JBL Remembers Vince McMahon Pitching Him Idea For APA

WWE Hall of Famer, JBL recently made an appearance on the “Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling” podcast. The conversation quickly took a nostalgic turn, with JBL discussing the different aspects of his time at WWE.

Talking about how he actually got himself into the WWE, JBL shared a funny anecdote. It seems that he had sent them a tape years ago, which Bruce Prichard and Pat Patterson somehow got their hands on.

Following this, the two decided to track down JBL, giving him an unexpected phone call in the middle of a street in Germany, around Christmas.JBL flew in to Philadelphia, but it did not go as planned, with Tony Garea literally throwing him out. Taking that as his cue to leave, JBL headed out.

I thought, ok, I’ll just leave. I was going to WCW next. It was snowing so bad, I couldn’t leave and the airport was closed. I went to Bethlehem and met Dutch Mantel. He said, “Well, I’ll walk out with you.” He walked out with me.

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This was when JBL’s friendship with Gerald Brisco first blossomed. Brisco, JBL claims, went up to Vince McMahon and convinced him to sign JBL. Brisco and JJ Dillon then pulled JBL aside and talked him into joining the WWE instead of WCW. The rest, as they say, is history.

JBL also recounted fond memories of how the idea for the APA came about. Going back to his birthday, JBL recounted how he celebrated it with Ron Simmons.

It was my birthday. Everybody was celebrating and having a good time. Me and Ron got down to the bar. We rarely ever went to the TV hotel because it’s not good form to go to the cheap hotel. Too many people repeat things and things get blown out of context. So me and Ron would usually go somewhere else, but we didn’t have anywhere else to go, and we went to the TV hotel.

What followed was Vince McMahon calling JBL up and floating the idea for a show, where JBL and Ron would sit around, ” just having beers, telling stories, and having a great time” because “that’s what guys do.” McMahon even suggested the name, “Acolyte Protection Agency,” claims JBL.

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