"There's just no way" – JBL knew ex-WWE tag team would fail

Modified Apr 02, 2025 14:26 GMT

WWE Hall of Famer JBL [Image Credit: wwe.com] — WWE Hall of Famer JBL [Image credit: wwe.com]

John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) wrestled for WWE between 1995 and 2009. In a recent podcast episode, the 2020 Hall of Fame inductee addressed how he felt about the new Midnight Express.

From December 1997 to August 1998, Jim Cornette managed several wrestlers on WWE television as part of an NWA invasion angle. Bob Holly and Bart Gunn were repackaged as Bombastic Bob and Bodacious Bart during that time. They also formed a new version of The Midnight Express, a legendary team managed by Cornette in the 1980s.

On the Something to Wrestle podcast, JBL agreed with host Conrad Thompson that the team was never going to work:

"A hundred percent, yeah, a hundred percent. I knew they weren't gonna do much with the NWA angle, and I knew the new Midnight Express [would fail]. I mean, I was glad Bart and Bob were getting something on television to be spotlighted a little bit because they deserve that, but they don't deserve this. The new anything, it wasn't gonna work. There's just no way. They shackled them in a gimmick that had a short shelf life." [1:51:29 – 1:51:55]

Many wrestlers represented The Midnight Express in the 1980s, including Bobby Eaton, Dennis Condrey, Norvell Austin, Randy Rose, and Stan Lane.

JBL on Vince McMahon's booking of WWE invasions

Before Triple H took over in 2022, Vince McMahon oversaw WWE's creative direction for four decades.

JBL believes his former boss got tired of scripted invasion storylines involving other wrestling promotions. For that reason, he knew Bob Holly and Bart Gunn's new gimmicks would not last long.

"Vince, when he got a shiny new toy, when that shine wore off, he was done with it," JBL continued. "Look at what he did with any of the invasion angles: WCW, ECW, NWA. When the shine wore off, he was done. Deep-six it. And you knew this was gonna be deep-sixed. And I just hated that Bob and Bart got stuck in a gimmick that you knew didn't have much shelf life because those guys were good workers and good dudes." [1:51:56 – 1:52:22]

Bombastic Bob and Bodacious Bart won the NWA World Tag Team Championship from The Headbangers during their short time together as a WWE tag team. However, the Midnight Express revival was widely viewed as underwhelming.

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

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart