Layfield Readies Himself for a Grave Challenge Nine Years.
That's how long John "Bradshaw" Layfield has labored in WWE rings before he finally attained that coveted prize, the WWE Championship. Not since Andrew the Giant has a Superstar worked so hard for so long to reach the pinnacle of sport-entertainment. And now that he's there, he just might be wishing he never laced up a pair of boots in the first place.
Rarely does anyone in this business get a chance to stop and smell the roses, especially if you're a champion. Nevertheless, JBL was probably not counting on Undertaker being the first challenger to knock on the door.
Unlike JBL, Undertaker has reached the pinnacle in the past - and not just once, but on four separate occasions. Champions the likes of Hulk Hogan, Sycho Sid, and Stone Cold Steve Austin have fallen at his feet. He's been inspiring mortal terror in competitors and fans alike for 14 years now. Yet, that is not the same man currently on the title hunt. The Undertaker of 2004 makes that Undertaker look like Mr. Rogers.
The night of June 27 was a watershed moment for both men. For JBL, it was a night of triumph, of making good on the guarantee he had issued to his detractors, that he would emerge from Norfolk, Virginia as WWE Champion. For Undertaker, it was a night of transformation. When the Deadman pulled the lever that sealed the fate of his longtime manager and confidante, Paul Bearer, inside hundreds of pounds of concrete, all bets were officially off.
To coin a phrase, this is not your father's Undertaker. This is a darker, more determined individual than any of us have ever seen before. If Bearer truly was Undertaker's "conscience," as Paul Heyman called him, then that conscience has been thoroughly obliterated. Any trace of humanity that once existed is surely no more. God knows what this new Undertaker is capable of. Actually after SummerSlam, both God and JBL will know.
For the man once known as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, the WWE Championship represents the culmination of nearly a decade of hard work. Ironically enough, he achieved his first major success in WWE not as a singles wrestler, but in the tag-team division. It was when he allied himself with Ron "Faarooq" Simmons that it became clear he was a Superstar with great potential.
Enduring from 1998 to 2004, the APA was one of WWE's most beloved - and longest running - tag teams of all time. They had their beginnings, ironically enough, as the Acolytes, members of Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness. In those days, JBL served the 'Taker's will, a minion of the Man from the Dark Side. But on August 15, he'll be staring across the ring at him as the WWE Champion.
When the APA went by the wayside earlier this year, Bradshaw became John "Bradshaw" Layfield. Looking back now, it can be argued that the transformation was similar to the one Undertaker has undergone, in that Layfield became more focused, more tenacious, and more cunning than ever before. Years of hard work paid off in the extreme, with his first pay-per-view main event at Judgement Day, and then with his victory, however shaky, over Eddie Guerrero at The Great American Bash.
But all that aside, with the Phenom now breathing down his neck, there can only be one question going through the mind of JBL: What have I gotten myself into? The prospect of being WWE Champion was surely tantalizing as it gets. But the reality of having to defend it is another story. Holding the history crown worn by Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund and Bret "Hit Man" Hart is all well and good until you realize that there will always be an Ivan Koloff, Iron Sheik or Yokozuna waiting in the wings to take it away from you.
Very quickly, JBL has gone from the intimidator to the intimidated. He had his fun making light of Guerrero's heritage, throwing his weight around and issuing bold proclamations. But what he's dealing with now is unlike anything he's ever dealt with. All these years, JBL wanted to play with the big boys. He wanted to be at the top of the card. Now he's playing with the biggest boy of them all. It's the price you pay for success. JBL must now be wondering if it's worth it.