The Context 

Since we just covered Brian Christopher changing his name in TNA to Brian Lawler, here’s Brian talking about his start in the business. Brian told the story of being at a spot show as a junior in high school, when Snowman brought him and his friend, Tony Williams, to the back. He said an unnamed worker in the back heard Brian say, “I know we can do better than some of these guys,” so they were given gear and told to prove it. He says neither ever trained before, but they went out and worked the best match on the card. Brian says he showed Jerry Lawler and thought his dad would think it was funny, but Jerry had him come down to the studios and work under a mask at sixteen. Brian says he was never trained and just figured it out, but he learned a lot more about putting together matches once he started working with guys like Tom Prichard. He says Jerry didn’t teach him or get him into the business because his parents divorced when he was so young, he only really saw Lawler on holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions. BC also said he was never paid more than any of the other guys, and sometimes he’d get an envelope with a note of appreciation instead of money. He says he never wanted to live off the Lawler name. 

Analysis

Lawler also reportedly didn’t want people to know that Christopher was his son because it made him look old, but it seems like Brian was telling his truth here. I’m not sure if wrestlers invited him and Tony Williams to work after watching matches from the crowd cold, but as for the part about being self-trained, that was much more common in those days. It’s also a little eerie how much Brian sounds like his dad at times in this clip. 

The Video