The Cabinet was a heel professional wrestling stable that was part of World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand. It was created by John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) shortly after he won the WWE Championship at The Great American Bash in 2004.
The future of the Cabinet seemed to be in doubt, in mid-2005 after the firing of Amy Weber and the resignation of the Basham Brothers (who were then split in the WWE Draft Lottery). The stable had dwindled down to just JBL and Orlando Jordan. With both men seemingly concentrating on their own singles careers, it seemed like the end of the Cabinet but on the September 16, 2005 edition of Friday Night SmackDown!, after JBL lost to Rey Mysterio, he hired spin doctor, Jillian Hall in order to "fix" his career. Though seemingly adding a Publicist to the stable there was no mention of the Cabinet until December 9, 2005 when Jordan assisted JBL in a match. This led to General manager Theodore Long announcing that JBL and Jordan would team up for a match at the end of the night.
The return of the Cabinet was later fueled when publicist, Hall accompanied Jordan to the ring for a match taped for WWE Velocity on December 16. Since then Hall has been fired by JBL, Jordan was released from WWE, and JBL has retired from (and subsequently returned to) professional wrestling, but now has retired fully.
Members[]
The group was organized like a presidential cabinet. The trademark of the group was the "Longhorn" pose, where each member raised their arms at an angle and positioned their hands flat resembling JBL's Texas longhorn symbol. Everyone in the stable except Amy Weber has held a championship.
- President / Leader - John "Bradshaw" Layfield.
- Image Consultant - Amy Weber; left WWE but was fired on-screen (kayfabe) by JBL
- Co-Secretaries of Defense - The Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny Basham); quit on the June 16, 2005 episode of SmackDown!
- Chief of Staff - Orlando Jordan; quietly stopped appearing with JBL after losing the United States Championship.
- Publicist / Fixer - Jillian Hall; fired by Faarooq
Titles[]
John "Bradshaw" Layfield won the WWE title at The Great American Bash 2004, and kept it until WrestleMania 21. During this time he set up The Cabinet. This reign lasted nine months, and consequently JBL was the longest-reigning WWE champion of the decade, which was ironically broken by John Cena the man who defeated JBL at Wrestlemania 21. JBL defeated many established main event stars during his reign, including Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, Booker T, The Big Show and Kurt Angle.
Orlando Jordan won the WWE United States Championship, after picking up a controversial win over former champ John Cena on March 3, 2005. This was his first title reign of any kind since his debut. Jordan and JBL later destroyed Cena's Spinner belt.
While Co-Secretaries of Defense, the Basham Brothers picked up their second reign as Tag Champs on the January 13 edition of SmackDown! when they eliminated Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio in a Fatal Four Way elimination match that also included the teams of Mark Jindrak and Luther Reigns, and Booker T and Eddie Guerrero.
