Wrestling regularly between September 1992 and April 2009, John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield – commonly referred to as JBL – had a celebrated WWE career that peaked with his impeccable WWE Championship reign. Running rampant over the SmackDown brand in the mid-2000s, ‘The Wrestling God’ held the top prize in sports entertainment for 280 days.
Though he officially retired at WrestleMania 25, JBL has remained affiliated with WWE ever since, which has seen him provide commentary and analysis of the WWE product. Moving forward, he may be about to venture into the role of a manager.
Per a new report from PWInsider, JBL is expected to return to WWE programming for what was previously an unidentified role. There was talk backstage during the October 14th Friday Night SmackDown that he would be in attendance for the next several Monday Night Raw broadcasts, with that role seemingly to get Happy Corbin back on track.
The former WWE United States Champion has been absent from WWE programming for almost two months, last seen being escorted from a SmackDown parking lot by JBL’s limousine. At the time, Corbin was lost, having finished his feud with Madcap Moss and being left without a storyline to aid his career trajectory.
JBL Has High Praise For Happy Corbin
Although a pairing of JBL and Happy Corbin may seem strange at first, it won’t be for those involved. The former Bradshaw has previously spoken very highly of the once-‘Lone Wolf’, telling Inside The Ropes’ own Liam Alexander-Stewart that he would love the chance to manage Happy Corbin:
“I love Baron Corbin. I think Baron Corbin is a really smart guy, and I think Baron Corbin is a guy I would like to manage. The problem I have is I’m kind of like Colonel Parker. I’m tall and so I can’t manage a lot of people because I’m 6’6 and you don’t want a manager that’s bigger than the wrestler and so I’m limited in who I can manage because of the size.”
Should the plans for JBL managing Happy Corbin come to fruition, they could fall into place as soon as tonight’s (October 17th) Monday Night Raw broadcast.
If you use any quotes from this transcription, please link back to the original video with a H/T to Inside The Ropes.