WWE Hall of Famer JBL appeared on an episode of Something to Wrestle With, where he discussed various topics, including 17-time World Champion John Cena, who said that his first heel promo bombed.
JBL said, “Absolutely, absolutely. And I love John for that. I love John for, you know, first, he first came in, he was always willing to try stuff.”
On taking chances in wrestling:
“You know, I always said about Pat McAfee — I love Pat, and I love Pat as announcer and as a person. He’s he’s just a cool dude, for those of you that don’t know him. But when he got up on the table and he’s going to do the guitars, whatever it was with Elias? If that doesn’t work, he’s got to climb down. And that sucks. Because all of sudden, now you stuck yourself out there. But it worked, and all sudden now he had this thing where he climbs up on the table every time. And I told him that, I said, ‘Man, that’s a ballsy move.’ Because a lot of people wouldn’t try that, because you don’t know the outcome. And when you get up there, if it works you got something iconic. And if it doesn’t, you got something really s**tty, and you gotta calm down. But that’s what these great guys do. They try stuff, and when it works, it’s a freaking grand slam. When it’s not, they figure a way out of it.”
On Vince McMahon’s philosophy:
“You know, Vince always said, ‘It’s live TV, what can possibly go wrong?’ And what he’s saying is, ‘We’re all pros. We’re gonna figure our way out of it.’ But you gotta try stuff like that. I was there in the ring when The Worm got created, and all of a sudden the clay plays went crazy. We’re up in Canada in Edmonton, Scotty 2 Hotty does the worm. And the place goes freaking nuts. We couldn’t believe it. And all of a sudden, he had something. He just tried something one day.”
On the People’s Elbow:
“I was there when the freaking People’s Elbow got created. That’s the worst move ever, and it’s one of the most iconic moves. If you had drawn that up on a board and said, ‘Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna do this real hokey move. He’s gonna do this over dramatic stuff and drop this elbow, kind of like Muta but he’s gonna do it in a way that’s like covered in theatrics.’ You’d go, ‘That’s horrible.’ It’s one of these iconic moves. But that’s why you’ve gotta try this stuff, and you gotta be willing to fail. And when you fail? A lot of times, it’s just as important, because you stick that in the bag, go ‘Okay, I know not to try that.’ But these great guys, they’re constantly trying different things in different iterations. And that’s the difference a lot of times between your top guys and your guys who will never get to the top because they aren’t willing to go on a limb and try stuff.”
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(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
