JBL does not think Nick Aldis gets to keep both jobs, and he thinks the first one is going to hurt.
Speaking on the latest episode of Something to Wrestle ahead of Aldis’ match with Gunther at SummerSlam, JBL was asked what he wants for Aldis on the other side of it. His answer was that a decision is coming.
“I think it’s an either or. I don’t think you can be both. You might can do something part time, but I don’t think you can be both.”
“Are you going to make him a general manager? He’s very good at it. Are you going to make him a worker? He’s very good at that too. But I think there’s going to have to be a choice there. I don’t think you can do both.”
He acknowledged there is no precedent to go on.
“We haven’t seen a layoff like this before. We haven’t seen a guy do both. Maybe you can. I just don’t think you can. I think it splits storylines too much.”
Asked separately whether anyone had ever come back from this long away directly into a pay-per-view match paying off a storyline, JBL was brief.
“I can’t think of another time.”
He does not see it as a bad position to be in.
“What a great choice for Nick to have, if that’s what it comes down to. Hey, we’re going to keep you, because he’s obviously very valuable, and you’re going to be a worker or be a general manager. That’s a pretty good choice.”
Why the first match back is the hardest
Aldis has spoken this week about the difference between being in physique shape and being in ring shape. JBL, who had several layoffs in his own career, said the distinction is real and that no amount of preparation gets around it.
“For those who played football, especially football, it’s very similar to that. You train all summer to get ready, then you go through camp, and then all of a sudden you play your first game, and you damn near die. No matter what kind of shape you’re in, you just almost die out there. And then the next week, you’re generally fine.”
“That’s how it is with wrestling. You can train all you want, and you can even go in the ring and do some stuff. But until you get out there and you’re busy thinking and calling the match, and you’re trying to react to the crowd, and still you’re doing physical stuff, you just die.”
He was blunt about what that means for a man having exactly one match.
“Now, if you only have one match, like Nick does, he’s going to suffer. There’s no doubt about it. He’s going to get out there, and at one point, he’ll get all blown up. He’s done this a million times, so he’ll be fine. But he’ll have to go through a little bit of hell there, and then once he’s done, you really do catch your second wind if you’re in shape, and he will be in shape.”
“But there’s going to be a point there where he’s going to wonder if he’s going to make it.”
JBL said the situation is made harder by everything around the match being unfamiliar.
“What I’m saying about blowing up like that makes it even worse, because you’re doing something you have not done a bunch of times. If you got a comfort zone there, it’s like putting on an old pair of shoes. He’s not used to the locker room, not used to the TV set. He’s not used to any of that as a worker.”
He expects it to go well anyway.
“I’ve always thought Nick was one of these throwback guys. He looks like a 1930 NWA champion, and I’ve told Nick that many times, and that’s a compliment from me. He’s got that great throwback look. He’s got that great physique. I think Nick will do great.”
Aldis faces Gunther on Night One of SummerSlam, in the first match of his WWE career and his first anywhere since October 2023.
