Public Enemy did not make a good impression on The Acolytes.
The latest edition of WWE Untold tells the story of the Acolytes Protection Agency, as well as the careers and friendship of Ron Simmons and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). In the docu-special, both men talk about how they would wrestle hard and tough but expected it back in the exact same way.
They then shared a story about working with Public Enemy, who joined the company in early 1999, and how they felt disrespected by them before a match on Sunday Night Heat. Here are the details provided:
JBL: "Public Enemy came in, but they came in that day about 5:30 [PM] and they were supposed to be there about one o'clock, and when they did, that's just a sign of disrespect. They come to me right as their music is playing and said, 'that spot with the table, we don't want to do that.'"
Ron: "Well okay, so if you don't want to do this, you don't want to take the table, guess what?"
JBL: "Ron goes, 'alright, we'll take the table to them.'"
Ron: "Let's show you how things could be. Sometimes it has to get to that, you know. It's unfortunate, but it happens."
JBL: "I had no idea what their mindset was for saying they wouldn't do a finish, but they didn't offer an alternative. It was crazy."
Ron: "Wasn't stiff then, it was real."
Here is the match, via WWE's YouTube Channel.
JBL and Simmons would later talk about The Dudley Boyz, and how they would never gripe about anything. They enjoyed the fact that Bubba Ray and D-Von could "dish it out" just as well as they could receive it. Apparently, they (The Dudley's) were aware of what had happened with Public Enemy and wanted to make sure the same thing didn't happen again. The two teams' styles matched, and they were in their element when working together. Even though they "beat the hell out of each other," they'd always shake hands afterwards and have been best friends ever since.
As a team, Bradshaw and Simmons won the WWE Tag Team Titles 3-times. Simmons was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012, while JBL is a member-elect. He was scheduled to join in 2020, but the ceremony was postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.
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