John Layfield
John Charles Layfield 
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.jpg) John Layfield at a SmackDown in 2014. |
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| Data | |
| Ring name | Blackjack Bradshaw Bradshaw John Hawk John Layfield Texas Hawk |
| Additions to names | Bradshaw JBL The Wrestling God |
| height | 195 cm |
| Fighting weight | 130 kg |
| birth |
November 29, 1966 Sweetwater , Texas , USA |
| Announced from | New York City , New York |
| Trained by | Brad Rheingans |
| debut | 1992 |
| retirement | 2009 |
John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966 in Sweetwater , Texas , USA ), better known by his ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield or JBL , is a former American wrestler who is currently under contract as a ring commentator for the shows of the WWE .
Layfield's greatest achievement was receiving the WWE Champion title in 2004.
In addition to wrestling, Layfield is also known as a stock market specialist and regularly appears as an expert on the Fox News Channel . He has also written a bestselling book on the subject and also works as a radio host for Talk Radio Network. It is on this fact that the gimmick by John "Bradshaw" Layfield is based.
Life
On February 11, 2005, he married Meredith Whitney, who works as an analyst for the Fox News Channel .
As part of a tour, the wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment made a guest appearance in Munich . Layfield was here along with Booker T a tag team match against Eddie Guerrero and Undertaker dispute. To provoke the audience, he ran with goose- step on the edge of the ring and also showed the Hitler salute, which is forbidden in Germany . Because of this behavior, his collaboration with the CNBC was terminated a little later. In the incident, he only narrowly escaped an interrogation by the German public prosecutor's office, which might have led to an investigation into the use of anti-constitutional symbols .
Layfield supports the US troops stationed abroad and has also visited them in Iraq and Afghanistan , among others .
Wrestling career
Beginnings
After dropping his American football career, Layfield began wrestling. From 1992 he toured the world, where he also stayed in Germany for a while and performed in the CWA . At the end of 1995 he signed a contract with the WWE (then still WWF).
World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (since 1996)
The New Blackjacks (1996-1998)
In the spring of 1996 he appeared on the WWF as long haired and bearded cowboy Justin Hawk Bradshaw , but this gimmick was dropped again at the end of the same year. In 1997 he formed the New Blackjacks tag team with Barry Windham , which also did not last long. In the next year Layfield played only two "big" matches, one of them at No Way Out against Jeff Jarrett .
Acolytes Protection Agency (1998-2004)
From 1998 to 2004 Layfield formed a tag team with Ron Simmons under the name "The Acolytes". Layfield became multiple tag team champion with Simmons and their gimmick developed more and more into hard-drinking bar thugs who offered their services to the Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) for money . The abbreviation eventually became the team name and the orientation they kept until 2004. However, Layfield was also able to win the WWE European Championship and the WWE Hardcore Championship during this time . In 2002, shortly after Wrestlemania, the Acolytes separated as part of the division of the wrestlers into different shows. While Simmons appeared on SmackDown , Bradshaw stayed on RAW . Here one tried for the first time to establish him as a single wrestler, but it failed. The APA team was reunited a little later after Layfield also switched to SmackDown. WrestleMania 20 in 2004 was the last match between the two of them in a team.
WWE Champion and Color Commentator (2004-2007)
After various departures of successful players at SmackDown and due to the resulting gaps, WWE boss Vincent K. McMahon developed a new gimmick for Layfield and enabled him to become a superstar. From then on, he played as John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) a rich, successful Texan who acted like a politician and turned the audience against him as a villain. It was set up by its own group, "The Cabinett". It consisted of Orlando Jordan as "Chief of Staff" - (Those who administer the employees) and the Basham Brothers ( Doug & Danny Basham ), who acted as "Secretaries of Defense" (Secretary of Defense). At the Great American Bash 2004 event , JBL was able to defeat Eddie Guerrero and thus receive the WWE Champion title .
Layfield was allowed to hold the title for a relatively long time and played feud programs with Undertaker , Booker T , Kurt Angle and Big Show during this time . Eventually he had to give up the title in 2005 at Wrestlemania 21 to John Cena .
After a few back matches he was allowed to secure the WWE United States Championship against Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania 22 a year later , but gave it back to Bobby Lashley a little later . After Layfield had denied another feud program against Rey Mysterio , he temporarily withdrew from the active action.
A short time later, he replaced Tazz as a commentator on SmackDown, as he switched to ECW . Layfield was the color commentator for SmackDown (commentators who not only go into the ring, but also the stories around it).
Grand Slam and resignation (2007-2009)
At the major event WWE Armageddon on December 16, 2007, he again actively intervened in the ring, which resulted in a feud program with Chris Jericho . In 2008, various feud programs followed with various opponents, such as John Cena and Shawn Michaels , including matches for the highest title of the promotion, which he should not achieve.
On March 9, 2009 Layfield was allowed to defeat CM Punk and thus became the WWE Intercontinental Champion . He gave this title back to Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania 25 . After the end of the match he announced his retirement from active wrestling because of back problems.
Return as a color commentator (2012-2017)
On July 23, 2012, he and his former APA tag team partner Faarooq made a guest appearance on the 1,000th edition of RAW.
After Jerry Lawler suffered a heart attack in an issue of RAW real , Layfield initially returned for a short time as a commentator on RAW and on Pay-Per-Views. Since the SmackDown show on October 5, 2012, Layfield can be seen and heard alongside Josh Matthews on SmackDown. In November 2012, he announced that he had re-signed a contract with the WWE as a permanent commentator.
Outside of wrestling
Prior to his wrestling career, Layfield was a football player for Abilene Christian University. He also played for the Los Angeles Raiders and the San Antonio Riders and was then a member of the "All-American Team". He was voted “Best Blocker” twice.
Layfield was also active as a finance broker. He has written a book about his success as a speculator ("Have more money now"), in which he gives newcomers tips on investments and market strategies . Through his stint on the stock exchange, Layfield served initially as a conservative analyst on Fox News Channel and later on CNBC . However, his involvement in the media he lost in 2004 in his role as a wrestler.
Wrestling successes
- WWE Championship (1 ×)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 ×)
- WWE United States Championship (1 ×)
- WWE European Championship (1 ×)
- WWF World Tag Team Championship (3 × with Faarooq )
- WWE Hardcore Championship (18 times)
- Grand Slam
- Triple crown
- NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 ×)
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 × with Faarooq )
- Catch Wrestling Association
- CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 × with Cannonball Grizzly)
Memphis Championship Wrestling
- MCW Tag Team Championship (1 × with Faarooq )
- Global Wrestling Federation
- GWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 ×)
- GWF Tag Team Championship (1 × with Bobby Duncum Jr., 1 × with Black Bart)
- Federaciòn Internacional De Lucha Libre
- FILL Heavyweight Championship (1 ×)
Works
- Have More Money Now, John Layfield, World Wrestling Entertainment, 2003, ISBN 0-7434-6633-0
Individual evidence
- ↑ WWE: JBL permanently back at the commentator's desk , accessed on November 8, 2012 on Cagematch.de
- ↑ Ringside , Edition 8/2007, p. 7 ( Power Wrestling Lexicon )
Web links
- John Layfield's profile on wwe.com
- Profile on Cagematch.de
- Profile on Neckbruch.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Layfield, John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Layfield, John Charles (full name); Layfield, Bradshaw (nickname); JBL |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American wrestler |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 29, 1966 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sweetwater (Texas) , United States |