Exclusive: JBL Discusses Potential WWE SmackDown Announcing Job
Former WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield recently teased on his Twitter that he would be replacing Booker T on commentary on SmackDown. Layfield later admitted that he was kidding, but expressed interest in a return to commentary if the job were available.
During a recent interview that I conducted with Layfield, which will be published here on WrestlingINC.com next week, I asked JBL how interested he was in a return to the announce booth.
"I am interested," Layfield admitted. "The job has not been offered to me and I was just having fun with Michael Cole on Twitter. I think I said I was coming back. You know, I was having fun with Michael. I don't mean to mislead anyone, I'm not working, so to speak, on Twitter. [Laughs.] I was simply having fun. The job does appeal to me, yeah.
"I never thought the job would come open. There's only two jobs for color commentary in WWE and Jerry Lawler may be there for another 30 years and I hope he is. He's a great commentator. Booker moving to the general manager role opens up that job. But, that doesn't mean it's not filled and I don't know it. It could be filled and they may already have plans for it — I don't know that. I haven't been offered the job. They haven't told me, 'Hey we want you to come work,' or anything. So, yeah, it does interest me and if they called, it certainly would be very tempting to do."
Layfield noted that his recent appearance on the 1,000th episode of RAW last month helped spark his interest in a return.
"That was a lot of it," Layfield stated. "I really have enjoyed coming back and doing stuff and I've really enjoyed watching the shows recently. So, that's a big part of it, you know. It's been a part of my entire life, I've wanted to be a wrestler since I was a little kid. I don't think that ever leaves you. Me, coming back for the Hall of Fame and then Raw 1,000 — that was a lot of fun.
"I miss being around it, miss being around the guys, miss being around it all. If I never get a change to go back, I'm fine with that. But if I have the chance to do something, then it'd be very tempting. Especially if it's something like Smackdown! where it's on a Tuesday and I still get to spend the weekend with my family."
Make sure to check back next week for our full interview with JBL. You can follow JBL on Twitter @JCLayfield, and you can check out The Layfield Report at this link. You can also get the latest on his training for the "Seven Summits" project by clicking here.