WWE.com: First of all, sorry about the night you had this past Monday. I don’t think it was the return you were expecting.
JBL: What bothers me is when other great champions come back, like
The Rock, “Stone Cold” or
Roddy Piper, when these guys return they’re not treated like that. And I was the greatest champion of all time. You got the best [Superstars] from the ’80s and ’90s coming back for
WrestleMania, and I had to reiterate to my fans, because they love me so much, that JBL was the greatest champion. So, when something like this happens it’s just a matter of complete disrespect by a guy like Steve Austin. I hear he’s very successful in movies – God bless him – but that’s where he should stay.
WWE.com: Speaking of being successful after WWE, you’ve been gone for almost two years now, what are you up to these days?
JBL: I invested in a really good beverage company, New Leaf Beverage (
newleafbrands.com). We’ve got about 18 brands, including four lemonades and four iced teas. We’re in about 35 states, and sales have been pretty good. It’s been a good investment; I’ve spent a lot of time with that. I spend a lot of time in Bermuda. I can do my investments anywhere, so I spend about 4-6 months a year there. It’s only an hour-and-a-half from New York, so it’s an easy commute.
WWE.com: If I’m not mistaken you also recently opened your own hedge fund. Tell us a little bit about that.
JBL: I’ve always wanted to be an investor, always enjoyed the art of investing. So far, so good. We’ll see. The market has a way of humbling people. It hasn’t happened to me yet, so hopefully it won’t.
WWE.com: Are you still involved in Layfield Energy?
JBL: No, I had a chance to sell out [the inventory] to a guy, and I was very happy to do it. I got to the point where it was making a little money, but it was so much work for so little reward. But it was a great time, and it taught me a lot. It was a wonderful experience. I’m glad it’s over, and I’m glad I’m doing what I’m doing now, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
WWE.com: Every once in a while, when you’re not in Bermuda or running one of your businesses or at the World Cup or on the links, we still see you on Fox News and Fox Business Channel. How do you manage to keep up that schedule?
JBL: The main show I do is
Cashin’ In, which is on Saturday morning at 11:30 Eastern, taped on Friday morning. They work around my schedule and have been just awesome. It’s perfect for being able to get away for the weekend and play golf somewhere and trying to lower my [golf] handicap, which is pretty futile at this point.
WWE.com: That’s a great segue to the hardest hitting question of the whole interview: What is your handicap these days?
JBL: Two answers: I had a Scratch handicap last year, and it’s now in single digits. I ended up shooting a 66 last year at Mid-Ocean course, my home course in Bermuda, but lately I haven’t broken 80. My back’s not doing as well from years in a WWE ring.
WWE.com: If your biggest problem in life is having your average score on a golf course go from 66 to 80, I think you’ve done pretty well for yourself.
JBL: I love it. I love Bermuda. It’s my favorite place in the world. As much as I love being with my family in New York, I don’t like New York that much. I was a country boy, and being in Bermuda’s a lot easier for me.
WWE.com: Any final words for the WWE Universe?
JBL: I’m thrilled they got to see the greatest champion to ever come back. Also, I got to meet
Alberto Del Rio, and I cannot tell you how proud I am of the young man. I knew his dad. I knew his uncle. And one thing we agree on,
Rey Mysterio is not a good role model for kids. You want to look up to people like Alberto Del Rio and me, both great champions, both very successful financially.
: was good to see him back and would really be cool to see him be the GM or something.
