Former WWE Champion changed his appearance due to Vader's bad body odor

Former WCW and WWE star Vader was one of the wrestling industry's biggest names in the 1990s. In a recent podcast episode, John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) told an amusing story about his experiences working with the legendary wrestler.

In 1998, JBL was still an up-and-coming star while Vader was reaching the end of his career as a top-level performer. The two men feuded for several weeks before JBL defeated his experienced opponent at Breakdown: In Your House.

On Something to Wrestle, JBL recalled how Vader was "the stinkiest guy" he worked with. The former WWE Champion also explained why he once shaved his beard off after facing the powerhouse wrestler:

"I had a full beard because I looked so young when I was a kid," JBL said. "I grew a beard so I could look older as a heel. I was sitting there at night and I thought, 'Oh, man, what stinks in this room? There's a dead body in this room.' I thought, 'I can't figure out what it is.' And I realized that Vader had punched me so much in the face that my beard stunk from his gloves, and I had to get up at three o'clock in the morning and shave off my beard because Leon had punched me in the face so many times." [5:44 – 6:07]

JBL also addressed why his former rival's WWE run was not as successful as his stints in NJPW and WCW.

---

JBL appreciated Vader's generosity in WWE

Before leaving WWE, Vader requested to work with John Bradshaw Layfield in his final pay-per-view match.

JBL said the three-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion wanted to make him look good by putting together the kind of match he produced in his prime:

"His last match in WWE, he asked to work with me and he said, 'Hey, kid, today I'm gonna let you kick out my finish, which I don't let anybody do.' And he said, 'I'm gonna bring the old Vader, and when you beat somebody, you're gonna beat somebody today.' He said, 'You're gonna beat the old Vader today.' He beat the s**t out of me, but I knew what he was doing. He wanted me to beat somebody [important]." [5:16 – 5:35]

Discussing his early days in the wrestling business, JBL also revealed that a tag team allegedly got fired after attacking Shawn Michaels backstage.

Do you have any favorite Vader memories? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

---

Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.