ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jerry "The King" Lawler will not be at Raw tonight because his mother, Hazel, passed away Monday at the age of 90. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease for eight years.

WWE.com's Joey Styles spoke with the WWE Hall of Famer earlier today.

"Three years ago, we had no choice but to put her in a nursing home for people suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. The home was in Water Valley, Miss., where her brother, Larry, lives and is about 100 miles from my home in Memphis," Lawler explained.

"I visited her every week. Her physical health has always been good, but she had no more short-term memory. Luckily, she always recognized me and my brother, Larry," he said.

"About a month ago, her physical health started to deteriorate. I got the call telling me she passed away on Sunday morning.

"I feel like I'm letting people down by not being at Raw tonight, but there is just so much to do for her final arrangements."

"The King" shared some special memories with WWE.com about his mother's relationship to the business her son has thrived in for decades.

"My mom worked for us at Memphis Wrestling for 15 years, selling advance tickets at the Mid South Coliseum box office three days a week. My mom was a typical mom in that she thought wrestling was too dangerous," he said. "She sold tickets to my matches, but she couldn't bear to watch them. She was always happy for my success though. It's true what they say -- nobody ever loves you like your mother."

Lawler also revealed the passing of his mother would be on his mind this Sunday.

"There's no way you can put the loss of your mother out of your mind. I thought about my mother all the time. I'll definitely be thinking of her on Sunday when I wrestle The Miz for the WWE Championship. This will be one last opportunity to make her proud of my career."