JBL On Whether He Wants To Wrestle Another Match, Biggest Challenges Of Being Heel In Wrestling

In a recent Q&A session on his YouTube channel, JBL discussed the biggest challenge of being a heel, whether he wants to wrestle another match, and much more. You can read JBL’s comments below.

JBL on the biggest challenges of being a heel in wrestling: “Being a heel is being hated. Being a heel is finding something people don’t like. I always give the example, Road Dogg, when he turned heel, he would always say his catchphrases and people would repeat them and say them. If you tell people, ‘You suck,’ they’ll boo. But that’s not real heat. You explain to them why they suck. It strikes a chord with them, and all of a sudden, they get really mad at you. ‘How dare they bring that up?’ That’s when you get heat. Road Dogg used to have these catchphrases, and when he turned heel, the whole crowd would want to chant along with him. He would just stop and say, ‘This isn’t chant along with Road Dogg.’ People would boo. If you have a heel section, you’re not heel.

“Curt Hennig came out one time against Hillbilly Jim – one guy was out there yelling, ‘Hillbilly, you suck. Curt, you’re the best.’ Curt spit his gum out and hit the guy. The guy looked around and goes, ‘Curt, you suck.’ He changed the one guy who was rooting for him to rooting against him. He looked at Hillbilly and goes, ‘That was perfect.’ There’s a place for heels that are popular, no doubt about it. But in a series like you have on Netflix or Amazon or HBO – there’s always a super heel or two, and that’s the guy that’s gotta be a pure heel. It’s tough to find those people because very few people actually wanna be a heel. Roddy Piper loved being a heel. Randy Orton, The Miz – I think those guys enjoy being a heel. Once you realize that’s part of the show and you take your ego out – it’s tough to walk through an airport and be called a name or go on social media and see people bashing you. Bubby Ray Dudley always loved being a heel. I loved being a heel because you could control things so much easier.”

On his rivalry with John Cena and knowing Cena could be a big star: “When I came along, John Cena was just coming up. He was not the John Cena you know now. You knew he had talent. The difference between an eight-minute match and a 30-minute match is a world of difference. Eight minutes is easy – it’s formulaic, you go out and do a certain thing and get heat and go home. With 30 minutes, you can’t do that. You have to take people on a roller coaster. It’s hard. Some people never make that transition because they never understand the ability of work. The first time that John Cena did that may have been with Kurt Angle, but he got everything right away. You knew he had it.”

On potentially wrestling another match: “Yeah, I’d love to. I have an idea about getting back. Every wrestler has an idea. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna do it, and I don’t know if my body will allow me to do it. Right now, I’m just playing golf and enjoying that.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit JBL’s YouTube channel with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.