Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, Booker T, The Big Show, and Kurt Angle. Besides being amazing athletes, these five men have one other thing in common. All of these men were beaten by the longest reigning WWE Champion in the last decade, John "Bradshaw" Layfield. Until April 3, 2005, JBL was never pinned in a one-on-one singles match. The facts overwhelmingly prove that JBL is on of the greatest wrestlers in recent memory.

Just looking at the people who fell before him is an indication of how great he truly is. All five, except Booker T, are former WWE Champions themselves. Even though Booker has never been a WWE Champion, we all know how many times he has held the WCW Championship. Kurt Angle is an Olympic Gold Medallist, a four-time WWE Champion, former Tag Team, Intercontinental, European, and Hardcore champions, as well as 2000 King of the Ring. The Big Show, besides being 7 foot tall and weighing nearly 500 pounds, is a two-time WWE Champion, two-time Tag Team Champion, and a former United States Champion. The Undertaker has the longest WrestleMania winning streak (13-0) in the history of the WWE along with being the WWE Champion on four occasions. Knowing all the credentials of these five Hall of Fame bound men; JBL is one of the only men to have beaten all of them on, sometimes, more than one occasion.

Besides pinning these men, JBL has also been through an array of match types while holding the WWE Title. Let's start with the match JBL won to capture his first WWE Championship, the Texas Bullrope Match. After some controversy, JBL stood in the ring a bloodied champion. Then at SummerSlam, JBL retained his title after the Undertaker got disqualified when he hit JBL with the WWE Championship belt. After being put through the roof of his limo by the Undertaker, JBL had two months to rest before a one of a kind match.

On Sunday October 3rd, I had the privilege to witness one of the most brutal matches I have personally ever seen. As I sat in the Continental Airlines Arena, wearing my newly purchased JBL T-shirt, no one thought that JBL could defeat The Undertaker in what appeared to be a match of his advantage. At No Mercy, in the first ever Last Ride match, the entire crowd was in awe after the hearse carrying The Undertakers body drove out of the arena. As I walked out of the arena to the car, there were people everywhere but not one word was spoken. Thousands of people were shocked at what they just had seen. At this point people began to rethink their initial feelings about JBL and began to realize that he was for real.

Then in November, JBL defeated Booker T at Survivor Series. If that wasn't impressive enough, JBL then went on to defeat the three men he had already beaten at Armageddon in a Fatal Four way Match. Now that he had defeated The Undertaker, Booker T, and Eddie Guerrero each twice, JBL needed a new opponent. In January at the Royal Rumble, JBL defeated two men. After being speared through the protective barrier by a 500-pound freight train named The Big Show, JBL was able to pin Kurt Angle to retain his title yet again.

To cap off all of his accomplishments, JBL pulled off another upset in his second "first ever" match. At No Way Out inside of a Steel Cage surrounded by barbed wire, JBL received a beating culminating in a Show Stopper driving him through the ring. As Big Show walked out of the cage door, the bell rang and announced JBL as still WWE Champion. While Big Show was taking his time, JBL crawled out from under the ring and touched his feet to the floor.

But, on April 3, 2005, JBL was robbed of everything he had. In one of the worst title matches in recent memory, John "Bradshaw" Layfield's nine month and seven day reign as WWE Champion came to an end. The man responsible: John Cena. Comparing John Cena to the men JBL defeated is like comparing feces to a one hundred dollar bill. By Cena pinning JBL in about 15 minutes means he did what five legends could not do in 9 months. How could John Cena cleanly pin JBL after no one could beat him in so long" John Cena may be deserving of being WWE Champion but is not deserving of pinning John "Bradshaw" Layfield. Now that JBL no longer carries the WWE championship, what is next for him" Will a man that crushed all opponents for longer than any other man in over a decade just fade away" If JBL were to lose the title it should have been against and equal not a rookie. If JBL were to never win the title again, he still left his mark and etched himself a place in history. But if you hate JBL then he has accomplished what he is supposed to do. JBL is truly one of the best characters, champions, athletes, and entertainers to ever step foot in a WWE ring and will hopefully shine once again as WWE Champion.

by Nick Caramico ..