WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts recently spoke to Ring Rust Radio about his WWE Hall of Fame induction, Daniel Bryan’s retirement and more. You can check out the full interview here along with some highlights below.
Ring Rust Radio: Your WWE Hall of Fame induction was so emotional for wrestling fans and yourself. What was that night like for you and how did it help change your life?
Well to tell you the truth, I can’t remember a damn thing about it. That’s the way most of my interviews are; I don’t remember them. All I’m doing is speaking from my heart. It’s not something I practiced and wrote down and read and re-read. I just go out there and let it flow. The gift I was given a long time ago, just like I said in my speech, I didn’t use all of it, but I did use some of it. Ya’ll got a little bit of it, but there’s still some left. How did it change my life? It made it easier for me to hold my head high. It gave me that stamp of approval in my mind and heart, and I needed that. I was always somebody that doubted my talent. I was very, very, very hard on myself. I always felt that I was never good enough for that ring, and I still feel that way. I guess with everything I’ve been through or just my attitude about the ring is to me that ring is my woman. I’m trying to make love to her, but I still can’t get it right, not quite. I was trying to do better for her because she deserves a whole lot better. I think as long as you have that attitude, your product is going to be pretty damn good. When you think you know it all, it’s time to take your tights off, take your boots of, and put them in a pile and burn the damn things because you don’t know what you’re doing.
Ring Rust Radio: We routinely praise and reference the psychology of your work and how you mastered the craft of pro wrestling. Is there somebody today that you believe excels in some of the areas that you did, whether it is in the ring or on the mic?
Bray Wyatt; he definitely gets it done. I think they’re holding him down. I think he could do a lot more, and I would like to see them turn him loose, but I don’t think they’re going to. He would be something hard for WWE to ram something down his chute because his character is so strong. So they keep him beaten down and I think it’s a shame because he is very unique.
Ring Rust Radio: You have expressed your appreciation for Bray Wyatt and his character. What do you think makes him so good and do you feel he has what it takes to be a world champion and a top guy?
He will never be a top heel because people are infatuated by him. Just like the way they were with me. Whenever I wrestled Hogan they cheered me, with Savage it was split. People are funny man. When you’re doing your job really well, and you’re different and unique and you have this edge, that’s very special. People dig that, they respect that and they want to be with that. If they are scared of your character like they were of me and Bray, they want to be on the winning team, so they will want to cheer for you regardless.
Ring Rust Radio: You had a ton of memorable rivalries and moments during your time in WWF, but your name always comes up when talking about the best wrestlers to never win a title in the company. Why do you think it is that you were never given a championship run? Was it a matter of being so over that they didn’t think you needed one?
I didn’t need it. I didn’t need that. There were a lot of guys that needed a title or the belt around their waist to call them a star, but Jake “The Snake” Roberts never needed that. I think that possibly—but I don’t know for sure—they were probably a little worried with my out of the ring problems. I don’t know, maybe they were, maybe they weren’t, but that’s just the way it is. I didn’t need anything else to carry around back then; my bag was full with Damien.
Ring Rust Radio: The biggest news in the wrestling industry recently is the retirement of Daniel Bryan. What are your thoughts on his departure from the sport and what kind of history do you have with concussions?
As far as Bryan goes, that’s a huge loss and I hate to hear that. WWE needs him desperately. I’m very proud of him that he is smart enough to get out after being injured. Most of us weren’t. As far as concussions for myself, I went and did all the tests because I am having issues. We did all the tests and stuff and it did not come out good. It come out there’s some spots on my brain that don’t look good and shouldn’t be there. It came down to how many concussions do I think I had, and I thought I had maybe two or three year. It’s a very low number when really I think it was more like eight or ten. So let’s say two or three, but I wrestled for 40 years, that’s 120 now. So I am going to have problems, and I’m already having problems. When you do, it is a job. I think you’re smart enough to get out of the way and to get out. If you’re doing it because you’re truly in love with it like I was and you have the passion for it like I do, that moment in the ring is the greatest time of day, and I live for that moment. I live to perform and that’s the people that really do get hurt. There are still some guys that are going out there hurt and still perform, and then there’s guys that have a hangnail problem and won’t go out there for three weeks. WWE has seen that too, so there you go.
Ring Rust Radio: Your appearance at Old School Raw a couple of years ago was an amazing moment. Are you interested in doing more appearances like that with WWE in the future and have there been any discussions about something like that in the past?
I would love to come in for those special moments, and I would love to be an advisor; where they give me a guy and they fly him into Vegas to spend a couple of days with me to do what it takes and talk to him. I think it could turn some people like the ones that really want to learn, I can help them there. Then there are some people that just don’t want it. Years ago, I was given Ahmed Johnson. That son of a bitch wouldn’t even show up to get the help. Look at him now and where is he now, there you go. I would love to be a part of it, man. It was such a moment for me. I can’t tell you how much it meant to go out there and get in the ring and put my hands on the mat again. The greatest part about that for me was the respect that CM Punk showed me, and I was really shocked that he did. I didn’t figure him like that. When it was my time in the ring, he went over and sat down in the ropes and just turned the ring over to me. That felt pretty damn good.
