JBL says WWE legend refused to ride with Vince McMahon after controversial incident

John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) joined WWE in 1995 when Vince McMahon was in charge of the company's creative direction. The Hall of Famer recently recalled how a controversial incident led former producer Gerald Brisco to refuse a car ride with McMahon.

In 1996, Shawn Michaels and Triple H hugged WCW-bound Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in the ring after a live event at Madison Square Garden. The incident, known as the "Curtain Call," was one of WWE's first major character-breaking moments. At the time, Nash and Triple H performed as bad guys while Hall and Michaels were babyfaces.

On the Something to Wrestle podcast, JBL said Brisco was furious with McMahon for approving the post-match embrace:

"Brisco refused to get in the car with Vince. Vince goes, 'You gonna get in the car?' and Jerry cut a hell of a promo on him and wouldn't get in the car with him and went back to his hotel and flew home. Jerry was pretty upset about it because Vince had approved it. Not [mad] at Kevin because Vince had said it was okay. Jerry was mad at Vince." [34:47 – 35:07]

Although McMahon initially had no problem with the Kliq members breaking character, he changed his mind when the incident gained widespread attention. As Michaels was the WWE Champion, McMahon punished Triple H by nixing plans for him to win the King of the Ring tournament.

---

How JBL felt after the "Curtain Call"

In 1996, many wrestlers were still protective of their characters and did not want fans to know about backstage friendship groups.

JBL added that he would not have wanted to be involved in something like the "Curtain Call", but he was not against the idea:

"The boys, there was mixed feelings. My thought always was see what happens. If we go to The Garden next time and it's in half, then yeah, these guys did the wrong thing and we can be mad at them. If it doesn't have any effect, then nothing wrong with them. Not my cup of tea. I wouldn't have done it. But you've always had guys doing stuff in the business that sometimes you don't know if it's good or not." [35:08 – 35:34]

JBL also addressed rumors about The Kliq, the Bone Street Krew (BSK), and other factions having real-life heat with each other.

---

Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.