Bruce Prichard Speaks On Splitting Up APA, Transitioning Bradshaw Character Into JBL

Bruce Prichard has said the decision to turn Bradshaw into JBL was the "last chance" for the Texan to be a singles star in WWE.

Speaking on his Something to Wrestle podcast, Prichard spoke about the decision to break up the APA in 2004, describing it as a necessity following several injuries.

He said: We had gotten to draft stuff, all these different things, but looking at so many talent that were injured and we had to have someone step up.

"Ron was, unfortunately… it just was not working with Ron at the time, and so they told Ron, ‘Maybe we’ll do something with you as an agent.’ Ron really wasn’t interested in that. And Ron was let go."

Prichard also spoke about Bradshaw's reaction to this, saying the Texan understood why it happened, but was still very upset.

"He didn’t like it. Because he and Ron were friends. He felt that just sadness more than anything. You’re losing your friend, your partner that you travel with and hang out with all the time. It’s not gonna be the same on the road anymore," he said.

The former Brother Love also said how the JBL character came about after Bradshaw's various appearances out of character on financial talk shows, but it was made clear this was his last chance at singles success.

He said: "I remember Vince even saying, 'This one doesn’t work then… it’s not gonna happen for John. Let’s make one last attempt with this Wall Street character.’

Obviously, this character worked well, as JBL captured the WWE Championship from Eddie Guerrero in 2004, before retiring in 2009 at WrestleMania 25.