Steve Blackman Got Into A Brutal Fight With JBL On Wrestling’s Darkest Day


JBL might be the biggest bully in the history of professional wrestling. There have been so many stories over the years about how JBL liked to tease and belittle people in WWE, whether it be a fellow wrestler or even a commentator. When he harassed Mauro Ranallo, the respected commentator quit. But when he tried the same thing with Joey Styles, the voice of ECW fought back. Those were small guys though. You have to wonder what JBL was thinking when he decided to bully Steve Blackman. The Lethal Weapon didn’t tolerate it, retaliating in a very violent fashion. It was a shocking fight, but hours later it no longer mattered. Blackman and JBL threw fists on May 23, 1999, just hours ahead of the Over the Edge pay-per-view. By the end of the night, their friend, Owen Hart, would be dead.

Related

Eddie Guerrero Vs JBL: The Story Behind One Of The Most Violent WWE Matches Ever 

When Eddie Guerrero and JBL faced off for the WWE Championship, an accident caused one of the scariest-looking scenes in the promotion’s history.

“Hardcore” Bob Holly Wrote About Steve Blackman Beating Up JBL

Even JBL Has Spoken About The Airport Incident

JBL WWE Champion WrestleMania 21 Screenshot Cropped

  • JBL got drunk on a plane and started harassing Steve Blackman.
  • He kept teasing him when they landed at the airport in Kansas City.
  • Blackman attacked JBL when he wouldn’t stop.

“Hardcore” Bob Holly, a friend of JBL’s and a notorious bully himself, recounted what happened between JBL and Steve Blackman in his book, The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story. According to Holly, the WWE wrestlers had just landed in Kansas CIty, Missouri for that night’s Over the Edge PPV, when JBL decided to annoy Blackman by patting his butt over and over. It wasn’t the first time either. Earlier, on the plane, a drunken JBL had done the same thing to Blackman. It was a horrible idea to get under the skin of a man referred to as “The Lethal Weapon” due to Blackman’s background in martial arts.

Holly wrote that Blackman, having had enough, told JBL:

“John, next time you do that, I’m going to knock your fu***** teeth out.”

JBL did it again, so Blackman struck back, getting in a series of fast jabs that knocked JBL to the ground, before Ron Simmons and Al Snow ran in to break things up. Back in December 2024, JBL told the story himself on the Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard podcast. JBL said he was told to tease Steve Blackman, but he didn’t know Steve was in a bad mood because he had a migraine. JBL admitted that he was the instigator, and that Blackman fought back, saying:

“Steve backhands me and hits me about six or seven times before I could even move.”

Related

13 Things WWE Fans Should Know About Steve Blackman

Steve Blackman didn’t have the most legendary career around, but he was a staple of WWE programming for years.

Steve Blackman Finally Told His Side Of The Story

He Detailed What Happened In An Interview With Chris Van Vliet

  • Blackman left WWE in 2002 and opened a self-defense MMA school.
  • An elderly bystander was also hurt during the fight.
  • “Stone Cold” Steve Austin laughed while listening to Blackman apologize.

Steve Blackman had a decent WWE career, becoming a six-time Hardcore Champion, before leaving the company in 2002 and opening his own self-defense MMA school. Over the years, he has rarely been heard from, so it was a nice surprise to see him recently sit down for an interview with Chris Van Vliet. During their talk, Van Vliet had to bring up the JBL fight.

Blackman’s story matched other accounts. He said that he didn’t hit JBL as hard as he could because he didn’t want to split his head open, but he added, as JBL has said, that the fight was saved from getting worse by him accidentally getting his foot tangled up in a duffle bag right before he went to kick his bully. During the chaos, an innocent elderly bystander was hit, leading to him bleeding from the ear. Steve Blackman apologized profusely, adding:

“(Steve) Austin heard me say that. I look over and he’s standing there cracking up.” (h/t Fightful)

Related

The Forgotten Story Of How Edge Stood Up To JBL In WWE, Explained

JBL had a long history of being a bully in WWE, but one day Edge had enough and fought back.

Owen Hart Died In A Tragic Accident On The Same Night

Steve Blackman Was With The Rock When It Happened

  • JBL apologized in front of everyone in the cafeteria.
  • Vince McMahon suspended and fined both men.
  • Owen Hart fell from the rafters and his stretcher went right by Blackman.

Steve Blackman recalled that he was ready to fight JBL again at the arena. JBL didn’t want that and asked what he could do to get out of it. Blackman told him he’d let it go if he apologized in front of everyone, so right there in the cafeteria, JBL said he was sorry. The apology wasn’t good enough for Vince McMahon, though, who suspended and fined both men, but just hours later, the fight was old news because of a horrible tragedy. Blackman told Chris Van Vliet:

“It’s unfortunate, but the only reason heat was taken off of us is because that’s the night Owen (Hart) fell from the ceiling. Because when that happened, there was nothing else on anybody’s mind but Owen.”

Since Steve Blackman wasn’t wrestling that night, he stood behind the curtain and peeked out to watch the show. Next to him was The Rock, who was wrestling later that night. Together, they watched Owen Hart fall from the rafters. The Rock asked what happened and Blackman told him he immediately knew that Owen was gone when he was wheeled past them on a stretcher.

About a month later, Steve Blackman and JBL returned to TV. Their fight was over and forgotten about. A real life tragedy had shown them that a silly beef no longer mattered.



Leave a Comment