John Bradshaw Leyfield: American Hero, Wrestling God

Many people have come through the wrestling business claiming greatness, but few have actually achieved it like JBL.  After many years of finding the right identity in the wrestling business.  In 2004, the man who was known from everything to Blackjack Bradshaw, Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, and even just Bradshaw, arrived in his limo and out came John Bradshaw Layfield.  He immediately set his sights on the man who lied, cheated and stole his way through many things...Eddie Guerrerro, who was champion at the time.  It didn't take long for the wrestling god to put a stop to Guerrero and become not only the longest reigning Smackdown champion of all time, but also the fightingest champion of all time. 

In this reign, embracing his bulls-eye, on his chest, he took on all comers including the Big Show, Kurt Angle, and even the powerful Undertaker.  He also gave such inexperienced wrestlers like Shannon Moore and Mexican leegnd El Abysmo Negro.  While being champion, he knew he needed protection from all the opportunists who will win at all costs and hired a cabinet which consisted of Orlando Jordan, and the Basham brothers.  These guys made absolute sure that there was no interferance or cheating.  Unfortunately though, like many people in teh wrestling business, their egos would get in the way of helping the Wrestling God and later parted ways.  Unfortunately his reign would come to an end to the thuggish ways of John Cena in Wrestlemania 21.

He did not let this stop his quest when he became a crusader for the WWE in the Extreme Championship Wrestling which he was absolutely against.  He stood by his beliefs and late on the Smackdown brand, he had to take on the corrupt General Manager Theodore Long while having a sound reign as the United States Champion in Long's quest to keep JBL from holding gold.  He successfully fought off the late Chris Benoit to gain that U.S. Championship.  His wresling career ended in May of 2006 when then Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio defeated JBL.  All the long, hard-fought battles caught up to him and had to call it quits.  Mysterio takes credit for this situation but he had very little to do with his injuries, it was those brutal matches against people like the Undertaker, and Cena, among many others.

It wasn't long before JBL returned to the scene in a different capacity becoming a color commentator on Smackdown so that he could carry his partner Michael Cole and week after week telling it like it is.  He did make a small in-ring return in the Christmas episode in Iraq when he saved a soldier from Chris Masters' Masterlock thus showing the American Hero he is. 

Through it all, JBL won the Great American Award Trophy (only to have it destroyed by a jealous Eddie Guerrero), he has been on CNBC and Fox News, he is a stock-market genius.  He is a future WWE Hall of Famer, a champion for the century, and a WRESTLING GOD.  Long live JBL.  To this day, like in his days as a wrestler, wrestling arenas around the world chant J-B-L, J-B-L, J-B-L.  Long live this great American whose name will go down in history with other great Americans like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Martin Luther King Jr.  Our children and their children will know the kind of great man John Bradshaw Layfield is and his name will never die or be forgotten.