Jake Roberts Says Great Wrestlers Never Change Their Characters

WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts believes that one should never mess with success, especially in professional wrestling.

"You never change the character ... guys that change their character fail," Roberts said, explaining to the "On-Demand" show on "Ad Free Shows" about his longevity. "If you watch Lex Luger ... when he was a heel, he was awesome. When he turned babyface he was a marshmallow. He couldn't do the sh** that made him famous." Roberts says that he stuck to his guns, continuing to pull hair and do all the other underhand tactics that he was known for.

One major change that Jake made was in the late '90s when he became a bible-thumping preacher. While the new character didn't work for Jake, who found himself doing his usual schtick not long after, the character did provide inspiration for another star, as Steve Austin used Jake's bible-tinged promos to proclaim himself "Austin 3:16" for the first time.

While Roberts no longer wrestles, he's currently working as a manager and backstage presence for AEW. He recently said that he wants to help out on the ever-increasing AEW creative team, which has recently added Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Ace Steel, and former podcaster Will Washington. Roberts says he has been begging to even book 15 minutes of AEW programming.

As it stands, Roberts' main duty is helping out backstage, where he mentors AEW's younger talent and helps them understand their characters and their motivations better, helping imbue the show with a bit more continuity.