WWE Hall of Famer JBL has revealed that his recent run in TNA Wrestling was cut short after a planned, long-term storyline for him was abruptly canceled by a former executive. The news comes on the heels of TNA’s record-breaking Slammiversary pay-per-view, an event JBL was originally slated to be a major part of.
“A Huge Escalation Was Happening”
On the Something to Wrestle podcast, a fan on social media noted that JBL’s recent TNA storyline seemed to end without a resolution. JBL took the opportunity to tell the full story, confirming that there were significant plans in place for him that would have lasted throughout the rest of the year.
“Somebody Who Is No Longer There”
JBL explained that the decision to scrap the angle was made by a single person who has since departed the company. He made a point to absolve the current TNA leadership, Tommy Dreamer and Carlos Silva, of any involvement in the decision.
“I was supposed to be there and initially and I was supposed to be have a really a part that people wouldn’t believe that how big it was, but that that did not work out. So there’s a reason, the reason that that got ended in TNA was … it wasn’t because of me. Maybe it was maybe, kind of, maybe because I’m not any good. But it was a decision made by somebody who’s no longer there… I was supposed to have a real escalation of what we’re doing at TNA. We had the whole thing planned out. And, you know, I don’t want to take away any thunder, away from what these guys are doing now, because I don’t, it’s not about me… But I was really loved being a part, and I was supposed to be a part going forward, and all of a sudden, I’d agreed to what I was going to do, and there was a huge escalation that was happening. All that stuff was going somewhere. I thought everybody was and it was, it was going somewhere, and I was very, very excited about it. Was training for it. I got in really good shape for it. Was ready to go. And then they called me one day and said, ‘Hey, we’re changing our mind,’ and that’s their prerogative. Somebody is no longer there. It was not Tommy and Carlos… And when they said it, it was just something that, you know, it’s just business, what they wanted to change, but I thought it made absolutely no sense. And the person that said it is no longer there, and what they changed it to never happened. So I think, in hindsight, I was 100% correct.”
The main event of Slammiversary saw Trick Williams defend the TNA World Championship against Mike Santana and Joe Hendry. JBL noted that he believed his canceled storyline would have eventually involved putting over Mike Santana.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AdFreeShows.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
