LAS VEGAS — There has been a lot of talk in recent years about the southern border of the United States with Mexico.
Leave it to John Bradshaw Layfield to shake things up a bit.
Instead of ranting about building a wall, he snuck into Mexico to be a surprise at the AAA TripleMania card on Saturday, August 17, 2024.
“It was a lot of fun sneaking into Mexico. You know, a lot of people talk about how people are sneaking across the border. I’m actually one of the few people that snuck into Mexico, and I think Mexico is now going to build a wall and ask for the Texans to pay for it, because it keeps Texans out of Mexico,” JBL told SlamWrestling.net at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in Las Vegas at the Plaza Hotel & Casino, just days after TripleMania.
Just how does a 6-foot-6 former World champion sneak into another country? Under a mask.
Sam Adonis, one of the top American stars in Mexico, and superfan Roy Lucier, were accomplices. Adonis had bought some masks for his father, promoter Sam Polinsky, to sell at shows around Pittsburgh, and Lucier noted that the Tinieblas Jr. mask would work.
“Tinieblas is the ONLY Luchador in Mexico who is the same height as @JCLayfield,” tweeted Adonis, admitting the ruse. “It was perfect for JBL to hide in plain sight!”
Though JBL admitted he couldn’t pronounce Tinieblas correctly, it worked.
“When I walked in, people thought I was actually him because he worked for a different company, until I forgot, of course, being dumb like I am, that I’m not supposed to speak English,” chuckled JBL. “Some fans rushed me for an autograph. I go, ‘Not right now’ in a southern accent. They look at me like, he just learned English somehow. It freaked them out.”
JBL was there as a second to Nic Nemeth, in an loss of the AAA Mega Championship to Alberto El Patrón.
“Nic Nemeth is a good friend of mine, and I’d worked down in Mexico years ago, and wanted to go back down and see AAA and support Nic, and I was excited to go back down there,” said JBL, referring to the man known as Dolph Ziggler in WWE.
Incredible night and show in Mexico City, honored to be a part and be there for one of our business all time greats Nic Nemeth. These guys packed em in, @luchalibreaaa -I’ve always wanted to own a company in Mexico…….. pic.twitter.com/L5NDpTq742
— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) August 19, 2024
AAA English language announcer Joe Dombrowski, calling the match at home in Pennsylvania, was as surprised as anyone by JBL’s TripleMania appearance.
“When it comes to lucha libre, you always have to be prepared for surprises. You always have to be prepared to expect the unexpected. But I don’t think anyone thought John Layfield would be a lucha libre headline in 2024 — probably the first time since his days as Vampiro Americano,” said Dombrowski.
“To see John with Nic Nemeth versus Alberto El Patron, almost like a culture shock, because you’ve never really seen John in other organizations, backing other talents outside of WWE and the world he was in,” added Dombrowski, who also is the voice of MLW. “I think this opens the door for so many different opportunities, because he is such a recognizable name, and he’s such a great speaker, and he’s such a heat magnet.”
Given his history feuding with Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, JBL said “it’s kind of easy for me in Mexico.”
“There’s a lot of history there. That’s one of the reasons I want to go down, because of the history, and go have some fun again,” JBL said. “I wanted to do something, and I had an opportunity in AAA, and there may be more opportunities. I’m hoping that there will be.”
JBL talks about the Dudley Boyz at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion banquet at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. Photo by Brad McFarlin
At 57 years old, JBL isn’t really thinking about wrestling again.
“No, no, I’m looking for an investment and looking maybe to do something with AAA, and I don’t know. We’ll see. I enjoyed what they did. There’s whatever the crowd capacity was, the building was full 15, 20,000 people, and they drew a heck of a crowd,” he said.
JBL noted that AAA’s booker, Konnan, was mentored by Kevin Sullivan, who just died, and said that Konnan has “a terrific mind for the business.” He has also “had a lot of great conversations” with AAA CEO Dorian Roldán.
“Hopefully there’s something that will come out in the pretty near future that will kind of make all of this kind of clear and kind of see a path going forward. I’m not exactly sure the path going forward. I’m not just being vague on purpose because I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen,” admitted JBL.
Dombrowski, for one, is excited.
“Think about the rivalries he’s had with Eddie Guerrero, with Rey Mysterio, the potential for what John can accomplish in AAA is near limitless,” said Dombrowski, who hosted the CAC banquets. “I think good surprises are so sorely missed in pro wrestling. I was surprised to see him. I was glad to see him, because I know it’s going to stir up controversy, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
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