WWE Hall of Famer JBL has revealed which WWE Superstar he would love to manage if he was to make a return to the WWE almost eight years after his last match for the company.
In a recent exclusive interview with Inside The Ropes’ own Liam Alexander-Stewart, former Undisputed Champion JBL spoke of his long and illustrious career inside the squared circle. Though JBL would officially retire from in-ring action all the way back in 2009, Layfield has remained a prominent member of WWE through his commentary work and pre show panel appearances.
During his conversation with Inside The Ropes, JBL gave his opinion on what it takes for performers to succeed in the ring. However, Layfield was cautious in how he approached the answer, revealing his reservations when giving advice to current superstars:
“You always got to be careful, you know. Always when people ask me, how would you do this or how would you do that? And my answer is always, I don’t know, this is how I would do it and you know, you try to inject what you would do into somebody else and sometimes you just screw them up and they try to do what you were doing and they can’t.
They’ve got to make it themselves. That’s the one great thing about Fit Finlay was when he trained people, he trained people. He didn’t train them cookie cutter. He would figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are and tailor his training to you. And so I don’t give a ton of advice. When People ask I always give advice. I always say, this is what I would do.”
However, Layfield would point out one current WWE Superstar that he would love to represent:
“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.”
Notably, Baron Corbin has never had an onscreen manager, though he would himself have a short tenure as General Manager for Raw. A former WWE United States Champion, Corbin’s career thus far has come with several accolades, as a former Andre the Giant Memorial Trophy and Money in the Bank winner.
However, despite competing for the gold on a few occasions, Corbin has never captured the richest prize in WWE.
Though JBL’s comments were purely those of speculation, could we one day see John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield lead Baron Corbin to the top of the mountain to secure the WWE World Championship? Only time will tell.
JBL is part of the incredible Stories With Brisco and Bradshaw podcast available via Podcast Heat – their latest episode featuring an interview with WWE legend Al Snow is available to watch on YouTube or to listen to via iTunes, Spotify and all good podcast providers.
Thank you to John for taking the time out to speak with Inside The Ropes and a huge thank you to Podcast Heat for facilitating our conversation.
If you use any quotes from this interview please provide a link back and h/t to Liam Alexander-Stewart of Inside the Ropes.