The JBL character is remembered as one of the most effective heels of his era, and according to John Bradshaw Layfield, that was by design. On his “Something to Wrestle With” podcast, JBL was asked if the character could have ever worked as a babyface.
“No, he could have been a face. Easy. I believe, no doubt about it,” JBL said. “We had to work very hard to keep it heel.”
He revealed that Vince McMahon gave him specific instructions to prevent the crowd from cheering him. “At one point, you know, Vince would give me all kinds of advice. And a lot of times he would sit there, and, you know, he told me, before I went out there on a promo, ‘do not be entertaining. Just be a heel.’ You know, because there was a chance of the crowd starting to change and start, if you’re entertaining for too long, any old heel becomes a babyface.”
Ultimately, JBL was happy to remain a heel, which he felt was the right spot for the character. “Yeah, I think JBL could have been a babyface. Very easy. We had to be very careful for him not to be. I never wanted to be a baby face.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Something to Wrestle With with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can listen to the podcast on all major podcast platforms.
