So why, you may wonder, has John “Bradshaw” Layfield, or JBL for short, been, well, everywhere in the professional wrestling world as of late, appearing in AAA, MLW, TNA, GCW, and beyond over the past few months? Well, as he noted on Huge Pop, it's because after watching his angle with Baron Corbin go from eh, to meh, to ugh before the latter was written off of television and sent down to NXT for a retooling, he didn't want the final chapter of his professional wrestling journey to be a disappointment, but instead something fun that gets fans talking like the good old days.
“I hope to do something. You mentioned Baron Corbin, and I feel bad because if you're going to blame somebody, blame me. I'm the old guy. I don't want that to be my last memory from wrestling,” JBL explained via Fightful. “If my last memory was Rey Mysterio and 23 seconds, that's how I wanted to go out. The Von Erichs were going into the Hall of Fame, it was in Texas. It was a perfect swan song. Then, I came back, and it didn't work. I don't want that to be the last. I don't know what I'm going to do. I have some ideas, but hopefully, that won't be the swan song.”
One such idea has been his tour through the Indies, which JBL has described as a “recruiting mission” for Triple H in an albeit cheeky manner. Asked about JBL's appearance on his show in an appearance on The Business of the Business podcast with John Poz, GCW owner Brett Lauderdale celebrated his interest in making a “Game Changing” appearance for the promotion, an offer he literally couldn't refuse.
“I'm a big fan of JBL. Who is not? JBL and I have a mutual friend, who will remain unnamed. It's one of those things. JBL is not exclusive… GCW has a reputation for guys like JBL, who are kind of dipping their foot into the independent world for the first time,” Lauderdale explained via Fightful. “They want to go somewhere where they know they can have fun and treat them with respect and present them with respect. It's somewhere where they know it's going to get the attention it deserves, and they're going to be well represented. We have a mutual friend, and I had a good conversation with JBL. JBL is interested in going out and having some fun right now. GCW is one of those places where guys like him can have fun.”
While JBL has been a busy man, throwing Clotheslines, whispering to wrestlers, and getting fans talking, one thing he hasn't done is wrestle a match, as the 57-year-old hasn't worked an official match since a 2014 appearance in the Royal Rumble. Will JBL change that during this run? Only time will tell, but if he's so committed to making this a run to remember, there has to be at least some kind of match to justify all the frequent flier miles, right?
JBL reveals the one job in professional wrestling he never wants again
When it comes to JBL for short, the bulk of his success has come as a member of the WWE Universe.
Sure, he's wrestled matches outside of the promotion, 389 to be exact, according to Cagematch, but when you consider his character, his gimmick, and the vast majority of his accolades, most of it came from working for members of the extended McMahon family, Vince, or now Paul “Triple H” Levesque, within the greater WWE system.
And yet, after his in-ring career came to an end but before he was managing Baron Corbin, JBL tried his hand at being a wrestling agent, helping Sami Zayn along his wrestling journey in the lead-up to his match with Bryan Danielson for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 36.
While some ex-wrestlers may consider becoming a wrestling agent a dream job, as you get all of the fun on the road without taking any of the bumps, it actually made JBL consider his career path, as per his appearance on Huge Pop, he did not enjoy the role at all.
“I don't think so. I've told Sami Zayn this, so it's not a secret. I was Sami Zayn's agent one time and after that, I quit. I love Sami. He's one of the best characters I've ever seen. I love Sami. I was a guy who said, ‘How long you need? 12 minutes. Okay. What's the finish?' That's all I needed,” JBL explained via Fightful. “(Randy) Savage was just like Sami. I remember I called a match at WrestleMania where there was no crowd and Sami was in there with Daniel Bryan. Without the crowd, it sucked and was tough. Sami was screaming at one point. Every time Daniel kicked him. I thought, ‘This is brilliant.' It made the match. He was crying at one point. What a great heel. I love Sami, but I don't want to be his agent. That was my retirement ceremony.”
Say what you will about JBL as a wrestler, as a manager, or as a wandering stranger who shows up at other promotions, lays out talent, and leaves fans with more questions than answers, but one thing you can't say is that he's going to be back in the agenting game any time soon, as, at 57, if he's going to be on the road, it needs to mean something. Fortunately, it sounds like that might just be available to him on the indies, as fans have become incredibly interested in seeing the JBL character outside of the WWE Universe.
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