10 Best Stories Of First Time Wrestlers Met Vince McMahon
6. JBL Was Told He Was Getting A Ballerina Gimmick
When JBL debuted in the World Wrestling Federation in January 1996, it was as rough 'n' tough cowboy (see: Stan Hansen rip-off) Justin 'Hawk' Bradshaw.
Upon signing with the company at the tail end of '95, the future WWE Champion's first meeting with Vince McMahon saw him told how Vince had big plans for him - plans that would see the Texan handed the gimmick of a villainous ballerina.
Having already turned WCW down, Bradshaw panicked at the thought that his only two options on the table were a) don a tutu for McMahon's promotion, or b) explore what other non-WWF or WCW possibilities were out there.
As per a chat with WWE.com, the John Layfield explained how Vince was thankfully f**king with him, and that the company indeed had plans to have the then-29-year-old stick with the cowboy shtick that had served him so well in Germany and Japan during the previous few years.
Either way, the Justin 'Hawk' Bradshaw act didn't particularly bring Layfield much success and was followed by the similarly blurgh New Blackjacks tag team. It was only when Bradshaw found himself teaming with Farooq in late 1998 that things started to take an upswing for the powerhouse - with him eventually becoming a great as*hole heel as JBL from 2004 onwards.
Art imitating life or life imitating art? You can make your own mind up on that JBL main event run.