Any predictions on what is going on with JBL? I havent seen any of his appearances watching live, only clips, but i am intrigued. I never expected JBL to be getting buzz in 2024 by showing up all over to promotions outside of WWE.
Will we see him eventually show up on AEW or WWE/NXT?
Is he putting together some kind of cross promotion stable?
This is why every wrestler should have a finisher/signature move that they can do to anybody, and still pull off in their 60s.
He’s probably making similar money to the autograph circuit, but instead of five hours at a folding table, he hits one clothesline and gets a huge pop.
No clue, but I feel like every show I cover boom there he is… AAA, GCW, TNA and now MLW last night. And so far he seems to have aligned himself with Nic Nemeth, Mance Warner & Brock Anderson so the whole situation is definitely intriguing. I wrote on my report last night how the week of Grand Slam here in New York there are also shows in the same area for NWA and House of Glory so wouldn’t be shocked if he popped up on one or more of those shows.
What surprised me about last night was, since JBL is still under a WWE Legends deal, it would make sense for him to be given the okay to show up for the other 3 companies as they all have been having some sort of working relationship with WWE one way or another, but MLW being recently involved in a lawsuit with WWE really surprised me.
Regardless, I’ve been excited to see what’s next in what I’ve been calling The JBL World Tour. Would love to see him pop up in NOAH as well
Based on what he often types on X, he refers to this version of himself as “The Keeper. Guardian of Professional Wrestling.” So it seems like he’s basically there to right potential wrongs and make sure that everything goes right. Certainly an interesting direction concerning how a massive heel JBL has been for most of his career - and how successful he has been in that role - but he got us talking and this is ultimately what they’re looking for.
I don’t think he’d go to AEW. His ties to WWE are too strong.
I suspect this is all some way of eventually integrating it into a storyline in WWE or NXT where he’s going to different promotions and recruiting people
But considering the recent legal issues between MLW and WWE, why would JBL go there and recruit Brock Anderson?
How big of a mark is Court Bauer? Maybe it was a part of the settlement.
I can’t see AEW wanting JBL, he’s a dark side of the ring away from being in the middle of a PR nightmare.
They brought in Ric Flair after his Dark Side of the Ring stuff.
I feel pretty confident that Bauer worked closely with JBL during their time together in WWE (specifically JBL’s Smackdown run). Maybe I’m wrong - but I am sure there is a relationship.
I think Flair is an anomaly though – it’s not like he’s a bully and hated by people. Everyone loves Ric Flair. He’s just living his gimmick and in modern times that kind of stuff is frowned upon but historically, back in the day that kind of thing would’ve been cheered as being a true man. So I don’t think it has the same weight as let’s say a JBL documentary outlining how he’s a bully beating people up.
It was after though, so the heat died down. I could see with JBL the fear being that something breaks (what we already know, but becoming an issue) while he is there and then questions are asked how they brought a guy into the locker room who did such things and it was known.
If that is where the somewhat random indy appearances is leading to I’ve got to say I think that’s Awesome!
WWE has never done that storyline in 30+ years. I would have to applaud the company for trying new things and its embrace of the wider wrestling world still feels new enough that this would be very fun. Even if I’m not a fan of the bully portraying the JBL character.
I like the idea, but it would more awesome if it wasnt guys like Ziggler and Brock Anderson involved.