Recently, JBL was a guest on the podcast “Something To Wrestle With,” during which he discussed his thoughts on whether he thinks Vince McMahon would have ever replaced WWE RAW’s Monday night slot with WCW Nitro after its acquisition.
Here are some noteworthy discussions from the podcast:
On the prospect of WCW Nitro taking over RAW’s Monday night slot:
JBL stated that he always anticipated Vince changing his mind. He was fairly certain Vince would have reconsidered the decision. Though Vince might have mentioned it, JBL seriously doubted its actual implementation. When ECW’s PPV came around, despite having control over the company, Vince allowed ECW wrestlers to be put over. This, however, was a different case, since they owned it and had control over all their top stars.
Contrarily with WCW, they only have a few talents like Booker and Dallas. They didn’t get significant pieces like the NWO, Bret, or anyone substantial. Without these key talents, they wouldn’t stand a chance against their mega superstars. Reflecting on WCW’s invasion angle, he and Ron were the key catalysts, though they weren’t main event stars like Stone Cold. JBL added that present-day WWE wouldn’t let newcomers go over top-tier talents like Roman and Cody, as it could potentially degrade their product. He believes it was a similar situation with WCW in 2001.
On his bond with Dusty Rhodes:
Every person who knows Dusty feels as if they were one of Dusty’s best friends, according to JBL. Dusty had a way of making every person feel treasured. He shared a different bond with Dusty due to his connection with his old partner Murdoch and their shared journey in Texas. He maintains that they were close, sharing several mutual friends and hailing from the same region, West Texas. JBL noted that while they weren’t inseparable, they had a solid friendship.
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