Survivor Series 1993

Before these charges were brought forward, Jerry Lawler was in a bitter feud with Bret Hart, taking shots at his parents and family whenever he could.

The storyline was building up towards a payoff at the Survivor Series 1993 pay-pay-view through a traditional four versus four Survivor Series style matchup with The Hart Family (Bret and brothers Owen, Bruce, and Keith) versus Jerry Lawler and his three knights.

The only problem was – if you were watching at the time – Lawler was nowhere to be found on the day of the pay-per-view due to the charges being brought against him.

Shawn Michaels swiftly replaced him with no explanation given to the viewing audience, leading to the rather unusual pairing of Shawn Michaels with three masked knights, Barry Horowitz, Greg Valentine, and Jeff Gaylord from the USWA.

Now, we all know what happened four years later in Montreal. In this matchup, however, in 1993, Bret had nothing but good things to say about Shawn and how he did a superb job stepping in as a last-minute replacement to Lawler.

In his highly recommended autobiography, Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, Bret Hart had this to say about the WWE controversy, the match, and how it played out behind the scenes:

“In mid-November[1993], I heard that Vince finally had been indicted by the Feds. Then, the WWF took another hit when Jerry Lawler was charged with having sex with an underage girl.

“My entire Survivor Series match was centered around Lawler and his constant jabs at my family; without him, the match would mean nothing.

“Lawler was hastily edited out of the weekend TV show, with no explanation given to the fans, and Shawn was thrown in to replace him at Survivor Series.

“On November 23, Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Ross, Georgia, and my parents all flew into LaGuardia.

“Vince had invited my brothers to have a brawl at the Survivor Series against three masked wrestlers and Lawler—now Shawn would be standing in his place—with Stu managing from the floor, and he thought it best that we have a rehearsal at the WWF’s TV studio in Stamford the day before the pay-per-view.

“I got the Harts, Shawn, and The Knights (the one-time-only name they picked for the masked wrestlers) in the ring to explain how the match would go.

“Owen gave me a nudge to alert me that Bruce had pulled the biggest and greenest of the Knights aside and was giving him a script the size of Gone With the Wind, with Bruce presumably playing Rhett Butler.

“I told Bruce the spotlight needed to be on Owen because Survivor Series would be the beginning of Owen’s heel turn on me.

“After I explained what everybody’s role would be, Bruce went right back to designing the match around himself, and I had to reprimand him in front of everyone.

“Shawn muttered at him, ‘If my brother was World Champion and the best in the business, I think I’d quit fucking arguing with him and start listening to him!

“There was nothing Bruce could say in response to that. He shut up, but I could tell the reprimand stuck in his craw.

“That night at the Boston Garden, I had a strange sense of melancholy as Keith, Bruce, and Owen got dressed, while Stu sat with Killer Kowalski reminiscing about the old days.

“We wore Olympic-style singlets with no leggings, my brothers all in black and me, The Captain, in pink. Martha sat in the front row with the rest of the Hart family, holding Oje. Shawn did a superb job carrying the match, though, in fairness, everyone worked hard.

Bret continued, “The biggest pop of the night came when Shawn staggered past Stu on the floor, and Stu drilled him with one of his big elbow smashes, which Shawn later told me he was honored to take.

“Owen was highlighted throughout the match and eliminated two of The Knights, but midway through the match, as planned, he “inadvertently” collided with me on the apron and ended up being the only Hart brother eliminated.

“After throwing a tantrum, he left the ring, only to come out afterward when we were all celebrating the victory to yank me down off the second rope and give me a hard push.

“I tried to reason with him that it didn’t matter because we’d won anyway, but he still acted furiously.

“Walking back to the dressing room with my brothers after that match was a magical moment.

“We all knew going in that we weren’t expected to have the best match on the card. We were just expected not to have the worst one, either.

“The Hart boys had more than risen to the occasion, and I was proud of my brothers. Stu had a twinkle in his eye.”

A Legal Controversy’s Silver Lining: The Birth of a Classic Feud

Bret and Stu had every reason to be proud as this successfully started one of the most fondly looked upon feuds in WWE history: Bret vs. Owen. This, of course, is a story for another time!

While the circumstances that necessitated the last-minute replacement of Lawler with Michaels were unfortunate, they inadvertently set the stage for what many consider one of the greatest sibling rivalries in professional wrestling. The seeds planted at Survivor Series 1993 would blossom into an emotionally charged storyline that culminated in their classic match at WrestleMania X and continued through much of 1994.

From the ashes of controversy emerged one of wrestling’s most compelling storylines, proving that sometimes wrestling’s greatest moments often arise not from careful planning, but from the chaos no one could have scripted.

These stories may also interest you:

• Wrestling Deviants Jailed for Shocking Abuse
• 1997 WWE Riot: Fans Rage Out of Control at House Show
• Vince McMahon’s WWF and Jerry Lawler’s USWA: A Secret War!

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