WWE Hall of Famer JBL recently appeared on the Talking Tough Show with host Rick Bassman to discuss all things pro-wrestling, including what he thought about his one world title in WWE, and how he was happy to be able to drop the belt to John Cena. That and more can be found in the highlights below.
On his world title reign in WWE:
I had a championship run. At the time, it was a record-length run and it came really late in my career and I thought that my career was over. I had two hernia surgeries, I had a torn bicep, I had all kinds of injuries. I thought my career was over and at the last minute, I had to come back and wrestle and they ended up putting the championship on me for quite some time and that run to me was so unexpected. If I would have had it when I was 23, 24, 25, I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much because I was 40 I think it was and I was old for a first time champion and I just enjoyed every second of it. I mean it was so much fun and I remember when John Cena came along and just the joy of helping a young guy that I knew was gonna be the guy. I didn’t know he’d be the guy that did all the movies and 16-time world champion but I knew he was gonna be the guy and I knew my job was to make him as good as possible by making myself the bad guy as much as possible and I remember that day when I walked out of the Staples Center at WrestleMania [21] when he had won the title from me and he’s now the guy and I said, ‘That’s cool. I’m done. I’ve had it’ and that was really a cool feeling to kind of think, ‘You know what? That was a good way to walk out.’
His reservations towards becoming a manager in wrestling:
You know, I’d love to be. The only problem with being a manager is I’m 6’6 and that’s tough because I’m so much taller than a lot of the wrestlers. Not that they’re even shorter than they were but you know, it’s hard for tall managers because you want a short manager that makes their guy look really big. When Vince [McMahon] used to interviews, with even Andre The Giant, he would take off his shoes and he’d spread his legs to make himself shorter to make the guys — the interviewers that they have, they’re all small. It’s to make the guys look bigger, so I have a little bit against me with my height.
(H/T and transcribed by Post Wrestling)