John Bradshaw Layfield says he nearly followed the path of fellow veterans like Steve Austin and Sting by stepping back into the ring in his 50s. However, those plans ultimately fell apart due to changes behind the scenes.
The WWE Hall of Famer made several surprise appearances across different promotions last year, which sparked speculation that he was preparing for a full in-ring comeback. According to JBL, those rumors were not far from the truth.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Layfield revealed he had been close to wrestling again with either Total Nonstop Action Wrestling or Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide before circumstances changed.
“Yeah, you know, I was going to do it last year and it didn’t work out,” Layfield said. “I was going to do something in TNA and it didn’t work out. They had a creative change and I didn’t like what the creative was.”
Layfield explained that he ultimately walked away from the opportunity because he didn’t feel the direction being proposed would benefit anyone involved.
“I didn’t think it was very good. I didn’t think it was good for business or good for me or good for anything,” he said. “So I told them, ‘I’m not really interested in doing it,’ and I walked out of it.”
According to Layfield, the situation quickly shifted again after the creative change was reversed and WWE eventually formed a partnership with the promotion. By that point, however, the potential storyline had already been abandoned.
JBL also noted that he had discussed working with AAA in Mexico as well, but that opportunity disappeared when WWE moved to acquire the company.
“I was going to do something in AAA down in Mexico and then all of a sudden WWE buys them and they made me a commentator,” he joked. “So I’m glad they kept me, but they took me out of the ring. Maybe that was a hint they were giving to me.”
Although a full return never materialized, Layfield did compete in a battle royal at the WrestleCade SuperShow last year. He had also teased a possible comeback earlier in the year by posting videos of himself training in the ring.
While those plans ultimately didn’t come together, Layfield’s comments show that a return to active competition was closer to happening than many fans realized.
