Several days a week World Wrestling Entertainment puts on a show like no other. With heroes, villains, drama, and humor, it’s no wonder that millions of fans and enthusiasts tune in each week. But when it comes to WrestleMania, everything in this already exaggerated world gets turned up a few more notches.

Well, last night I got to start my WrestleMania week off with the WrestleMania Art Auction. I’ve been to live WWE events in the past, but never anything close to the magnitude of WrestleMania. And if last night’s art show was any indication of how the rest of the week is going to be, I’m in for some memorable experiences.

From the shrimp cocktails, cheesecake delights and rich bloody Marys to the fantastic works of art created by the WWE stars, this event was a far cry from the in-ring battles normally associated with WWE. The Egyptian Ballroom of the Fox Theatre was filled with fantastic pieces of art, all being auctioned off to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

I was honestly astonished to see such incredible art from these people. One would think that just the gift of being able to put on a show and thrill millions of fans in the ring would be enough, but many of the superstars also showcased other surprising creative talents. From Jerry “The King” Lawler‘s amazingly lifelike depictions of Santa Claus to Melina‘s knack for the abstract, I kept asking myself if I was seeing old copy’s of the Saturday Evening Post or works by Van Gogh. A personal favorite of mine was Curt Hawkins‘ lifelike portrait of Shawn Michaels flying off the top turnbuckle. Not only was it a great piece but it also showed that Hawkins had a dream from childhood, a hero to look up to, and in a time when many don’t, he was able to keep his dream alive and see it fulfilled.

After being introduced by Matt Striker, WWE talent including John Morrison, Santino Marella, Hornswoggle, JTG, Vickie Guerrero and Vladimir Kozlov mingled with guests, posed for photos and signed autographs, giving extra attention to the disabled children in attendance. It was thrilling to have casual conversations with Beth Phoenix about her wrestling training in Toronto and to hear Daniel Bryan tell me about his rise through the indies to WWE.

Lawler and Booker T also created art during the show that was auctioned off to lucky winners. Lawler’s rendition of the Undertaker had a decidedly Basil Gogos feel to it and sold for $1,200, while Booker‘s sketch closed at $700, eliciting a spinarooni from the six-time World Heavyweight Champion.

The WrestleMania Art Auction was a classy and exciting way to kick off the numerous festivities that await throughout the rest of the week. And with a newfound respect of a different kind for some of WWE’s stars, it makes me anticipate this Sunday’s WrestleMania that much more.

By Jason Von Stein

Jerry “The King” Lawler has been in the wrestling business for more than four decades. Considering that he has held more titles than anyone else in wrestling history, and helped bring national media attention to wrestling in the ’80s thanks to his feud with Andy Kaufman, this WWE Hall of Famer is definitely one of the industry’s all-time greats. WPC recently interviewed Lawler (who will also be participating in tonight’s WrestleMania Art Auction), with most of the interview appearing on Creative Loafing‘s WrestleMania site. Though some of our conversation also came up in an article that will appear in tomorrow’s AJC, Lawler had plenty more to say about his history in the Atlanta wrestling scene. Here’s a link to the Creative Loafing interview followed by some additional content exclusive to WPC.

http://clatl.com/atlanta/jerry-lawler-reigns-as-wwe-king/Content?oid=3001744

You’re best known for your history in Memphis, but you spent some time here in Atlanta as well.

One of the interesting things about my wrestling in Georgia was around 1975 I was partnered with Jerry Jarrett, who was one of the promoters in Tennessee and Jim Barnett was the promoter there in Atlanta. They sent me down to Atlanta to do the shows on Friday nights. I did a few shows at the Omni, but they also did shows at the City Auditorium downtown. I’d come down and do shows on Friday night in Atlanta, then catch a really early flight back to Memphis and get home just in time to make it to our TV show on Saturday mornings at 11 o’clock. So I would wrestle in Atlanta, fly home and be ready for TV by 9 a.m.

I was in this big feud in Memphis with the guy who had been the mainstay there forever named “The Fabulous” Jackie Fargo. He was sort of my mentor in the business and finally I progressed to a point where I was wrestling against Jackie Fargo. One Saturday I did an interview on TV that was sort of an off-the-cuff sort of thing with some colorful speech and I said, “You know, Jackie Fargo. You’ve been the king of Memphis wrestling for a long, long time. But you’re looking at the kid who’s going to knock you off your throne.” The following Monday, I won the match against Fargo and as I was walking out people were saying, “You’re the king!”

Jerry Lawler became "The King" in Atlanta

The following Friday I was wrestling in Atlanta and I met a guy who was wrestling as “King” Bobby Shane. He came into the dressing room and had this big elaborate crown and this real nice robe and everything and I said, “Oh, my gosh. Where did you get that? I just won a match about being the King of Memphis and if I were to show up on Memphis TV wearing a crown and robe it would be such a hoot.” He told me where he ordered them and said, “You know what? I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a three-week tour of Australia and I don’t want to carry all this garb with me. If you want to, you can take this with you and use the crown and robe tomorrow. In three weeks when I get back you’ll probably have your stuff in if you order it.” So I showed up the next day for the first time with the crown and robe and I started calling myself the King of Memphis. It was in immediate hit and it just stuck.

The ironic thing was, a few weeks later, just as Bobby Shane got back from Australia, he was killed in a plane crash in Florida. So I was left with his crown and robe and I really owe this persona that I’ve had my entire career to Atlanta wrestling and meeting Bobby Shane in the dressing room there.

My grandmother was at some of those shows. She used to take my mom and uncle every Friday.

That was the era of Mr. Wrestling 1 and 2. They were the main stars in Atlanta, but of course Abdullah the Butcher was there, Tommy Rich was just getting started around that time. It was a fun event. I’ll never forget Jim Barnett would call a meeting of all the wrestling talent every Friday before the wrestling event and ask if anyone had met any new female fans. It was the highlight of Jim Barnett’s week.

That’s one of the big things that’s changed. At that time, you wrestled in Atlanta every Friday night, so you’d see a lot of the same fans over and over and had an opportunity to meet these people and really get to know them. That’s one of the things that has really changed about the industry. It’s so big now and we only get to certain cities once or twice a year, so you miss out on meeting the fans and getting to know them better. That’s what’s so great about the WrestleMania Axxess coming up at WrestleMania. It’s an opportunity to actually meet and shake hands with some of the WWE superstars. We used to do that all the time, but now it’s just hard to have that interaction because the crowds are so large. I’m hoping to see some old faces from back in the day when I was in Atlanta on a weekly basis.

WrestleMania Art Auction. 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. (red carpet arrivals begin at 5:30 p.m.). March 30. $10 for red carpet access, $50 for general admission, $175 for VIP admission. The Fox Theatre, Egyptian Ballroom, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-785-7315, www/choa.org/wweart.

WrestleMania Axxess. 6 p.m.-10 p.m. March 31-April 2, 8 a.m.-noon April 2-3, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. April 2, 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. April 3. $35-$96, free 3 and younger. Georgia World Congress Center, Building C, 285 Andrew Young International Blvd. N.W., Atlanta. 404-223-4000, www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/wrestlemaniaaxxess/, www.gwcc.com.

WrestleMania XXVII. 6:30 p.m.-11 p.m. April 3. $25-$1,050.35. Georgia Dome, 1 Georgia Dome Drive, Atlanta. 404-223-4636, wm27.wwe.com/, www.gadome.com.

WrestleMania festivities begin tonight with the WrestleMania Art Auction. Before he steps into the ring alongside Jersey Shore‘s Snooki and Trish Stratus this Sunday against Dolph Ziggler, Michelle McCool and Layla (with Vicki Guerrero), WWE superstar John Morrison offers his own artwork in tonight’s show. Here’s an interview WPC did with Morrison for Creative Loafing‘s WrestleMania guide.

http://clatl.com/atlanta/wwe-john-morrison-teams-with-snooki-at-wrestlemania/Content?oid=3001710

John Morrison displays his artistic skills at the WrestleMania Art Auction tonight before teaming up with Snooki this Sunday

WrestleMania Art Auction. 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. (red carpet arrivals begin at 5:30 p.m.). March 30. $10 for red carpet access, $50 for general admission, $175 for VIP admission. The Fox Theatre, Egyptian Ballroom, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-785-7315, www.choa.org/wweart.