Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: job, john bradshaw layfield, mauro ranallo, wwe

Getting Blocked By JBL Is Now A Journalistic Badge Of Honor

Published Tue, 11 Apr 2017 19:15:37 -0500

Last updated Wed, 12 Apr 2017 10:24:45 -0500

Apparently, it doesn't take much to turn a loudmouthed rich Texan into a 17-year-old high school kid. Members of the media and many more are finding out today that JBL (WWE's John Bradshaw Layfield) is about as thin-skinned as they come to criticism as he has proceeded to block hundreds of people from his Twitter account.

Confirmed by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, JBL has been going through social media and blocking anyone he can who wished Mauro Ranallo best wishes after the bullying scandal came to light. What's more, JBL has been blocking people who are following Ranallo on Twitter, (which includes WWE staffers and talent) as well as members of the media who have been reporting on JBL's bullying issues now and over the years. That includes yours truly, who got the notification this morning on the social media software I use for business.

As a writer and a journalist, I personally take this as a badge of honor. This is a guy who used to be one of the biggest badasses in the WWF/E locker room, and he's hit the proverbial "nuke'em" button on his Twitter account to make all the bad stuff in his life go away. That makes me laugh and shake my head at the same time. In a perfect world, JBL would already be out the door and Ranallo would be calling Smackdown tonight because that's what's supposed to happen in a company where you have a long history of confirmed harassment and a situation that goes public. But it's a stark reminder that the business side of WWE is still handled with a lot of old-school mentalities that need to go away.

As for JBL, a quick commentary, because I'm sure you're reading this and wishing there was a way to block me twice… Yeah, it sucks being the focal point of all this crap, especially when the boss encourages it, and getting that much media attention had to weigh on you a little bit. But here's the thing: You're a dick. You have been for years and there are countless shoot interviews about it from your peers and people you probably consider below you. Can't have all that smoke and no fire, cowboy. Either own it and be proud of it in public, or apologize and walk away in public. But you can't block this away forever, and sooner or later, you will become the next Bill DeMott.

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