WWE veteran says he had heat with JBL after honest remark (Exclusive)

Modified Apr 30, 2024 17:15 GMT

JBL was inducted into the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame

John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) made his name in WWE in the mid-to-late 1990s when Vince Russo was one of the company's lead writers. Over two decades on, Russo recalled how he once upset the WWE legend backstage after sharing an honest opinion about his character.

Layfield worked under several different names and personas before winning the WWE Championship as JBL in 2004. Between 1997 and 1998, he and Barry Windham paid homage to Blackjack Lanza and Windham's father Blackjack Mulligan by performing as The New Blackjacks.

Russo said on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws with Dr. Chris Featherstone and EC3 that he did not expect the tag team to connect with fans. When the former WWE writer raised his concerns with Layfield and Windham, he did not receive a good response:

"I remember sitting down with them and telling them The New Blackjacks are never gonna get over," Russo said. "'This is never gonna get over. This is never gonna work.' I was being honest with them. Well, bro, because I was honest with them, I then had heat with them. So, I came to the conclusion, bro, that there are some talents that literally wanted to be lied to." [From 07:31 – 07:58]

Watch the video above to hear more from Russo on the way WWE dealt with Cameron Grimes' release.

Vince Russo did not understand Barry Windham and JBL's response

Toward the end of the 1990s, JBL formed a successful tag team with Ron Simmons, aka Faarooq, known as The Acolytes Protection Agency. His partnership with Barry Windham proved to be short-lived and ended within a year.

Vince Russo thinks JBL and Windham should have been open to hearing his feedback about their team:

"They couldn't take bad news and they couldn't take the truth, and I was the bad guy for telling them the truth. That was always odd to me, Chris, because in any job I'm sure you wanna know where you really stand. If there is a chance of you getting fired, what do I need to work on? What can you smarten me up to? What are the conversations about me behind closed doors? A lot of times when you share that and it's not what they want to hear, then you've got heat with them." [From 07:59 – 08:38]

Russo also disclosed details about another Attitude Era star receiving backstage heat because he did not change in the locker room.

What are your thoughts on The New Blackjacks? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

Also watch: Glenn Jacobs (FKA Kane) remembers his good friend Bray Wyatt