Bio
John Bradshaw Layfield who is also known as JBL is a retired American Professional wrestler who is famous for his Tag Team works as a part of the famous tag team APA and he is a solo run during the Ruthless Aggression era. He won multiple prestigious championships in WWE including the WWE World Championship. In 2020 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
John Bradshaw Layfield Height, Weight, Age & More:
Bradshaw had an excellent physique which was pretty much ideal for being a professional wrestler. The billed height of Bradshaw was 6’6″ and his billed weight was 290 lbs. He was born on November 29, 1966 and currently the WWE Hall of Famer was 57 year old. Last year he played a short role of the manager of Baron Corbin.
John Bradshaw Layfield: Age, Height, Weight, Wife, Net Worth, Family, Injury Details, Tattoo, and Other Unknown Facts
John Bradshaw Layfield Early Life
Bradshaw was born on November 29, 1966 and currently, the former WWE world champion is 57 year old. Sweetwater, Texas is the place where John Bradshaw Layfield was born. There is not much information available about his past life. His father is Lavelle Layfield, who is a minister Mary Layfield is his mother.
Who is John Bradshaw Layfield
John Bradshaw Layfield is a 57 year old retired American Professional wrestler and American Football player. He is also famous by the names Bradshaw and JBL. He mostly aned his famous while working in WWE and he won multiple prestigious Championship from the promotion. He has been a formal WWE World Champion and in 2020 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
WWE Debut
Bradshaw signed a professional contract with WWE in late 1995 and he made his in ring debut in December of the mentioned year. His first match was against Savio Vega and it was a dark match. His first television appearance was in January 1996 in an episode of WWF Superstars where he wrestled Bob Holly. He was victorious in his television debut.
Professional Wrestling Career
Training, In Ring Debut
Layfield started receiving his training from Black Bart and Brad Rheingans in 1992. He tried to find a career in American football before joining the world of wrestling. He joined the wrestling business in the mentioned year and in the same year, he made his in ring debut in the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF) in Texas.
Various Promotions
He played various characters during his early days. He even worked in various wrestling promotions. In Mexico for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), he wrestled under the name “Vampiro Americano” and frequently teamed with Vampiro Canadiense. He also worked in various Tag Teams. He remained active on the independent circuit until 1995.
WWE Debut
In late 1995 he got the big opportunity to sign a professional contract with WWE and in December of the mentioned year, he made his in ring debut in WWE. In his first match in WWE, he worked under the ring name Johnny Hawk he worked in a dark match against Savio Vega. Needless to say, he lost his first match in the promotion.
Early WWE Career
He made his television debut in January 1996 in an episode of WWF Superstars where he worked under the ring name of “Justin ‘Hawk’ Bradshaw” and he defeated Bob Holly in his debut match. He played the character of a Texas Cowboy during his early days in the promotion. He remained undefeated for three months before losing to the Undertaker by disqualification.
The New Blackjacks
In February 1997 he formed a tag team with storyline cousin Barry Windham and together they started to be addressed as the New Blackjacks. This tag team remained alive for more than a year and they became pretty famous among the fans despite they could never win the Tag Team Championship together. But this run of Bradshaw is not much remembered.
Professional Information Table
Ring Name |
John Bradshaw Layfield |
John Bradshaw Layfield Nick Names |
* |
Profession(s) |
Professional Wrestler |
John Bradshaw Layfield Height |
6’6” |
John Bradshaw Layfield Weight |
290 lbs. |
Relationship Status |
Married |
John Bradshaw Layfield Net Worth |
$4 Million/$9 million |
John Bradshaw Layfield Eye Color |
Dark Brown |
Hair Color |
Brown |
Wrestling Debut |
1992 |
Mentor |
* |
John Bradshaw Layfield Signature Moves |
Big Boot, Fallaway Slam |
Finishing Move(s) |
Clothesline from Hell, Powerbomb |
Theme Song / John Bradshaw Layfield Song / John Bradshaw Layfield Music |
Longhorn |
Catchphrases |
*
|
John Bradshaw Layfield Net Worth & Salary
Bradshaw is mostly famous for playing the character of a rich man, however, he is nowhere near one of the richest professional wrestling figures right now. According to reports from various media sources, his current net worth is estimated to be somewhere around $4 million. But there are also reports that he has a net worth of $9 million. Reports also suggest that he earns something around $500,000 as his annual salary from WWE
John Bradshaw Layfield Family
Bradshaw was born on November 29, 1966 in Sweetwater, Texas. He is the son of Lavelle Layfield and Mary Layfield. His father Lavelle Layfield is a minister and a famous person. His first wife was Cindy Womack and they got married in 1994. They lived together for nine long years but they got divorced in 2003.
Championships and Accomplishments
Bradshaw won multiple prestigious championships from all over the world of wrestling. He also won loads of big championships in WWE. He had been one of the best WWE World Champions of the Ruthless Aggression Era. He also won the WWE United States title, the IC title, and multiple Tag Team championships.
Championships and Accomplishments Table
Championships and Accomplishments / Trophy (WWE) |
WWE Championship (1 time), WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time), WWE United States Championship (1 time), WWE Hardcore Championship (17 times), WWF European Championship (1 time), WWF Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Faarooq, Slammy Award (1 time), 20th Triple Crown Champion, 10th Grand Slam Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2020) |
Awards & Achievements (Outside WWE) |
CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Cannonball Grizzly
Cauliflower Alley Club – Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2022) FILL Heavyweight Championship (1 time) George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame – Lou Thesz Award (2012) GWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bobby Duncum Jr. (1) and Black Bart (1) MCW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Faarooq NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ron Simmons Pro Wrestling Illustrated – Ranked No. 5 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2005, Ranked No. 496 of the best 500 singles wrestlers of all time in the PWI Years in 2003 USWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Equalizer Wrestling Observer Newsletter – Best Gimmick (2004), Worst Television Announcer (2014, 2015), Worst Worked Match of the Year (2002) with Trish Stratus vs. Christopher Nowinski and Jackie Gayda on Raw, July 7, Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (2014) Insulting fans who purchased PPV |
Records | One time WWE World Champion |
Personal life & Lifestyle
Before joining the world of professional wrestling, Bradshaw tried to find a career as an American Football player. He was a collegiate American football player as he played for Trinity Valley Community College and Abilene Christian University. He played for some big teams during his senior career as well. He joined the wrestling world in 1992.
Personal Information Table
John Bradshaw Layfield Real Name / Full Name |
John Charles Layfield |
Birth Date
|
November 29, 1966 |
John Bradshaw Layfield Age |
57 |
Relationship Status |
Married |
Zodiac Sign |
Sagittarius |
Birthplace |
Sweetwater, Texas |
Nationality |
American |
Hometown |
Sweetwater, Texas |
School/College/University |
Sweetwater High School, Trinity Valley Community College, Abilene Christian University |
Educational Qualification |
No information available yet |
Religion |
* |
John Bradshaw Layfield Ethnicity |
White |
Current Residence |
* |
Hobbies |
* |
John Bradshaw Layfield Tattoo |
* |
John Bradshaw Layfield Movies and TV Shows
Bradshaw never considered acting as a regular career but there are a couple of shows based on him in which she had been the main cast. A famous web series started by the name The JBL and Renee Show in 2012 and he was the host of this show along with Renee Young. There was another similar show produced by WWE Network named Legends with JBL in which he was the main host.
John Bradshaw Layfield Wife
Bradshaw is currently married to Meredith Whitney who is a famous American businesswoman. The duo got married to each other in 2005 in Key West, Florida. Meredith Whitney is famous for successfully forecasting the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and she is also a financial analyst.
Main Event Success
APA
In late 1998 he teamed up with Farooq and this was the beginning of the famous Acolytes Protection Agency or simply APA. This iconic Doo kept on working as a tag team for 4 years and they became one of the most famous tag teams of the Attitude Era as they won the WWE Tag Team Championship three times in total. At first they worked as a part of the Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness, later they started working as a solo team.
Main Event Promotion, Rise of JBL
In 2002 to 2003 Bradshaw returned to singles competition and in June 2003, Acolytes Protection Agency reunited again. But by 2004 WWE started to have bigger plans for Bradshaw. He started playing a new character of a millionaire and it was pretty similar to J. R. Ewing. The character also resembled the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. He started to be addressed as John Bradshaw Layfield, or simply JBL.
WWE Champion
Soon after getting repackaged, he shocked the entire world when he defeated Eddie Guerrero at the Great American Bash event of 2004 to win the WWE Championship. This was the beginning of one of the best WWE Championship runs of the time. He carried the Championship until WrestleMania 21 and defeated some of the biggest names like The Undertaker and The Big Show.
Final In Ring Days
At WrestleMania 21 he finally dropped the championship to John Cena never to win it back again. WWE kept on treating him as a main event star and he also won the United States Championship one time. But he could never regain the WWE World Championship. In May 2006 he challenged Rey Mysterio for the WWE Championship in a losing effort and this was his final match of his professional wrestling career.
Recent Days
He started working as a commentator and he also appeared as part time wrestler after this defeat. He even won the Intercontinental Championship in March 2009. But he never returned to in ring action on a full time basis. He took retirement from in ring action in 2009 and he started doing non wrestling roles like commentary. He still makes sporadic appearances. In 2020 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Iconic Quotes From John Bradshaw Layfield
“I’m a part of major league rugby. We had a league meeting to decide what to do with anthem protests, and even though I personally agree with what they say they are protesting as inequality and judicial system and incarceration rates among minorities, we decided all should stand and respect every national anthem.”
“When people look at Bermuda, they see the beautiful beaches, the golf courses, the fishing, and that’s what they should see. That’s Bermuda. What they don’t see is the almost predominant black-on-black violence that is unfortunately pervasive throughout the local neighborhoods.”
“You look at something like Russia, or you look at something like China, where you actually allow free markets to go in. And you haven’t seen the change that we, in the western world, would probably like. You still have a bit of a dictatorship – some people would say more than a bit of a dictatorship – in Russia and in China.”
“In West Texas, where I grew up, I had a wind farm planned. I’d gotten the turbines bought and the land acquired, and then the renewable energy credit imploded, and it killed the margins, so the deal never worked, but the investment bank I was working with asked me and said, ‘We really like what you did. Would you come to work for us?’”
“So if you ask those people who say they’re standing up to boo Roman Reigns because, ‘We don’t like him,’ ‘Okay, would you pay to see Roman Reigns get beat?’ ‘Oh, absolutely! I’d love to see him get beat.’ He’s doing his job because people pay to see him.”
“Rugby is just a ball. I would be much more versed to coach American football, but you need 22 players and all of the equipment. With rugby, all you need is some green grass, a ball, and a bunch of kids who want to run into each other really hard, which they enjoy.”
“I grew up a big fan of the J. R. Ewing character of the ‘Dallas’ TV show, and I grew up around people who were very similar to J. R.: they had come into a ton of money. And they loved to flaunt it and loved to drive fancy cars and wear the big cowboy hats and nice suits.”
Notable Feuds and Rivalries of John Bradshaw Layfield
Bradshaw had some excellent rivalries throughout his professional wrestling career. John Cena had been one of his biggest rivals. Cena and the right to face him for the WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 21 at the duo feuded for the Championship during the time. It was one of the most entertaining rivalries of 2005.
Bradshaw also had other big rivalries with the life of Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. He mostly feuded with Rey Mysterio for the WWE United States Championship and Mysterio was the storyline reason behind his retirement from in ring action in 2006. Bradshaw feuded Eddie Guerrero for the WWE championship in 2004 and he won his only WWE title by defeating The Latino Heat.
John Bradshaw Layfield Injury
Injuries have been a big barrier in front of Bradshaw’s success. He had to quit wrestling regularly due to injury. When he stopped working regularly in the ring he was only 39 year old. A title vs career match angle was brought in so that he could take retirement in 2006. But he actually stopped wrestling due to a severe back injury.
Other Details
Bradshaw has appeared in loads of WWE video games as playable characters. His first appearance in a video game was in WWF Attitude that was released back in 1999. Since then he has appeared in a lot of WWE video game including the latest installment in the WWE video game series which is WWE 2K23.
John Bradshaw Layfield Salary |
$530,000 |
Brand Endorsements |
WWE Merchandise |
Sponsors |
* |
Charity |
Various Charities |
Social Media Accounts
Bradshaw is active on Twitter and Instagram from verified accounts. His verified Twitter account has a total following of 712.7K and his Instagram has a following of 356K. Here are links to his social media accounts where you can follow him. John Bradshaw Layfield Twitter, John Bradshaw Layfield Instagram.
John Bradshaw Layfield Win Loss Record
Promotion | Win % | Draw % | Loss % |
AJPW | 1 (50.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (50.00%) |
MCW (Memphis) | 3 (75.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (25.00%) |
OVW | 4 (66.67%) | 0 (0.00%) | 2 (33.33%) |
WAR | 2 (66.67%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (33.33%) |
WWE | 110 (41.51%) | 11 (4.15%) | 144 (54.34%) |
WWF | 258 (54.20%) | 29 (6.09%) | 189 (39.71%) |
TOTAL | 378 (50.00%) | 40 (5.29%) | 338 (44.71%) |
John Bradshaw Layfield Manager
Bradshaw created a faction named The Cabinet when he was playing the character of JBL and he was also holding the WWE Championship. He used to get managed by his teammates like Orlando Jordan during that time. After this stable was dropped, Jillian Hall became the manager of JBL and she managed him regularly.
FAQS
Q. When did John Bradshaw Layfield start wrestling?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield started working in 1992
Q. How tall is John Bradshaw Layfield in feet?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield is 6’6” tall in feet
Q. Who is John Bradshaw Layfield manager?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield had been various names like Orlando Jordan and Jillian Hall
What is current John Bradshaw Layfield song?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield uses the song ‘Longhorn’
Q. Who is John Bradshaw Layfield mother?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield’s mother was Mary Layfield
Q. Who is John Bradshaw Layfield father?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield’s father was Lavelle Layfield
Q. Who is currently John Bradshaw Layfield girlfriend?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield is currently married to American business woman Meredith Whitney
Q. Who is John Bradshaw Layfield brother?
A. No information available
Q. How much is John Bradshaw Layfield worth?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield’s net worth is something around $4m, although some sources claim his net worth is $9 million
Q. How many times John Bradshaw Layfield won the WWE World title?
A. John Bradshaw Layfield had been a one time WWE World Champion