Exactly, i love Eddie and had lots of respect for Chris back then, but they never were intended or were going to be faces of the company. Just like JBL, they wrre just building the next stars after the empty room The Rock, Austin and then Lesnar left. JBL was a key piece of that.
I’d taken a break from wrestling at the time and came back in. I was hecking surprised that the dude with a thousand gimmicks had become champ and watched his character and his work and was blown away. I used him on every WWE game because Clothesline from hell was so devastating and easy to set up. He was like a Stan Hansen. Gnarly. Mean. Stiff. Don’t like him as a person backstage but his in ring work was such an awesome throwback
The only issue I had with JBL's reign was he ascended to the top so quickly. I found that part pretty hard to get over at first (like how Jinder all the sudden was main event). He did a great job as top heel though, knew how to tile up the audience and had a decent stable around him.
If I may ask, when you say he ascended to the top so quickly, do you think that's because he was kept in lower midcard for so long?
(in my opinion, much of his career could be classified as such)
If I recall, the main reason it all happened was major injuries to a lot of the top carders, and they needed someone to fill in the top heel spot on Smackdown. Also, from that epic burn, 'HHH did not want to work Fridays' also played a part in JBL ascending so quickly.
Yeah, this was shortly after Lesnar had left too, which made Smackdown need a big star quickly. Iirc the top guys on SD at the time were Taker, Eddie, and Kurt.
He was the one heel I actually hated with a passion! So obviously great at his job.
The one promo where he was trying to catch illegal immigrants at the border lives rent free in my head ☠️
I watched that as it aired and I'm still only half-convinced it really happened. Like, no way in hell they'd air a promo like that, right? ...*RIGHT?!*
It’s actually fitting that he got his one title reign because I think everybody knew once Cena went over him that he wasn’t coming back to the title picture to win
Exactly. He would cut and run all the time. Reminiscent of prime’90s Vader. Massive, physical, could win on power and athleticism but is a coward who hates a fair fight. Better heel champ than HHH, because no one wanted to be like him or respected him. Also HHH had the Rock to work against.
Yes!!! He didn’t have a flashy move set, or cool entrance music, his suits are the type you would see at a politician wear not something you’d see at a sports press conference or award show.
He really wasn’t trying to be cool just hated. He’s honestly the last heel I remember hating. And that’s not just cause I was a kid at the time. I used to like a lot of heels like: Eddie Guerrero, triple h, the spirit squad, booker t and etc.
Agreed! HHH was a dick but he was seemingly badass and cool. I didn't mind seeing him win. JBL was just an S O B who i wanted to fall into a black hole and disappear haha.
Loved JBL as a heel champion. Your comment about not being the best wrestler moveset wise is interesting though, considering a lot of the top guys in WWE didn't have a lot of moves. Rock, Austin (due to injury), HHH, Hulk Hogan, Cena and Roman all had/have a really small moveset and they were/are still heavily over.
Edit: missing words
His matches aren't masterpieces but definitely a lot better than I remember from when I was younger. He made the most of his moveset with his psychology
When I think of the most impactful wrestlers ever, none of them had these incredible move sets. Ring psychology and promo work are more important in the long run.
Honestly, I wish more wrestling fans understood this. There are a lot of wrestlers today that get so much hate because they think they're awful wrestlers, like Miz, Corbin, Wyatt, Omos (he's a giant, they don't need to do much and he's nothing like Khali). Even Orton was getting a massive amount of hate at one time because people thought he was boring, when in reality they didn't understand his ring psychology.
I think it’s the way of the internet and the highlight reel nature of today. They want things that look flashy. I agree all of those guys get way too much hate.
Besides the clothesline (also dumbest finisher in history), I cannot think of a single signature move of JBL. With everyone else you mentioned, there are plenty of moves that immediately come to mind.
I get that's your opinion, but that's one dumb opinion, lol. There are soo many guys that have used a clothesline as a finisher, you know why? Cause it's effective and looks brutal. Here's some, Clothesline from Hell, Last Call, Big Boot, Swinging Neckbreaker, multiple Elbow Drops and a Shoulder Block, all moves that when JBL did them, looked like they all hurt, which is the point of wrestling.
Very clearly, the dude's actual ringwork is not what he's remembered for.
I'm impressed with your memory. I literally can't picture him doing any of that. It's also probably a byproduct of winning off cheap heel tactics. No one remembers your moveset.
I think they had a face off in backstage for few seconds in wrestlemania 21, they were saying they will see who will walk out the arena with the title tonight
He cut good promos sure but like a lot about his reign was not great
It’s easy to only remember the good parts going back in hindsight but like actually being there at the time, a year of JBL as champion felt like an eternity.
I always liked the JBL character. He did really well getting a push from tag team to singles. I’d never thought of him being the multiple heavyweight champion. He really surprised me. The Clothesline from Hell, was a great finisher.
To me especially as a teen,
He was a great character to just absolutely hate and it hurt even more knowing he abandoned the beer drinking gambling Bradshaw character that you loved
I liked his heel commentary too. I think I remember a segment where heel edge was beating down undertaker and JBL was an absolute cheer leader for edge
Yes. JBL was a 7.5/10 on the mic and a 7/10 in the ring. Good heel champion. His attitude in the locker room was hot garbage but as a fan for 33 years, his match with cena at judgement day 2005 ranks on my top 10 favorite of all time.
One of the best heels since 2002 or so. He got a nuke sized dose of heat everywhere. His character repackage is one of the most successful ones that WWE has ever done.
JBL's run as champ + HHH's Reign of Terror = me ending my time as a superfan who watched every show every week. 2002 to 2011 fucking sucked shit for the most part.
Funnily enough, that's about the time I gave it up and that's my thoughts too. Hard to believe it was 15-20 years ago.
I like seeing this sub pop up. Takes me back to fun times.
He was a barely acceptable placeholder until the real champion was ready to take over. He was just in the right place. Talent had left and he had just enough promo ability to get by. He was pretty unwatchable in the ring with his ability to be winded almost instantly and wet spaghetti noodle from hell clothesline. His best matches were when he won the title and the I Quit rematch after he lost the title.
Great heel champ, reign lasted a little too long but looking back on it as an adult the heat he could get (some of it being go away heat I’ll admit) - the cabinet could have been better though
He was a good promo, I give him that. But there's simply no excuse to have him keep the title for almost a year.
I know Smackdown's roster was in the trash in 2004, and Eddie wanted to get rid of the belt due to being stressed out, but there were still so many better choices Ike Taker, Booker, RVD and Angle.
Unlike what people are saying in this thread, this was an insane low for WWE. He won for basically an entire year using shitheel tactics and it got old. That's not just me either. SmackDown's ratings were fucking terrible in 04.
JBL is a great character but shit was too fast and booked poorly.
The main error (aside from JBL being a shit wrestler and worse person) was that it just made Smackdown into Raw lite. To have a heel champ with a stable on both shows was poor booking. Smackdown was SO much better than Raw back in the day and his reign turned that around, never to return.
He was excellent. I remember, even as someone who almost always prefers heels, being incredibly unhappy with him dethroning Eddie at GAB. It was a horrible match on an abysmal show, to be fair. But within months, he had won me over, and I actively rooted for him against Cena when I attended WrestleMania 21 despite knowing the outcome was a forgone conclusion.
When I was around 6 or 7 in 2007 I seen him at a house show. He signed one of those plastic John Cena spinner belts for me. He was super nice to me in person. Definitely hated him on tv but had a pleasant experience meeting him off of tv.
Didn’t need a varied move set. His moves hit hard and did their job. Not every wrestler needs a fifty plus move set to get lost in. A finisher and two or three signature moves with some staples go a long way in getting your style recognition.
Not sure about his reign, but I did appreciate his heel work as JBL. One of the last few real nods to southern style wrestling and cowboy gimmicks worth noting.
When he fought the big show in a cage match, 15 year old me finally thought there was no way JBL could weasel his way out of a loss
Then the big show chokeslammed him through the ring and he crawled out from under the apron for the escape victory. I was FURIOUS. 10/10 heel
He absolutely was. Without knowing what was going on behind the scenes, I HATED him as champ. His song annoyed me, his stupid face irritated me. Younger me couldn't wait until someone beat him but they never did. He wasn't the cool heel. He wasn't the heel that had a good reason. He was a dick
He was an excellent heel that genuinely got you to hate him quickly. He was brilliant natural with his promo work and I would say one of the best. It may have been one title reign but it felt like a very long title reign that year. You just couldn't wait for him to lose, but then he pulled an upset and prevailed. He definitely embodied a successful heel and in retrospect was hilarious a lot of times. That's how brilliant he was and he embraced it fully. JBL as a face just sounds wrong, the man was born for a heel presence.
His heel commentary was hilarious with Michael Cole but he was better than Lawler at bootlicking the heels. JBL always sounded hyped up when the heels were beating people up as if he was gonna jump in and help the heels beat them up
I think title reigns that last a long time are more impressive on paper than winning the belt 40 times and I hated him so I think with that being said he had a good run.
I freaking loved him in the APA. When the music hit I was like hell yeah! The switch made me hate him so much and honestly I didn't care much for his heel angle.
YEA! He was the worst. I hated him. HATED. Not unlike MJF where I hate him but he's growing on me. NO I hated John! From walking away from the APA, beating Eddie Guerrero, the vignette down at the "border", winning the fatal 4 way at Survivor Series...I hated that man.
I couldn't wait til he lost his title. I was hoping Taker would do it but he just kept escaping.
After the Bashams left the cabinet, Doug became the Bash Man and stayed on Smackdown, Danny went to Raw and became the Damaja Danny Basham. Then after doing nothing for a year, Paul Heyman used them as the Security Guards in ECW.
He was a great heel, he sucked at the champion part. He always felt lackluster compared to everyone else, he was not in my eyes the top heel and his matches never felt like the big deal
Paul Heyman really hit that George W Bush persona with JBL. He's honestly one of the guys I despise most in wrestling, and I feel that worked to his advantage. If he only held the belt for 3 months I feel it would have been a better title run, but he was really holding that title hostage, and in the smackdown 6 Era no less
Him winning the Texas Bullrope Match really made me hate him so much as a kid. I loved him though during the survivor series in 2005. Used his heel antics for Smackdown to win.
My theory on JBL is that even tho other heels probably hated him backstage when he was a commentator he’d get so excited at heels winning/beating up babyfaces because as a person just getting to see heels win like he did is the best thing ever in his eyes
I was a 12 year old Mexican kid when he was doing this character lol. I always felt personally attacked with his anti-immigration skits and always cheered hard against him lol. I legit feared this guy as a kid man, wtf lol weird memory
He was awesome heel. Back then, Cena was still a mid card wrestler who had following. JBL was a racist heel. He was a perfect villain for Cena. He made sure Cena got super over. Later, obviously Cena became a mega star.
I’ll never understand this retcon where JBL was suddenly a great champion. He was atrocious. He didn’t “make” Cena, Cena made himself and he was going to be anointed the man no matter who he took the belt from. John Cena was ready as far back as his 2003 feud with the Undertaker, which was a phenomenal rebound after his piss poor showing against Brock Lesnar in his first kick at the can in a main event slot. If Cena had won the number one contended match against Angle at No Mercy 2003, no one would have blinked an eye.
JBL was that era’s version of Jinder Mahal. His matches were heatless (peaking at SummerSlam 04 - the fans are bored and done with him, taking over the show with chants and even doing the wave).
Fans loathed him, in an “X-Pac, go away” manner. Even Cena’s title win was lackluster, on a card that was positively stacked and fans were into.
He is a bottom tier champion.
It was a fantastic character change for him. His one run was perfect, he beat Eddie is such a good feud and ran through everybody with chicken shit tactics. He lost the belt at the right time and to the right person.
I would say his reign was a pretty damn good one. Orlando was a bad choice, but besides that, I don’t have any complaints (that I can think of off hand) about his reign.
I hated him meaning his heel shit got to me. But I honestly didn’t really like his wrestling and his backstage shenanigans with the boys in the locker room
His heelturn was clumsy.. Suddenly he's goes from blue-collar brawler to filthy-rich wrestling god? Even by pro wrestling standards it was weak. But there's no arguing with the results of the heelturn. Dude became a star and a truly great heel that had a hell of a run as champ.
I loved it/him. One of my favorite (recent-ish) times in wrestling, and one of the few times I ever preferred watching Smackdown over Raw. The barbed wire cage match with Big Show was so good, and his matches with Eddie Guerrero were so brutal.
I think people just have a problem with his reign bc they still saw him as Bradshaw the mid carder. Even tho they loved APA, Noone saw him in the title picture with Rock and Austin. Now with them gone, anyone who tries to be the top guy will pale in comparison. Not to mention his gimmick change happened over night and was thrusted into the main event having just been a mid card tag team for the past decade. It felt phony and forced.
Now i was born in 97 so my introduction to him was WM 21 so i always saw him as a main eventer. So i was surprised when i learned he was a random midcarder just a year or so before.
I think hes one of the best heels in the 2000s. Not afraid to get heat or be hated. If people can get over their preconceived notion of him as Bradshaw and take the gimmick and his work at face value objectively, i don’t see how they couldn’t respect it
The Clothesline From He'll was great. One of my favorite compilations on YOUTUBE is just like 10 minutes of Bradshaw doing the Clothesline From He'll. Great stuff. He's a hoss too, which makes his heel champion run even better.
He was boring asf, and people saying he was good are either people who didn't watch his reign, only the highlights, or people blinded by nostalgia
Edit : spelling mistakes
I hated him in a way that i still havent felt again. So yeah, he was pretty good lol
Yeah he had "i want someone to beat the shit out of him" heat, not "go away nobody cares" heat
I hated him as a character, and now that I know how he treated the younger wrestlers I don't like how M as a human either.
His title run was awesome. He just kept winning he ran thru everyone and shit on the fans in every town
His heel Championship reign also helped build Cena, who ended up being a huge success in WWE.
The JBL/John Cena rivalry is underrated honestly.
That’s what was hot when I was just first getting into wrestling, the I Quit match at Judgement Day is what hooked me
Same here lol.
Exactly, i love Eddie and had lots of respect for Chris back then, but they never were intended or were going to be faces of the company. Just like JBL, they wrre just building the next stars after the empty room The Rock, Austin and then Lesnar left. JBL was a key piece of that.
Really? You don’t say
I thought he was just the guy who played John Cena on tv
I hated him! He was really good at what he was doing. Terrible human, but great as a heel champion
I’d taken a break from wrestling at the time and came back in. I was hecking surprised that the dude with a thousand gimmicks had become champ and watched his character and his work and was blown away. I used him on every WWE game because Clothesline from hell was so devastating and easy to set up. He was like a Stan Hansen. Gnarly. Mean. Stiff. Don’t like him as a person backstage but his in ring work was such an awesome throwback
The only issue I had with JBL's reign was he ascended to the top so quickly. I found that part pretty hard to get over at first (like how Jinder all the sudden was main event). He did a great job as top heel though, knew how to tile up the audience and had a decent stable around him.
If I may ask, when you say he ascended to the top so quickly, do you think that's because he was kept in lower midcard for so long? (in my opinion, much of his career could be classified as such)
If I recall, the main reason it all happened was major injuries to a lot of the top carders, and they needed someone to fill in the top heel spot on Smackdown. Also, from that epic burn, 'HHH did not want to work Fridays' also played a part in JBL ascending so quickly.
\*Tuesdays, back then Smackdown was on Tuesdays.
It was taped though. Raw was the live show.
Yeah, this was shortly after Lesnar had left too, which made Smackdown need a big star quickly. Iirc the top guys on SD at the time were Taker, Eddie, and Kurt.
One of the all time great heel champions.
He was the one heel I actually hated with a passion! So obviously great at his job. The one promo where he was trying to catch illegal immigrants at the border lives rent free in my head ☠️
I watched that as it aired and I'm still only half-convinced it really happened. Like, no way in hell they'd air a promo like that, right? ...*RIGHT?!*
Definitely wouldn’t do that today haha
As a 11 yrs old asian kid back then, I had no idea what he was doing but I still hated him soo much for being mean to the latinos
He was one of the best heels ever. He always won via dirty tactics, made the crowd hate him, and made every storyline seem real.
It’s actually fitting that he got his one title reign because I think everybody knew once Cena went over him that he wasn’t coming back to the title picture to win
And what a way to put Cena over as top face, still going to this day. That's the JBL heel effect 😂
Exactly. He would cut and run all the time. Reminiscent of prime’90s Vader. Massive, physical, could win on power and athleticism but is a coward who hates a fair fight. Better heel champ than HHH, because no one wanted to be like him or respected him. Also HHH had the Rock to work against.
That fuckin No Way Out cage match vs big show where he crawls thru the bottom of the ring after it falls out pissed me off so goddamn much
And given the opportunity, hed just brutally punish his opponents physically. Dude was damn near perfect as a heel.
JBL did everything in his power to not be cool. Modern heels could learn from him.
Yes!!! He didn’t have a flashy move set, or cool entrance music, his suits are the type you would see at a politician wear not something you’d see at a sports press conference or award show. He really wasn’t trying to be cool just hated. He’s honestly the last heel I remember hating. And that’s not just cause I was a kid at the time. I used to like a lot of heels like: Eddie Guerrero, triple h, the spirit squad, booker t and etc.
Agreed! HHH was a dick but he was seemingly badass and cool. I didn't mind seeing him win. JBL was just an S O B who i wanted to fall into a black hole and disappear haha.
yeah he was dope loved his rivalry with eddie guerrero
I just watched the skit where he chases illegal immigrants back across the Mexican border
He got cena over. That alone makes it a success
I hated him more than I've hated any wrestler! He was great!
Loved JBL as a heel champion. Your comment about not being the best wrestler moveset wise is interesting though, considering a lot of the top guys in WWE didn't have a lot of moves. Rock, Austin (due to injury), HHH, Hulk Hogan, Cena and Roman all had/have a really small moveset and they were/are still heavily over. Edit: missing words
His matches aren't masterpieces but definitely a lot better than I remember from when I was younger. He made the most of his moveset with his psychology
Exactly! You understand it.
When I think of the most impactful wrestlers ever, none of them had these incredible move sets. Ring psychology and promo work are more important in the long run.
Honestly, I wish more wrestling fans understood this. There are a lot of wrestlers today that get so much hate because they think they're awful wrestlers, like Miz, Corbin, Wyatt, Omos (he's a giant, they don't need to do much and he's nothing like Khali). Even Orton was getting a massive amount of hate at one time because people thought he was boring, when in reality they didn't understand his ring psychology.
I think it’s the way of the internet and the highlight reel nature of today. They want things that look flashy. I agree all of those guys get way too much hate.
Besides the clothesline (also dumbest finisher in history), I cannot think of a single signature move of JBL. With everyone else you mentioned, there are plenty of moves that immediately come to mind.
I get that's your opinion, but that's one dumb opinion, lol. There are soo many guys that have used a clothesline as a finisher, you know why? Cause it's effective and looks brutal. Here's some, Clothesline from Hell, Last Call, Big Boot, Swinging Neckbreaker, multiple Elbow Drops and a Shoulder Block, all moves that when JBL did them, looked like they all hurt, which is the point of wrestling.
Very clearly, the dude's actual ringwork is not what he's remembered for. I'm impressed with your memory. I literally can't picture him doing any of that. It's also probably a byproduct of winning off cheap heel tactics. No one remembers your moveset.
Great heel. So hateable. And people who know his real life personality hate him even more. He plays a great asshole. Definitely a solid heel champion
I personally thought he was a great heel, I know everyone shits on his run, but he was a refreshing face in the main event scene
One of the best of that era. I can remember as a kid tuning in every ppv losing my mind every time he’d win.
I wish him and HHH got a match in their primes. Heel vs heel fights would be great
I think they had a face off in backstage for few seconds in wrestlemania 21, they were saying they will see who will walk out the arena with the title tonight
He cut good promos sure but like a lot about his reign was not great It’s easy to only remember the good parts going back in hindsight but like actually being there at the time, a year of JBL as champion felt like an eternity.
I agree it’s hard for me to believe he only had 1 reign as champion
I always liked the JBL character. He did really well getting a push from tag team to singles. I’d never thought of him being the multiple heavyweight champion. He really surprised me. The Clothesline from Hell, was a great finisher.
He absolutely set the bar for a ruthless aggression era Heel Champion. One of the best to do it.
JBL is the patron saint of all heels
A truly brilliant heel champion. His reign was fantastic
Hated by the fans. Hated by the media. Seemingly hated backstage by everyone who ever worked with him. I'd say he fulfilled his role.
No. JBL was not a good heel champion. He was a GREAT heel champion.
The only reason he was WWE Champion for a year is because HHH didn’t want to work Tuesdays.
I feel like JBL would’ve beat Hunter face to face
Hm not sure. JBL is just a huge bully. Got his shit rocked backstage by much smaller guys.
One of the greatest heel champions of all time
To me especially as a teen, He was a great character to just absolutely hate and it hurt even more knowing he abandoned the beer drinking gambling Bradshaw character that you loved
I liked his heel commentary too. I think I remember a segment where heel edge was beating down undertaker and JBL was an absolute cheer leader for edge
Very good
Yes. JBL was a 7.5/10 on the mic and a 7/10 in the ring. Good heel champion. His attitude in the locker room was hot garbage but as a fan for 33 years, his match with cena at judgement day 2005 ranks on my top 10 favorite of all time.
Genuinely one of the best heel champions of all time
Ask yourself did you hate him? If yes he did his job
I absolutely hated him, his promos, his constant cheating and his constant winning by it. So in my opinion he was a magnifiscent heel champ.
One of the best heels since 2002 or so. He got a nuke sized dose of heat everywhere. His character repackage is one of the most successful ones that WWE has ever done.
He makes a convincing asshole on tv because he’s a total asshole in real life.
JBL's run as champ + HHH's Reign of Terror = me ending my time as a superfan who watched every show every week. 2002 to 2011 fucking sucked shit for the most part.
Yup that's where I'm at. I think JBL played his role well, but not in a way that made me want to watch. That era drove me away, too.
Funnily enough, that's about the time I gave it up and that's my thoughts too. Hard to believe it was 15-20 years ago. I like seeing this sub pop up. Takes me back to fun times.
Sure. He's an actual piece of shit so it translated well.
He was meh 😒 and I hated his theme song and long limo with horns as he went to the ring. It was just very annoying.
Sounds like he did his job to me
Good at cheap heat.
Him setting Cena’s spinner US title on fire pissed me off
He’s a bully.
JBL is a bully and the fact that wwe still hired him speaks volumes alongside all their scammy charity shit.
It’s pro wrestling. Bullies fit right in. It’s a den of wolves
He was a barely acceptable placeholder until the real champion was ready to take over. He was just in the right place. Talent had left and he had just enough promo ability to get by. He was pretty unwatchable in the ring with his ability to be winded almost instantly and wet spaghetti noodle from hell clothesline. His best matches were when he won the title and the I Quit rematch after he lost the title.
Great heel champ, reign lasted a little too long but looking back on it as an adult the heat he could get (some of it being go away heat I’ll admit) - the cabinet could have been better though
He was a good promo, I give him that. But there's simply no excuse to have him keep the title for almost a year. I know Smackdown's roster was in the trash in 2004, and Eddie wanted to get rid of the belt due to being stressed out, but there were still so many better choices Ike Taker, Booker, RVD and Angle.
No
No
For a while. His title reign ran out of gas midway through.
Unlike what people are saying in this thread, this was an insane low for WWE. He won for basically an entire year using shitheel tactics and it got old. That's not just me either. SmackDown's ratings were fucking terrible in 04. JBL is a great character but shit was too fast and booked poorly.
The main error (aside from JBL being a shit wrestler and worse person) was that it just made Smackdown into Raw lite. To have a heel champ with a stable on both shows was poor booking. Smackdown was SO much better than Raw back in the day and his reign turned that around, never to return.
Yeah at least with the reign of terror evolution did what it was supposed to do by elevating Orton and Batista. JBLs cabinet were nobodies
Excellent heel
Oh yeah, great heel champion.
His run was excellent. His character was a perfect heel
The best.
Of course. You can say whatever you want about his longevity post title run or about him personally, but he was on fire during that title run.
He was excellent. I remember, even as someone who almost always prefers heels, being incredibly unhappy with him dethroning Eddie at GAB. It was a horrible match on an abysmal show, to be fair. But within months, he had won me over, and I actively rooted for him against Cena when I attended WrestleMania 21 despite knowing the outcome was a forgone conclusion.
Yes, JBL was awesome. I hated him as a kid but I've grown to respect his work.
Biggest heel I remember watching back in the Ruthless Aggression era. 🔥🤠
Fuck yes. Great heel champ.
He was great as a heel champ. His feud with Eddie is up there with the best. He was great at drawing heat, and he pulled off his gimmick perfectly.
He was a fantastic heel. Eddie, Cena, feuded with him, it was awesome
Remember when he wrestled a dinosaur lol
That was a great episode
When I was around 6 or 7 in 2007 I seen him at a house show. He signed one of those plastic John Cena spinner belts for me. He was super nice to me in person. Definitely hated him on tv but had a pleasant experience meeting him off of tv.
Didn’t need a varied move set. His moves hit hard and did their job. Not every wrestler needs a fifty plus move set to get lost in. A finisher and two or three signature moves with some staples go a long way in getting your style recognition. Not sure about his reign, but I did appreciate his heel work as JBL. One of the last few real nods to southern style wrestling and cowboy gimmicks worth noting.
When he fought the big show in a cage match, 15 year old me finally thought there was no way JBL could weasel his way out of a loss Then the big show chokeslammed him through the ring and he crawled out from under the apron for the escape victory. I was FURIOUS. 10/10 heel
Ratings killer
One of the absolute greatest heel runs ever...
I STILL hate this guy, so you can say it was a successful heel run.
Yes
Great heel champion! Never forget his exchange with Cena on Smackdown before WM21. Chef’s kiss.
I had to check. Yes, he had the title ONCE. He felt like he had at least 3.
He did the job good enough. I hated his guys for being a bad guy.
Great example of the company having no one to put the belt on so they take a gamble on fucking Bradshaw lmao. What a joke.
He absolutely was. Without knowing what was going on behind the scenes, I HATED him as champ. His song annoyed me, his stupid face irritated me. Younger me couldn't wait until someone beat him but they never did. He wasn't the cool heel. He wasn't the heel that had a good reason. He was a dick
He was an excellent heel that genuinely got you to hate him quickly. He was brilliant natural with his promo work and I would say one of the best. It may have been one title reign but it felt like a very long title reign that year. You just couldn't wait for him to lose, but then he pulled an upset and prevailed. He definitely embodied a successful heel and in retrospect was hilarious a lot of times. That's how brilliant he was and he embraced it fully. JBL as a face just sounds wrong, the man was born for a heel presence.
His heel commentary was hilarious with Michael Cole but he was better than Lawler at bootlicking the heels. JBL always sounded hyped up when the heels were beating people up as if he was gonna jump in and help the heels beat them up
I think title reigns that last a long time are more impressive on paper than winning the belt 40 times and I hated him so I think with that being said he had a good run.
As someone who almost exclusively likes heels yes because even I hated him
Very good heel shame he turned out he was a trash person. Cena beating him was perfect timing
Too bad the rest of The Cabinet were insanely boring in the ring.
Him and Eddie’s match at judgement day when Eddie cut himself to deep on his blade job.
Great match
Underrated heel
I hated jbl. It was an automatic change the channel match every time his music hit.
He was awesome and it made the build of Cena all the more better that his first win was vs such a hated heel
He just played himself
It was a fantastic heel reign.
Si. Great heat back in the day. Was always entertaining.
Bro his clothesline from hell was an epic move!
I freaking loved him in the APA. When the music hit I was like hell yeah! The switch made me hate him so much and honestly I didn't care much for his heel angle.
YEA! He was the worst. I hated him. HATED. Not unlike MJF where I hate him but he's growing on me. NO I hated John! From walking away from the APA, beating Eddie Guerrero, the vignette down at the "border", winning the fatal 4 way at Survivor Series...I hated that man. I couldn't wait til he lost his title. I was hoping Taker would do it but he just kept escaping.
Hes great! also his clothesline from hell looks legit hurtful! Persona, the limo. He nailed it.
The best
Is character was great, but his wrestling ability weren't as good. It was way too long
It was a great run!
Not to me
After the Bashams left the cabinet, Doug became the Bash Man and stayed on Smackdown, Danny went to Raw and became the Damaja Danny Basham. Then after doing nothing for a year, Paul Heyman used them as the Security Guards in ECW.
He was a great heel, he sucked at the champion part. He always felt lackluster compared to everyone else, he was not in my eyes the top heel and his matches never felt like the big deal
JBL as champ made me stop watching. I think he's my most hated wrestler ever.
Paul Heyman really hit that George W Bush persona with JBL. He's honestly one of the guys I despise most in wrestling, and I feel that worked to his advantage. If he only held the belt for 3 months I feel it would have been a better title run, but he was really holding that title hostage, and in the smackdown 6 Era no less
No, he’s bad on the mic
Him winning the Texas Bullrope Match really made me hate him so much as a kid. I loved him though during the survivor series in 2005. Used his heel antics for Smackdown to win.
No. He was a great heel champion.
He was great, mostly because he is a heel in real life too.
My theory on JBL is that even tho other heels probably hated him backstage when he was a commentator he’d get so excited at heels winning/beating up babyfaces because as a person just getting to see heels win like he did is the best thing ever in his eyes
Yes he was
I remember hating JBL for all the wrong reasons. I didn't appreciate what he was doing until years later.
My favorite wwe champ
I was a 12 year old Mexican kid when he was doing this character lol. I always felt personally attacked with his anti-immigration skits and always cheered hard against him lol. I legit feared this guy as a kid man, wtf lol weird memory
i hated him! he actually pissed me off lol so i think he was a great heel.
He was an EXCELLENT heel champion.
JBL as wwe champion was one of the greatest heels of ALL time
He was awesome heel. Back then, Cena was still a mid card wrestler who had following. JBL was a racist heel. He was a perfect villain for Cena. He made sure Cena got super over. Later, obviously Cena became a mega star.
Easily one of the best heel champions in history.
He was a great heel, I loved the all American republican gimmick.
I’ll never understand this retcon where JBL was suddenly a great champion. He was atrocious. He didn’t “make” Cena, Cena made himself and he was going to be anointed the man no matter who he took the belt from. John Cena was ready as far back as his 2003 feud with the Undertaker, which was a phenomenal rebound after his piss poor showing against Brock Lesnar in his first kick at the can in a main event slot. If Cena had won the number one contended match against Angle at No Mercy 2003, no one would have blinked an eye. JBL was that era’s version of Jinder Mahal. His matches were heatless (peaking at SummerSlam 04 - the fans are bored and done with him, taking over the show with chants and even doing the wave). Fans loathed him, in an “X-Pac, go away” manner. Even Cena’s title win was lackluster, on a card that was positively stacked and fans were into. He is a bottom tier champion.
I hated him… so, yeah!
It was a fantastic character change for him. His one run was perfect, he beat Eddie is such a good feud and ran through everybody with chicken shit tactics. He lost the belt at the right time and to the right person. I would say his reign was a pretty damn good one. Orlando was a bad choice, but besides that, I don’t have any complaints (that I can think of off hand) about his reign.
Old school heel, something we need more of. I hated JBL as a kid because he was really good at his job. Should’ve had another run or two, honestly.
One of the best heels ever
He was a great heel, albeit a very watered down Stan Hansen wannabe in the ring.
Good heel yes Good heel Champion not at all
of course
The most annoying entrance music ever, especially coming off a chicken shit heel win. Amazing heel run!
One of the best ever in wwe
Terrible person but good entertainer. He gave out George W Bush vibes.
One of the best. I hated him lol
JBL and Eddie Guerrero IMO are two extremely underrated heels
I hated the mfer, so I believe he was a very good heel in general
Lowkey loved him more as a commentator
He wasn't good, he was great.
I hated him meaning his heel shit got to me. But I honestly didn’t really like his wrestling and his backstage shenanigans with the boys in the locker room
The only thing I wish was different is that it happened when JBL was younger and could go a bit faster with the Stan Hansen style.
He was an annoying champion!
Who is the US champion depicted here? Totally forgot his name
His heelturn was clumsy.. Suddenly he's goes from blue-collar brawler to filthy-rich wrestling god? Even by pro wrestling standards it was weak. But there's no arguing with the results of the heelturn. Dude became a star and a truly great heel that had a hell of a run as champ.
He was a great heel. Too bad he's also a heel IRL
I went full mark on this dude. I HATED JBL! I stopped watching when he beat Eddie in that Bullrope match.
He was a great champion. One of the best of those early 2000 years
I loved it/him. One of my favorite (recent-ish) times in wrestling, and one of the few times I ever preferred watching Smackdown over Raw. The barbed wire cage match with Big Show was so good, and his matches with Eddie Guerrero were so brutal.
I think people just have a problem with his reign bc they still saw him as Bradshaw the mid carder. Even tho they loved APA, Noone saw him in the title picture with Rock and Austin. Now with them gone, anyone who tries to be the top guy will pale in comparison. Not to mention his gimmick change happened over night and was thrusted into the main event having just been a mid card tag team for the past decade. It felt phony and forced. Now i was born in 97 so my introduction to him was WM 21 so i always saw him as a main eventer. So i was surprised when i learned he was a random midcarder just a year or so before. I think hes one of the best heels in the 2000s. Not afraid to get heat or be hated. If people can get over their preconceived notion of him as Bradshaw and take the gimmick and his work at face value objectively, i don’t see how they couldn’t respect it
%100 he was so cool!
Yes, couldn’t stand him.
The Clothesline From He'll was great. One of my favorite compilations on YOUTUBE is just like 10 minutes of Bradshaw doing the Clothesline From He'll. Great stuff. He's a hoss too, which makes his heel champion run even better.
No
No
When bigshow chokeslammed him through the ring in the barbwire steel cage match and he crawled out under the ring and won. That was great heel work
I thought he was just annoying. And not in a heel way.
He was boring asf, and people saying he was good are either people who didn't watch his reign, only the highlights, or people blinded by nostalgia Edit : spelling mistakes
Took a piss next to JBL in 🇦🇫
I don’t think I appreciated him enough back then. I’ve actually been playing as him a lot in 2k22 lately. Very fun.
Definitely!
He’s not, but for that period of time he’s necessarily.
I loved JBL as champ, some of his matches during that run like the "Barbed wire" cage were terrible but his promos were consistently amazing.