Backstage Update on JBL Leaving Commentary for ‘Smackdown Live’

Sports Illustrated has provided an update on JBL leaving commentary following his reveal late last week that he would be leaving.

As we previously reported, John Bradshaw Layfield announced on Friday he was stepping down as commentator for ‘Smackdown Live’ to focus on helping at-risk youth and communities in Bermuda.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated has explained that Layfield had planned to leave up to eleven months ago, when his contract expired in October. That is when he gave his notice to WWE. His decision had nothing to do with the bullying accusations made with Mauro Ranallo.

There was pressure from some on the Board of Directors to fire JBL during that time, but Vince McMahon refused. As such, Layfield saw no repercussions and WWE worked everything out with Ranallo, making him the lead NXT announcer.

Barrasso adds that another reason Layfield is leaving is due to the travel. WWE would have their announces flown out for ‘Smackdown’ on Sunday, but Layfield would start arriving on Tuesday just before the show in order to get his job done. He is burnt out. As a reminder, the decision to leave WWE was entirely Layfield’s decision.

As JBL prepares to step back from a lot of WWE programming, we have decided to include a video taking a look back at his entrance at ‘WrestleMania 21’ over a decade ago. We highly suggest watching this memorable piece, as Layfield prepared to take on John Cena.

JBL's WrestleMania 21 Entrance

Who should replace JBL? Are you going to miss him? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page or Twitter account. Additionally, you can find me on Twitter at @SOSNH1995. We also want to remind you that we have a Newsletter you can sign up to. This will allow us to send you the best news in one place via an email. We also have the Wrestling Rumors app that we encourage you all to download to get updates faster than they release on our various pages. It is available on Android and iOS devices.