JBL Shares Sneaky Interview Tactic Former WWE Boss Vince McMahon Shared With Him

When John "Bradshaw" Layfield controversially ripped the WWE Championship away from Eddie Guerrero at The Great American Bash in 2004, the Hall of Famer was excited to start his 280-day trek as the apex champion. Of course, when you're champion, you're required to make appearances outside of the ring, including media tours. Although many loathed his snarky tactics, the former champion revealed some tips he received from Vince McMahon on his first media tour on how to go from an average heel champion to "The Wrestling God" based on the words and swerves he spoke and gave.

"I had a pretty good relationship with Vince already," JBL said on "Something To Wrestle." "Vince pulled me in, and my first media thing, because I'm a heel...He said, 'Hey, when you go into these interviews, go in there, and when you walk out, your goal is for that person – man or woman – to say, man, what a wonderful guy...' He said, 'The fans, it'll drive them nuts because they know you worked them.'"

To his surprise, many bought it. If there was such a thing as shoot media, JBL believes McMahon would have been the one and only reference many would've gone to, to hone their technique. Riding high on his venture to the top, JBL lost the WWE Championship to the now "Never Seen 17/Last Real Champion" John Cena at WrestleMania 21 in 2005. The Hall of Famer's reign remains the longest one within the Ruthless Aggression era.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.