WWE Hall Of Famer Buries Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer

Dave Meltzer is one of the most notable and accomplished wrestling journalists ever, having founded the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 1980, which has led him to becoming arguably the top wrestling insider in the world.

Meltzer is able to provide insider knowledge and information like no other, and he's been doing this for nearly 40 years. However, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry 'The King' Lawler recently lashed out at Meltzer, and doesn't seem to have any respect for his contribution to the wrestling industry.

On the latest episode of his podcast, Dinner with the KingWrestleZone, Lawler insulted Meltzer and accused him of being a bringer of 'fake news'. (transcriptions via WrestleZone).

"Most of the wrestlers couldn’t stand the guy. The promoters hated him because they felt like he was bad for the business and I felt the same way. I don’t really know Dave Meltzer. I don’t know him enough to say I’m friends with him or dislike him or anything."

Lawler talked about how Meltzer (before the internet was around), mailed out the Observer to fans, where they'd get insider knowledge about stuff "the wrestling business would try to protect from the fans." The King also took a shot at Meltzer and accused him of ruining the fun for fans by releasing his insider information.

“You hated that. That’s part of the mystique, the fun of the wrestling business is fans not knowing what’s gonna happen next. What he was like is he would be like a movie critic that would go and watch the movie before it came out and then he would go and tell a story to everybody, ‘Hey here’s what happens in the movie. This guy gets killed at the end.’

And he would just spoil the fun and that’s why they call them spoilers. He was one of the guys that originated spoilers. They would spoil the fun of what was gonna happen in the wrestling business. That’s what these guys did with these dirt sheets. They were spoilers.”

Lawler also called a report from Meltzer in 1994 'fake news', and called his sources "idiots," "backstabbers working for the WWE," and "a spy or a mole in the company." And finally, the Hall of Famer said Meltzer is a "sensationalizer."

The King certainly has the right to share his opinion, but Meltzer's contributions to the wrestling journalism world cannot be ignored. He is widely credited as the man who began the star-grading system for wrestling matches. Meltzer also appeared in HBO's documentary on Andre the Giant, where he provided valuable knowledge about the Hall of Famer's historic career.

Nonetheless, The King is known for expressing his strong opinions - popular or not. Meltzer has done a lot to make wrestling all the better for fans, and Lawler can't take that away from him.

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