At times it can be hard to figure out what is real and what is fake in the world of professional wrestling. I, personally, have been fooled many times (mostly when I was a kid
But what happened during a live telecast of WWE's "Monday Night Raw" was both very real and very scary, as ringside announcer Jerry "The King" Lawler collapsed while calling a tag-team match at Montreal's Bell Centre.
Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com, citing a source, reports that Lawler either suffered a stroke or a heart attack.
Lawler, 62, immediately was tended to by medical personnel already present at ringside and was carried backstage before being transported to a Montreal hospital. Marvez reports that Lawler needed CPR before being placed into an ambulance.
About 30 minutes before the incident, Lawler took part in an impromptu tag-team match and appeared to be OK.
For wrestling fans, this certainly conjures up memories of another real-life accident, the death of Owen Hart, which happened in 1999 when he fell from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Coincidentally, Lawler was ringside for that.
Just like in that situation, Monday's show continued but without commentators.