Jake Roberts On WWE Countering AEW With The Great American Bash: "They Feel The Heat"
In early June AEW announced that Fyter Fest would take place on Dynamite on July 1st and 8th. Then in late June WWE countered by announcing that the Great American Bash would occur on those same dates on NXT.
AEW's Jake "The Snake" Roberts discussed WWE countering AEW when he joined our The Wrestling Inc Daily podcast earlier today.
"Well, they feel the heat. You know, competition is good for everybody. It makes people step up their game. Obviously, I'm gonna tell you who I'm going for ? AEW and just because I want to. I think they have a good product. It's a different product and different is good, especially with where WWE is and different is good. At the end of the day, competition is good because it just makes people go out there and work harder and that's great for the fans. The fans reap the benefits of that," stated Roberts.
Roberts has struggled with numerous health issues ranging from cancer to double pneumonia. He discussed his current health and the operation he recently underwent.
"I feel pretty good just getting over a surgery? on my hand and wrist. I had to have a couple of ligaments cut and my little finger remodeled. Then it was carpal tunnel and they snipped the ligament in my elbow also," revealed Roberts. "Fun and games ? wear and tear."
With AEW, Roberts is mentoring Lance Archer and he discussed the chemistry the two of them have developed over time.
"He's a wonderful Christian man and he's a bull. He's got a lot of power. He reminds me of a young John Nord ? The Berzerker ? with the size and everything. He's a little wiser than John was and he's not a drinker or any of that," said Roberts. "So, we get along really well and we're about to go fishing in a couple of weeks so I'll really get to know him then [laughs].
"I'm buying a boat this weekend. I'm buying one that I can put my grandkids on and take them sledding or tubing or whatever. I'm starting to enjoy my life a lot more; I really am. It's slowing down and I'm just taking a break."
The last time Roberts joined our podcast, he discussed his longtime friend Joe Case who was battling cancer at the time. Case recently passed away and Roberts remembered his friend.
"He was a friend for 50 years for me and the last friend that I had from high school. We've been through a lot together. We've built race cars together and traded cars. He built me a wrestling ring that wound up at the WWE. They took my plans and they copied that ring for the rest of their rings. Of course, they didn't pay us for it but that's okay and I don't give a damn," said Roberts.
He added that Joe had a shop in Texas and would welcome people in to work on their cars. If Joe had a customer stranded 500 miles away, he wouldn't hesitate to drive 6-7 hours to reach them to help.
"Some of us are here on this planet to give and he was a giver. Some of us our takers but he was always a giver and he gave to everybody," stated Roberts. "Every Christmas, he'd go down to the grocery store and get about 15 turkeys. He'd crank up the boiler he had and fryer and deep-fry turkeys for people that came by. 'Hey, take a turkey with you!' Just that kind of goofy guy.
"The funniest thing about him was that he would cut his hair and shave once a year. That's it. It was like a spring-cleaning thing for him. Come June, he would cut all his hair off and shave his beard that he'd grow for another year. He was just that kind of guy."
You can donate to the "Jake Roberts for Joe Case" GoFundMe by clicking HERE. All funds go towards the children of Joe Case.
Jake's full interview aired as part of today's episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.