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Michael Barkann Interviewing JBL in 1991 is the Find of the Year
By Kyle Pagan
Published:
If you’re a WWE and Philly sports fan, this is the strangest collab you’re going to see this week. It’s Michael Barkann interviewing JBL back in 1991 at a San Antonio Riders vs. Birmingham Fire game in the World League of American Football:
this is wild for various reasons
H/T to @VaughnMJohnson for unearthing this pic.twitter.com/fI3UE6jcmv
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) May 21, 2023
Barkann played the role of Mean Gene perfectly. Honestly, they should’ve teamed back up when JBL went on to the WWE. Let Barkann be his manager. He cuts wrestling promos nightly when the Phillies lose one game in May:
Michael Barkann is a savage pic.twitter.com/rTbRGjj1AO
— Phans of Philly – Road Game Tailgates & Travel! (@PhansofPhilly) September 11, 2020
No shot the WWE is suspending him for dropping a bullshit either:
— Aryl Oxygen (@OxygenAryl) February 13, 2023
I’ll be honest, I didn’t know about Barkann’s rich history of sideline reporting. Especially at the U.S. Open. He broke Barbara Streisand/Andre Agassi dating rumors, had an epic back and forth with Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, and kept the peace between Novak Djokovic and the New York crowd:
P.S. Guess who JBL was blocking for that year? This guy:
Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com