The Wrestling God himself, JBL, is Wrestling Republic’s Wrestler of the Day for November 29th.
JBL Biography:
Birth Name: John Charles Layfield
Age: 56 (November 29th, 1966)
Height: 6’6
Weight: 290 pounds
Debut: 1992
Place of Birth: Sweetwater, Texas
Accolades: 1x WWE Champion, 1x WWE Intercontinental Champion, 1x WWE United States Champion, 18x WWF Hardcore Champion, 1, WWF European Champion, 3x WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2020)
In celebration of his birth, JBL is today’s Wrestler of the Day.
Prior to his career as a wrestler, JBL was an all-conference offensive lineman at Abilene Christian University. He had a brief professional football career, playing with the future head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jason Garrett. Fortunately for wrestling fans, football was not the job for Layfield, as he started wrestling in 1992.
JBL started wrestling for promotions in his home state of Texas, later traveling to promotions in Japan and Mexico. He finally made his WWE debut in the mid-90s, experimenting with various gimmicks before partnering with Ron Simmons in 1998. This was when JBL hit it big as a performer.
Simmons and Layfield formed the Acolyte’s Protection Agency (APA), a very popular tag team of the early 2000s. Originally an occult-type group, the APA became better known as a couple of tough guys, smoking cigars and playing cards. The APA won several tag team titles before they were split up due to the brand extension.
As a singles competitor, JBL became a multi-time champion, holding the WWE Championship for 280 days. He started to gradually ramp down his in-ring career, retiring from wrestling in 2010. Following his retirement, JBL joined the commentator’s table from 2011 to 2017. Most recently, JBL is now the manager for Baron Corbin.
Photo Credit: WWE
