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John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) recently recalled how Vince McMahon agreed to stop selling his merchandise to WWE fans.
JBL performed as one of the company’s most villainous superstars in the mid-to-late 2000s. Due to his heel status, the former WWE Champion did not want fans to show support for him by wearing his shirts.
Speaking on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast, JBL said he once contacted Vince McMahon after noticing that a new shirt had gone on sale. The WWE Chairman did not know about the merchandise and immediately agreed to take it off the market.
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“The first time I saw a JBL shirt, I literally called Vince. I said, ‘What are you doing putting out a JBL shirt?’ He goes, ‘I had no idea it was put out.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t want some fan on the front row [wearing it].’ Vince goes, ‘I know, take it off.’ So I never let anybody put out a JBL shirt ever. It was out for a short time and I got it taken off,” JBL said.
At the height of his singles career, JBL held the WWE Championship for 280 days between June 2004 and April 2005. His title reign was the longest World Championship tenure in SmackDown history until AJ Styles broke the record (371 days) in 2018.
JBL wanted to be the biggest villain on Vince McMahon’s shows
Many of today’s heel superstars do not maintain their villainous personas when interacting with fans in real life and on social media. However, JBL had no problem being disliked both on-screen and away from WWE arenas.
The 55-year-old added that he even used to criticize fans who dressed as him at WWE shows:
“I don’t want some kid in the front row wearing a JBL shirt and somebody thinking, ‘Oh, he must not be a terrible bad guy because he’s got one fan right there.’” JBL continued, “I used to see a section where people would wear the hat and a suit after a while and the towel and stuff. I would get on a microphone, I would just lambast these guys.”
JBL’s contributions to WWE were recognized in 2021 when he became a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2020. The legendary superstar still regularly appears on WWE programming as a kickoff show panelist at premium live events.
In the video below, check out 5 stories you didn't know about WWE Chairman Vince McMahon:
Please credit After The Bell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
