History Trivia / JohnBradshawLayfield

* 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 {{Un-person}}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.

* 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 was ''retiring'', but the JBL character perhaps did better than expected.

* ApprovalOfGod: The Miz 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 {{Un Person}}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 the APA's second breakup in 2004, Bradshaw reinvented himself as John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). Of course, JBL would have fared better anyway because Ron Simmons 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": William Regal 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'' Jackie Gayda 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.

* 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 for JBL.
* FriendshipOnTheSet: Amy Weber had a few months in the company as JBL's 'Image Consultant', leaving after a Japanese tour where she was bullied by Randy Orton and Edge. 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".

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: He returned as commentator in 2012 after Jerry Lawler 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 Michael Cole 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.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: A former WWE writer said JBL was supposed to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr in 2006, but injuries kept him from winning the belt.

* 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.

* DoingItForTheArt: As a commentator, JBL was a wealth of old-school wrestling knowledge and it shows in the match he called a "physical masterpiece": William Regal 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.

* OldShame: Bradshaw competed in "''That'' Jackie Gayda 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

* DoingItForTheArt: As a commentator, JBL was a wealth of old-school wrestling knowledge and it shows in the match he called a "physical masterpiece": [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW7z4JZWLTs William Regal vs. a returning Chris Benoit]]. It's like you had a wrestling clinic inside the ring and an all-points lecture guiding you through every hold and strike.

* OldShame: Bradshaw competed in "''That'' Jackie Gayda 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.