WWE Chairman Vince McMahon takes the final call when it is about the storylines. WWE stars don’t have the creative freedom but if the ideas are intriguing, Vince considers materializing them. WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) once pitched an idea to Vince about forming a tag team with the former WWE star Heath Slater.
JBL reveals why Vince McMahon turned down the idea
The former WWE star JBL hosted a popular web series on WWE’s YouTube channel between December 2012 and May 2015. The web series, called “The JBL and Cole Show”, was originally hosted by JBL and Michael Cole. It was renamed “The JBL and Renee Show” when Renee Paquette, formerly known as Renee Young, replaced Cole. Many stars had appeared on the light-hearted show, including Heath Slater, who pretended to be JBL’s nephew Big Clem Layfield.
On his Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw podcast, JBL recalled how he asked McMahon if the YouTube storyline could lead to a tag team match. The WWE Chairman considered the idea but ultimately decided against it due to JBL’s fitness concerns. He said:
“I liked it so much I went to Vince and I told him, ‘Listen, I’ll come out of retirement and wrestle a tag match with Heath as my nephew,’” JBL said. “Vince thought about it. He goes, ‘That’s interesting.’ But then he physically didn’t think I could do it, so he backed out of it. I loved Big Clem Layfield!”
JBL added that the WWE storyline would have concluded with Big Clem Layfield learning that he is not related to the former WWE Champion:
“He [Vince McMahon] goes, ‘Well, how are we gonna get out of it?’ I said, ‘It’s simple. At the end of it, we’ll say that Clem is not my nephew, he’s mistaken, but I would have been honored if he would have been.’ That would have let the storyline go on and kind of move you on with whatever,” JBL continued.
