JBL Reveals The Undertaker’s Role In Vince McMahon Considering Him For WWE Title

JBL has revealed that a promo he delivered in Chicago after being fired from CNBC helped convince WWE that he could become WWE Champion, recalling how The Undertaker and Vince McMahon watched from backstage before discussing whether the company should put the title on him.

JBL’s move into WWE’s main-event scene came quickly in 2004. After the APA ended, Bradshaw was transformed into John “Bradshaw” Layfield and placed into a program with then-WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. JBL has previously admitted that he did not expect such a singles opportunity, but WWE needed someone for Guerrero after changes to the SmackDown roster.

Speaking alongside Ron Simmons on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, JBL discussed the night in Chicago that he believes changed the way WWE viewed him. At the time, Layfield had been fired from his CNBC role following controversy surrounding an incident at a WWE event in Germany.

Instead of going in front of the audience and apologizing, JBL leaned completely into his heel character. He recalled: “Taker’s told the story in Chicago when I got fired from CNBC and I cut the promo instead of going out there and begging for mercy and saying I’m sorry. I went the opposite way and said anybody doubts me as a great American would be like calling Mother Teresa [a whore].” JBL admitted that the language he used was extreme and said it would be difficult to deliver the same promo on WWE television today. More importantly, he believes what happened backstage afterward helped change his career.

According to JBL, The Undertaker was standing with Vince McMahon while the promo was taking place. JBL recalled the conversation that followed: “Undertaker was standing back there with Vince and Vince, you know, Taker’s told the story as well and he said, ‘Am I going to put the title on him?’ Taker says, ‘You think?’ And you know, that was what did it. It was that promo in Chicago.”

For JBL, there was considerable pressure attached to the moment. His new character was still establishing itself after years of fans knowing him primarily as Bradshaw of the APA, and he understood that WWE was giving him an opportunity that might not come again.

“I knew that was sink-or-swim night. Then I got—had the right guy with Eddie Guerrero. You know, like I say, I got very, very lucky. The perfect guy.”

The gamble eventually worked. JBL defeated Guerrero in a Texas Bull Rope Match at The Great American Bash on June 27, 2004, capturing the WWE Championship for the first and only time in his career. His reign continued until WrestleMania 21, when John Cena defeated him for the championship.

Years later, JBL still points to that Chicago promo as the night that helped convince those backstage that his new character could carry the WWE Championship, while also giving credit to Guerrero for being the opponent who helped make the transition work.