Lawler's an interesting case. His work in Memphis was usually anywhere from good to outstanding depending on who he was facing, and you can't deny anyone who could draw the numbers he did in the same towns every week. My first experience of him was the title unification feud with Kerry Von Erich where he had to do pretty much all the work both on promos and in the ring, and as someone who grew up watching WCCW he did his job getting over with me as a villain.
The problem is Commentator Jerry is only going to be what Vince wants him to be. He was 100% heel when he came in and was feuding with Jake and Bret. He was horny Uncle Jerry during the Attitude Era when it was all about bra and panty matches and Playboy shoots. Now Vince wants him to go heel again and that's what he's doing now being Seth's cheerleader on Raw. It's been the running joke that Lawler pays zero attention to anything WWE when he's not on the job, so he pretty much runs on a combination of his own quick wit and whatever's being fed through his headset.