John "Bradshaw" Layfield: Overrated or Underrated?

[Poop Master Flex]

I'm gonna have to go with underrated.
Personally I loved the JBL character, it was so easy to hate the guy and JBL had some tremendous heat on him (especially for that little stunt he pulled in Germany, how he made it out of that country alive is a miracle). His matches were largely forgettable but in that sense he is no different then someone like Hogan, he had a few matches that were pretty memorable but for the most part they were mostly forgettable (and no I am not comparing the guy to Hogan). I feel he did a really good job putting over certain faces at the time (especially his feuds with Guerrero and Cena, both were awesome feuds), and he had alot of memorable moments on the mic (That promo of him protecting the border was classic, I also liked when he would pay someone in the crowd $50 to wax his car in under a minute and in the last second spilled the entire bottle of wax all over his car). He was champ for a long time and I never got tired of seeing him in that position (even when guys like Eddie, Taker, Angle and Cena were chasing after his title). Lets not forget that he was also the guy who gave Cena his first World Title. He also did a lot for wrestlers like Lashley and Mysterio after his title run.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

He's overrated. In fact, JBL just fucking sucks, period. There was nothing about the guy that made a good World Champion. He was fucking horrible. People say he can cut good promos… bullshit. He cut the same promo every single night. People say he got good heel heat… again, bullshit. He didn't get, "Booo!!! I hope you lose!" type of heel heat. No, he got the, "Get the fuck off my screen, you worthless cunt." type of heat. The guy just fucking blew; simple as that. I know I can’t be the only person here who changed the channel whenever the douche was on the show. Honestly, I would watch Hornswoggle over this guy; that's how much he blows.

Who doesn't cut the same damn promo each and every night? Cena does it, HHH does it, and HBK does it. He got heel heat which is the most important thing. Orton and Edge always get cheered no matter how much they tried to get booed but nobody cheered for JBL. I guess you didn't like JBL/Guerrero from Great American Bash. I loved every single minute of JBL's title reign and if that makes me a moron, then I'm a moron.

 

[The Brain]

I’m glad to see all the JBL support on this thread, but overall he is definitely underrated. I think most don’t give him respect because he was in WWE for so many years as a midcarder and so suddenly jumped into the main event. Think back to after WrestleMania XX. Brock Lesnar had unexpectedly left and Kurt Angle was injured again. There was a void in the main event scene on SmackDown. WWE needed someone quick. They turned to Bradshaw and he stepped up. I admit I didn’t care for it at first either. I was thinking the same thing a lot of fans were. Bradshaw as champion? Unlike a lot of fans I decided to have an open mind and give him a chance. He did an outstanding job with his role. His mic skills were fantastic. I don’t understand how anyone can say otherwise. Yes his gimmick was similar to Ted Dibiase’s, but Bradshaw put a lot of himself into that character and made it his own. In fact it seemed like he didn’t really have a gimmick and was just being himself. Those are the people that are successful. JBL wasn’t putting on Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels caliber matches, but his ring work wasn’t bad. His title reign is my favorite of the past ten years. He had a nice nine month title reign instead of the more common three week reign we see today. He defended the title against Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, Booker T, Kurt Angle, Big Show, and John Cena. Not many guys over the past ten years have defended against a list of challengers like that in a single reign. The best part was fans expected every one of those challengers to take the title, but somehow JBL always walked away on top. It was a classic heel reign. JBL is definitely underrated and underappreciated. For all that don’t appreciate JBL were you happy to hear he left WWE after WrestleMania? I think he was a valuable member of the roster and WWE is better with him than without him.

 

[thewrestlinghero]

Jbl is underrated maybe not the most underrated wrestler ever the way some posters are puting it as. But he is underrated he is was one of the very few wrestlers in the past 10 years somewhat like Vickie Guerrero today that does not get one single cheers in the arena regardless the kind of heat he got.

Rather that heat was get out of the ring heat or boo you suck heat.Heat is heat and he did his job really well. Maybe some of his matches were not 5 star classic but neither was Great khail. If it wasn't for the likes of Jbl it can be argued that John cena would not be at were he is at today.

 

[RKO18]

Underrated.

JBL was thrust into the main event scene faster than anyone I can remember in recent history. I know he had been on WWF/E programming for a while but he was used very sparingly leading up to the gimmick change and was able to instantly create a very believable main event heel. He looked and acted the part convincingly and enough has been said about his solid mic skills already.

Ive said before on this site that JBL/HBK should have culminated at Wrestlemania 25 as a retirement match which JBL would have obviously lost. Not taking anything away from Taker/HBK, but they could have done that the following year, and JBL deserved that kind of send off.

He may have been a dick backstage according to reports I have read, but he understood how to work the crowd in the ring and on the mic, and ultimatly thats what it is all about anyway. The guy just knew how to be a professional wrestler

 

[shafe_41]

Finally the over/under I have been waiting for. JBL never got the love that he deserved for everything he did. IMO, John Bradshaw Layfield was the GREATEST heel champion of the decade. Yes you heard that right. The greatest. His appx 9 month reign as champion was the greatest heel run hands down. JBL played the heel part better than anybody because he did what you're supposed to do as a heel. Draw heat. Nobody liked this guy. You couldn't even pretend to like him. I am not a Mysterio fan and even I wanted Mysterio to take the title off him during his run. JBL did what he did better than everyone.

Even when he returned, he still drew heat better than anyone. Sure his matches were lacking because of his back was starting to get the best of him, but he more than made up for it on the mic. JBL is one of the best mic workers of the decade as well. I can't stress the simplicity enough of how JBL's mic work was just some of the best we saw in the decade because that's how he got over in his return. Sure his matches sucked and we were tired of watching him in the ring, but anytime JBL grabbed the stick, we listened.

Even back to his days in the APA, they were just epic. They don't even need much explanation. JBL doesn't get the appriciation he deserves because we were so happy to see him go at WM25 (not really). I think I jumped all over the place here because the Soup is on so....

JBL- very very very very very underrated.

 

[The Gribbler]

The JBL character was heel perfection, I had never seen a person play their role so completely in my life. At least I didn't remember any, sure his in ring work needed to be stepped up a little but I hated him so much because of how convincing his gimmick was that it didn't matter.

I cannot rate JBL higher as an entertainer than I do. In ring 6/10 on the stick 10/10

 

[JBK2008]

I loved to hate the character that was JBL. He was gold on the mic and everyone at it up. His in ring skill wasn't too bad in the beginning but his injuries lingered and he just got out of shape and had to limit his ring set and just got worse from there. That said I'd say underrated.

 

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

I understand that this is pure opinion, but mine is that JBL in OVERrated...by far.

The JBL gimmick should work; cocky self-made millionaire tough guy who thinks he's better than everyone else and backs it up...but for me it just doesn't work with JBL. First of all I find in incredibly boring on the mic. I also find his ring work very boring as well. His wrestling style is simple and boring. He just looked like "jobber #1" in a wrestling movie or something. I had zero interest in JBL as a character and zero interest in him as a champion. It eventually got to the point where I would just change the channel (much like I did with Vickie Guerrero and do now with the Miz). He just never did anything exciting or special. Overrated.

Now, I'd say "Bradshaw" as part of the APA was underrated. APA was perfect for the late 90s; quick jokes, hard drinkers, bar room brawlers. Matches still weren't very good, but at least they did something interesting.

 

[Miko]

I miss JBL

The guy was underrated, if we are talking about the internet here, but what do us lot know? I mean seriously? Jack shit is what. As far as his career goes, rated just fine, the guy has the longest title reign in Smackdown history, defeating people like Undertaker, Booker T, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero to keep it, then he went into put over mode, making a star out of John Cena.

The guy made you hate him, I dont really give a shit what you think the reasons he was booed were for, fact is he was booed, you want a guy off TV? Try keeping your mouth shut when he's in the ring, that usually works, after all, a heel is supposed to be booed, so way to give him credit.

JBL was hated, people watched to see him lose. Fact is JBL could teach people like CM Punk a shit load about playing a decent heel. As far as being a backstage dick is concerned, irrelevant, besides, there are just as many interviews with people who claim that JBL was a decent enough guy. Who knows what to believe.

 

[Super Crazy]

I think JBL was underrated. He was quickly thrown into the main event scene and made the most out of it. He knew how to play the crowd and was excellent on the mic. I actually like the fact that his gimmick was sort of him outside of wrestling.... that being someone who made tons of money off the stock market and other businesses and things like that. He was great and his program with Eddie was excellent.

He also helped to build John Cena. First helping Orlando Jordan to defeat him and thrusting Cena into the main event when he wanted revenge. This ultimately led to John Cena the WWE Champion. Who knows where Cena would be if JBL had not helped him to get over when he first entered the main event. JBL knew how to play the part and he played it very well despite a lot of people not liking him or being bored by him.

 

[Leafy]

I believe this man is completely underrated. He played the rich heel perfectly and even got the IWC to hate him, while still having good promos and decent matches. And I have to admit, anyone who uses the lariat gets a check in my book. But this man took the title and turned into a dominant champ and eventually put over "The Champ" and helped him turn into what he was today. He fought some brutal matches for that belt increasing the prestige and made it even more important how Cena beat the cheating Texan.

 

[Freddy4190]

Damn is he ever underrated. I LOVE JBL. This man owned Smackdown for the time he was in the main event and champ. He's the best heel to hit the WWE in a long while. He had EVERYONE hating him. Don't even get me started on the APA either. He was such a badass there too. His ring skills; yeah, he wasn't Chris Benoit or Shawn Michaels, nah he didn't do flips or spins or anything like Rey or Hardy, but he was still very solid in the ring. He had that old school, stiff, just badass style and made everything look painful. He put everyone over that he wrestled, and was a true wrestling god. He had insane skill on the mic, and when the time to be funny came he could do that too. JBL was a true legend, i'm suprised so many people dislike him to be honest.

 

[Proof]

He was overrated. Business went down big time when he got pushed. You don't give a dude a monster push two weeks after he jobs to Shelton Benjamin on Veclotiy. I guess they were desperate, but that was a bad move. He was flat out terrible for months and boring. Poor ratings, poor buyrates, canceled house shows, ect..He was just terrible for business and terrible for TV. Those years were a low point that I just want to forget about.

 

[PiperUndertakerStoneCold]

his main even push was sudden...i think he jumped ranks in only one week...but he did play the heel role perfectly.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I'd go with underrated as well. I can remember in the Royal Rumble '97, Bradshaw was one of the few guys to last a loooooong time in that Rumble, and JR and King hyped him up accordingly. In fact, despite being nothing without Faarooq by his side, Bradshaw was always hyped as being perfect for Royal Rumble matches.

The Acolytes were playing the part that the Dudleys played when they first jumped to the 'E'. They were the big tag team that next to no one could ever beat, and more often than not they dished out a grade A ass kicking with authority. Remember all those bar brawls in the 'Friendly Tap'? Some of those were simply shocking to watch. Full blown car wrecks contained within 4 walls. When i first started watching wrestling properly, they were in the Ministry, and personally, the Acolytes were my favourite tag team. Then they became the APA, and they became even better!!! They were funny, they were crass, they were entertaining, and still dished out ass whoopings left and right. Very few teams ever managed to hurt the APA. Trick them maybe, but hurt them, no way.

And then what happened. Ron Simmons hangs up his boots and Bradshaw became John 'Bradshaw' Layfield, the 'Wrestling God.' No longer restricted to talking about beer and poker and trading in bar brawls for title reigns, Bradshaw's transition from tag team nobody to JBL is reminiscent of Glen Jacob's transition from Issaak Yankem to Kane, in the fact that it was the best thing to ever happen to him in his wrestling career. Fortunately for JBL, his revamped character became the longest reigning champion in SD history. 4 years later and that is still the case.

He could make you hate him without even trying. The way he looked at you as he walked past, the total self absorbed, narsassistic way he talked. Referring to himself as a God was what sealed it for me. Pure hatred for the guy from that moment on. Sometimes a guy is so awesome on the mic or has something that is so appealing, that his matches become secondary. Sandman used to be described that way and so did Raven. I'd describe Mr Kennedy that way as well, but the best example is JBL.

Good matches? No not really, but i can think of a few other ME guys who didn't have great matches but are all praised to no ends.

Good gimmick? Well not at first, or at second really, third was better and fourth and final gimmick skyrocketed him into ME player.

Good on the mic? Fan-fuckin-tastic. The only thing that let his mic work down, was that we knew that JBL is probably as much a cock off screen as he was on it. We all knew what he was like backstage and he'd pull strings with Vince etc, so sometimes i'd think 'you're not even putting this on are you? You legitimately are this much of a douchebag 24/7 aren't you?'

Anyway, i'm rambling. Basically, my vote goes to underrated. As much as i hated him over that 4 year span as JBL, he doesn't get the credit he deserves and should of had a much better send off than the one he received at WM.

Final thought: I bought the Best of SD dvd yesterday, and i'm watching the 8 man tag and notice that the crowd was loudest when they were booing JBL, and he didn't even get on the mic in that segment. As SOON as he got tagged in, the whole arena boo'ed their heads off, and every time after that. Now THAT's heel heat for you.

 

[Tastycles]

There's no doubting that JBL was a good heel, but that being said, once he returned from commentary he looked appalling. Had he retired in 2005, I'd have said underrated in a flash, because he managed t reinvent the rich heel as his own. He was nowhere near as good when he came back, largely because he was fat and slow. That being said, everyone hated on him even more in that period, probably unecessarily so, so I think I shall have to say that he was underrated.