* ApprovalOfGod: Wrestling/TheMiz in 2010 cut a promo LeaningOnTheFourthWall about backstage bullying and getting kicked out of the locker room. In real life, it was Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, but he was being {{Unperson}}ed by WWE and they asked Miz to change it to JBL - since he had bullied him a lot as well. JBL gave his approval of the promo, praising how improved he was on the microphone.
* BreakupBreakout: After Wrestling/TheAPA's second breakup in 2004, Bradshaw reinvented himself as John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). Of course, JBL would have fared better anyway because [[Wrestling/RonSimmons Faarooq]] was ''retiring'', but the JBL character perhaps did better than expected.
* CastTheExpert: As a commentator, JBL was a wealth of old-school wrestling knowledge and it shows in the match he called a "physical masterpiece": Wrestling/WilliamRegal vs. a returning Chris Benoit (at ''No Mercy 2006''). It's like you had a wrestling clinic inside the ring and an all-points lecture guiding you through every hold and strike.
* CreatorBacklash: Bradshaw competed in "''That'' Wrestling/JackieGayda Match" alongside Wrestling/TrishStratus on an episode of Raw in 2002. In an issue of ''WWE Magazine'' (published in 2006), he called it the worst match he'd ever participated in.
-->"The worst thing I've ever been associated with, I was so embarrassed, I wanted to quit the business." -- '''JBL''', ''WWE Magazine'', 2006
* DyeingForYourArt: As Bradshaw he grew his naturally blonde hair long and dyed it black, and grew a beard to go along with it. To many who had first seen him as Bradshaw, it was a major shock when he returned to his natural look when the APA reunited and for JBL.
* FriendshipOnTheSet: Wrestling/AmyWeber had a few months in the company as JBL's 'Image Consultant', leaving after a Japanese tour where she was bullied by Wrestling/RandyOrton and Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}. In a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kWUpBZtr4c 2020 video]] detailing her time in WWE, she said that JBL was "always really good to me".
* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle: He had to cut his hair short when his Wall Street investments went up, and he was required to be there more often and look professional. He used this as a way to change characters to the JBL gimmick.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: He returned as commentator in 2012 after Wrestling/JerryLawler suffered a heart attack at the Raw commentary booth, and JBL filled in for him at that Sunday's ''Night of Champions''. This also led to Wrestling/MichaelCole having a subtle HeelFaceTurn, due to the public sympathy for him having to keep commentating while his partner was being rushed to the hospital, and JBL able to play the heel role easily.
* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: JBL was fired from his real life CNBC gig in 2004 for doing the Nazi salute and goosestepping at a WWE house show in Munich, Germany, in an attempt at CheapHeat. Please note that anything Nazi-related, including Nazi gestures, is illegal in Germany.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: A former WWE writer said JBL was supposed to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Wrestling/{{Rey Mysterio|Jr}} in 2006, but injuries kept him from winning the belt.