10 Times WWE Babyfaces Were Heels Backstage

5. JBL

Bradshaw bully
WWE

Perhaps the most famous ribber/hazer/complete sh*thouse (delete as appropriate), JBL's latter-day reinvention as a billionaire bully was another case of WWE giving a guy an elevated version of their real self to get the best out of them. But it was as a cowboy barroom bell-end in which one of his more infamous ribs went down in 1998.

Barely birthed on television that year, Adam Copeland was still keeping his mouth shut and ears open as instructed when he heard Layfield approaching him in the showers.

According to the anecdote documented in his 2004 autobiography, Edge found himself caressed and confused by a JBL performing what was apparently one of his routine ribs. Wise to wrestling's hideous underbelly, the future 'Rated-R Superstar' didn't offer any particular type of response. He knew that by 'no-selling' the situation, he'd earned the respect of the locker room by self-appointed security guard Layfield.

Suggesting that he tested this stunt out on any other members of the roster would be purely speculative, but many wrestling ribs have a particularly rich history of repetition throughout the years. It may have been a proving ground other experienced but failed to ever report.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett