"That's really it" – JBL on what it would take for him to come out of retirement
WWE Hall of Famer JBL disclosed he'd come out of retirement for the right match.
His last match in WWE was against Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 25 for the Intercontinental Championship, which he lost. Although he was an entrant in the 2014 Royal Rumble Match, JBL didn't do anything physical during the bout.
Speaking to Alistair McGeorge of Metro, JBL said he'd only make an in-ring come back if people are interested:
"If I thought I could do something that would be worth seeing, yes. That’s really it. I’m not worried about my health, I’m not worried about getting into shape. I can do that. I just wanna be able to put out something people wanna see. I don’t wanna go out there and do something and people go, 'That was terrible'. It really is something – if I thought I could do something that people would be interested in and enjoy, then yeah, of course."
Just had a blast chatting to the Wrestling God himself JBL (@JCLayfield) about his career and more. Around a decade ago, a handful of my earliest wrestling bylines were for John's Layfield Report, so it was great to finally talk face-to-face. https://t.co/5Wxlcx3UVk
JBL on his retirement match with Rey Mysterio
The former WWE Champion retired from in-ring competition in 2009 after his match with Rey Mysterio at The Grandest Stage of Them All. He served as a commenter for some time after that.
JBL discussed the match, saying the WWE legend was the right to retire him:
"I wanted to make sure to do the right thing. Not a doubt in my mind – my career was winding down, I was starting to put guys over on the way out, which I had no problem with, it’s what you should do. But I wanted to go out with a bang and put as much of the JBL character, the equity in that, as I can give to somebody else. That’s why it was Rey Mysterio. I love Rey, he’s my wife’s favourite wrestler, I think he’s above me. [laughs] He’s such a good person and such an incredible talent, and plus the association with Eddie [Guerrero] made it even better. That’s why I wanted to make sure and do the right thing as I was going out. No doubt about it, Rey was the right guy."
"I'm JBL and I don't apologize to anybody, I am going into the #WWEHOF because I am who I say that I am and I am a WRESTLING GOD!" - @JCLayfield https://t.co/aPmh5FWfh1
JBL expressed interest in managing the current SmackDown star Happy Corbin. The latter is currently involved in a feud with Drew McIntyre, and the two will collide at WrestleMania 38.