Photo by Super Festivals, cropped (CC BY)
The Lowdown
Twenty-two years ago, JBL was the most Texas-sized rich-guy heel in WWE: suit, white cowboy hat, a limo with bull horns on the hood, and a stable he called his Cabinet (WWE.com; OWW). On election night 2026, the man under the hat was on X cracking jokes about the blue wave and Gina Hinojosa toppling Greg Abbott (his post on X; his post on X). Heel turn? More like a full babyface run.
Key Takeaways
- At 11:05 p.m. ET Tuesday, Layfield posted, “Does this mean I don’t get my $5,000 check?” It has more than 340,000 views (his post on X).
- The joke is about the “Trump Dividend”: President Trump promised every adult $5,000 if Republicans kept both the House and Senate. They didn’t (AP; PBS News; Fortune).
- Just after midnight he added, “I’m not sure if we get regime change in Iran, I know for sure we just got it in Texas” (his post on X).
Does this mean I don’t get my $5,000 check?
— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) November 3, 2026
I’m not sure if we get regime change in Iran, I know for sure we just got it in Texas.
— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) November 4, 2026
Then vs. Now
The JBL character debuted on SmackDown in 2004 as a self-made Wall Street millionaire from Sweetwater, Texas, who called himself a “Wrestling God” (WWE.com; OWW). He beat Eddie Guerrero in a Texas Bull Rope match at The Great American Bash on June 27, 2004, and held the WWE Championship for 280 days, with Orlando Jordan as his “Chief of Staff” and the Basham Brothers as his “Co-Secretaries of Defense” (Last Word on Pro Wrestling; WWE.com). John Cena finally took the title from him at WrestleMania 21 (WWE.com).
The Pit Take
In our opinion, this is the best kind of wrestling whiplash. The JBL of 2004 would have demanded his $5,000 check be delivered by limo. The John Layfield of 2026 is roasting the promise and cheering a Texas upset like a guy in the cheap seats. We won’t guess at his voting record. His posts speak for themselves, and they’re funny. Never trust a heel gimmick to tell you who the man really is.
The Background
Catch up on the whole night in our 2026 midterm election live updates, the history-making firsts it produced, and Mike Johnson stepping down as House GOP leader. More in Social Media Highlights, Wrestling and 2026 Midterms.
Our photo shows Layfield at GalaxyCon Columbus in December 2022.
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More Context
- John Layfield on X — Does this mean I don’t get my $5,000 check? ↗
- John Layfield on X — Regime change in Texas ↗
- AP — Trump promises $5,000 to every US adult if Republicans win midterms ↗
- PBS News — Trump promised $5,000 checks if Republicans win the midterms. How would that work? ↗
- Fortune — The $5,000 checks won’t be one of them ↗
- WWE.com — JBL ↗
- Online World of Wrestling — Evolution of a Wrestling God! ↗
- Last Word on Pro Wrestling — 15 Years Later: JBL’s Rise to the WWE Main Event ↗