The Transformation from Bradshaw to JBL.

[Sumbody Gon' Get Dey Kneelift]

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who woulda thunk?

[Deleted]

There are just certain heels you can't wait to see their asses get kicked and JBL was one of them, he was great in his role. I remember it came out of nowhere and I was thinking "No way he's going to get a world title like this" and before I knew it he had a belt. The belt looked great on him too. I was so glad they actually put time and made a guy they've had for a while work and JBL really stepped his game up.

[Nic Nemeth]

IMO, him, Edge, and JBL were the top 3 heels of the brand split era just because of the lengths they would go to for winning/defending their titles.

[Kayfabe FAN don't want none]

Sept 15, 2013 3:06:43 GMT -5 Nic Nemeth said:

IMO, him, Edge, and JBL were the top 3 heels of the brand split era just because of the lengths they would go to for winning/defending their titles.

I only remember one JBL. Where did the second come from?

[Cvslfc123]

Sept 14, 2013 22:46:35 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

'ite. For some reason I was thinking the APA and Dudleys were both broken up by the draft at the same time, with Bubba being pushed hard on Raw and JBL being pushed on Smackdown. Maybe it was another team the year of the Dudleys I'm thinking of.

The APA were split up in 2002 due to the draft aswell. Bradshaw would have several Hardcore title reigns, whilst Farooq did pretty much nothing other than form a brief tag team with D-Von, before they both disappeared off TV until they re-united in 2003.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

They really pushed him to the title way too fast.

There was no reason for me to buy into new GM Kurt Angle putting so much faith into Bradshaw, the guy who had spent the last six months losing to the likes of the Basham Brothers and the rest of the nothing-happening Smackdown tag team division, being the one to take down his hated rival Eddie Guerrero and lead his show. Remember that the impetus for the JBL turn was the fact that BOTH of the Acolytes were in career vs. title match against Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty and they couldn't get the job done, but Heyman agreed to only fire Simmons after the fact because of Bradshaw's financial aptitude.

I also thought that Booker T's potential angle with Eddie where he invoked the idea of Smackdown being a lesser show and being mad about being drafted off Raw would have been a more compelling angle at the time. They could have put over Eddie and Smackdown in general with that feud while JBL washes off the midcard stink and gets some wins over someone like RVD. Then, imagine the JBL vs. Eddie WWE title match at Judgment Day actually occuring at Summerslam that year. That could have put butts in seats, as opposed to drawing some of the worst buyrates ever at the time.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

I wasn't watching at the time, I just remember turning on Smackdown and seeing that Bradshaw was champion and loudly exclaiming 'what the f***?' despite there being no-one in the room.

Watching his work in hindsight, he became a legitimate main eventer, you could buy him hanging with the big boys, but it seems like the stuff that didn't involve Eddie sucked.

Saying that, everything before or since is worth it for the Eddie feud. Eddie was so over, Bradshaw was so over, the matches were pushing five stars at times as far as I'm concerned - it was a fantastic feud.

[the2ndevil]

Sept 15, 2013 3:06:43 GMT -5 Nic Nemeth said:

IMO, him, Edge, and JBL were the top 3 heels of the brand split era just because of the lengths they would go to for winning/defending their titles.

The most infuriating part for the fans was that JBL won the title in a Dusty Finish with GM Kurt Angle screwing over Eddie on a technicality.

I loved it.

I think they did the same thing, pretty much months later with the barb wired steel cage match, with JBL crawling out from under the ring after Big Show put him through it.

[Sephiroth]

I would like to add that I was actually pleasantly surprised by his mic skills. He was never the most outspoken wrestler as Bradshaw, when he did the transformation to JBL I was honestly amazed to find out this man knew how to talk and really sell his character. I'm also actually going to have to give him props for keeping a finger on the buzz of popular culture at the time. Another poster mentioned his full blown turn into a heel version of George W. Bush; the few articles I've read that he wrote indicate that he really is on the conservative/Republican side of the political spectrum, but he obviously saw the way the social-political climate of the country was turning and decided to incorporate that into his character. It was a smart decision and it worked out very well.

[AKIMan64]

Sept 15, 2013 6:15:41 GMT -5 Oh Cry Me a Screwball said:

They really pushed him to the title way too fast.

There was no reason for me to buy into new GM Kurt Angle putting so much faith into Bradshaw, the guy who had spent the last six months losing to the likes of the Basham Brothers and the rest of the nothing-happening Smackdown tag team division, being the one to take down his hated rival Eddie Guerrero and lead his show. Remember that the impetus for the JBL turn was the fact that BOTH of the Acolytes were in career vs. title match against Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty and they couldn't get the job done, but Heyman agreed to only fire Simmons after the fact because of Bradshaw's financial aptitude.

I also thought that Booker T's potential angle with Eddie where he invoked the idea of Smackdown being a lesser show and being mad about being drafted off Raw would have been a more compelling angle at the time. They could have put over Eddie and Smackdown in general with that feud while JBL washes off the midcard stink and gets some wins over someone like RVD. Then, imagine the JBL vs. Eddie WWE title match at Judgment Day actually occuring at Summerslam that year. That could have put butts in seats, as opposed to drawing some of the worst buyrates ever at the time.

I kind of see where you're coming from. Even back then, I thought it was weird seeing Bradshaw as WWE Champion when he was just an average wrestler on Smackdown when the APA had their brief reunion. Given his Great American persona, JBL could have feud with a couple of upper midcard babyfaces before chasing John Cena and the US title.

On the other hand, I wouldn't have mind seeing an actual Booker T/Eddie feud built for PPV. Instead they gave the match away on TV. But that's all in the past so I can't complain as much.

[thegame415]

This made me realize, can we agree that WWE in 2004 post Summerslam is one of the worst time periods ever? Was anything interesting happening?

On topic, I remember a lot of people hating the JBL character. I think, however, he went a long way in putting Cena and Batista over.

I'm still kind of disappointed we never got a Triple H vs JBL bull rope match. It would've been an old school brutal brawl.

[mizerable]

I'll be the first to admit, I was wrong about Bradshaw.

Not so much as I was wrong, but absolutely puzzled why WWE kept him around. He was Stone Cold lite, and without any true charisma. I hated him. And I mean...I HATED him.

Then, he became JBL. And overnight I knew he was going to be a main eventer. Like that. He was the first guy in a long line of guys (with the exception of Lesnar), that I knew was going to be WWE champion without the assistance of becoming IC champ earlier. He impressed me THAT much.

If anything, I wish WWE pulled the trigger on his character sooner, perhaps as early as late 2001. He was amazing at getting heat and would have loved to see a program with him and Rock or something.

[The OP]

The transformation was successful, elevated JBL, got Cena over, and accomplished everything it set out to. I can understand thinking at the time that he was pushed too fast, but it succeeded anyway, so how can anyone still say it was a mistake? That doesn't make sense to me.

[saneiac]

Smackdown has had its highs and lows, but to me, JBL's never ending title run was the lowest point in its history. I couldn't take him seriously as a main eventer, and his matches sucked.

I give JBL credit for two things, though. First, he somehow turned a clothesline into a completely believable finishing move. The Clothesline from Hell looks like its going to decapitate someone. Second, despite making almost no logical sense, I enjoyed his comeback program with HBK as his manservant.

[Bootista]

Don't forget that awesome theme with a Cow mooing

[GuyOfOwnage]

I'm just going to come out and say it - I didn't buy the transformation one little bit. The JBL reign bored me to tears, and there was not one moment in that entire reign where I bought him as a real main eventer. I always viewed him as "the solid mid-carder they slapped the belt on because Brock left and Eddie couldn't handle the pressure of being the top guy." By February of 2005, I was done with Smackdown. I didn't watch that show again until May 2007 because "Bradshaw: WWE Champion" had left such a sour taste in my mouth as a fan.

[The OP]

I'm glad somebody's willing to admit they hated JBL's title run. I enjoyed it, but at the time most people were not pleased. Way back on the original 'Crap board I tried to say he was great at promos and did the character perfectly etc. etc., basically all the things people say about him now, and I was told that he was a shitty worker who cut "rambling, incoherent promos" - an actual word for word quote that I still remember because it actually startled me that someone's perception could be so totally different from mine. It seemed almost beyond a simple difference in opinion, like one of us must be wrong. I think that is archived so if anybody's bored enough they could probably go see for themselves how overwhelmingly anti-JBL most of the posters there were. I'm not sure what the turning point was. Beating up Hornswoggle maybe? In any case it doesn't surprise me that more people have come around to enjoying his work because there are things you can consider that you couldn't have at the time, like just the simple fact that it's finished and in the past puts it in a whole different perspective.

Regarding the "transformation" itself, going back and watching some of those old shows and PPVs, it actually seemed like the change in gimmick was explained fairly well by Paul Heyman and by JBL himself. It didn't seem as jarring as I remembered it, and I also think JBL did a great job of explaining his evolution from APA Bradshaw, basically that it was time for him to quit goofing around with Ron Simmons and drinking beer and pounding ass (don't ask) and focus on his wrestling career. Only then could he truly rise up through the ranks. What a great angle. I could be wrong on this but I seem to remember him saying in a shoot that Eddie Guerrero suggested it.

[Sir Woodrow]

I thought at the time & still do that he was the drizzling shits

That no matter how mediocre you were you could get to the top by kissing the right amount of ass

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Sept 16, 2013 1:10:56 GMT -5 The OP said:

I'm glad somebody's willing to admit they hated JBL's title run. I enjoyed it, but at the time most people were not pleased. Way back on the original 'Crap board I tried to say he was great at promos and did the character perfectly etc. etc., basically all the things people say about him now, and I was told that he was a shitty worker who cut "rambling, incoherent promos" - an actual word for word quote that I still remember because it actually startled me that someone's perception could be so totally different from mine. It seemed almost beyond a simple difference in opinion, like one of us must be wrong. I think that is archived so if anybody's bored enough they could probably go see for themselves how overwhelmingly anti-JBL most of the posters there were. I'm not sure what the turning point was. Beating up Hornswoggle maybe? In any case it doesn't surprise me that more people have come around to enjoying his work because there are things you can consider that you couldn't have at the time, like just the simple fact that it's finished and in the past puts it in a whole different perspective.

Regarding the "transformation" itself, going back and watching some of those old shows and PPVs, it actually seemed like the change in gimmick was explained fairly well by Paul Heyman and by JBL himself. It didn't seem as jarring as I remembered it, and I also think JBL did a great job of explaining his evolution from APA Bradshaw, basically that it was time for him to quit goofing around with Ron Simmons and drinking beer and pounding ass (don't ask) and focus on his wrestling career. Only then could he truly rise up through the ranks. What a great angle. I could be wrong on this but I seem to remember him saying in a shoot that Eddie Guerrero suggested it.

I starting coming around to JBL around the time he won the US title. Of course, I don't think it's a coincidence that I started liking him once he got out of the main event angles.

[fuzzywarble, squat cobbler]

Would Texan cowboy Bradshaw as WWE champ have worked?