@@TimedRevolver And was threatened with by Steve Blackman but he can have a pass on that one lol. Thing with JBL is he was a bit of a bully but the worse kind - one who can't be knocked down a peg or humbled. If someone stands up to him he'll just go and screw with someone else. He took a lot of pleasure in making people upset for no reason. Conversely you had Bob Holly who again, was a bit of a bully but there was a method to his madness. He was just a grumpy sod who saw himself as the bar for younger wrestlers to overcome.
Bro the sketches they were doing with JBL chasing illegals across the border is some of the greatest comedy ever done in wrestling in a non-hacky way. It was so brilliant. Couldn’t be done today but literally fucking amazing. Dude was mad underrated.
One of the funniest non-sells I've ever seen was at a house match between JBL and Rey Mysterio; JBL gave Mysterio a beating the whole match but then towards the end of the match Mysterio got his hulk-up and knocked JBL down to his knees near the ropes. Mysterio 619ed JBL in the face but JBL just shrugged it off standing up but had a look on his face like Mysterio just insulted him and hurt his feelings. He rubbed his jaw and with a very winy butt-hurt sounding voice accused Mysterio "You, you, you little Mexican jumping bean!" And then gave him a closeline from hell to end the match LOL Mysterio must have flipped head over heals at least 3 times in the air, he probably over-sold it LOL but it was awesome.
Jeez watching taker be a person will never not be weird. This is the same mf who crucified, hung, and buried people yet he's the absolute chillest guy around
@@PatrickGillman I personally wasn’t old enough to see Hansen do any angles, just matches of his but it’s clear Bradshaw modeled himself after him in the ring and his later persona, whatever it was, as I said was cheap heat and not entertaining. The promo equivalent of CZW style wrestling
it was crazy too because they were missing stars at that point. Stone Cold, The Rock, and Mankind were gone. Taker had injuries. Triple H was over on RAW. Kurt Angle had just left the company I remember when they turned JBL heel i was like wtf is going on lmao...but it was really out of necessity
He had a 9 Month reign. But I always said it was a fantastic title reign. JBL wasn't exactly having barn burner matches, but his character work during that time was phenomenal..and I say that as someone who absolutely couldn't believe freaking Bradshaw was given the WWE Championship...but a couple of months into his reign, I was on board.
@@TheViper4Life you know a guy has great crowd heat, when AS SOON as his theme music started up, you could hear a deafening boom of boos lol. that was it with JBL and that cowbell lmao
With all the controversial things - JBL is a f'n legend. Definitely on of the best heel world champions in this century. And one of the best on SmackDown brand
JBL's championship run on Smackdown was legendary. Everyone talks about the stranglehold that Triple H had over Raw back then. But man, those ten months that JBL had the title were something else.
Did you never hear the commentators and announcers call JBL by his full name? He was always announced with his full name when he made his entrance: John "Bradshaw" Layfield.
Kudos to Taker for recognizing JBL's talent He's right though, in everything he says here He had his big run late but man! That was all worth it. Edit: and yeah sure people don't like it, but that just shows how great of a heel he was.
I completely agree with Undertaker here, especially with his regards to JBL’s promos, JBL was fucking awesome when he was cutting an In-Ring Promo and on Commentary. He’s gifted in all arts.
Wwe didn’t want JBL show how much good he was in the ring ( also maybe because of his jimmick not being a wrestler 😂)… I remind one time he break his character and made scare the shit out to both Big Show & Kane in Smackdown Vs Raw matches with his performance 😂
I always wondered why JBL only got that 1 WWE championship reign. Its like they only pushed him so he could put over John Cena and that was a wrap for him.
I think JBL preferred that 1long memorable reign rather than multiple short ones. I remember he cut a promo where his 1 reign is better that Triple H's 10 runs at that time which means he also lost 10times.
Gotta agree with that one. Bradshaw indeed is one of the most underrated guys. He was truly a manace heel who brought ALOT of heat and carried Smackdown on his shoulders for almost a year.
I actually loved Bradshaw in the APA. His attitude was more badass. The way he wrestle was much better. The issue with WWE is that wrestlers don't win championships, gimmicks do. That's why I don't watch WWE anymore. In WWE talent are appreciated by their acting skills rather then their wrestling skills.
I have always been a fan of the APA and more of a fan when he transitions to JBL. One of the great heels in WWE and one of the best finishing move "clothesline of from hell" in WWE.
Back in 2008, with the Wrestlemania revenge tour in Australia, JBL was so funny as a heel because I live in South Australia, and he went on saying that the eastern and western states hate you and I hate you too 😂😂
Bro what a great choice I was thinking Sheldon, RVD, Matt Hardy or Mark but when he said JBL I was like hell yes I remember he had longest winning streak and him changing his persona was awesome
Man It’s so cool watching the undertaker tell all these anecdotes, specially after spending my whole childhood thinking he really was like this paranormal being
Watching wrestling for over 40 years and being around several indie promotions in the south east when my dad was a referee, booker, and promotor. For me the most underrated wrestler has to be George South.
Freakin LOVED the APA!! After team 3D and of coarse behind Brothers of Destruction, easily a top 5 Tag team. They didn't make it big, but they made WWF BIG!! DAYUM!!
I actually really agree. Jbl was poppin when i was a kid and boy, you loved to hate him. He won when you thought he was gonna loose. They really pushed the length of his title run. Some crazy matches with eddie too
Dude that throw, Mankind from the top of the cage... that was the only thing some of my friends and I were talking about in 8th grade one week lol... I cant believe he did that.
Had jbl existed today there would be a bunch of idiots thinking he was the face and completely miss the satire just like they are doing with homelander.
Really good answer. The amount of People who get called underrated who are clearly rated is unreal. The JBL character really brought out the best in him. His run as champ Was great.
About 2 weeks before Eddie Guerrero passed away , they had a smackdown show in my town. Jbl had cut a promo calling us border jumping mexicans and all kinds of stuff and even flipped us off, lol. He was such a good heel and pissed everyone off so much that we were all gathered around his limousine and wouldn't let him leave after the show. Eventually, the police did show up and escorted him out. This was 2005 , Redding CA.
Mankind is forever underrated even as big as he was. He doesn't get enough flowers. It's always Undertaker, Rock, Stone Cold, And Triple H. But he was right there with all of them! Aka Cactus Jack... bang! bang!!
I remember when the JBL gimmick first started and it absolutely broke my heart because I absolutely loved Bradshaw and the APA and I hated the hair cut and dye job (or lack of one, maybe? Not sure honestly lol) but he was such a good heel. Made me hate him so much when a year earlier he was one of my favorite mid carders.
I’d be scared of Bradshaw in an alley but JBL I think I’d knock tf out of. That’s amazing character work. Don’t get me wrong I’ve heard he’s a knob but as far as wwe goes , he’s top notch
JBL was amazing at playing a big dude that was a believable coward. Most dudes his size won’t even try and when they do try, can’t pull it off. He’s an actual good worker.
JBL was a great modern-day version of Ted DiBase. Smug, arrogant, with that smile that you wanted to smack. Just made it that much sweeter when he lost. Still remember he "I Quit" match with Eddie where he just went "Ok son, I quit!"
One of the best heels ever. Simply because he didn't have to force the bad guy like everyone else does when they go heel. JBL was a just a character that was a natural heel. Like Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle.
I’ve never seen a switch flip from low/mid card to top guy quicker than JBL did in the spring of 2004. At Wrestlemania 20 the guy was lost in the shuffle in a bad tag team turmoil match, two months later he’s got mega heat and main eventing in a bloodbath against Eddie Guerrero at a sold out Cow Palace for the WWE Title, filled with Latinos who wanted to see him get killed. He was the best character of that era and was perfect for the heel during the era of the Bush Administration.
Back in the day, I was a huge JBL fan. Always thought his heel run was underrated. It’s good to see that all the heat I got as a kid for rooting for JBL has survived the test of time.
I remember when I first realized JBL was Bradshaw from the APA... I was embarrassed of myself knowing the name was right there, but he didn't look the same to me. The APA were one of the best parts of Attitude Era to me.
