JBL, the brash, bruising cowboy-turned-stock market maven and World Champion, is the latest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020. The “Wrestling God” will take his place in sports-entertainment history on Thursday, April 2, in Tampa, Fla., during WrestleMania 36 Week. JBL joins Batista, The Bella Twins and nWo members Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman and Kevin Nash in the 2020 class.
The road to the WWE Hall of Fame began for JBL in 1995, when he arrived as Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw, an ornery Texan with a propensity for taking his opponents’ heads off with a lariat so devastating that it would go on to be known as the Clothesline from Hell.
But it was when he joined forces with another hard-hitting Superstar, fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ron Simmons, that his career truly began to take off. Known as The Acolytes, Bradshaw and Simmons served as the ruthless enforcers for The Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness, ensuring The Phenom’s will was done and bulldozing anyone who stood in their way.
But when The Ministry disbanded, Bradshaw and Simmons stuck together, showing a little entrepreneurship in the process. The two opened The Acolytes Protection Agency, renting out their services as bodyguards to anyone who could pony up the cash to keep the cold ones coming. The APA always had a line out of their makeshift office door, whether it was Superstars looking for protection or someone looking to get in on their rowdy poker games. The two heavy hitters also racked up three reigns as World Tag Team Champions along the way.
But when The APA closed its doors for good, Bradshaw did not ride off into the sunset. No, instead, he showed us that underneath his gruff exterior lied one of the most cunning competitors in WWE history. Embracing his success on the stock market, John “Bradshaw” Layfield traded in his sleeveless tee and jeans for a white cowboy hat and suit, along with a limousine with bull horns attached to the hood. Though the WWE Universe was not thrilled with the shocking change, it proved to be the jolt that the Texan needed. The tycoon became an immediate contender for the WWE Championship and defeated Eddie Guerrero at The Great American Bash 2004 in a Texas Bull Rope Match to win the title. JBL held onto the championship until WrestleMania the following year, where he was dethroned by John Cena.
JBL went on to capture the Intercontinental and United States Championships, becoming one of the few Superstars that can call themselves a Triple Crown winner. Though he hung up his boots after WrestleMania 25 in 2009, he did not stay away from WWE for long. He returned in 2012, this time as a colour commentator, lending his expertise on the mat game to give the WWE Universe unique insight. After stints calling the action on Raw and SmackDown, as well as a turn as NXT’s General Manager, JBL left WWE to focus on his charity work with at-risk kids and communities through organizations like Beyond Rugby Bermuda and Beyond Sport, where he was named a Global Ambassador.
For his incredible career in the ring and behind the microphone, JBL is being recognized with the ultimate honour: induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Don’t miss JBL take his place in sports-entertainment history during the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday, April 2, during WrestleMania 36 Week. Tickets for the ceremony are available now at Ticketmaster and the Amalie Arena box office.
He was probably the last member of the APA not to be into the WWE Hall of Fame, something that WWE will correct this year. JBL is one of the very few wrestlers whose career covers both the Attitude Era and the Ruthless Aggression time as a wrestler. The former collegiate American football coach turned into a wrestler and now charity ambassador had had a long and tumultuous career in WWE.
After working in Mexico and Japan, then for NWA in the USA, John Bradshaw Layfield signed with WWE in 1995, at the same time than Triple H or Kane. He debuted on January 27, 1996 episode of WWF Superstars as Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw, defeating Bob Holly in his debut match. His initial gimmick was that of a tough cowboy/mountain man with Uncle Zebakiah as his manager. After victories, he branded his opponents with the symbol “JB” in ink, rather than being seared into the flesh. Bradshaw remained undefeated for three months until a loss to The Undertaker via disqualification on the April 1 episode of RAW.
In February 1997, Layfield paired up with his storyline cousin Barry Windham to form The New Blackjacks, complete with the traditional “Blackjack” handlebar moustaches and short, jet black hair. In late 1997 Bradshaw travelled to the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) where he competed as a singles wrestler (without Windham). During his time in the USWA, he helped his former manager in the WWF, Dutch Mantel (known in the WWF as Uncle Zebekiah) defeat Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship. Through 1997 and 1998, he would wrestle Jeff Jarrett, Marc Mero, Taka Michinoku and Vader.
On Sunday Night Heat right before Survivor Series 1998, Bradshaw teamed alongside former Nation of Domination leader Faarooq to form the tag team of the Acolytes, managed by the Jackyl. Their main gimmick was that of a dark duo known for their unrepentant savagery against their opponents, occult symbols painted on their chest and the Necronomicon “gate of Yog-Sothoth” pentagram symbol on their black tights. After the Jackyl left the WWF, Faarooq and Bradshaw joined The Undertaker’s new Ministry of Darkness. As part of the Ministry, Bradshaw feuded with Ken Shamrock. The two stables would soon unite as the Corporate Ministry but disbanded after Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated the Undertaker at Fully Loaded. On May 31, 1999, on Raw Is War, the Acolytes won their first WWF Tag Team Championship by defeating Kane and X-Pac. On the July 5 episode of Raw Is War, they dropped the titles to the Hardy Boyz before defeating them and their manager Michael “P.S.” Hayes at Fully Loaded for their second WWF Tag Team Championship. On the August 9 episode of Raw Is War, they lost the titles to Kane and X-Pac.
The duo became fan favourites and changed their gimmick to that of cigar-smoking bar brawlers for hire. In jeans and t-shirts, Faarooq and Bradshaw became the Acolytes Protection Agency (APA), with a motto of “because we need beer money.” The duo was often seen in the backrooms of arenas with a poker table and later a framed doorway comically in the middle of the often large, open-aired hallways; they insisted that anyone entering the space use the door. Occasionally, if the “room” was destroyed in one arena, it was set up exactly as it was destroyed at the next arena for comic effect. After unsuccessfully challenging for the tag title in 2000, APA won their third WWF Tag Team Championship on the July 9, 2001, episode of Raw is War by defeating the Dudley Boyz. On the October 22 episode of Raw Is War, Bradshaw defeated The Hurricane to win the WWF European Championship, his first singles title in the WWF.
Shortly after WrestleMania in 2002, Faarooq and Bradshaw split due to the brand extension. Bradshaw joined the hardcore division and won the WWE Hardcore Championship eighteen times. He renamed the title the Texas Hardcore Championship. It was also during this time that his finishing move was briefly renamed from the “Clothesline From Hell” to the “Clothesline From Texas” or the “Clothesline From Deep in the Heart of Texas.” After an injury, he and Faarooq reformed the APA. They would feud with the Basham Brothers, the Big Show, Brock Lesnar, among others. SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman made him fire Faarooq. His reason for saying this directly to Faarooq was because it applied only to Faarooq because “WWE Management” still saw a lot of potential in Bradshaw. He left them after telling Bradshaw to think about his own future.
After the on-air character of Faarooq disappeared from WWE TV, Bradshaw proceeded to take on a J. R. Ewing-Esque gimmick, complete with a suit, cowboy hat, and tie as he began his first main event push since Kurt Angle and Big Show were injured and Brock Lesnar left the company, so WWE needed someone to face the current WWE Champion, Eddie Guerrero. He began referring to himself as John “Bradshaw” Layfield, or JBL. He controversially won the WWE Championship from Guerrero in a Texas Bull Rope match at The Great American Bash 2004. Around this time, JBL hired Orlando Jordan to help him in title matches. Though JBL held the title for many months, most title matches were won controversially against Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, and Booker T. During JBL’s time as WWE Champion, he employed a stable named “The Cabinet”. At its peak, the stable contained Orlando Jordan, who was JBL’s “Chief-of-Staff” and Doug and Danny Basham, who were his “Co-Secretaries of Defense.”
JBL lost the WWE Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania 21. Layfield’s nine-month reign was billed as the longest in a decade, lasting 280 days. After feuds with Cena, Batista and The Boogeyman, he suffered a broken hand at the hands of Chris Benoit in a six-man tag team match. Layfield returned and feuded with Benoit, defeating him for his United States Championship at WrestleMania 22. JBL, while still United States Champion, challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship. JBL tried to weaken then-champion Rey Mysterio in the weeks leading up to his title match as Mysterio faced off against any opponent of JBL’s choosing, capitalizing on Mysterio claiming that he was “a man of his word,” and would take on anyone.
After an “I Quit” angle that allowed him to take some time off wrestling due to a serious back injury, he became the new colour commentator for SmackDown. JBL returned to the ring on November 13, 2006, in the main event of a WWE house show in Dublin, Ireland. In December 2007 at Armageddon, JBL was present at the SmackDown announcer’s table during the WWE Championship match. During this match, Randy Orton whipped a charging Chris Jericho over the announcer table where JBL was situated, and in the heat of the match, Jericho “pushed” JBL out of the way. Minutes later, an infuriated JBL kicked Jericho in the head, leading to a disqualification victory for Jericho meaning that Orton retained the title. On the December 17, 2007, episode of RAW, JBL announced that he would resume his career in response to a challenge made by Jericho. Back on RAW, he would feud with Jericho, CM Punk, John Cena, Batista, Kane, Rey Mysterio, and Shawn Michaels.
On the March 9, 2009, episode of RAW, JBL defeated CM Punk to win the Intercontinental Championship, thus becoming the tenth Grand Slam Champion and twentieth Triple Crown Champion. He held the title for one month, losing the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania XXV against Rey Mysterio in 21 seconds. After the match, he grabbed a microphone and said “I quit!” The next day, he announced his retirement on his WWE Universe blog. He would later say he was proud to be able to retire in his native Texas.
On March 31, 2012, Layfield inducted his former tag team partner and real-life best friend, Ron Simmons, into the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame. He came back to the announce table on RAW and SmackDown, made sporadic appearances on TV for APA vignettes, before announcing on September 1, 2017, he was stepping away from the SmackDown Live commentary team to focus on humanitarian work in and out of WWE, mainly as a Beyond Sport Global Ambassador. He created the nonprofit organization Beyond Rugby Bermuda, using rugby union to provide young people with an alternative to gangs. As of February 2017, more than 400 boys and girls were involved in the organization.
Some would remember the controversies in JBL, as he is said to have bullied a lot of wrestlers and commentators. Some would remember his longevity in WWE and his achievements as Champion. Some would remind his uncommon ride to the top of WWE. The fact is the day he signed with WWE, he has remained there and never left. As a patriot, he was heavily involved in Tribute to The Troops annual events as a wrestler and commentator. He had mixed his wrestling career with a business, financial and TV one, and also charity work. That’s maybe the best reason for him to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
All pics and videos courtesy of WWE