WWE SmackDown Debut Wrestlers: Where Are They Now?
8. Bradshaw
Long before he started blocking half the world on Twitter and turned himself into a meme on commentary, Bradshaw was a regular fixture on WWE’s tag team scene. In April 1999, he was still teaming with Faarooq as part of the Acolytes, and lost to Ken Shamrock in a No Holds Barred match on this particular show.
Their feud soon ended when the Corporation and Ministry joined forces, however, and by May, the Acolytes had won their first ever WWE Tag Team Championships. They gradually became huge fan favourites, but their eventual split in 2004 prompted the biggest push of Bradshaw’s career. He was reborn as the J.R. Ewing-esque JBL, and a long, drawn-out reign as WWE Champion followed before Bradshaw’s in-ring career slowly wound itself down.
JBL started working as a heelish colour commentator in July 2006, and he has been in and out of the booth ever since. He wrestled his final match at WrestleMania XXV in 2009, then didn’t appear for the company for two whole years before returning in 2011. Today, he acts as the most obnoxious member of SmackDown’s four-man announce team, and a regular talking head on a variety of different WWE Network shows.
Still, at least he gave us John O’Clock...