JBL Says He ‘Beyond Hates’ the ‘What?’ Chant

On the latest episode of Something to Wrestle, JBL marked 25 years since Steve Austin first used the “What?” catchphrase in a segment with Hugh Morrus, and made clear where he stands on the chant it spawned. You can check out his comments below:

On Bill DeMott’s Place in History:

“You know, I thought that was like the biggest thing in wrestling. Bill DeMott — he was Goldberg’s first match too, right? And Bill was there for Steve’s ‘What’ promo. So Bill may have a bigger impact in the wrestling world than I did, because he’s the one that created both Goldberg, the undefeated streak, and Stone Cold’s ‘What.’ So kudos to Bill DeMott for creating another superstar 25 years ago today. Way to go. Way to get these kids over.”

On the ‘What’ Chant Itself:

“I mean, beyond hate it. Look, I hated this. This ‘What’ promo was so terrible. Terrible. Oh my God, it ruined shows.”

On What It Did To Promos:

“I don’t think he had any idea how bad it would get. When you’re cutting a promo and everybody’s trying to hijack the show, you’ve got to be really good. I used to really enjoy this, because I did those promos every single night on the road. People would always try to hijack the show with WWE or something else, and I’d always take pride in the fact that I could get them to turn on me and forget it. And I had a pretty good success rate, but man, it took some work. A lot of guys never could.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something To Wrestle With an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.