Jake “The Snake” Roberts recently spoke with Wrestlezone’s Dominic DeAngelo while promoting his appearance at ’80s Wrestling Con and his Dirty Details tour. Jake talked about the tour format, saying it does remind him of a wrestling loop, but it’s more fun for him now that he’s sober:
“Yea, it reminds me a little bit of the old days, just not as hectic. The difference is I’m having a much better time and I’m sober. That means I can remember it [laughs] and I feel good about doing it. For me, it’s giving back to the fans, and the fans have supported me through thick and thin. Even when I was doing bad they were right there for me and lifted me back up. That means a lot to me and now going back out on the road—I’ve got a comedy show that I start touring in April after WrestleMania, I have a show in Sayreville, New Jersey on April 4th before Mania, and I’ll be at WrestleCon—then I start touring in Cedar Falls, Iowa on the 16th. I’m moving, man. I’ll finish that two days before I do the ‘80s Wrestling Con that I’m doing. I’m really busy, but I’m having a good time doing it, so that’s all that matters.”
When asked about calling his tour ‘stand-up’, Jake said despite the title, there’s not much comedy, although some of his road stories will lead to some laughter:
“There’s not much stand-up, no. The only reason I call it ‘stand-up’ is because I don’t sit down, that’s about it. It’s mostly just road stories and things that happened in the locker room, or in the ring or maybe in a strip joint. Who knows? It’s just things that kept happening on the road; when you put thirty wrestlers in a room, chances are something’s going to happen. You go and put thirty guys in there that are a little edgy and pissed off at the world because they’re running so hard—yeah, there’s things like practical jokes, ribs, that weren’t so practical. They got quite involved, if you will. It made for some interesting times, it really did.
One of the good things about doing this comedy tour is it makes me work on my memory and makes me work on a lot of things, and that’s what I need right now. I’m 63 years old, too many concussions to count—somewhere over 100—but it’s not healthy. We’re doing the best we can and that’s why we want to stay out on the road and keep living. They tell you ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it’, and I’m using it and I want to keep it moving.”
Jake also spoke about people reaching out for help, saying people shouldn’t be afraid to reach out:
“They don’t take advantage of it, or they don’t understand how to do it. We’ve all got issues. I’ve got mine, and everybody else has theirs too. Some aren’t as bad as mine, but issues are issues and you’ve got to deal with that stuff. That’s why I encourage people, if you’re drinking or drugging and you want to get help, get help! The help is there, you don’t have to go down like that. A lot of people don’t take advantage, they don’t reach out. They’re too embarrassed, too ashamed, but there is no shame in getting help. It’s the right thing to do.”
Jake spoke about reconnecting with some of the talent he worked with back in his prime like Ricky Steamboat, putting over “The Dragon” as a good person:
“Anytime I’m around Steamboat has always been a blessing. He’s such a great gentleman, and a great ambassador for the business. If I leave this world and I can come back as anything, I want to come back as Ricky Steamboat. I’ve always looked up to him as far as being a man, the way he’s handled himself and his general mannerisms, general manner period. It’s great to see him, have a few laughs. We survived, both of us did.”
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