John "Bradshaw" Layfield

In 2004, Simmons ended up leaving WWE, and Bradshaw, now on his own, went from being a fan favorite to a heel. He rechristened himself John "Bradshaw" Layfield and changed his character to reflect his real-life success on Wall Street, letting people know about his fortunes at every opportunity.  He eschewed wearing tee-shirts and jeans for three-piece suits and a white cowboy hat, and arrived to ringside in a white limo. It was in this character that he perfected his skills in the ring and on the mic. He would win the WWE Championship from Eddie Guerrero on June 27 in a Texas bullrope match and would go on to hold the title for over nine months, the longest title reign in over a decade at the time. His title reign is notable for successful defenses against The Undertaker, The Big Show, Kurt Angle and Booker T, amongst others.

Although he would lose the title in April 2005, he continued on with his successful heel character, engaging in feuds with Batista, Rey Mysterio, The Boogeyman and Bobby Lashley. He won the United States Championship from Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania 22 and would challenge Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship. Sadly, a long-standing back injury prevented him from winning. After losing both his US title to Lashley and a World Heavyweight Championship rematch with Mysterio on the May 26, 2006 episode of Friday Night Smackdown, he retired from active competition. He returned to Smackdown on June 16, 2006 as the color commentator, replacing an ECW -bound Tazz.

Although Layfield's commentary stint was lauded by fans, he expressed a desire to return to active competition on a regular basis.  At WWE's Armageddon PPV in December 2007, he began the road back by assaulting Chris Jericho, costing him the WWE Championship. Shortly thereafter, Layfield announced his return as a wrestler, moving to the Raw brand.  He would feud with Jericho, Fit Finlay and John Cena before attempting to regain championship gold from World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk.

A success outside the ring as well as inside, Layfield has also been greatly adept at the stock market, parlaying his success into talk show appearences on Fox News and CNBC , and authoring a 2003 book (Have More Money Now!). He also currently markets his own energy beverage, MamaJuana Energy, as well as a fishing lure developed by his family during the Great Depression.  In the past, he hosted a nationally syndicated radio talk show and was a senior Vice President of Northeast Securities.  An unabashed Conservative, he is considering running for elected office in his home state of Texas in the coming years, and has spoken out on issues ranging from illegal immigration to global warming.