JBL says one of his most infamous fights with Steve Blackman started because he walked into a situation without knowing Blackman had already been pushed to his limit—and it ended with Ken Shamrock having to break them apart at baggage claim.
During the APA and Godfather panel, a fan asked JBL about Blackman’s version of the famous airport incident. JBL said Blackman had recently told the story himself and explained that several wrestlers had been messing with him while he was suffering from migraines. JBL claimed he wasn’t part of the earlier harassment because he had been hungover and asleep.
“Steve has migraines, and he tells a story on the podcast. Guys were messing with him on the plane. I’ll tell you who it was later because I don’t want to throw guys under the bus. A couple guys, a couple Hall of Famers, were messing with him. I was hungover and asleep.”
Things changed once JBL reached baggage claim. Someone told him to go mess with Blackman, and JBL agreed without realizing how angry Blackman already was. JBL then made the mistake that triggered everything.
“When I get out to baggage, they said, ‘Hey, go mess with Steve.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ So I’m hungover. I walked over to Steve.”
“I pinched him on the butt and I said, ‘Hey, Steve.’ And next thing I know, he’s punched me like 18 times. I’m like, ‘What?’”
JBL said it was around 8:30 in the morning and he was still drunk while Blackman suddenly unloaded on him. According to JBL, the situation could have gotten even worse when Blackman tried to follow up with a kick. Blackman’s foot became caught in baggage, which JBL believes may have prevented him from taking another serious shot.
“It’s 8:30 in the morning. I’m still drunk, and I’ve got this freaking Avenger all over me punching me. I’m like, ‘What the hell?’”
“Then he stepped into a freaking bag, thank God, because he’s going to kick me or something. He’s got his foot caught in the bag at baggage claim.”
When the host asked whether that saved JBL, he didn’t hesitate. The two then went crashing over baggage claim and into an innocent bystander.
“Yeah, that saved me. I don’t know where he was going to kick me. He was obviously going to hurt me.”
“Me and Steve go falling over baggage claim. We knock over some guy. I mean, if this was post-9/11, we’d have been sued and in jail. My God.”
Then came another ridiculous detail: the man who eventually had to restore order was Ken Shamrock.
“Shamrock’s the one that broke it up.”
Simmons couldn’t resist pointing out how insane that sounded, “Look who you got breaking up a fight—Ken Shamrock.” JBL confirmed it again, “Shamrock’s the one that broke it up.”
JBL’s version paints the whole thing as a perfect storm. Blackman had already been getting messed with, JBL had no idea what had happened before he arrived, and one stupid prank suddenly turned baggage claim into a legitimate fight involving two WWE wrestlers and Ken Shamrock playing peacemaker.
What do you think about JBL’s version of the Steve Blackman airport fight and Ken Shamrock being the guy who had to stop it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
