With Smackdown lacking main event heels following Brock Lesnar's departure and the A.P.A. finished as a unit after WWE decided to stop using Ron Simmons on air, the company decided to repackage Bradshaw as John "Bradshaw" Layfield - a wealthy conservative businessman who would play a foil to WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. Immediately, the former World Tag Team Champion was involved in the brand's top feud. Fans rejected JBL, who was still seen as a midcarder (and not a particularly talented one, to boot). Still, he was getting mainstream exposure - Fox News and CNBC had both used him as an on-air analyst due to his real-life stock market acumen - and Vince McMahon himself was reportedly a huge proponent of the character. As much as fans didn't want to admit it, Bradshaw was becoming a top guy in WWE. In June of 2004, JBL was still feuding with Guerrero and Smackdown was touring Europe. During a show in Germany, the two men were on opposite sides of a tag team match and when JBL was on the apron, he performed a Nazi salute and began goose-stepping the length of the ring. Not only were fans outraged, but such actions are illegal in Germany. JBL escaped prosecution, but he was fired from CNBC and the incident drew major coverage. WWE claimed to have reprimanded the number one contender, but less than a month later, he defeated Eddie Guerrero and became WWE Champion.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
