10 Wrestling Facts We Didn’t Know Last Week (1 Nov)

4. Why Jim Ross Hated Jake Roberts' 1996 Angle

Jake Roberts Jerry Lawler
WWE.com

The best episodes of Jim Ross' podcast come when he's feeling pretty salty about comments fans have made on social media or feels strongly about a certain subject from wrestling history. This week, that subject happened to be Jake Roberts' 1996 run in the WWF. Good ol' JR hated everything about it.

He thought it was in "poor taste" to play off Jake's real-life personal demons, and thought framing it in a "storyline surrounding fake fighting" was crass. In the same rant, Ross said it was all Vince Russo's idea to have Jerry Lawler douse Roberts in alcohol before Steve Austin hit him with a Stunner, but said Vince McMahon had the power to go another direction.

The WWF didn't, obviously.

Ross was part of the commentary team broadcasting the angle, and thought it was a distasteful blurring of the lines between reality and fantasy. Working such a story didn't help Roberts move on from his alcoholism or give him much dignity.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.