WWE: 10 Times Real Life Political Troubles Fuelled Top Heels
8. JBL Hires HBK As An Employee
In 2008, the United States economy was terrible and the stock market had taken a dive. Affected by those losses was the popular Shawn Michaels, who in addition to lavish spending had invested all of his remaining money in the stock market. Enter benefactor John Bradshaw Layfield. Rich heels arent heels because theyre rich, theyre heels because of what they do with their money, and in this angle, JBL offered to pay HBK for the pleasure of working for him.
In addition to the real life politics, it also played on the real life popularity of Mickey Rourkes movie The Wrestler. JBL would cut promos asking if HBK wanted to be like one of those legends wrestling in a high school gym and selling 8x10s.
Once Michaels agreed on the deal, JBL subjected him to the usual pro wrestling demeaning situations, including forcing HBK to wrestle for him, testing the bonds of his babyface connections with the audience. The angle was overall received as cloying and half-hearted and worse yet, not believable given Shawn Michaels' long and lucrative career.