WWE made the call to end the pairing of Baron Corbin and John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield this week, but that wasn’t always the plan.
In late 2022, the former WWE Champion was introduced as Corbin’s manager, something that Layfield had openly spoken in favor of doing for years.
Despite a four-match winning streak with JBL in his corner, Corbin has been win-less on TV and at WWE live events since the November 21, 2022, edition of Raw.
Wasn’t The Plan
During this week’s Raw, the pairing of JBL and Corbin ended via backstage segment, after the latter suffered another loss, this time to Dexter Lumis.
During the latest Wrestling Observer Radio show, Dave Meltzer said that this wasn’t what WWE intended when they began the pairing.
“They gave up on it… this wasn’t the plan. The guy in charge, that’s Paul (Levesque), felt it wasn’t working and that was it.”
Dave Meltzer.
The End of Corbin’s Push
It was in 2016 that Corbin made an impactful main roster debut, winning the Andre the Giant WrestleMania battle royal.
A year later, Corbin was seemingly on the cusp of a World Championship reign when he captured the Money in the Bank briefcase, but his cash-in was unsuccessful.
On his show, Meltzer stated that despite multiple opportunities, the Lone Wolf just hasn’t reached the status WWE hoped for him.
“There’s nothing wrong or right with him but in the pantheon of stars, he’s just not at that top star level. I think they wanted him to be at that level and they gave him every chance to be at that level. He’s just a guy. A tall guy but he’s just a guy.”
