JBL Announced for 2020 WWE Hall of Fame Class

Another inductee for the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame has been announced: John Bradshaw Layfield. JBL’s induction was revealed during Tuesday night’s edition of WWE Backstage on FS1. It was revealed before the show that the newest inductee would be announced, and there were rumors it was going to be the APA tag team, which consisted of JBL and Faarooq. However, these rumors proved incorrect as it was solely JBL to receive the nod.

Layfield began his wrestling career in the Global Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s. He was signed by the WWE in 1995 and was first featured as Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw, a gimmick that never really took off. He was later featured alongside Barry Windham as the New Blackjacks.

However, it was in 1998 that the tide began to turn for Layfield as he formed the aforementioned APA tag team with Faarooq. The team would go on to win the WWE Tag Team Championships on three separate occasions.

After the APA run ended, Layfield began wrestling as JBL and won the WWE Championship for the first time in 2004. He had a memorable feud with Eddie Guerrero during this period of time, and JBL also won the “Best Gimmick” award in the 2004 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.

JBL now joins Batista, The New World Order (Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman) and The Bella Twins as part of the 2020 Hall of Fame Class. Jushin “Thunder” Liger and “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith have also been rumored for the class, though they have yet to be formally announced.

What’s your favorite memory of JBL in the WWE? Let us know in the comments section below, and give me a follow on Twitter @ryandroste for all the latest in the world of WWE.