10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 8 Facts
7. Jake Roberts Held Up Vince McMahon For His Release Just Before His Match
You may have noticed that after becoming the second victim of The Undertaker's streak, Jake the Snake vanished from the WWE shuffle. Roberts had been wanting to work behind the scenes for some time, and made a play for Pat Patterson's job after Patterson's sudden resignation. Vince McMahon turned Roberts' request down, knowing Patterson would be back soon enough. Roberts then asked for his release, which McMahon also denied.
Moments before going out to wrestle Undertaker, Roberts (who had opened up talks with WCW bossman Kip Frye) went to McMahon and once more demanded his release, or else he would walk out without working the match. With a metaphorical gun to his head, McMahon complied with Roberts' request.
After putting Undertaker over, Roberts slithered his way down to Atlanta, where he would begin a feud with Sting that summer.