A WWE Hall of Famer has revealed that a planned return to the ring nearly happened last year, but the comeback ultimately fell apart before it could take place.
WWE Hall of Famer JBL discussed the situation during an appearance on TMZ Sports, explaining that he had been in talks with both TNA Wrestling and AAA about returning to in-ring competition.
JBL, who retired from full-time competition in 2009, said discussions with TNA came close to becoming reality before the promotion underwent a creative shift that changed his outlook on the potential return.
“Yeah, you know, I was going to do it last year and it didn’t work out,” JBL said. “I was going to do something in TNA and it didn’t work out. They had a creative change and I didn’t like what the creative was. I didn’t think it was very good.”
He added that the new direction did not make sense from either a business or personal perspective.
“I didn’t think it was good for business or good for me or good for anything,” JBL explained. “So I told them, I said, ‘I’m not really interested in doing it.’ And so I walked out of it and I still have a good relationship with them.”
According to JBL, the situation changed again soon afterwards when the person responsible for the creative change left the company, and WWE later entered into a partnership with TNA. By that point, however, the potential comeback never returned to the table.
JBL Nearly Wrestled For AAA Until WWE Bought The Promotion
JBL also revealed that he had been discussing a possible in-ring appearance with AAA in Mexico. Those plans also ended unexpectedly when WWE later purchased the promotion.
“I was going to do something in AAA down in Mexico and then all of a sudden WWE buys them and they made me a commentator,” JBL said with a laugh. “So I’m glad they kept me, but they took me out of the ring. Maybe that was a hint they were giving to me.”
Despite the aborted comeback plans, JBL did compete once in 2025, appearing in a battle royal at the WrestleCade SuperShow.
Earlier this year, the former WWE Champion also fuelled speculation about a possible return after posting videos of himself training in a wrestling ring.
