John Bradshaw Layfield

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Matt D]

+1 for fighting Godzilla.

[Dylan Waco]

I wouldn't vote for him, but I'll defend him a bit because I don't think he's an outlandish pick for the bottom few slots on someones ballot.

 

There have been a lot of WWE wrestler's talked about at length in interesting and detailed ways by Jimmy Redman and others and I love those posts. I don't really have it in me to be that sort of advocate by JBL, but I would point out a few things of note.

 

1. While his run as a lead heel was forced, and not a box office success, in terms of garnering real heat he got it. JBL was legitimately hated, and not in the "get off my t.v." kind of way. You could argue that some of this had to do with the fact that he got to work some well loved babyfaces during his run on top, but it's also worth noting that he was a guy where Cena did not get the split crowd treatment. That tells me he was doing something right.

 

2. He was a snug worker which I will always like, and I'm not just talking about the clothesline. He worked like I would expect a big Texas guy to work, leaning into his big boots, throwing wild haymaker shots to the back, et. His aesthetic and demeanor fit nicely with what he actually did in the ring.

 

3. While not a Mark Henry level shit talker in the ring, he was a great in ring shit talker.

 

4. He had very good blood feuds with Rey, Eddie and Cena. All of them had dramatic, compelling, bloodbath blowoffs or matches that delivered on what the build had been. You might say "so what?" but how many other WWE heels really did this successfully in the last twenty years?

 

5. He fair's very well if we are looking at peak matches. His best bouts v. Eddie, Rey and Cena are legitimately great, and are among my favorite matches from anywhere on Earth in the mid-00s. Though I haven't seen them in years I remember absolutely loving his television series with The Undertaker which I think was in 2005. He doesn't really have depth in this department, but if you are someone who puts a lot of stakes in tip top performance, JBL has a few of those under his belt.

 

6. Really underrated bumper for a guy his size. Not just in the sense that he would let Cena slam him nastily on a car, or he'd commit on a back body drop, but in that he was effective at timing his bumps to maximize their value, and also making sure that they looked visually impressive.

 

7. The Acolytes/APA were a really fun act. Not a lot of great matches, maybe not any. But a lot of fun. Fun is a nice front end additive to his heel run.

 

Of course he doesn't really have longevity and that hurts him a lot in my eyes. But if he had a few more years of 04-06 JBL I'd actually see him as a pretty solid candidate. As it is I'm not certain I'd rate Batista over him, and I like Batista more than most.

[Jimmy Redman]

He deserves credit for having those ridiculously great bloodbaths with Eddie and Cena. Both are legitimate MOTDCs and not many generally-average workers have that kind of high end stuff on their resume.

 

That said, he was generally quite average.

 

He has a couple of really good Rey matches too. They had a banging TV match in 2005 like over a year before their actual feud. I think it was in April 2005 during a tournament, and it was the business. I can't really remember any other memorable singles matches apart from the garbage brawl with Finlay.

 

I say this not as a knock on JBL at all, who is fine, but you mentioned modern guys, and I can probably think of a dozen modern WWE guys who haven't been nominated who I'd consider before JBL.

 

But as Matt says, he absolutely gets a +1 for fighting Godzilla. Thank you for reminding me of one of my favourite skits in all of wrestling.

[JerryvonKramer]

JBL has a shot at my list for those matches and for being pretty effective in his role as an ersatz Million Dollar Man. However, +1 for fighting Godzilla is not a legitimate metric in the A category.

 

I also think there's an argument that JBL was one of the last old-school heels to get over in the modern WWE environment.

[Jimmy Redman]

JBL has a shot at my list for those matches and for being pretty effective in his role as an ersatz Million Dollar Man. However, +1 for fighting Godzilla is not a legitimate metric in the A category.

 

Should be.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

JBL's commitment to being hated is the only thing I like about him. He does have good matches and performances scattered throughout his career (mostly in the back-end), but he has too much average/bad to make it on my list.

[Grimmas]

JBL is a guy I have always liked from the early Bradshaw days until his great JBL run. He's had some amazing matches with Eddie and Cena. I don't think I can justify putting him on the list, but I am a fan.

[Rah]

Mid 2000s JBL is quite enjoyable when he's stuck against cruiserweights. His case might be made on a greatest matches list, rather than a laundry list of random TV matches, but he's intimidating and snug enough that you're more than likely not to waste your time with a random Smackdown match of his during that period. That said, Rey's clearly his career opponent and their series produced some gems that are rather well known.

 

If I'd give a triple-shot primer of lesser-known stuff, I'd probably point someone to these:

Rey Mysterio vs JBL (13/05/2004)
JBL vs Chris Benoit (Cage Match)

William Regal vs JBL (28/04/2006)

 

The Mysterio/JBL match is one I've not ever seen talked up, and it's easily as good as any Mysterio TV match I've seen.

[InYourCase]

I probably like JBL more than I should. His stuff with Rey helps, both the 2004 match that was mentioned above and their 2006 stuff. The Cena and Eddie stuff is wonderful, but he doesn't have any business being near my list. Solid talent at times, but when I think about guys on my bubble, JBL doesn't come close to them.

[El McKell]

I wouldn't put JBL on my list but another really cool performance from him that hasn't been mentioned in this thread is teaming with TAKA to face Togo, Men's Teioh and Funaki at Over the Edge 1998

http://vk.com/video-57741721_166799980?list=2ea71aa5c70e9ef87f

[Childs]

I have never cared about JBL as an in-ring performer. Even his great matches only strike me as great because of my attachment to Eddie and Rey. I didn't care for that Cena match some of you consider a classic, because I never bought the hatred and desperation. I guess the one positive I'd offer is that he seems like a genuinely unlikable person, and he was able to translate that unlikability into the ring.

[WingedEagle]

He had his moments as a character and relished being a heel with heat. Also threw a stiff lariat and seemed to really enjoy roughing people up, which made for some solid moments but never really elevated the matches themselves. I also never saw the Cena & Eddie matches as classics but rather good title bouts that benefited from some all time blade more than anything else. That just doesn't translate to much memorable from his era, let alone from an all time perspective.

[Big Rob]

His All Japan tour with Barry Windham is pretty strong, makes me wonder how far he'd be up the list had he not been stuck in a middling WWF tag tam most of the time until 2004. Gonna watch some of his Europe stuff now since a bunch has been put on YouTube.

[elliott]

I think there's a parallel universe out there where AJPW saw his potential and cultivated it and he put together more of a top 100 career getting to work with the big AJPW names.  Rob, let us know about the best European stuff you watch!

[Ma Stump Puller]

Idk I watched most of his AJPW New Blackjacks RWTL run and it was....fine? Like it wasn't amazing or top 100 whatever unless getting Bobby Duncum Jr to a half decent match is that standard. Giant Kimala II has more of a case in AJPW than him lol. They have a few ok showings against the likes of GET and Triangle of Power, but having "ok" quality matches with two great teams like that is definitely not a metric of much success.