WWE.com recently published a new interview piece with Jake Roberts about his recent return for the Old School RAW. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
Roberts on how his Old School RAW appearance came about: “I got a call from [Diamond] Dallas [Page] on Saturday afternoon saying, “Dude, are you sitting down? Are you alone?” He told me WWE wanted to talk with me about an opportunity. At that point, I went completely blank. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t make sense of what was inside my head. It has been such a journey for me. They told me they were going to play it really old school by keeping it a secret from everybody, which was pretty cool. It brought back a lot of memories.”
Roberts on how he was kept hidden backstage: “They said I was going to fly into a different airport so nobody saw me. I flew into Washington instead of Baltimore. They picked me up there and told me to call when I was 10 minutes away from the building so they could smuggle me in. I went to one of the busses and I stayed on there until about 10 minutes before the whole thing. I had no idea what we were going to do. At about five o’clock, after I had been there for about four or five hours, I was told what was going on. I was told to chill out and they’d bring me food and to call a number if I needed anything. It was a good, because it gave me time to reflect about where I’d been and what got me there.
Roberts on his segment with CM Punk and what a great professional Punk is: “I appreciate CM Punk so much more now than I ever have. He kneeled down over at the side, got completely out of the picture and allowed me to have that moment. It was incredible. It shows people what a true professional he is. He really raised himself up on my list of people that I respect. He didn’t have to do that. I’m the old fart who screwed up what I had. To be allowed to come back to WWE is the greatest gift that’s ever been given to me. Back in the day, I never appreciated what WWE had given me, because I was in too much disarray and too confused about my own life. I let opportunities foolishly slip through my hands. To be given this opportunity to come back and grab a small piece of what was, that’s very special.”
Roberts on what is next for him: “I’ve got a book that should be hopefully coming out in April. I’m doing a voice for ‘Lucas Bros. Moving Co.’ on Fox that will be following ‘Family Guy.’ But I pray for the moment to be in the ring again. I desperately want to give my fans, my friends and myself that one last shot. My dream is to leave this business on my own terms, and if it were my terms, I would love to do the Royal Rumble. I would love to do WrestleMania in New Orleans, because I had so many matches there over the years working for Mid-South. I was in the ring with Muhammad Ali in the Superdome. To close it there would be great.”
