JBL once hit Shane McMahon with a Clothesline From Hell so hard that Ron Simmons immediately thought they were going to be fired.
During an appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet (see below), JBL was asked if anyone had ever taken an especially stiff version of his signature move. He pointed to McMahon at WWE SummerSlam 2001, when JBL and Simmons interfered during The Rock’s WCW Championship match against Booker T.
According to JBL, McMahon spent the day insisting that he not hold anything back when the time came.
“Oh yeah, Shane McMahon, almost killed him. Shane told me you got to hit me harder than you’ve ever hit anybody in your life. Ron goes, ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it!’ So, I mean, we’re at SummerSlam. Shane’s running around. He’s running full speed. I’m like, ‘You got to be kidding me!’”
JBL said he ultimately followed McMahon’s instructions and delivered the hardest clothesline he could.
“I hit him so freaking hard. I never hit anybody like that in my life. But he told me, he was threatening me. ‘All right, you got to hit me. You got to hit me. You got to hit me.’ It’s all he kept telling me all day was you got to hit me the hardest clothesline I ever hit. I hit him, and as soon as I did, Ron goes ‘We’re fired.’”
Simmons confirmed that was exactly what was going through his mind after watching McMahon take the shot.
“I just told him, ‘Go back there and start packing. I’m just gonna go back in and start packing my sh*t.’ The only thing I just recall seeing was this part of Shane’s right here disappearing so fast.”
Simmons wasn’t done there.
“I was just standing there shaking my head like it’s been a good run. It’s been a good run, man. Nice knowing you.”
Despite Simmons’ fears, McMahon apparently loved how the spot turned out. JBL recalled McMahon being thrilled with the impact rather than upset about how hard he had been hit.
“Oh, Shane thought it was the greatest thing ever! Shane’s nuts. Shane thought it’s the greatest thing ever.”
JBL added, “Oh, that’s awesome! That’s awesome! It’s so good.”
