JBL details when he told Vince McMahon to sign WWE Superstar
JBL, also known as John Bradshaw Layfield, joined WWE in 1995 and made his televised debut as Justin Hawk Bradshaw in 1996. The Wrestling God suggested bringing in another talent when he first met Vince McMahon after being hired.
David Finlay Jr. is a former professional wrestler from Northern Ireland who is now employed by WWE as a trainer and assistant coach. Finlay started working with WWE in 2001 as a wrestler development coach. He was later given the responsibility of preparing the WWE Divas for their matches after having coached future WWE Champions John Cena and Randy Orton.
In 1994, Layfield and Finlay worked for the Catch Wrestling Association. They would engage in a historic Belfast Brawl at WrestleMania 24.
In an episode of "Stories with Briscoe and Bradshaw", JBL described how, in the mid-1990s, he suggested that Vince McMahon sign Finlay.
"When I signed with WWE, I met Vince for the first time in the office, had my tryout match, Jerry [Gerald Brisco] is the one who signed me, him and JJ Dillon agreed to sign me. At the end of the meeting, Vince says, 'is there anyone I should sign in Europe?' 'Yeah, Fit Finlay.' Vince says, half-jokingly, 'Well, if you were me, would you sign him instead of you?' I said, 'Absolutely. I'm serious. He's that good," said Layfield. (H/T fightful.com)
While Finlay serves as a producer and trainer for the organization, JBL currently serves as Baron Corbin's on-screen manager on WWE RAW.
What was JBL's final match in WWE?
One of the most influential wrestlers on the roster, JBL claimed to be a wrestling god and won multiple championships in WWE.
Layfield defeated CM Punk to win the Intercontinental Championship on the March 9 episode of Raw, becoming the 10th Grand Slam Champion and the 20th Triple Crown Champion. After one month of ownership, he lost the Intercontinental title to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 25 in just 21 seconds.
The WWE legend then grabbed a microphone after the match and exclaimed, "I quit!" The next day, he posted on his WWE Universe blog that he was retiring.
The self-described "Wrestling God" elevating Baron Corbin to new heights and giving back to the industry is incredibly inspiring.