JBL takes responsibility for ex-WWE talent quitting
John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) wrestled for WWE from 1995 to 2009 before becoming a commentator. In a recent podcast episode, the Hall of Famer clarified rumors that he caused Palmer Canon to quit WWE.
Canon, real name Brian Mailhot, performed as an authority figure on SmackDown in 2005 and 2006. The 49-year-old abruptly left the company after an alleged incident at a bar during a European Tour.
On the Something to Wrestle podcast, JBL confirmed he was partly responsible for Canon's WWE departure:
"He was there for a while, and I got blamed for running him off. Sure enough, I might be responsible. A lot of things people say, 'Did you do this?' I go, 'No, I didn't.' I didn't. But Palmer Canon, yeah, I'm probably guilty. We were talking to him in a bar one night in Italy, and I think he took it all wrong, and I can be a d**k when I drink, admittedly, and maybe it was too strong. I'm not used to guys that get feelings hurt, whatever happened, and he quit the next day." [1:37:17 – 1:37:57]
Canon, also known as Brian Black, trained as a wrestler before becoming a WWE on-screen personality. His only televised main roster match ended in defeat against Kurt Angle on the January 6, 2005, episode of SmackDown.
JBL apologizes for upsetting Palmer Canon
The night before his departure, Palmer Canon lost an untelevised match against Funaki at a SmackDown live event in Bologna, Italy.
Without disclosing details of their conversation, JBL admits he probably went too far by saying "mean" things to Canon after the show:
"Several of us were in the bar, and we thought we were trying to explain the business, but people can say we were being mean or whatever it was, maybe we were, and if we were I apologize, but he quit the next morning and went home from Italy, so I didn't really know him that well, but I was probably the one that ran him off." [1:37:58 – 1:38:16]
JBL also addressed speculation about Vince McMahon allegedly having a strained relationship with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.
Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
