Wrestling Bore: Why I Was Glad to See JBL Go
’Cause I’m a Wrestling God Bore: Why I Was Glad to See JBL Go
Back when I started watching WWE (then still WWF), the Acolyte Protection Agency, or APA, was waning and new, up-and-coming tag teams, such as Billy and Chuck (God forbid!), Tajiri and any of his multitude of partners, and The Hurricane and Rosey, were on the rise. (Come to think of it, the emergence of these gimmicky, odd-couple pairings could have been the beginning of the end for tag team wrestling, which seems to have culminated in the 2009 Draft Lottery, with Cryme Tyme and the Colons really the only remaining factions. I will be examining this trend in an upcoming column, but in the meantime, you can read Daniel Pritchard’s writings on the topic.)
Faarooq was always my favourite APA member, and I loved his “Damn!” catchphrase. He was a bit more vocal in those days, but still played second fiddle to Bradshaw.
I actually found Bradshaw quite likable in his partnership with Faarooq. They seemed to bring out the best in each other, and it was evident they were firm friends outside the ring, too. But the company name change and subsequent brand restructure and extension saw the group take a back seat as new tag teams emerged. And once Bradshaw changed his hair, from bad-ass black mane to short, blonde “contempt casual”—as I remember one fan called it—’do, the group shot to tag team heaven.
Faarooq somewhat disappeared from the scene, with Bradshaw to resurface in 2004 as a whole new character: JBL, John Bradshaw Layfield.
JBL incorporated his real name into his stage name, and used his moonlighting career as a financial analyst as the basis of the “JBL” persona. As much as I hate to admit it, it worked for a period of time.
He really managed to encapsulate the “love-to-hate” villain vibe, and coupled with his incessantly boring promos, he truly became SmackDown’s most dominant heel for the next couple of years. And, how can we forget, “the longest reigning champion in SmackDown history”. But that was when the likes of Batista, Edge, Randy Orton and John Cena were in the process of being groomed to surpass that record, and become champions who were actually entertaining (with the exception of Batista, who is another Superstar I just don’t think cuts it in the promo/character department).
JBL’s rise coincided with a bleak period for WWE, in my opinion. It seemed like Triple H and Evolution were dominating Raw, which was the better show—just—while the same stale stars were going through the motions on SmackDown. JBL bored me so much that I would fat-forward through his promos and matches just to be spared the pain. I would rather miss vital parts of SmackDown’s major storyline rather than sit through his incessant ranting and cottage cheese thighs. But really, there wasn’t all that much to miss in the first place.
While we’re all facing hard times at the moment with the economic downturn (how ironic for JBL’s character), a new president seems to have lifted people’s spirits. John Cena acted as the Obama for the WWE Universe, taking hold of a flailing company from the Bush (JBL) Administration. (Once again, it was no coincidence that JBL’s sycophantic control over SmackDown mirrored that of George W. Bush’s on America.)
Finally, SmackDown was entertaining again, and JBL only struggled to keep his head above water in a growing pool of talent, all the while getting fatter by the month.
If you’ve read any of my other columns, you’ll know how much I hate JBL. But that’s JBL: the character. John Layfield has done much for the wrestling, Armed Forces and financial communities alike. Layfield was the key in forming the annual Tribute to the Troops for Armed Forces Entertainment and continues to support the servicemen and women, even after his departure from WWE. He is successful in his own right outside of wrestling, having published his financial guidebook, Have More Money Now, and owns his own company, Layfield Energy. He was also a top football player in addiction to a successful, if not always technically sound, professional wrestler and, later, an entertaining SmackDown commentator. I’m not denying him that.
But no matter how I feel about him, both personally and professionally, I cannot argue that the temptation arose to switch television channels whenever he was on it. JBL claimed to be a “wrestling god”, but I know better. JBL was a wrestling bore and I was glad to see him go.
In light of the numerous notable events in the wrestling industry over the past few weeks, I will be increasing my columns to several each week, and they will deal with Extreme Rules, the two-year anniversary of the Chris Benoit murder-suicide, Batista’s injury and the mass exodus of some of WWE’s big names. Also, I will be attending the WWE’s upcoming July tour of Australia, so be sure to look out for my recap of the show soon.
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Spot on with JBL. I have to admit, when he was an Announcer on Smackdown I found him to be entertaining but I guess he wasn’t really in character then. I also hated that damn Limo.
i persoally loved JBL, one of my personal favorite wrestlers, i think he was great as an anouncer as well, and i really wish they would have given him better storylines. He was a great heel, but that’s my opinion.
I LOVE JBL , he was a great heel with great mic skils, i miss him so much…..
I have to agree that he was very good as an announcer; I probably should have emphasised that a bit more in the article.
However, I disagree with serginho, I thought JBL had some of the worst mic skills ever. As I said, I switched off whenever he was speaking.
I agree with you almost completely. Although JBLs standard of commentating surpassed any commentator in any brand i have seen or heard. The commentator rivalries were just enough to keep me hooked to the match until the majority weren’t worth it anymore, so i think his presence anywhere (preferably somewhere more deserving) would be an asset if used wisely.
FYI i couldn’t agree more on Batista
And by surpassing every commentator, you couldn’t possibly mean J.R. as well?!
Scarllet im only going to disagree for one reason. When it came right down to it, hes always been a heel you just love to hate. Your right, sometimes his promos werent rave worthy, but look at the fueds and storys hes been set up with. I think his best in his last year or so was the HBK fued, and that one had almost no logic to it. Yet they both carried it as far as it could go. I’d like to think that being great at promos isnt about what you say, its how well you present it and sell it. End of the day JBL had ceratin sublties that few great heels have. From his tone of voice, to his body language and smirk the guy completely sold you that he was a complete asshole that you needed to hate. Just having him in the ring made most fans get up and boo. Its the same way the rock bleed intensity or the command Steve Austin had. They all had pressance, and while i agree his in-ring work and physical condition needed work. Few wrestlers have that type of pressance in the ring. If anything, given he had better storys and pushes, JBL might have been the best heel of this generation. (I know most would say its Edge but he has too much of a following for me to be called a true heel, Still just wanna say Edge is better overall then him though in every catergory).
JBL would of been a greater heel than EDGE. But not in a Competitive role, as GM of Raw or Smackdown. He had the tone of voice and could get any reaction from the fans. One of the things I did notice when he iducted the Blackjacks into the Hall of Fame. He introduction of the tag team was said with a strong tone of voice without the use of line writen on a card.
i am so glad that the so called “wrestling god” left. if is the wrestling god then why did he quit just because rey mysterio won JBL title. i hated JBL. he needed a bra
i agree with you , but not with batista , he is also entertaing
JBL was a heel you loved to hate, but not in the way Triple H, Randy Orton or Edge were/are, as I didn’t respect his character while I do the others.
JBL was one of the greatest heel’s, mic men and commentator’s in the game.
Bore… I don’t think so.
I think it is just weird the way he left. Anyway…