10 Wrestling Heel Turns That Totally Saved Careers
3. JBL
Bradshaw was always a popular midcard tag team wrestler as one half of the APA, but the act had ran its course by the early ‘00s. Their first split was enforced by the 2002 draft, but the Acolytes mounted a brief reunion in 2003, before Bradshaw Faarooq by going back on his promise to resign alongside his partner after he was “fired” by Paul Heyman the following year.
Bradshaw was dead, and JBL was born. Having cut his hair and shaved his goatee, he became a JR Ewing-esque wealthy, ill-tempered businessman, heavy on Texan bluster, and low on subtlety. He debuted the gimmick through a debut that saw him tracking illegal immigrants with the hope of winning a “Great American Award.” He achieved this, of course, and was immediately thrust into a WWE Title feud.
JBL was in the midst of the biggest push of his career, and won the belt at the 2004 Great American Bash. His 280-day reign was the longest in a decade, and while not always accepted as SmackDown’s top heel, JBL was undoubtedly soaring. He held the United States Championship after losing the big gold belt, but gradually drifted into a commentary position thereafter, concluding a push that wouldn’t have happened if not for his heel turn and character switch.