Smackdown was in a poor way in the spring of 2004. There was a serious dearth of main event caliber talent on the brand. Kurt Angle was out injured, The Undertaker was on a reduced schedule and Brock Lesnar had left the company to try and make it in the NFL. Then they were short-changed during the draft. The WWE brass failed to move over a credible, main event heel to feud with 'Latino Heat'. Well, apart from Booker T, but the company apparently didn't see Booker versus Eddie as a viable option. No, the company had a different plan. A very different plan. Instead of elevating Booker or somebody of that ilk, WWE decided to attempt to turn longtime mid-carder and member of the past-it APA, Bradshaw, into a main event eventer. WWE had tried before in 2002 when Bradshaw was playing the longhaired cowboy on Raw. It didn't work and they gave up after a few weeks. Bradshaw was re-christened JBL, a brash, Texas millionaire who drove a limousine to the ring. Why did WWE give the spot to JBL? Because he was mates with Vince, basically. JBL had been giving Vince stock market tips for a while and the two even shared the same barber. And there was nobody else. And he was friends with locker room leader The Undertaker, too. Bradshaw had toiled in the company for eight years and had done whatever was asked of him (which wasn't much) so it could be argued that he deserved a shot. But, on the flip side, he had also had eight years to develop his ring work and make the step up but he hadn't been able to do it. JBL did eventually come good (he was a hell of a promo) and had some memorable matches, but the way he got was certainly eyebrow-raising.
