8 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Hall Of Fame 2020 & 2021
3. Oh, John...
Cracking in-character lines (that probably weren't all that in-character) about offended snowflakes wasn't the best choice from a man like JBL, who has faced infinitely more allegations of awful backstage behaviour than he has had classic matches, feuds, and promos.
Much of this speech revolved around the monster heel heat he purports to have drawn, particularly early in his career. Unfortunately, JBL's idea of "good heat" involves throwing up a Nazi salute and goosestepping at a German house show in 2004. Putting himself over as some kind of legendary heater, he trumpeted the historically bad angle that saw him give Eddie Guerrero's mother a heart attack as a good thing.
Behind the scenes, Bradshaw has been at the heart of ugly, ugly bullying stories involving Mauro Ranallo, The Blue Meanie, Justin Roberts, Mark Henry, and many, many more.
None of this is to say that he does or doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame based on accomplishments, and worse people than him have made it through those doors, but Bradshaw should have applied a little tact here. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised at a guy who spent the majority of his career working a Stan Hansen cosplay act would don another costume here, though.