[1990-10-13-WWF-Superstars] Update: Jake Roberts update

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Recap of the Martel/Jake angle from the week before. Jake is visiting a doctor's office with his eyes covered. They show Jake getting eyedrops put in, which even under more pleasant circumstances always makes my eyes tear up if someone does it in my presence. This would be so hokey with anyone else doing this, but Jake just owns it. Martel issues a very obviously fake apology.

[PeteF3]

Like I said about Hansen/Vader, eye afflictions FREAK ME THE FUCK OUT. Did in 1990, and they still do, to the point where I can't watch that match. It took 17-odd years for me to muster up the courage just to put in a contact lens, and I can still start cringing if I don't get it right the first time in putting one in or taking one out. This is all to say that even in an ultrasanitized, controlled WWF environment with a set-up that probably doesn't stand up to serious scientific scrutiny, this angle has always hit me in a very real place. The ophthalmologist conveniently gives us exactly 1 week until we find out the extent of the damage. Jake manages to cut a killer promo while he's getting eyedrops and his eyes re-bandaged, while Martel offers an apology which is clearly more about Rick patting himself on the back for being such a gentleman than being genuinely sorry. Jake will get and deserve the lion's share of the credit for selling this but Martel really does come off as a self-centered douchebag.

[flyonthewall2983]

They did this exact same thing nearly two years later with Tatanka I remember.

[PeteF3]

They did this exact same thing nearly two years later with Tatanka I remember.

See, there's another issue that I'd prefer not to focus on but can't ignore. Martel would spray guys with the stuff constantly and it would be sold the same as salt in the eyes. This was apparently Super Turbo Arrogance Xtreme.

[soup23]

Great angle continues. Jake does have an amazing way to keep this serious and grounded.

[Kevin Ridge]

Roberts is vision impaired. Ha, ha. He’s in a lot of pain though. We will get a status next week. Model seems to be really broken up about what happened to Jake. Very sincere.

[garretta]

I agree that the stuff about the doctor being able to tell the extent of the damage to Jake's eyes "next week" sounds a bit too much like a setup for a wrestling program to be realistic. They could have had him discussing the issue with Jake, then cut off the footage just before the reveal if they wanted to drag it out. Of course, being realistic is at the very bottom of Vince's priority list, then as now.

 

Line of the segment: Jake's "I WANT TO SEE!". From anyone else, that would sound corny and rehearsed, but he not only pulls it off, he makes you feel his desperation. Unbelievable.

 

Martel follows up with the first of many "apologies". As I said in an earlier thread, he's finally getting the hang of not only being arrogant and insufferable, but smarmy and insincere to boot. Even if he's right and this was just an accident, his delivery still makes you want to skin him alive and string up his insides from the nearest tall tree. It had to have been hard for a career babyface like Rick to adjust to this type of character at first, but he seems to have done it well, and I expect his character to blossom (to the extent that it can) over the course of this feud.

[drew wardlaw]

Loved Martel's "apology" here. He's been pretty impressive as a heel so far, at least outside the ring.