Tag: JBL

AAA Triplemania 32 notes: New champions, JBL, Rey Mysterio

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Notes from Triplemania XXXII in Mexico City.

The third night of Triplemania on Saturday saw Alberto El Patron defeat Nic Nemeth to become the new AAA Mega Heavyweight champion. Nemeth was accompanied to the ring by former WWE star JBL. The finish came after Patron threw water in Nemeth’s eyes and low blowed him for the win.

An angle took place after the match that saw Alberto turn on authority figure Latin Lover, revealing that he was “The Eye” that had been attacking AAA talent. He joined forces with Konnan and AAA president Dorian Roldan, leaving Latin Lover a bloody mess. JBL entered the ring, looked at Latin Lover, then shook hands with Alberto before leaving.

Other title changes saw Matt Riddle defeat Komander and Laredo Kid in a three-way match for the AAA Cruiserweight title. Raj Dhesi (Jinder Mahal) and Satnam Singh defeated Negro Casas & Psycho Clown and Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal in another three-way match for the AAA Tag Team titles.

The show also celebrated the career of the original Psicosis, Nicho El Millonario, as he was inducted into the AAA Hall of Fame. Rey Mysterio appeared via video and paid tribute to his longtime friend and rival.

In the main event, the second Psicosis ended up losing his mask in a mask vs. hair steel cage match, with Cibernetico being the last to leave the cage. Psicosis II revealed himself as Juan Gonzalez Cruz, who has been wrestling for 27 years.

Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches set for WWE NXT

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has revealed the next round of Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs and Blair Davenport vs. Thea Hail will air on NXT this Tuesday (November 21). The winners will qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge bouts that are taking place at NXT Deadline on Saturday, December 9.

In storyline, these competitors were chosen by JBL. WWE has been using legends to announce the Iron Survivor Challenge qualifiers. Mick Foley and Lita revealed the first two weeks of matches.

Dijak and Trick Williams have already qualified for the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge match at Deadline. Tiffany Stratton and Lash Legend are the first two competitors to qualify for the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

At Deadline, the Iron Survivor Challenge matches will determine new number one contenders for the NXT Championship and NXT Women’s Championship.

Tuesday’s NXT episode has already been taped in advance. Spoilers from the taping can be found here.

Here’s the updated announced lineup for Tuesday’s NXT:

  • Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match: Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs
  • Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match: Blair Davenport vs. Thea Hail
  • NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria defends against Xia Li
  • NXT Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar defends against Chad Gable
  • Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade
  • Eddy Thorpe vs. Charlie Dempsey

Lita, JBL, Jerry Lawler to pick Iron Survivor Challenge qualifiers for WWE NXT

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Three more WWE Hall of Famers will announce Iron Survivor qualifying matches.

It was revealed in a video package that Lita, JBL, and Jerry Lawler will announce future qualifying matches for the Iron Survivor Challenge, which will take place at NXT Deadline on December 9 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The video revealed that Lita will make the next qualifying matches for next week’s NXT.

Over the weekend, a video by Mick Foley was posted on social media where he made the first qualifying matches. On Tuesday’s NXT, Tiffany Stratton and Dijak went on to become the first to qualify, defeating Fallon Henley and Tyler Bate respectively.

For last year’s Iron Survivor Challenge matches, a panel consisting of Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Alundra Blayze, and Molly Holly determined who would compete in the matches. Roxanne Perez and Grayson Waller went on to win the Iron Survivor Challenge at last year’s Deadline. Perez would go on to win the WWE Women’s Championship, while Waller failed to capture the NXT title.

Report: JBL not scheduled to appear regularly on WWE TV going forward

Posted on by Ian Carey

JBL’s WWE managerial career might be over.  

According to a report from PWInsider, the former WWE Champion is not scheduled to appear regularly on WWE programming moving forward. 

JBL had been used as a manager in recent months after taking on Baron Corbin as a client in October. Corbin has not been pushed in the time since, however, and hasn’t won a match since defeating Akira Tozawa on the November 14, 2022, edition of Raw. Including house shows, he’s lost 17 straight matches. 

JBL dropped Corbin as a client in a backstage segment following his loss to Dexter Lumis on Raw this week. The 56-year-old was quite adamant that his legacy was being hurt due to his association with Corbin. 

JBL said to Corbin:

There ain’t no “we.” I headlined WrestleMania, I sold out arenas all over the world, I was must-watch television. You are channel-changing television.

That sound you hear when you get in the ring, that’s remote controls around the world changing the channel to watch anything but you.

And I don’t give a damn about you. I give a damn about the fact that my Hall of Fame legacy, my championship laden career has lost all credibility because of you.

Modern day wrestling God? I’ll tell you what you need, not some cute litte shirt, is a red nose and floppy shoes because you are a clown. You do not belong near me.

You do not belong near me.

You can’t polish a turd, I tried. 

JBL was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020. He’s a former WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, European Champion, and won the Tag Team Championships on three occasions with Ron Simmons. He was voted Best Gimmick in 2004, and Worst Television Announcer in 2014 & 2015 in the annual Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards. 

JBL poker tournament added to WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A new segment has been announced for Monday’s WWE Raw episode. 

As announced on Friday’s SmackDown show, JBL will host a “high-stakes poker tournament” on Raw. 

The poker tournament plays off a series of backstage skits involving JBL and Corbin playing poker, including a show-long storyline on the November 14 Raw where Akira Tozawa handedly defeated JBL and Baron Corbin in the game. 

JBL returned to WWE television as a regular character in October, serving as a manager to Corbin.

The poker tournament joins an Undisputed WWE Tag Team title match with Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso defending against Matt Riddle and Elias in the lineup for the Monday, December 5 Raw, to be held at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC. 

Here is what is announced for Monday so far: 

WWE Raw, Monday, December 5 —

  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. Matt Riddle & Elias
  • JBL hosts a high-stakes poker tournament

Baron Corbin traded to WWE Raw, aligns with JBL

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Baron Corbin, reverting back to that name, has been traded to Raw and is now aligned with JBL.

JBL introduced Corbin as the newest member of the Raw roster on Monday’s show. He explained that with Rey Mysterio moving to Raw, a trade has been made, with Corbin now officially on the Raw brand. Corbin proceeded to defeat Dolph Ziggler following the End of Days.

After introducing Corbin, JBL said that Corbin could succeed in any era, including the Attitude Era. He also said that Ziggler had been stealing money from WWE for years, and that Corbin was the current Wrestling God, a term JBL frequently used himself during his run as a main event star.

Corbin was last seen in early September, losing to Shinsuke Nakamura on the September 2 episode of SmackDown. Later in the show, as Corbin was sulking in the parking lot backstage, JBL pulled up next to him in his white limo and told him to get in.

June 28, 2004 Observer Newsletter: JBL CNBC firing turned into an angle, tons of news

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The John Layfield situation remained controversial all week, with the pro wrestling mentality surfacing its head as the week went on.

On Smackdown, his firing from CNBC was turned into a storyline, which must have made some people unhappy, since the interview in the ring contained many negative things about the network that didn’t end up airing.

The main things edited out, apparently from UPN not wanting it on the show, was Bradshaw saying CNBC’s ratings might as well be in the witness protection program, and that without him, CNBC was little more than the stock market ticket. Some criticism of CNBC did appear, but UPN was said to have been negative about it. What did air was probably his best promo, as far as delivery went, ripping on the fans, although all the cracks on the liberal news media made no sense because wrestling espouses conservative viewpoints (I’ve never been comfortable with it, thinking when you play ideological politics in the babyface/heel role you’re alienating parts of your audience).

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June 14, 2004 Observer Newsletter: JBL/Germany controversy, potential bad summer for wrestling

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

John Layfield caused a lot of controversy, and lost his CNBC jobs, stemming from his actions on the 6/5 show in Munich, Germany, when he kept goose stepping and making Nazi signs on six occasions. The actions took place during a series of matches that started with a singles match with Eddy Guerrero, turned into a handicap match when Booker T joined in, and finished as a tag team match when Undertaker helped out Guerrero.

According to several live reports, most of the fans did not find this the slightest bit entertaining. Of course, he didn’t do it to entertain as much as attempt to get heel heat. Goose stepping and saluting Hitler are illegal in Germany, although it’s very possible he didn’t know that. No charges were filed, and Layfield, 36, worked the next night in Oberhausen, where he did nothing of the sort, and left the country without incident. 

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May 24, 2004 Observer Newsletter: WWE Judgment Day, career of Pepper Gomez

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The WWE Judgment Day PPV needed a home run going into the main event, and Eddy Guerrero and John Bradshaw Layfield responded with one of the bloodiest matches in company history.

When the night was over, the ring was filled with puddles of Guerrero blood, and Guerrero himself, after the adrenaline wore off, went into shock and had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance due to excessive blood loss. After the TV cameras went off, he collapsed in the ring from blood loss, and had to be helped backstage, where an ambulance was called. Guerrero took 16 stitches in the forehead from the ridiculously deep cut. At the hospital, they suggested him getting a blood transfusion, but he turned it down, and they pumped two bags of fluids into him for a while before letting him go at 1 a.m. that night.

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New Untold episode to premiere on WWE Network this weekend

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The WWE Network’s WWE Untold episode on The APA (Acolyte Protection Agency) is set to premiere this weekend.

WWE has announced that WWE Untold: APA will debut on the WWE Network on Sunday, February 7. It will be available on-demand starting at 10 a.m. Eastern time and will also air on the WWE Network live stream at 8 p.m. Eastern later that night.

The Acolytes (Farooq & Bradshaw) became The APA on the January 31, 2000 episode of Raw. Bradshaw (John Layfield) was set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame over WrestleMania week last year, but that’s been delayed to this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Farooq (Ron Simmons) was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.

A Best of The APA collection will be uploaded to the WWE Network on-demand at noon Eastern this Tuesday as part of the Best of WWE section. The Best of The APA collection will also be available on the free version of the WWE Network.

The most recent episode of WWE Untold prior to this aired in January and was focused on AJ Styles making his WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble.

Last night, the APA Untold episode was featured in an advertisement of new programming coming to the WWE Network soon. The advertisement also revealed that a WWE 24 episode on Big E, an episode of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions with SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks as the guest, a WWE Icons episode on Beth Phoenix, and a Goldberg documentary are coming to the WWE Network.

JBL to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Bryan Rose

JBL will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

It was announced tonight on WWE Backstage that JBL will be a part of this year’s ceremony. John Cena later appeared via satellite and congratulated JBL on being inducted.

JBL joined WWE in 1996 as Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw. He later formed a team with Barry Whindham and together they were known as The New Blackjacks.

His big break in WWE came in 1998 when he and Farooq (Ron Simmons) teamed up as The Acolytes. They were originally managed by The Jackyl (Don Callis), but once Callis departed from the WWE they joined The Undertaker’s Ministry stable. When that storyline ended, they tweaked their gimmick, forming the Acolyte Protection Agency where they would protect other wrestlers for a fee.

Bradshaw and Farooq would continue to team together until 2004, when Farooq departed from the company. He was then repackaged under his real name, John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield, amplifying his real life success as a stock market investor. It was under this role where he would win his first and only WWE title, defeating Eddie Guerrero on June 27, 2004.

He would continue to find success as a singles wrestler until 2009, when he retired from in-ring competition. In 2013, he joined the WWE broadcast team and continued to call Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-view events until 2017, when he departed from the company.

Batista, the New World Order (Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and X-Pac) and The Bella Twins have already been announced for this year’s ceremony, which takes place on April 2.

JBL announces his departure from WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former WWE Champion John “Bradshaw” Layfield announced Friday night that he is going to be “stepping away” from WWE SmackDown to focus on charitable endeavors instead.

“After much consideration, I will be stepping back my weekly role as Smackdown Announcer to dedicate more continuous time on the work I have done since 2010 with at risk kids and communities. My new schedule will allow me to continue to be a part of the WWE family and also continue my work that I feel is the most important thing in my life. I will continue my 20+ year relationship with WWE and will appear on such marquee shows as Tribute to the Troops, WrestleMania, amongst others.

With the help of Beyond Sport, I founded Beyond Rugby Bermuda in 2010–which has been recognized as one of the world’s best charities for work with at risk, gang focused, youth intervention. Beyond Rugby Bermuda won the 2014 NACRA Fair Play Award out of 7,000 programs and 17 countries for its work with at risk kids. I was named as a Beyond Sport Global Ambassador–an organization backed by all major sports leagues in the U.S.

I’m proud to say that in addition to being Smackdown’s longest reigning WWE Champion, I inspired WWE’s Tribute to the Troops over 10 years ago. WWE has been my partner in all my philanthropic works and this new deal with WWE ensures that will continue. WWE has made my dreams come true and helped me become a global name. And now, WWE is helping me use that name to make a difference.”

That leaves Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton on the SmackDown announce desk, a spot Layfield had sat in since the July 2016 WWE Draft. By Layfield’s post, it’s assumed the change is immediate, but WWE has yet to comment publicly on the change.

The 50-year-old came under fire earlier this year for allegations of bullying former broadcast partner Mauro Ranallo. While he was never punished or admitted wrongdoing , Layfield did make a statement after Ranallo left the company.

WWE and Mauro Ranallo come to terms on settlement

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

WWE and Mauro Ranallo reached terms on a settlement today which included statements by Ranallo and JBL to attempt to end the story.

Newsweek had been working on a major story on the situation which led to the sides reaching a settlement and a new story just came out with the news where Ranallo and JBL both spoke and Ranallo said his leaving had nothing to do with JBL.

“WWE and I have mutually agreed to part ways. It has nothing to do with JBL,” “Ranallo wrote via e-mail.

As part of the deal, Ranallo will remain under contract through August 12th, although his deal allows him to do anything except pro wrestling. Ranallo has said that he will broadcast pro wrestling in the future.

Layfield was quoted as saying, “Admittedly, I took part in locker room pranks that existed within the industry years ago,” Layfield told Newsweek in a statement. “WWE addressed my behavior and I responded accordingly, yet my past is being brought up because of recent unfounded rumors. I apologize if anything I said playing `the bad guy’ on a TV show was misconstrued.”