Hulk Hogan & Jake The Snake Roberts talk about their feud

[MJjuice89]

So the fans decided to root on the side of the heel? SO WHAT!! I would've been too if I was around during that era. I love Jake "The Snake" Roberts! Probably my #1 favorite Legend behind Marty Jannetty. Hogan sucks!

[alexp8654]

Were you SOBER THAT TIME??

[Uridien]

Proof that competition saved wrestling from itself. Who knows, without WCW beating WWF/WWE all those years, we may still be watching god guys vs bad guys, with no real variation beyond that.

[supermark98]

The crowd was cheering for Jake because Hogan was already popular and the crowd wanted to see some new blood. You can only chant "Hulkamania" so much before it gets old, and preach "take your vitamins, say your prayers, and do your training" before it wears out.

[DarkMiagee]

Jake may be right about how going against your "Golden Goose" is bad marketing....but the fans were clearly choosing their new "Golden Goose." I believe Vince failed to recognize this and did not give Jake the opportunity to become that new golden goose. Vince gave in to cater to Hulk's concerns. Such a travesty for Jake.

[Fender1976uk]

Jake gets grumpy but he says it the way it is!! and thats what is so great about the man! no BS!! and hes good to listen to! knows how to talk

[chezmany]

@Fender1976uk When I met him at the Cauliflower Alley Club annual reunion, I asked him about his daughter(from the movie Beyond The Mat) and he cussed me all out, and this is after buying him a beer. Then two days later he talks to the crowd about what a great father he is when he truly isn't. He's full of nothing but BS

[EmperorBubba]

@chezmany

lets be fair... how many people do you think have asked him about that since that film came out ? I imagine it would be pretty tiresome after a while to have strangers judging you based on an edited film ;)

[warriorofwrestlingv3]

@chezmany It's none of your business, that's why. Jake was not happy with his portrayal in that documentary at all, but aside from that what makes you think buying him a beer gives you the right to pry into his personal business? He may have spoken about these things for the documentary but I doubt he'd want to do the same for every stranger who happened to ask about it. And for all you know he could have rekindled his relationship with his daughter.

[chezmany]

@warriorofwrestlingv3

The part of when I offered to help his gf to learn how to play a slot machine, he handed her $20, then he told me he'd kick my arse if she lost, I told him he could go eff himself because it wasn't like he hander $1000, he flipped me off. Even his gf told me never bring up his kids, they weren't on speaking terms, then a couple nights later he talked about what a great father he was. 

[Fender1976uk]

I always remember this as a kid!! people would chant! DDT!!! DDT!!! everyone wanted to see Jake nail anyone and everyone with that move :) Hulk wouldn't allow himself to be a victim of that finisher!!! I always thought Jake deserved more from the WWF

[VinKohl]

@Fender1976uk I'm positive Vince would have used Jake much more if it wasn't for his viscous drug habit, it really is unfortunate!

[AndrewsOpinion15]

I HAVE THIS DVD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rocksvids08]

This would have totally worked during the attitude era...

[SouthParkBear]

Ok, he says "the crowd gave the wrong reaction."

Yeah, Jake: ever hear "the customer is always right?"

Wow. He's just like Bret Hart, i.e. totally confused about how it works, and who's working for whom.

[BradNC11175]

@SouthParkBear At least Roberts isn't a habitual whiner. The classic phrase JR used often of "I'd like to buy him for what he's worth and sell him for what he thinks he's worth" would be very applicable to Bret Hart as well. I am no Bret Hart hater but damned that dude just thinks way to highly of himself and has more sob stories than a country music writer.

[SouthParkBear]

@BradNC11175 "At least Roberts isn't a habitual whiner."

No, a perpetual SMARTASS. That's worse.

[BradNC11175]

@SouthParkBear LOL you may be right. At least a perpetual smart ass can be entertaining though.

[SouthParkBear]

@BradNC11175

Not if he's a cynical douchebag like Jake clearly is.

You wanna say "it's not them, Jake, it's YOU."

[BradNC11175]

@SouthParkBear Yeah your right. I guess the early 90s were kind of an odd transitional time period for wrestlers & promoters alike where it was hard to figure out where to go with certain charicters and story lines. It's clear here that both Hogan & Roberts were still in that 80s mind set of super villain vs super hero comic book style wrestling and neither one (at the time) could adapt to the change and probably neither could Vince McMahon. Austin was the first to get it right in those regards.

[SouthParkBear]

@BradNC11175

Jesus CHrist, you think that was Austin's idea?

That was pure Vince McMahon with his "attitude era" angle where he wanted to be big-ass and distance himself from the standard heel-face thing when he broke Kayfabe.

Then it just got ridiculous because there was no real conflict, and so Vince just made himself the villain as "Mr.Big Suit Corporation," first against Austin then Undertaker and then Shawn/HHH etc. and it just never stopped sucking.

[SouthParkBear]

Jake: "Mumble, mumble, grunt.... " (raise eyebrows)

Yeah, Jake-- could you SPEAK UP a llittle?

Definitely on drugs... maybe methadone or tranks, but drugs still.

[alphaq20]

What did he say at 1:44?

[hitmancoolio]

I could listen to this guy for ages.

[vancedev]

I love it! They did a double turn by accident! Maybe the WWF made a huge mistake not putting the belt on Jake and having Hogan turn heel. Hogan's heel turn in WCW did kinda ok didn't it?

[81pdmatt]

@vancedev It did but Vince knew back in 86 he had years of Hogan drawing money as a face left in him, and he was right. We still hadn't had Hogan vs Andre, Hogan vs Savage, or Hogan vs Warrior. In my opinion the correct time for WWE to turn Hogan heel was his comeback in 1993. He should have been The Undertaker's opponent at Wrestlemania 9. 

[vancedev]

@81pdmatt That's true and that idea for WM 9 sounds good too,but what if Jake was the 80's version of Austin from the 90's? Maybe Jake was ahead of his time,maybe Hulk was ahead of his time?

[81pdmatt]

@vancedev I don't know if Jake ever would have had the drawing power Austin did. They turned him face,and he was over, but he never struck me as a guy who could carry a company. I actually think he was used perfectly as a guy who could get you ready for the main event. Also the mood in the 80s was a little different then in the 90s. In the 80s fans loved the superhero type faces so Jake probably would have never reached Austin's level, while Hogan's momentum would have stopped.

[potatoe57]

Is there an existing clip of the DDT that they're talking about here?

[BrokenMegaMan]

BUT THEY SPLIT THE CROUD ALL THE TIME IN WHAT?! TODAYS WWE! LETS GO CENA/CENA SUCKS WHAT THAT CALLED?! LOL

[linjapanese77]

@BrokenMegaMan back they they werent prepared... like have a well thought system (at that level of wrestling entertainment at the time) that would be ready for the heel to really outshine the super baby face... its hulk hogan for christ sakes, who in the hell would side against him vs ANY heel, thus Jake the FUCKING Snake, when i think pro wresting i think of him first and always will... with Cena they've had plus 30 years to work around it. hope i gave a bit of insight.

[I3lindGuardian]

DDT!!

[chezmany]

Has anyone other than me here actually met Jake in person? Within 5 minutes I realized he hadn't changed since the movie Beyond The Mat and even when I was trying to help his girlfriend on the slots in Vegas to win, gave her $20 and told me if she lost, he was going to kick my Effing arse, and meant it. Come on people, this guy needs to see a shrink.

[dartter50]

@chezmany I don't care. He's badass.

[marcusrob02]

@chezmany Jake the Snake is an ASSHOLE! On his facebook page, people are LITERALLY on eggshells whenever they ask him questions, cause he's a piece of SHIT whenever you ask him ANY question on his page! At least Hogan is SMART, KNOWS the business, and is respectful to his fans!

[chezmany]

@marcusrob02 You're right about Jake. I met him last April in Vegas at a pro wrestling reunion, offered to help him and his gf out with slot machines, and he told me if she lost his $20 he'd kick my butt and flipped me off as he walked off. I let it known I was gunning for him and whenever I walked by he could only look down. Don't ask him about his daughter from Beyond The Mat, that'll get him all over your butt.

[Astraldragon1]

@marcusrob02 no matter how he is in person...he is smart to the bussiness and knows it well, he is one of the best on promos and had a good solid mind for the bussiness. that people respect.  you can't be in the bussiness and not learn something about it and what works and what doesn't. you will learn a lot.

[oldschool6804]

@chezmany I HAVEN'T MET HIM BUT HE DOES ACT LIKE A PRICK ON FACEBOOK IF HE DOESN'T LIKE YOUR QUESTIONS

[warriorofwrestlingv3]

@oldschool6804 He's under no obligation NOT to be a prick if he doesn't like your questions. The fact that he takes time out of his day-every day-to answer said questions is something most of his fans are very grateful for. It's not often you get to speak to one of your heroes, online or offline. He never portrayed himself to be a fan-friendly kind of guy-and neither did any of his former co-workers. Even so, he doesn't HAVE to answer questions, but he does it, nevertheless

[LTDANMAN44]

jake always had better POP than hogan

[Musicvidsetc]

Split crowd with Hogan?!? Wow. More evidence that Jake was Stone Cold before Stone Cold Steve Austin; Attitude before The Attitude Era. The half of the crowd that was with Jake was ready for the Attitude Era to begin.

Jake had a number of problems, but one of them was definitely that he was too ahead of his time for his own financial good.

[jpshines]

@Musicvidsetc Great Point. And the Irony that Stone Cold became the rattle SNAKE. Hmm....

[angryfoodie]

@Musicvidsetc

Never mind how obvious it is that Austin was influenced by Jake's promo style.

Jake Roberts was one of the best all time mic guys, with impeccable ring psychology. I've said it before about him, at his best he could do more to a crowd with a stare and a shake of the wrists than most guys could do falling off of 20 foot ladders and damn near killing themselves.

[theraVen27]

This man is a true legend!

if anybody deserves ahall of fame spot it's Jake.

it's really sad that this man has had the troubles he has had.

It's sadder that he isn't remembered for the ring, promo, and training god that he was.

u hear about kamala and koko b ware more than jake...that is SAD!

[Cerrano18]

The number of guys who deserve the title back in the day and never got it is astounding. Piper and Jake are the first to come to mind.

[natedog4049]

i personally love split crowds.

[TrueTalkTV]

Is there a clip of Jake attacking Hogan in the Snake Pit? I don't recall that.

[nascarman8803]

Great to hear them be so candid about that...Back then you didn't want a split crowd, but at Wrestlemania split crowds are the norm now...Michaels-Undertaker 1 & 2, Michaels-Flair, HHH-Undertaker & then upcoming Rock-Cena, unless Cena turns heel prior to then, because its held in the Rocks hometown....The crowd will be more Rock than Cena

[HeavyMetalBeliever]

@nascarman8803 Well, nobody really wanted split crowds at all because people had to put the face over and the wrestlers who were heels put the faces over

[TripleRp]

This is why Jake is so cool (despite his personal problems) People really liked Jake The Snake whether he was Heel or Face. He's the one of the few wrestlers that was vicious either way. His character really didn't seem to sway much.

[RKOzza]

Hhhhmmmmm... who do i believe?

FUCK U HOGAN!!!!

[MJShooter21]

What Video was this excerpt from?

[frednichols]

@MJShooter21 Jakes



[bachyaraa]

1:10 - 1:30 Jake sums up perfectly why cena sucks. Tell you what, i can't wait for someone to invent a time machine. First thing ima do.. travel back to the 80s when pro wrestling was still damn good!

[Wookieestatus]

@bachyaraa i totally agree with you i stopped watching wrestling after austin and rock left it just turned to garbage for me and i have no idea whats even going on anymore

[frednichols]

@Wookieestatus Same here

[Ghouse666]

@Wookieestatus trust me you haven't missed out on much at all

[Frankwolf100]

@bachyaraa HA!

[EmoKilla420]

@bachyaraa agreed you make a good point

[TheRandomSweed]

@bachyaraa Save a seat for me. 70's & 80's wrestling rocked!

[badguy95]

I would love to have seen that Snake Pit episode, with Hogan, that they're talking about. The crowd reaction must've been surreal!

[2010thekingofkings]

Im suprised WWE is letting the fans be split with Cena for such a long time now, their finally listening to the fans.

[puffykilled2pac]

When Jake is talking about split audience is he talking about Hogan or Cena?

[texasholdemholden]

Saw them in Providence RI and the crowd was split !

[Morrisonii]

And thats why they should drop Cena. Even though he isn't that bad of a wrestler

[LTDANMAN44]

Jake always had a better POP than Hogan. Always

[LTDANMAN44]

Jake always had a better POP than Hogan. Always

[NBMTensai]

Jake's feud with Hogan showed that even though Jake was a heel, his character was something the people eventually started to like, the same thing happened with Undertaker in 1991, Austin in 1997 and Rock in 1999. That shows the gimmick works and eventually you get over with the fans and they start to make you popular. So Jake's WWF run not only introduced the psychological darkness into wrestling, it also marked the turning point between the fans' decisions of who gets booed and who gets cheered

[ladykiller85]

@NBMTensai I'd like to add Orton in 2010 to your list. It was clear that DiBiase and Rhodes were being made to look like the victims throughout and that they were looking at them as the baby faces, but the crowd suddenly flipped to Orton at Wrestlemania 26.

[BIODTLOTHER1terrapin]

I don't remember seeing a snake pit w/Hogan getting a DDT---woulda enjoyed that, never liking Hogan

[LTDANMAN44]

@BIODTLOTHER1terrapin they had it taped and ready to go, but they canned it because the crowd was split. I have never seen it either and vince won't release the tape of it for some reason. I think he hates the snake, thats why he won't let him in the hall of fame

[videozfann]

Jake for HOF!

[josh692004]

Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior was a split crowd at WM6...I think it could have worked.

[MrRem3i]

@josh692004 yes but the warrior/hogan feud happened at a time when hulkamania was winding down, whereas in 1986 it hadn't peaked yet

[Sledge070685]

Basically put guys; Hogan didn't want to work with Jake Roberts because Jake got cheered instead of him. oi Hogan /facepalm...

[SESdisciple]

I don't understand why having a split crowd is a bad reaction and bad for business. That's how it always is in today's wrestling. You hear half for Cena, half against Cena.

[fjccommish]

@SESdisciple The business today is down. The biggest business happens when there's a clear good guy and clear bad guy.

[SESdisciple]

@fjccommish Thanks for clarifying. I guess I'm just so used to everyone being split in who they cheer for.

[eclectica1]

@SESdisciple Different times back then. The heel/face lines were more defined in that era.

[lildwayne21]

Even if the audience would have responded correctly to the angle, I'm not sure Hogan and Jake would have had a lot of chemistry in the ring together. Two completely different styles, and I'm not sure they would have meshed well.

[MrJP75]

This sounds a lot like what happened between Hulk Hogan & The Rock!!!

[ThreatVision]

Vince McMahon are you listening? Two words: John Cena.

[lildwayne21]

@ThreatVision I agree.

[perk431]

...cena should be listening to this clip. hes hurting the business sooooo bad.

[mkeysou812]

This overly cautious approach to heels and babyfaces is the reason a lot of people became sick of wrestling at the end of the 80s. It became way too predictable, especially with Hogan. Wrestling became more interesting when they introduced more shades of grey.

[unbridledid]

Jake as always telling it like it is... The anti hero always had appeal.

[lildwayne21]

@unbridledid True.

[RageOfTheTiger]

@unbridledid he was something special. I don't think he's still around but he seems humble. Great times in wrestling.

[SouthParkBear]

@unbridledid

More like a Piper wanna-be.No energy at all== like a snake!

Good heel, bad anti-hero. You can'tbe a snake lying in the grass, and really fire up a crowd.

Lowballing faces from behind was his game, he shoulda stuck to it.

[Kasigi03]

When you think about it, Jake was THE original Stone Cold of his time with this angle, the heel getting over the babyface. Unfortunately, it was the wrong time and I think it could've worked but oh well.

[Migueazy49]

like fans wanting ryder instead of cenas crap now

[rogertayloRRR]

lol hogan says it wasnt right in the ring?

[Moss235]

Jake even admitted that his job was get guys ready for Hogan, to me that is as good an honour as you could get at that time

[Moss235]

An obvious turning point in both careers, Jake maybe would have been the one but for timing, had Hogan passed the torch to Jake in 1990 instead of The Warrior then maybe he could have carried the WWF, it's clear to me that Jake really was the nearly man

[danspivey91]

I love the way that the crowd chanted for jake and he says it was the wrong reaction. it just goes to show that jake has zero ego, a rarity in the business. was never the biggest jake fan but my respect for him has definitely gone up a notch.

[Monarchos]

@danspivey91 Ego has nothing to do with it, though I do agree that Jake does not have a big ego. It has to do with the fact that Jake was the heel, and the people were not supposed to be siding with him. That angle had a lot to do with the decision to turn Jake face a short time later by starting his feud with the Honky Tonk Man.

[danspivey91]

@Monarchos yes i understand what it was about, im not a complete retard, its quite clear what the point of this story is

[tool26]

Geez... Reading some of the comments pro-Jake or anti-Hogan and it's so weird. I don't think it was a decision that was 100 % based on Hogan's ego, not even close. In the 80's, the WWF made everything to make sure that a good guy was a 100 % good guy and that a bad guy was a 100 % bad guy. It was black or white, no shades of gray. It wasn't that way only for Hogan or Jake, it was that way to everyone. These days, it's the total opposite, as seemingly all the wrestlers have shades of gray.

[IDIOTdella]

I think this video shows Hogan for what he's all about, which is promoting himself, whereas Jake was looking at things from a business standpoint and understood why the angle was dropped. Hogan just bullshitted himself out of the angle, whereas Jake accepted it from a business POV. Good on you Jake! I think the business would be in a different frame of mind today had they gone with you and not at all with Hogan. Him and his fucking Hulkmanaiacs. Hated that era then and hate it to this day

[BIGACE310]

The dickhead, egomaniac Hogan probably ran to Vince after the DDT chant and gave him a handjob and begged to drop the angle. The idiot Hogan was in charge then thats why he never dropped the belt to the detriment of the WWF. Never could stand Hogan.

[Lryder422]

poor Jake

[LTDANMAN44]

jake had a bigger POP than hulk and would have made a great champion

[dh03grad]

WWE ignored their own advice with Cena, huh?

[lastwolflord]

@dh03grad Super cena is one of many problems the WWE has. You know its bad when impact and ROH are more watchable then any of WWE's programs. Just shows you when millions and billions crap can still be just crap if you dont have the right people.

[RetardMcspakypants]

@lastwolflord Impact is worse than WWE.

[lastwolflord]

@RetardMcspakypants everyone is aloud to have a opinion. I personally find the current WWE show unwatchable. I mean they dont even call themselves wrestling anymore. They are sport's entertainment. And I am not even making that up. Even there talent is being brought up to be models and actors. If thats what you want fine. But I have watched them since the 80s and do not like the direction they have gone in. Which is why I like TNA. They currently do what I like. Which is entertain me.

[RetardMcspakypants]

@lastwolflord If they entertain you that's fine but I don't like them using the term "Wrestling matters" if they don't treat it seriously.

And WWE has been calling themselves "sports entertainment" for like 15 years now. And there are plenty of great wrestlers and matches in WWE now, and TNA I'll admit.

[mamacornettesmoney]

@lastwolflord WWF has been calling themselves Sports Entertainment since 1983 at least, and it is an apt monicker, IMO. I'm pretty sure Vince was using that term in comentary long before that, but certainly since the expansion began almost 30 years ago, it has been "Sports Entertainment". And honestly, it's closer to the truth than saying "Wrestling", especially since things changed so much in the mid-80s.

[ZipZagginGallifrey]

@RetardMcspakypants You probably don't even watch IMPACT, if you actually did you'd know that isnt the case. IMPACT is pushing young, hungry guys like Robert Roode and James Storm and giving Gail Kim back her credibility

[Spamazoid]

@ZipZagginGallifrey They did initially then they dropped the ball for alot of years and only just started pushing them again, however these aren't "young" guys they are guys that have been there along time and should've been pushed alot earlier

[ProWrestlingRewind]

Rare honesty from Hogan

[809Ollie]

@ProWrestlingRewind hes not really being honest listen to what he says. he never says the fans were cheering for jake just that it wasnt working in the ring

[RAV52]

@abab0s In the mind of an idiot, that may seem true, but even Jake is telling your dumb ass how the business worked. Jake Roberts wasn't gonna sell out buildings around the world. He wasn't gonna give you stellar PPV numbers and he was also too risky to put the belt on because of his dependence on painkillers. Vince could give a shit about the so-called "anti-Hogan" fans because there were only maybe 100 in each crowd of 10,000. No way could Jake carry the company like Vince wanted.

[Moss235]

@RAV52 that of course is the business side of it all, you get a lot of Hogan bashers on here but to this day they are still in the minority, millions of fans are Hulkamaniacs, far more than are Hogan haters

[RAV52]

@Moss235 Don't get me wrong, despite his dependency and marital problems, Jake The Snake Roberts was a bonafide SUPERSTAR at the height of the WWF's popularity. He had his own action figures and merchandise, which only a select few could claim in the beginning. But beyond a shadow of a doubt, all of that came about because of Hulkamania, which was the driving force behind the WWF. As long as he had Hogan, Vince's organization was sitting on top of the World. Jake was a great part of that.

[Rayla840]

Not to be a dick, but the word "feud" is spelled wrong. Too bad this feud never really happened though. Coulda been great!!!