JBL explains why he "buried" The Ascension in WWE

John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) often criticized The Ascension during their time in WWE. The wrestler-turned-commentator recently explained why he repeatedly said negative things about the former WWE tag team.

The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) held the NXT tag titles for a record 343 days between October 2013 and September 2014. The duo drew comparisons to legendary tag teams Demolition and The Road Warriors due to their in-ring dominance and presentation.

On Something to Wrestle, JBL said he mocked The Ascension on commentary after Vince McMahon told him to do so as part of a long-term storyline. The former WWE Chairman initially planned for JBL's heel character to like the duo, making them even bigger heels. However, plans changed when they began losing matches.

"The problem with Ascension was creative didn't follow," JBL stated. "If they had kept beating guys, it works, because now I'm saying, 'These guys are the sh**s, they can't carry The Road Warriors' jocks, they're terrible, they have no respect for legacy, Ron [Simmons] and I would have killed them,' blah blah blah, if they keep beating people. Problem was they quit beating people, so now I'm burying them and they're losing. That just sticks them 12 feet under the dirt, not six feet under the dirt. It absolutely kills them." [2:09:40 – 2:10:06]

Konnor and Viktor secured a high-profile win over The New Age Outlaws at the 2015 Royal Rumble. Shortly after the event, they began losing frequently on television against the likes of The Lucha Dragons and The Prime Time Players.

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How Road Warrior Animal reacted to JBL's comments about The Ascension

In the 1980s and 1990s, The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) were widely viewed as one of the world's best tag teams.

JBL revealed that Animal thought his remarks about The Ascension were genuine and thanked him for badmouthing the two men:

"Animal text me, The Road Warriors. He goes, 'Man, thanks for sticking up for us.' I'm like, 'You gotta be kidding me, Animal! You of all people should know better than this!' And I would say, 'Can't carry The Road Warriors' jocks,' and all this stuff. The problem was creative didn't follow up with it, and because of that it just buried them." [2:10:48 – 2:11:05]

In December 2019, The Ascension received their release from WWE after nine years with the company.

What are your thoughts on Konnor and Viktor's WWE run? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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