Jake Roberts Calls Vader A Locker Room Bully, Says He Had Issues With Shawn Michaels

WWE Hall of Famer Jake "The Snake" Roberts has never been one to mince words, even when it's come to fellow Hall of Famer Vader. In the past, Roberts stated that "He smelled too bad" to ever become WWE Champion. And more recently, he spoke about the backstage heat that sometimes accompanied the big man. Specifically, he mentioned a behind-the-scenes issue between Vader and then WWE Champion Shawn Michaels.

"Vader was one," Roberts said on "The Snake Pit" when asked which wrestlers had "legitimate heat," citing the fight between him and Paul Orndorff from over 20 years ago as one example. "Vader was a bully." Roberts explained that the former three-time WCW Champion knew what he could get away with and when he could get away with it, adding "He would pull s*** when he knew he could pull s***. I believe Shawn Michaels and him had a little problem too." That stemmed from their feud in 1996, which culminated in a match at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship, where Michaels lost it on Vader multiple times. "HBK" retained the gold that night, and Vader's WWE run petered out shortly after.

For what it's worth, Roberts didn't interact with Michaels then at all, saying "We avoided each other." And while he did claim Vader was a bully, that hasn't always been the consensus. In the past, Brian "Road Dogg" James has talked him up as being a good guy, while Booker T described him as being one of the best big men in the history of the industry.

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