Jake Roberts Recalls Stu Hart Making Bret Hart Bleed From Multiple Orifices
In the most recent episode of the DDP Snake Pit podcast, AEW star Jake Roberts talked about living with fellow wrestling legend Bret Hart. Jake Roberts and Hart lived together during Roberts' time working for Stampede Wrestling back in the 1970s, and he told a story of watching Leo Burke matches with Hart to learn how to do a sleeper hold.
"I would up on the couch of Bret's house for about two weeks," Jake Roberts said. "And I was having to ice my leg 10 minutes every hour, 24 hours a day. And so I had this cute young lady taking care of me. But anyway, Bret and I were watching tapes of guys that were wrestling and one of them was Leo Burke. Great wrestler from Canada. In fact, I'd done a trip to Japan with him and he wrestled in Calgary many times, and he used a sleeper hold.
"Well at the time, the booker in Canada when I get my opportunity in Calgary, he wanted my finish to be not just a sleeper, but check it out folks, a quick sleeper. Yeah. I could put you out in about four seconds. That was the whole gimmick. So we're watching Leo Burke put people out with sleepers and somebody else put a sleeper on him and how they get in and out of a sleeper, you know different ways to do that."
As he continued to learn how to do the sleeper, Jake Roberts later got a crash course from Stampede owner, and Bret Hart's father, Stu Hart. Jake Roberts recalled Stu once applying the sleeper to Bret several times to show Roberts the right technique, to the point where it almost severely hurt Hart. Roberts believes him not stopping Stu earlier led to Bret holding it against him for a while.
"Watching those tapes he (Stu) goes 'Leo's a hell of a wrestler. Tough son-of-a-b-tch. A lot of respect for that young man. That sleeper hold of his isn't bad,'" Jake Roberts said. "I'm like 'it's not near nothing like mine.' 'You're full of sh-t'. He says 'don't think for a minute that's f-cking, scaring anybody, especially me.' I went 'what the f-ck do you have?' 'Let me tell you something. I can put you asleep about eight different ways.' 'The f-ck you can. You're full of sh-t, man. Ain't no f-cking way. Nobody has eight different ways to put a sleeper.' God almighty d-men, man.
"Bret was laying on the floor. Stu just malled him like an old bear. 'This is the first one.' Latched it on and I don't know how he put his arms and sh-t, but man, Bret's legs were f-cking flying. He's slapping the floor. You know, out he goes. Stu gets up to one knee and says 'this next one, you watch how I apply this. Wake up son.' He slaps him and as Bret starts coming to, out again. About the fourth one, because I'm with my leg. I'm injured, he ain't stupid. But now I've realized this is bad.
"This is real bad because Bret is bleeding out of his nose, his ears, and the corners of his eyes," Jake Roberts continued. "And then Stu says 'f-cking Bret, he's so limber, this one I tried to put on him, he just won't go out. So what I do, I cup his mouth.' Smothered him, put him out again. I had to distract Stu so Bret could crawl out of the room and get away from him. But, Bret held that against me for a long time."
To quote this article, please credit DDP Snake Pit and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription