John “Bradshaw” Layfield and Ron Simmons were known for being two of the hardest hitters for WWE. One particularly rough move left them fearing for their jobs, however.
During an interview with Insight With Chris Van Vliet, JBL recalled delivering a Clothesline From Hell so brutal that it seemed to “almost kill” the man on the receiving end, former WWE executive and wrestler Shane McMahon. Simmons, meanwhile, stood nearby, convinced that he and JBL would be fired on the spot as a result.
Shane told me you got to hit me harder than you’ve ever hit anybody in your life,” JBL said. “Ron goes, ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it!’ So, I mean, we’re at SummerSlam. Shane’s running around. He’s running full speed. I’m like, you got to be kidding me! I hit him so freaking hard. I never hit anybody like that in my life. But he told me, he was threatening me. ‘All right, you got to hit me. You got to hit me. You got to hit me.’ It’s all he kept telling me all day was you got to hit me the hardest clothesline I ever hit. I hit him, and as soon as I did, Ron goes ‘We’re fired.’
According to Simmons, he immediately told JBL to start packing his belongings backstage in case of the potentially serious repercussions. Fortunately, that concern was later washed away as McMahon had not only survived the move, but appeared ecstatic about it when he later encounter the former WWE World Tag Team Champions behind the scenes.
Shane’s nuts,” JBL said. “Shane thought it’s the greatest thing ever. ‘Oh, that’s awesome! That’s awesome! It’s so good.’
JBL and Simmons continued to work for WWE afterward. The company eventually honored them with individual Hall of Fame inductions as well.
