I'm a JBL Fan - & Proud of It!

I think it was about eight or nine years ago when I saw the first big television match of a man mountain of a wrestler in the WWF. Dressed in a cowboy hat, carrying a cowbell to the ring, and accompanied by his Uncle Zebakiah, Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw put in a hell of an effort against the phenom himself, the Undertaker.

In those days, Bradshaw was just another generic big man wrestler in a company filled with over-the-top and sometimes outdated gimmicks, at a time when they were also being soundly beaten in the Monday Night Wars by a company that would cease to exist just a few years later.

Although I was impressed by his efforts against the Dead Man that day, I never thought that he would ever be championship material. Well, I thought he would enjoy a run as Intercontinental Champion, but as far as the big prize goes, that was certainly a no-no.

After that impressive television match, Bradshaw just seemed to float around the lower mid-card ranks, not really going anywhere. Around that time Barry Windham had returned to the fold as the Stalker, but it wasn't long before both of these tough Texans were paired together, with a gimmick that didn't exactly set the world alight.

The New Blackjacks, although they paid tribute to a great team from wrestling's past, didn't exactly reek of originality. Blackjacks Windham and Bradshaw worked well together, but the times were changing. The die hard fans were no longer buying into cartoon-like gimmicks.

The Blackjacks split up when Windham defected to Jim Cornette's NWA faction. However, instead of a feud between former partners, Bradshaw feuded with NWA North American Champion Jeff Jarrett. Once again the tough Texan enjoyed a good series with Jarrett, but again he came up short. Mind you, the National Wrestling Alliance invasion of the WWF was little more than a poor man's NWO.

Bradshaw, now a man without a purpose, and a gimmick, floated around, becoming little more than a glorified jobber, while forming unsuccessful tandems with the likes of Terry Funk. It wasn't until a former foe began a reign of terror that Bradshaw came to the fore again.

When the Undertaker began to recruit forces for his Ministry of Darkness faction, two of the charter members were Bradshaw and Faarooq. Ron Simmons had enjoyed a great deal of success as the leader of the Nation of Domination, but after he had been ousted by rising star the Rock as leader of the group, like Bradshaw, his career had floundered somewhat.

As the Acolytes, Faarooq and Bradshaw became the Undertaker's hired guns, doing the Dead Man's bidding. While going on to win the WWF Tag-Team Championship in the process, and even when the Undertaker's Ministry merged with the McMahon's Corporation, the Acolytes remained a vital part of the team.

But when the Corporate Ministry angle reached it's natural conclusion, many thought that Faarooq and Bradshaw's team would come to an end, after all, they could hardly remain Acolytes if they had no leader to follow.

But once again, Bradshaw's gimmick would be tweaked a little. The devil worshipping Acolytes soon became the beer drinking, card playing, ass kicking sons of bitches when the Acolytes Protection Agency was formed. They were now doing the three things they loved most, and even earning a few bucks while doing it.

At a time when anti-heroes were getting more cheers than whiter-than-white college boys, the APA fit right in. They may not have put on the best pure wrestling matches in WWF history, but the gimmick never called for that. They were ass kickers, pure and simple, and more importantly, they were over.

But in the middle of their prime, the brand extension happened, and it hit the APA hard. Despite being one of the most popular teams on the roster, Bradshaw and Faarooq were forced to go their separate ways, as Faarooq made his way to Smackdown, and Bradshaw made his way to Raw.

While keeping the APA part of his gimmick, Bradshaw returned to his roots a little by once again donning the cowboy boots, hat and cowbell. He also found his niche in the hard-core division, holding the company's ugliest title belt for a time. It was also around this time that he began to feud with the WWF version of the New World Order. As the writers tried to push him into the main event picture on Raw, two things impeded his progress - the fact that his first credible opponent was Scott Hall, and a knee injury that put him on the shelf for an extended period of time.

It was during his injury that the creatives realised that they had made a couple of mistakes during the original brand extension. Not long after the Dudleys reunited on Raw, Bradshaw reformed his APA partnership with Faarooq on Smackdown. No explanation was ever given as to Bradshaw's sudden appearance on Smackdown. He just appeared.

It was as if they had never been apart. Picking up where they left off, the APA once again spent their time drinking beer, playing poker and kicking ass. But this run didn't last as long this time.

Drawing the ire of Smackdown General Manager Paul Heyman, a match stipulation saw Faarooq fired from the company. What made matters worse for Faarooq was that his partner refused to stick up for him.

This was the opportunity that the creatives needed. In recent times, the man behind the Bradshaw character, John Layfield, had earned quite a reputation playing the stock market, so much so that he had written a book on the subject, and also worked as a financial analyst on American television.

Taking on board several aspects of his second career, Bradshaw morphed into John Bradshaw Layfield, or JBL. A Million Dollar Man for the 21st century, JBL gave up the gambling and beer drinking, instead wearing the finest clothes that money could buy, and travelling to the ring in a shiny white limousine.

While, for various reasons, Bradshaw had failed as a main event man on Raw, the gimmick changes helped JBL become a main event player on Smackdown, as he was immediately thrust into the main event and a program with WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero.

While many expected that Latino Heat would retain the title in this bloody feud, it wasn't a shock when JBL won the belt in a Texas Bull rope match, even though the manner of his win was somewhat controversial.

An so JBL became WWE Champion. Proclaiming that he was one of the greatest Americans alive today, JBL took to the title like a duck to water. He shook the hands of the fans (although he washed his mitt afterwards), proclaimed his brilliance in all areas of live, and even took on a chief of staff, in the form of Orlando Jordan, who, like JBL a few years before, had been floundering without direction, in the lower mid-card ranks.

And then, at Summerslam, his career came a full circle, as he defended this title against the Undertaker. The match may not have been as good as their first bout all those years ago, but it served it's purpose.

I think it's safe to say that as far as the Internet and the mainstream wrestling press goes, John Bradshaw Layfield will never be one of their favourite wrestlers. They will take every opportunity to criticise the man. Of course, sometimes he gives his detractors ammunition. You only have to look back to his Hitler salute in Munich, and his subsequent firing from CNBC, to see that.

But the thing is that ever since I saw that first bout with the Undertaker all those years ago, I've been a fan. I know that JBL is not the best technical wrestler in the world, but when you take a look at things, not one of his gimmicks has ever called for him to put on great technical matches. Whether it's been as a cowboy, a Blackjack, an Acolyte, or as a gambling, beer swilling, ass kicker, his character has always been a brawler.

Since Bradshaw became JBL he has become one of the most entertaining characters in the WWE. It's widely acknowledged that Smackdown is the lesser of the two brands. This may be the case, but JBL is certainly one of the most watchable aspects of that show. It's still early days as far as his championship reign is concerned, but JBL is certainly growing in the role.


I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a fan of John Bradshaw Layfield, but I am left to wonder if perhaps a large amount of fans are little more than sheep, following the rest of the flock. Are they saying that JBL is a poor wrestler because the main magazines and websites keep telling them that he is a poor wrestler? If this is the case, then I have severely underestimated the power of the wrestling press.

It's either this, or I'm not just seeing something that everyone else seems to be missing. But whatever the case, I'm a JBL fan, and proud of it!