John Charles Layfield, better known by his stage names John 'Bradshaw' Layfield (JBL), and Bradshaw (born on November 29, 1967 in Sweetwater, Texas, USA) is an American professional wrestler. He is also known outside the wrestling business as a conservative stock market analyst, and has been featured on the Fox News and CNBC channels. He has written a book on financial planning, Have More Money Now.

Early career

John Layfield first appeared in the WWE (then the WWF) as Justin Hawk Bradshaw in the mid 1990s. His initial gimmick was that of a sadistic cowboy. He later paired up with "The Stalker" Barry Windham to form The New Blackjacks. Bradshaw was then 'sacrificed' by The Undertaker and became an Acolyte, alongside Faarooq, and shortened his name to Bradshaw. After this 'dark side' gimmick, he turned face as a cigar-smoking bar-brawler. This gimmick was an evolution of the Acolyte gimmick and continued his teaming with Faarooq as the Acolyte Protection Agency (or the APA). Their motto: "We need beer money." They were promoted through a series of vignettes parodying Pulp Fiction and old noir films. The angle was slightly absurdist as well, as it featured a door frame and door in the middle of a room which was not attached to any walls, being the door to their "office". Whenever anyone walked around it instead of knocking they would yell at them to have manners.

Current

Since the firing of his tag team partner, Simmons, Bradshaw has changed his gimmick from a bar room brawler to a posh New York businessman on the SmackDown! brand, and also turned heel. Like HHH on Raw, he is now the biggest heel on Smackdown! He rides a white limousine to the ring and wears $2,000 10-gallon hats. "JBL" previously feuded against The Undertaker, Booker T and Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship, which he won from Eddie Guerrero on June 27, 2004. On November 14, he was able to defeat Booker T to retain his WWE Championship. He defeated all three: Eddie Guerrero, Booker T and The Undertaker in a Fatal Four Way at the Armageddon pay-per-view, after interference by Heidenreich. At the 2005 Royal Rumble, Layfield was able to defeat both The Big Show and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match. He even managed to defend succesfully his title against The Big Show one-on-one in the first-ever Barbed-Wire Steel Cage Match at No Way Out. At No Way Out, John Cena won a tournament to determine JBL's next challenger, and later defeated JBL for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles, California.

Many observers considered his future in WWE to be in doubt after an incident that occurred during a WWE house show in Munich, Germany, on June 5, 2004. In an attempt to draw heel heat, he gave the crowd several Nazi salutes and goose-stepped around the ring. Such a display, if used to incite riot or for other political purposes, is illegal in Germany. The German government did not prosecute since the display was intended as part of the showmanship of wrestling. On June 8, 2004, CNBC, which had recently hired Layfield to regularly appear on one of its shows after he had become prominent as a financial commentator, terminated its relationship with Layfield for his actions in Munich. However, Layfield's actions did not prevent WWE from putting its championship belt on him, as noted previously. Some have even speculated that it was this incident which encouraged the decision to make him world champion.

The JBL character has slowly become more egotistical with time, at first mimicking the actions of a man running for office (campaign speeches, kissing babies etc) now referring to himself as "a Wrestling God", much to the disdain of RAW's then-World Champion, Triple H. At just over nine months, JBL's WWE Championship reign was the longest in more than ten years, a fact often mentioned by JBL near the end of his reign.

The Cabinet

Layfield currently has a "staff" working for him, it is a stable entitled The Cabinet. His staff includes Orlando Jordan; who is his Chief-of-Staff, and Doug and Danny Basham; his Co-Secretaries of Defense. Amy Weber was also a member, being JBL's image consultant, but later left the WWE due to alleged harrassment. WWE explained her absence by having JBL "fire" Weber.

Financial career

The JBL gimmick can be credited to his real-life rise as a successful Wall Street investor. After the publication of his book Have More Money Now, he became a stock analyst for Fox News Channel and later joined the CNBC television program Bullseye as the program's only conservative analyst. He has also started a radio show that broadcasts Saturday mornings.

Finishing and signature maneuvers

• Clothesline from Hell
• JBL Powerbomb
• Fallaway Slam

Championships and accomplishments

• WWE Champion
• World Tag-Team Champions (w/ Faarooq)
• WWE Hardcore Champion
• WWE European Champion