Met Jake in San Antonio in October 2022 at Traders Village. He signed my WWF magazine from 1991 that I bought when I was 14. Thank you for being so nice and taking a picture with my son.
Right cause he wonders why he wasn’t on top because these guys were tag guys while he was there in the hogan era. By 1992, Bret was reliable and the best in the ring while Jake was a druggy who walked out after Mania 8. By 1996, Shawn was the best in ring while Jake as per usual, was still a druggy and not reliable
Bret is not much younger than Jake is. Bret also grew up in the business like Jake. Bret just didn't have the Gaga or charisma as many stars did in the 80s. Hitman worked a more realistic style and gimmick. He's just lucky Vince didn't saddle him with an actual sharpshooter or hitman gimmick.
Bret was also part of the golden era as a part of the hart foundation Jake is a few years older than him Shawn Michaels is 9-10 years their junior he’s 59
What's funny about this is him saying fire both of them for not wanting to wrestle eachother. I remember Jake having to go ask warrior if he would do a program with him. Wasn't up to Vince, wasn't up to Jake. It was up to warrior. And Jake tucked his tail and went and and asked warrior. Why didn't Jake tell Vince to fire warrior?
I love Jake, but the notion that Bret didnt want to lose in Canada is false. It was due to Shawn disrespecting Bret at a San Jose house show. Also pretty absurd IMO is his notion that Bret and Shawn did not draw money. That wasn't their fault, but rather due to the fact that apart from Bret, Shawn, and 'Taker, there wasnt much substance to the rest of what Titan was offering in the mid '90s (doink, mantaur, TL hopper, etc)
It was said that Bret valued the belt over higher compensation. I think coming from the Canadian wrestling scene also held down his salary potential at the start of his title run. Either way if his compensation was on the lower side for a champion, growing up in the business, he likely understood that this would grant him greater leverage in creative direction. The longer he held that belt the higher his stock rose allowing him to take advantage of WCW offering him a lucrative deal to make up for working lean as long as he did. Vince benefited as well having to avoid the huge payoffs made to the likes of Hogan and Warrior. Being in the drivers seat as the newest big thing also granted Sean some sense of entitlement for creative control and given his history with Bret there was bound to be some conflict. These two were at their height of popularity and the drama that unfolded leading up to the screw job brought out some of their best performances as they battled to determine who was deserving of the belt. This played out as great entertainment for the fans and McMahon likely was smiling all the way to the bank even after taking Bret’s hardest punch after the screw job. Life imitating art pushed Vince to billionaire status.
Doesn't Bret understood to drop the belt prior to leaving the company? I heard Bret had no problems with dropping the belt to Austin. If he did drop it to Stone Cold, I don't think we would get the screwjob, IMO.
@@kenterminateddq5311 The screw job was the best thing that happened to all involved. It leaves us interested and asking questions still to this day. Wrestlers get old and styles become dated but the screw job will be talked about for years.
But who said that? Hall? It’s not up to Hall to tell Bret how to handle his business. Bret asked for and received pay increases in his own time, when he thought it was right. Crazy how the IWC takes what is said in a shoot by one or two people and regurgitates it over and over as if it’s the only way to consider a situation
@@ZBR_ProXP quite a few wrestlers have said it. Others behind the scenes implied it in other interviews as well. Not criticizing him either as business cycles should dictate anyone’s approach and I’m sure no one understood this more than Bret himself. The fun in these podcasts is reading between the blurry lines. Amusement comes from those that hold on to their opinions so strongly years later when the only opinions that matter are those of the paying fans.
Message to Jake. I just want to thank you for your perseverance and your humility. I had the monkey on my back, (Alcohol) since my teenage years and from 2016-2020 was a full blown functioning alcoholic. My family saw a vodka bottle when they looked at me and all the esteem turned into hopelessness. After a messed up alcoholic episode I had no choice but to search inside myself for a way to get rid of alcohol from my life. I loved the feeling of being drunk but I had used up all my strikes with my family and friends. So I had 5 days of insane DT’s and just powered through it cold turkey. During this time I watched the resurrection a few times. It strengthened my will and steeled my resolve. Subsequently, EVERYTHING has got better, it has gotten good. So good in fact that I WILL never return to alcohol or let it return to me. Thank you for being a part of my story. My first toy when I was a 2 year old kid in the late 80s was a rubber snake that I called Jagga snake (Jake the snake). I’m an avid fan of what you and DDP are doing and have done.
I never heard that take on the "Montreal screw job" with Bret Hart. Very interesting. Jake the Snake may be one of the coolest pro-wrestlers of all time. I heard a real long interview with him on VladTv here on youtube the other day. Absolutely fascinating. I'm convinced Jake Roberts is a man of integrity.
If shawn hadn't told bret he wouldn't put him over if the situation was reversed bret would of done the job. Shawn backed out of putting bret over earlier in the year when it was supposed to be him and bret for the title at Wrestlemania 13. Bret would of lost to anyone else in Montreal that night. Nothing to do with It being in Canada. It was all because of what shawn had done and said that whole year. Bret had no respect for shawn because shawn had no respect for him at the time. Look at what shawn did to Davey boy in England a month before. He shouldn't of won the European title that night. But pulled his bullshit politics and got that belt too , If I was bret I'd done the same thing.
You clearly don’t understand the backstory of that. Shawn was pissed because Bret demanded that he get to beat Shawn back at Wrestlemania 13, if Shawn went over at 12. Even though Shawn had been putting Bret over every single time for 6 years. THATS why Shawn lost respect for Bret. And I would have been pissed if I were Shawn too. Shawn wasn’t perfect......but the fact of the matter is that he had always done Bret right in the past. Bret has cleanly admitted that he had sour grapes for putting over Shawn just ONCE. And that he didn’t want to stop being the top guy, even though he had been for 4 years.
@@BillyBob-ec5ox i do understand that story and yes I think bret wanted to win at 13. As I think he should of for storyline reasons Would of been a killer match. Then I'm sure he would of put shawn over again after that. It all depends on who is telling the story. But I have a hard time siding with 1997 shawn Michaels, I know how hard he was to deal with because of multiple sources. I'm a fan of both guys and would actually put shawn a tiny but higher then bret for in ring showman ship. All I think is I can totally see why bret didn't want to lose to him that night. It was all to get to wm 14 anyways because Austin was going to get that belt.
@@JesseClutch Bret said nothing about letting Shawn beat him again. And no, he shouldn’t have beat Shawn at 13...... because 12 was supposed to be a PASSING of the torch match. Just like when Hogan put Warrior over and Flair put Bret over. That means there’s supposed to be a finality to it. Bret didn’t like that his run was coming to an end. That’s the way the business goes. He had 4 years on top, and that was being GENEROUS, considering that he didn’t draw a damn dime. He was a terrible Champion commercially, and he had no legit excuse like the NWO. The truth is that Bret’s ego got in the way. And he had a MASSIVE ego. Yes, Shawn did too. But at least Shawn paid his dues by helping out Bret over for years. It was time for Bret to return the favor. And he only had to put Shawn over once. He was still gonna have a winning record against him. But that wasn’t good enough. Also, this isn’t 1997 Michaels. This is late 95 when the decision was made. Bret didn’t want to pass the torch even before his issues with HBK began
@@JesseClutch bottom line. The biggest Bret Hart fan is Bret Hart. Watch any of his interviews. He’s the Ultimate mark for himself, 24/7. And he’s just as bad, if not worse, than he was then.
@@BillyBob-ec5ox according to your logic then why was hogan champion again in 1993, why did he have to beat Yokozuna, at mania 9? if his run was over?? Why was shawn world heavyweight champion in 2002? If his run was over in 98? Bret has talked about it many times that he wanted to have a series of matches with shawn in 97 98 and he would of won at mania 13 but put shawn over again. Would of been great for story line and matches that year . Bret has put so many guys over his entire career, yes he can be a bitter old man and I don't agree with some of the shit he did either. Business was the shits in the mid 90s for the wwf, Kevin nash couldn't draw, and shawn wasn't doing much better when he was champion in 96. Why would McMahon put the belt on bret at summerslam 97? Brets heel work that year was great! Before bret even left ,the wwf was already going into the attitude era and were starting to do better again. Had nothing to do with him not drawing, it was strictly the fact that the company was losing money , and had been for years including 1996 when shawn was champion. untill 1997 who did bret really have to work with that was a big name? Undertaker and shawn, maybe Vader when he came in ? SID? Look at the roster. Wasnt till late 96 /97 some more stars were being built. can't put that on bret for not drawing when nobody was...look at his matches in 97 almost all of them were classics.
Jake complains about Bret and Shawn ( although I’m sure it was just Shawn unwilling to put Bret over at WM13 ), but then will talk about Hogan not wanting to work with him ( Jake ) and doesn’t go on a rant like this. When you’re the top guy, you have more creative freedom. And especially Bret who had it written in his contact that he had creative control during his final 30 days with the company.
Pretty sure hbk and bret had quite a few spectacular matches together... why did Jake switch the finish and have undertaker tombstone him outside the ring for a dq instead of clean in the ring like planned on Jake's last pay-per-view with the wwf before jumping to wcw? That wasn't doing your job.. going into business for himself and not doing his job is Jake's m.o. Just ask Jim Cornette.
Bret and Shawn were just leveraging Vince because he was afraid of losing even more talent to WCW or otherwise. Jake was right. By retaining Bret and Shawn, Vince was holding up his company moving forward by "letting the inmates run the asylum." The company bounced back up a couple years later anyway with the beginning of the late-90s "Attitude Era" and by no small coincidence getting rid of Bret in '97.
Yeah that weak, bumbling Vince! Said nobody besides Jake. Yeah Jake would have fired them both in a drunken rage… and when they’re both over at wcw, and you look around the decimated wwf roster which was already thin… So maybe, just maybe, Vince WAS in a tough position. Do yah think???
Even Jake doesn’t get it. When an employee tells you they aren’t going to keep you safe, won’t give you the same courtesy you gave them and they tell you this to your face..how should Bret have reacted.
Vince didn't want to fire them because it would be sending them to WCW. They wouldn't come crawling back, they'd go to WCW. These two were all that was keeping the WWFs head above the water at the time. And Shawn was actively wanting released to go join the nWo with Nash and Hall.
If Vince fired Bret and Shawn and they went to WCW, it might have been over for the WWF at that point. We may never get Austin or the Rock or the attitude era.
although i kind of agree with jake, shawn and even bret could probably be hard to work with sometimes, jake is noone to talk lol theres been times where he refused to take peoples finishes or didnt do the job, he called an audible against undertaker during there match which he was supposed to take the tombstone and instead he did a countout. im sure the pressure of being a top guy can get to people and even make them paranoid about there "spot" . back then the champ made the most money and like it or not bret, shawn, hogan, austin etc werent ever just gonna let another guy beat them unless it made business sense. so enough with the " just do your job " bullcrap because at the end of the day you gotta look out for number 1. Not to mention that after all the years it takes these guys on the road away from there families to reach that high position, why would they let someone take it away. i wouldnt
This isn't the first time I've heard a veteran like Jake remind us that the belt is given to a wrestler, it's not a prize earned through competition. You're the champ because the management wants you to be.
And management wants you to be because typically you’ve earned it through being dependable, putting on a good show consistently, making media appearances, sick kids appearances, drawing a gate, selling merchandise, etc. So in many respects, the champion DID earn it. Especially in the 80’s and 90’s
God damn Jake, the snake always has a way of telling it like it is in a way that anyone in the world could easily understand exactly what hes talking about and where hes coming from and boy. Oh, boy, did he hit the nail right on the head!!!! Although I agree with every single d*** thing. Jake. The snake said I still love Brett heart and I still agree with everything Brett Hart said and I still believe Brett Hart. If he won his final match on WWF, he would have given up the belt But I guess that's just my opinion. And the true reason for this podcast is the fact that everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
Shawn was the problem. It wasn't Bret. Eventually things became very toxic between them. But Shawn was the prick, pretty much anyone in the WWF in the 90s would tell you that while everyone respected and admired Bret. If you were to fire anyone you fire Shawn and the whole toxicity of 97 and the screwjob would have been avoided. Bret was your reliable soldier and believable champion that could have a great match with anyone. Jake, a great wrestling mind, was unreliable due to his drug issues. That's why he didn't stay in creative. His drug issues and unreliability was probably the reason he didn't win a wwf championship.
I respect Jake and understand where he's coming from with his opinion, but i totally disagree with him. They may not have liked each other, but it was because of Shawns bitchy attitude at the time. Knowing that he was apart of the Kliq, he tried to get many wrestlers fired that he didn't want to work with. Even Shawn himself would admit this. Which is why I'm glad that Bret and Shawn are on good terms nowdays.
Had he not been a crackhead, he'd likely would have been the champion. Instead he decided to smoke outside of the gym instead of go in. Sure he's taller than Bret, but no one would pick him to beat Bret in a real fight. Jake had no classic matches. Stay away from drugs!
The biggest part of the business is charisma. Anyone will tell you that. And Jake had more charisma in one of his fingernails than Bret had in his entire body.
Right on, brother. Jake is a joke, while Bret is no joke. And charisma? When Bret tried, he had vastly more charisma. Literally watch any Bret promo from 97-00. Shit, hunt down the Bret goes extreme on Jerry Lawler video from 95. Bret had more charisma in that alone than any of Jake's best.
@@JessicaChastainFan Get off the crack. Bret had vastly more charisma than Jake Roberts?? Lmao 😂😂. Bret’s best promo would be lucky to touch the level of a mediocre promo from Jake.
@Charles Hardy - All you Bret suckers get your pink & black panties in a bunch when another wrestler calls Bret out on his BS. Jake wasn't criticizing Bret's [or Shawn's] in-ring skills. Jake, among others, were sick of the crap Bret and Shawn were pulling with their high school drama behind the scenes. Bret was a mark for his own self. I think Scott Hall referred to Bret as the "$500,000 Champion," because Bret didn't care about making more money, he just wanted to hold a fictional title.
No one “gave back” more than Jake.....to the point where Jake never even had a title, even though he was easily one of the hottest guys in the business. Jake was about the business. Bret was about himself. Period.
@@PetraKann lol only one time ever? How do you know that and why are you spreading this info? This was said in an interview by Nash. It was a conversation between a few guys in top positions who were all trying to keep their characters strong. It wasn’t the biggest deal that ever happened as everyone lives to make it. Another day at work.
@Whole_Ammo83 Kevin Nash is the second most honest person in the wrestling business since 1962. You should apologise my friend. Apologise in writing and withdraw your outrageously slanderous public remarks.
@@ZBR_ProXP Listen here Mr Zebra, I dont think I like your acrid tone and arrogant posture my friend. Are you calling Nash a liar? Because if you are Zebra, you need to apologise - apologise in a big hurry.
Bret took his damn craft serious for a reason! Jake bro all you did was drugs, dont pretend you did ur job correctly LOL. Bret always FAUGHT HBK, hbk was the one who wouldnt fight him. So understand the story
Shawn was just a small guy that could move - small guys can move easilier. But Jake was the better wrestler. Dean Malenko is a better TECHNICAL wrestler than Undertaker - but Undertaker is still a better wrestler than Dean Malenko.
Who do you believe Bret or Jake obviously they both don’t like eachother but I’d say all things given Bret have way more back to wwf and Vince then Jake so I don’t know Bret dropped the titje to Shawn before dropped to title to hogan basically at mania 9 he did jobs and stuck around afterwards jake in the other hand was really sour after not getting that program with hogan so end of day I live both guys Bret was my all time favorite and I liked jake a lot as well I hated when he lost to taker at mania what 8 or whatever one that was but being older now and hearing all the things said about both guys I’m on Bret’s side it seems like Bret was promised a lot more that he got screwed on then Jake did but Bret kept doing jobs to guys and was willing to take a massive pay cut to stay in wwf when they were close to folding I don’t know if Jake doing that and I heard some stories about jakes feeling about Austin and the king of the ring and put that on top of of his bitterness over not getting that program with hogan he seems way more sour then Bret now as fir Shawn I never heard much from Jake about Shawn I just also think Jake was upset that Bret was picked as the next top guy over him that’s why he is so bitter towards Bret but let’s face it take away jakes promos he was boring then consider Bret’s lack of promos at the time his in ring ability far surpassed promos people didn’t care like his match with Piper that was amazing and his lack of promos showed against Piper but nobody remembers that but the match people do remember same with Davey and Bret could get a great match out of Kane as yankem dds skinner doink lawyer when nobody could could have done that then his matches with Owen were just classic even Yokozuna he got great matches out of and I agree if flair would have given his best effort they would have had all time classics I believe flair dogged Bret there then you have perfect those are classics his Austin matches Cassie his Shawn matches were all but cnasdicvyou could put anybody from the early ti mid 90s with him and he’d give you a classic
No kidding it's a job, but u don't go to ur job for harassment. I can work with someone I only dislike a lil, but if it's someone toxic, I'd try to talk with him about it. If he doesn't listen, THEN I take it to the boss. Besides, I never heard of any wrestler that was as difficult as shawn, n jake never wrestled him in 90s
My god I watched the big chap as a kid and share many of his struggles right now I'm on my arse and addiction is knocking at the door i lost my mum and brother to suicide as a kid i got diagnosed with ptsd last year an my dad died the next week so it's been a long year and more than ever I had to see this to see im not alone to see there is a future iv never had such an overwhelming sense of impending doom but I feel I'm on the right track I'm really thinkin about goin to aa but I'm so scared
I think Bret thought he had a Hollywood career ahead of him, but when lonesome dove got cancelled, he had to return to wrestling without his backup plan.
everything jake said is right 100% bret and shawn were telling vince how to run his own company he should of fired them both and they deserved to be fired, like really these two fn guys gave vince more fn grief then anyone else I can think of. When your a promoter and your guys are telling you how to run your own company its time to get rid of them right then and there period.
Since he nowadays works in AEW,hopefully Jake The Snake tells Tony Khan to not allow the inmates run the asylum as Jake The Snake seems like the type of guy who would immediately lay the DDT upon CM Punk if Punk got extremely out-of-line and follow that up with Jake pieing Punk in the face with one of his Mindy's Muffins.
Jake said of Andre The Giant that, should wrestlers not show up for a match, Andre would get the promoter and the other wrestlers in the locker room to come up with a match on the fly. Some times he literally grabbed wrestlers and pushed them out of the locker room saying "to the ring, wrestle, fill the program, do your job", with him appearing later in the match as a surprise enemy. Andre loved wrestling and believed in putting on a good show.
Jake's right, i mean it's not real. If the guy who's paying u wants it done a certain way then do it. It's not like he was asking them to take a sh#t in the middle of the ring. Just asking one to job on the way out! 2 hours etc lol on the phone
It's why from late 94-97 I stopped watching wrestling. These two little GIRLS were the worst two champions. I was from the HH/Warrior era the Golden days. Got good again in 98' on with Austin/Rock. Jake is saying what most of us have always known.
93 until about 96 were horrible years. Bret was pretty much the only guy to watch at that point but that ain't saying much. Once Vince got rid of the classic 80s stars the company went into a hole until Austin/Rock. I was a big Bret fan as a tag team performer/IC champ but I never bought him as a world champ.
@@michaelbull4344 Guys like Bret made it believable. I don't really understand the argument. If guys today actually tried to make it look real people would still be watching.
Ironically, if Vince had fired both of them, then we would never had ended up with Bret Hart's heel turn and subsequently Stone Cold's meteoric rise, and the Montreal Screwjob would have never happened, which for good or for bad was one of the most important events to ever happen in pro wrestling history. But I know where Jake is coming from, because they were both insufferable prima donna's at the time.
Even Hogan’s heel turn and the NWO was cosmic divination, sure the plan to turn Hogan bad was planned but I don’t think they imagined it would turn into a phenomenon like it did. It was just a last gasp to save a dying career with the fans getting tired of hulkamania.
I don't get how this story about Bret "didn't wanna lose in Canada" is still a thing. Bret said it a number of times: He would've lost it to Taker (who would've done it) he would've lost it to Austin and he would've lost it to Shamrock. He just wouldn't lose it to Shawn because Shawn disrespected Bret by saying he wouldn't return the favor (doing the job clean) and that's why Bret invoked his creative control clause (which he was given for the last 30 days of his contract) to not lose it to Shawn at the Series. So the whole: I dont want to lose it in Canada story is straight up BS.
You're right. I also find it odd that some folks still get upset at Bret for not wanting to lose to Shawn, when it was Vince that gave Bret that creative control clause in the first place. Bret had every right to exercise it, even if his reason actually was that he didn't want to lose to anybody in Canada.
@@Myrridan19 Yeah the whole "He didn't wanna du business, so we just did", from Hunter is a joke. They said that because Bret refused to do business their way and they got pissy about it. "Bret screwed Bret" is also just not accurate because as u said Vince gave Bret the creative control and he was just takin up on it. Just like Hogan did in WCW. They didn't like that and so they breached the contract and fucked him. The only thing were you can say that Bret screwed Bret is by his own stubbornes. If he - as the champ in 96 - would've asked for more money, like Hall intended, Hall wouldn't hat gone to WCW. And if he'd taken the Jackknife from Nash at IYH 4 and not be stubborn about it, Nash wouldn't have jumped. Thus nWo wouldn't exist and Vince would not have been in financial troubles cause of the guaranteed contracts and so Bret wouldn't have to jump ship and get screwed in Montreal. But to say he was unwilling to do business is just nonsense
Bret didn't have creative control. He had reasonable creative input. Bret did not have any veto power over creative plans, hence why he didn't sue WWF. He had no grounds.
I love Jake but damn this sounds more personal between him and Brett. I don't think he'd be going off like this if they hadn't been jabbing each other in other interviews
I love Bret and hate Shawn, but "fire both those motherf*ckers" is the most refreshing thing I've ever heard about those 2 :D I love Jake for not taking the business seriously in the wrong ways.
Actors call for script changes and argue about their characters all the time once the reach a certain status. Jake acting like "that doesn't work for me brother" wasn't a part of his era as well. Actors and wrestlers when they are able will always try to change things for their benefit.
I agree with Jake here if two people refuse to work with each other. Cause if personal reasons it s immature although you don t like the person just work with them you re still being paid. If they refuse fire them
Bret Hart took the business seriously. To see legends not take it as serious as he did really irks me. Losing a lot of respect for guys these days. And btw Jake, Bret was NEVER the issue.
Wrestling is a funny business, and even though the promoters create the superstars, they still need the superstars to bring in the audience, and sometimes, if you don’t cater to those superstars, they will jump ship to your competition so Vince was in a bad spot. Even though he makes superstars, the fans pay money to see those superstars and if they’re not on your brand, they will be on someone else’s brand making the money
jake has a brilliant mind for the business and is an all time great.. too bad his credibility and career were derailed by his addictions! i bet he could run a helluva show if he ever wanted or was able to
during a down period in the business. trying to think who else was on the roster at that time who could've been the guy other than bret or shawn. taker perhaps but he never really needed the title.
The champion usually represents the company by making media appearances, visits sick kids hospitals, etc. The Undertaker character doesn’t suit that spot.
