10. The JBL Character Was Supposed To Debut As A Face
The Legend: That the JBL character was supposed to debut as as a babyface in 2004. Why People Believe It: Because JBL said so! It might seem hard to believe, considering just how good and natural JBL was as a heel, but Vince McMahon originally wanted to introduce the JBL character as a good guy. Because, in Vince's world, a loud multimillionaire who rides a limousine to the ring is someone who you should cheer. Clearly there was a disconnect there. JBL, who came up with the idea for the character, was against it. He saw it as more of a J.R. Ewing style character, something which Vince apparently did not see. Speaking to the Bermuda sun in 2012, JBL said that the decision was made to bring him in as a heel because of:
A confluence of factors happened. Big Show got hurt, The Undertaker got hurt and Brock Lesnar left the company and they needed a guy to face Eddie Guerrero. Vince asked me if I wanted to do the JBL character and I said, 'Id love to and lets give it a whirl.
Vince loved the character, naturally, and decided to push him straight to the top. Is It True: Yes, JBL would have been brought in as a face had the Smackdown roster not needed a heel for Eddie Guerrero to feud with in the spring. The injuries to 'Taker, Big Show, Angle and Lesnar deciding to leave the company forced Vince's hand and he had to put JBL in the heel headline spot. Well, that or he could have pushed someone more 'deserving' like Booker, but hey ho...
