5 Weirdest Choices Of WWE Champion Ever
3. John Bradshaw Layfield
JBL - or Jibble, as he is not so fondly known to effectively every wrestler removed from WWE - was a career midcarder.
In the Attitude Era, essentially every undercard act with a doughy physique became "supernatural". Dennis Knight, former Phineas I. Godwinn, became Mideon, a man you know was evil because it was written across his t-shirt. Fellow southern bruiser Bradshaw had failed to win over audiences under several derivative redneck guises, so was repackaged as, erm, Bradshaw - only this time 'round, he was more susceptible to following orders from dark priests and painting himself with stock satanic imagery.
Perhaps Vince Russo, noted late night cable enthusiast and pilferer, had seen Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark that week. Bradshaw finally found his niche - and, surely, his level - as part of the APA. He and Farooq were a riot in the role, but as popular as the tag team were, the WWF knew they didn't have the chops to hang with the TLC triumvirate in a meaningful series for the tag straps. So Vince McMahon decided to push him as WWE Champion instead. Makes sense.
In truth, WWE were so bereft of stars in 2004, following a raft of injuries and departures, that they were left with little option but to suddenly and transparently decide to tell everyone that Bradshaw was somehow worthy of a lengthy run with the company's top prize. It worked, to an extent, even if the heat he generated was of the cheapest variety.
An unscheduled bloodbath opposite Eddie Guerrero helped his cause, but essentially every feud he had thereafter was achingly dull.