JBL Remembers Vader Gifting Him Special Moment On His Way Out Of WWE

During the latest After The Bell podcast, WWE Hall Of Famer's JBL and Ron Simmons discussed The Undertaker. Simmons recalls the main thing about the Deadman that he appreciates. That was a quality that he looks for in everybody when he first meets them.

"I remember him and saw him getting started. Mean Mark, all through the different changes, everything. Here's the thing, and I have the most admiration for him. I have been around a lot of athletes, and I have done a lot of things myself that relied on you being a man, so to speak. I have never seen him once complain, b**ch about doing something in the ring, or for someone," he said. "That's a quality that I really place high on when I look at you and evaluate you as a man. That's the best quality of him that I have followed through of him over the years."

JBL believes that the new Hall Of Famer is someone who belongs on a level above that. He thinks there are pillars of that, which The Undertaker and Ron Simmons are examples of in his opinion.

"Not to take away from any other Hall Of Fame class, or member," he said. "But there are certain guys in Hall Of Fame's that are pillars and cornerstones of the business, Ron is a pillar and cornerstone of the business, the first black heavyweight champion. Bruno Sammartino was a pillar, a cornerstone of the business. Undertaker falls into that category as well.

"There are certain guys that are your guys that you look at in the Hall Of Fame. When you go to the Hall Of Fame, everyone there is important, everyone has had a wonderful career. But certain times in the Hall Of Fame, when you go to a Hall Of Fame, you go, 'I want to see Babe Ruth,' Undertaker is like that. There's Hall Of Fame's and then there's a level above that, and that's where guys like Ron, and Undertaker belong."

Another wrestler that was inducted into the Hall Of Fame this year was Vader. Ron Simmons recalled his career, admitting he had the same qualities as the Phenom. He also put over how great of an athlete he was.

"I loved working with him. John can tell you this, a phenomenal athlete. To be as a big man, 400 pounds, he had that athletic ability like Yokozuna," he said. "A big guy that can move, you know? You'd never imagine a guy that big that could move like that. And the best thing about him, he had some of those qualities that The Undertaker did. He didn't mind doing what it took in the ring in order to make the job look real, that's what I liked about him."

JBL then weighed in on his thoughts of Big Van Vader. He recalled getting the chance to work his final ever PPV match. Vader wanted to purposefully put him over, allowing JBL to kick out of his finisher.

"To tell you how much respect I have for Vader, his last PPV he asked to work with me," JBL said. "He loved Ron, he loved APA, he rode with me some, he liked me, he kind of considered me to be an understudy, or whatever it was. He told me that day, he goes, 'I asked to work with you. Today you're going to get the old Vader, today I am going to come out smoking.'

"He was as stiff as he possibly could be. He told me, 'when you beat somebody today, you're going to beat somebody important. I am going to have you beat the old Vader. I am going to have you kick out of my finish. That's the last thing people are going to see, you're going to kick out of my finish, and hit me with yours and go over.' He did that for me on the way out, and that was really cool of Leon to do that."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit After The Bell with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.