JBL Recalls The Time Vader Helped Elevate His Career

JBL made an appearance on WWE’s After the Bell with Corey Graves. During the show, the former WWE Champion talked about The Undertaker being in a class of his own and the classy thing Vader did for him (via Wrestling Inc).

On The Undertaker being a pillar in the wrestling industry: “Not to take away from any other Hall Of Fame class, or member. But there are certain guys in Hall Of Fames that are pillars and cornerstones of the business, Ron is a pillar and cornerstone of the business, the first black heavyweight champion. Bruno Sammartino was a pillar, a cornerstone of the business. Undertaker falls into that category as well.

“There are certain guys that are your guys that you look at in the Hall Of Fame. When you go to the Hall Of Fame, everyone there is important, everyone has had a wonderful career. But certain times in the Hall Of Fame, when you go to a Hall Of Fame, you go, ‘I want to see Babe Ruth,’ Undertaker is like that. There’s Hall Of Fame’s and then there’s a level above that, and that’s where guys like Ron, and Undertaker belong.”

JBL on Vader putting him over on the way out of WWE: “To tell you how much respect I have for Vader, his last PPV he asked to work with me. He loved Ron, he loved APA, he rode with me some, he liked me, he kind of considered me to be an understudy, or whatever it was. He told me that day, he goes, ‘I asked to work with you. Today you’re going to get the old Vader, today I am going to come out smoking.’ He was as stiff as he possibly could be. He told me, ‘when you beat somebody today, you’re going to beat somebody important. I am going to have you beat the old Vader. I am going to have you kick out of my finish. That’s the last thing people are going to see, you’re going to kick out of my finish, and hit me with yours and go over.’ He did that for me on the way out, and that was really cool of Leon to do that.”