WWE Hall of Famer JBL addresses Worlds Collide absence

John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) did not feature on AAA and WWE's Worlds Collide event on June 7. In his latest podcast episode, the 58-year-old clarified reports about his rumored appearance at the show.

WWE announced the acquisition of Mexican wrestling company AAA in April. It had been speculated that JBL would appear at the first cross-promotional show between the two organizations. However, he did not attend Worlds Collide in any capacity.

On the Something to Wrestle podcast, JBL confirmed he was never supposed to be part of the historic event:

"I think it's awesome. I think the integration was great. I saw a lot of the show clips. Apparently on the internet I was supposed to be there. It was reported. I don't know where that came from. I would have loved to have been there. But, as far as I know, it was never planned, so I'm not sure where that came from." [9:38 – 9:53]

Layfield retired from in-ring competition in 2009. He has made unexpected appearances for several wrestling promotions over the last year, including AAA, GCW, MLW, and TNA.

JBL backs AAA's Mexican stars to succeed in WWE

The Worlds Collide event featured five matches, including El Hijo del Vikingo's successful AAA Mega Championship defense against Chad Gable.

Expand Tweet

Although AAA talents might have to adjust to WWE's style, JBL thinks the promotion's top stars will have no issues winning over American wrestling fans:

"The problem you have with guys that come into territories that have never been over, you don't know if they can get over. Guys that have gotten over somewhere, you know at least they can get over because that's hard to do, and these guys have all gotten over in Mexico. I think they're gonna be fine. It's a different style, but they're gonna sell so much merch it's gonna blow cash registers out, even though people don't use cash registers anymore." [10:33 – 10:56]

Worlds Collide was widely considered a success. The show received 4.1 million views within 24 hours on YouTube, breaking a WWE record.

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

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

Know More

WWE made several mistakes with Money in the Bank?

Edited by Danny Hart