JBL’s height didn’t always work in his favor, apparently.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, pro wrestling veteran and longtime WWE stalwart Stevie Richards recounted the one time he had to hit the massive Texan with a chair shot. The infamous stiff shot took place during a SmackDown scuffle with the BWO, and Richards still holds regret for what happened.
“You guys with this chair shot. I still feel really bad about that. I mean, we’re laughing about it. But you know, I really do. I mean, John laughs about it now to thank God, but, you know, that’s not what we’re in the business for and you know, people can think the way they want to think.”
JBL: “Just Lay It In, No Big Deal”
Richards stands at 6’1 while the WWE Hall Of Famer is almost half a foot taller than him, so to make a chair shot look believable from “Big Stevie Cool” to Bradshaw was going to be tough. Richards concocted a work-around but it was a moot point for one half of APA.
“I’m talking to John and I said, ‘Dude, you’re so tall, I don’t know if I can hit you properly with the chair with you standing.’ The dude’s like, what? 6 foot 6, 300 pounds, he’s a monster. I asked him, ‘Is there any way you can be on one knee or something where I can get you?’ And he was like, ‘No, no, just lay it in, no big deal.’ He was totally cool about it. So even in my mind, I knew he’s way up there. I’m not going to be able to hit him fully with the seat. I never knew it was going to be what it was. But I knew it was going to be a live round to some extent that he was going to get.”
Before this chair shot occured, there was legitimate heat between he and Blue Meanie, but on a recent episode of “Oh…You Didn’t Know” Meanie mentions how the two patched things up and are good friends to this day.
H/t to “Insight With Chris Van Vliet” and Inside The Ropes for the transcription.