John Layfield

John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966),^[1] better known by the ring names Bradshaw and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL),^[2][3] is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. Layfield is working for the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWE) since 1995, currently as a commentator and manager. Outside of wrestling, he works as a financial analyst for Fox News and has also commentated and hosted for the mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League.

John Layfield
Layfield in April 2018
Born	John Charles Layfield (1966-11-29) November 29, 1966 (age 58)[1] Sweetwater, Texas, U.S.[2]
Alma mater	Abilene Christian University
Spouses	Cindy Womack ​ ​ (m. 1994; div. 2003)​ Meredith Whitney ​ (m. 2011)​
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Bad Santa Blackjack Bradshaw[2] Bradshaw[2] Death Mask[2] JBL John "Bradshaw" Layfield[2][3] Johnny Hawk[2] Justin Hawk Bradshaw[2] Vampiro Americano[2]
Billed height	6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[3]
Billed weight	290 lb (132 kg)[3]
Billed from	Sweetwater, Texas (as Blackjack Bradshaw) New York City (as John Layfield) Bradshaw Ranch (as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw)
Trained by	Black Bart[4] Brad Rheingans[2][4]
Debut	September 23, 1988[2][4][5]
Retired	April 5, 2009[6]
Football career
No. 61
Position:	Offensive lineman, Right tackle
Career information
High school:	Sweetwater (TX)
College:	Abilene Christian
Undrafted:	1990
Career history
Los Angeles Raiders (1990)* San Antonio Riders (1991)

He has won many titles in his career: He most famously held the WWE Championship one time for 280 days, the Hardcore Championship 17 times and the WWF Tag Team Championship three times with Faarooq as the Acolytes Protection Agency (APA). Layfield was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021.^[7]

Championships and accomplishments

JBL as United States Champion

College football

• Abilene Christian University
  • 1989 NCAA Division II All–American

Professional wrestling

• Catch Wrestling Association
  • CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[8] – with Cannonball Grizzly
• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2022)^[9]
• Federacion Internacional de Lucha Libre
  • FILL Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Lou Thesz Award (2012)^[10]
• Global Wrestling Federation
  • GWF Tag Team Championship (2 times)^[11] – with Bobby Duncum Jr. (1) and Black Bart (1)
• Memphis Championship Wrestling
  • MCW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[12] – with Faarooq
• NWA Dallas
  • NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[13]
• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[14] – with Ron Simmons
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 5 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2005^[15]
  • Ranked No. 496 of the best 500 singles wrestlers of all time in the PWI Years in 2003
• United States Wrestling Federation
  • USWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Equalizer^[16]
• World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
  • WWE Championship (1 time)^[17][18]
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)^[19][20]
  • WWE United States Championship (1 time)^[21]
  • WWE Hardcore Championship (17 times)
  • WWF European Championship (1 time)^[22]
  • WWF Tag Team Championship (3 times)^[23] – with Faarooq
  • WWE Championship #1 Contender's Tournament (April 2005)
  • Race To The Rumble Tournament (2009)
  • Slammy Award (1 time)
    • Favorite Web Show of the Year (2013) – with Michael Cole and Renee Young for The JBL and Cole Show
  • 20th Triple Crown Champion
  • 10th Grand Slam Champion
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2020)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Best Gimmick (2004)^[24]
  • Worst Television Announcer (2014, 2015)^[25][26]
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (2002) with Trish Stratus vs. Christopher Nowinski and Jackie Gayda on Raw, July 7^[24]
  • Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (2014) Insulting fans who purchased WWE shows on pay-per-view^[25]

Other websites

• WWE profile

References

1. "JBL Bio". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
2. "JBL Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
3. "JBL bio". WWE. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
4. "John Bradshaw Layfield "Wrestlers Database" CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
5. "John Bradshaw Layfield biography". SLAM! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
6. Layfield, John (April 6, 2009). "JBL No More, Thank You". WWE. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
7. "JBL to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
8. "Catch Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title". WrestlingTitles.com. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
9. @CACReunion (May 24, 2022). "And the 2022 CAC Iron Mike Award Winner Is..." (Tweet). Retrieved May 25, 2022 – via Twitter.
10. Alvarez, Bryan (November 15, 2011). "Tues update: Tons more from Raw, UFC vs. New York notes, more WWE Twitter madness, HDNet signs new MMA deal, MMA legend heading to ROH, tons more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
11. "G.W.F. Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
12. "M.C.W. Southern Tag Team Title". WrestlingTitles.com. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
13. Hoops, Brian (January 15, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/15): Big John Studd wins 1989 Royal Rumble". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
14. "O.V.W. Southern Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
15. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2005". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
16. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
17. "JBL's Title History". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
18. "WWE Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
19. "JBL's first Intercontinental Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2009.
20. "WWE Intercontinental Championship". Retrieved August 5, 2020.
21. "WWE United States Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
22. "WWE European Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
23. "World Tag Team Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
24. Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA: 1–40. ISSN 1083-9593.
25. Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2015). "Jan. 26, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2014 awards issue w/ results & Dave's commentary, Conor McGregor, and much more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 25. ISSN 1083-9593.
26. Meltzer, Dave (January 25, 2016). "January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 34. ISSN 1083-9593.