WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield has voiced his strong dislike for the Iron Man match format, calling it “horrible.”
Speaking on the Something to Wrestle podcast, JBL discussed the famous WrestleMania 12 Iron Man match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart for the WWF Championship, held on 31 March 1996. While acknowledging the match’s significance, he agreed with co-host Conrad Thompson that the match type itself is flawed.
“I agree with you 100% about the Iron Man match; I think they’re horrible,” he stated. “What do you do when you’re 35 minutes in, and you’ve got 25 minutes left before you have a winner? Thank God I was never in one. For one, I didn’t want to go 60 minutes by a clock, but I just think they’re terrible.”
Despite his criticism, JBL admitted he enjoyed the WrestleMania 12 bout between Michaels and Hart. However, he believes the match would have been better if it had exceeded an hour naturally, rather than being predetermined to last at least 60 minutes.
The Iron Man match, in which the winner is determined by who secures the most falls within the time limit, remains a rare but divisive stipulation in wrestling. The WrestleMania 12 contest ended in a 0-0 draw after an hour, leading to sudden-death overtime where Michaels captured the title.
Which Four Former WWE Stars Does JBL Believe Should Have Held A World Championship?
JBL spoke about how he believes four wrestling legends should have held the top prize in WWE, naming none other than “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Dustin Rhodes, and Shelton Benjamin. Despite all four men being held in very high regard in the wrestling world, they never held a top prize in the company, with the highest accolade among them being the Intercontinental Championship.
H/t to TJRWrestling.net