Jake Roberts DVD matchlist

[Guest Some Guy]

I bought and watched this today. I enjoyed the feature and, like others can't figure out how BTM was much different in its portrayal of Jake. Other than Jake being reasonably sober in the WWE DVD. I love Jake's promos and gimmick so this DVD, which is loaded with promos is one that I certainly don't regret dropping $20 on.

[Guest Alfdogg]

They were also trying to really get across that?Vince would never let a worker work drunk

Just stoned or coked up.

[sek69]

Yeah, Vince would never let a guy work drunk. They have to be drunk AND stoned, just ask Marty.

[Guest SweetMama Scaat]

I BOUGHT this today at the wal mart. It was $18.84 before tax. The 2 disc set came in the regular wwe 2 disc case. The case was in a small dvd size box which came with a WWE Legends book, Its got excerpts from Lawler's "Its good to be King...sometimes", Blassie's "Listen, you pencil necked geeks", and Superstar Billy Graham's "Tangled Ropes".

[Guest Bruiser Chong]

You should just have gotten it from DDD. With their current sale, it's like 12 bucks. Not sure if it's got the book, but for that price, I'll sacrifice it.

[Guest Dangerous A]

The lead Observer story this week (before Eddie's death) is about the Jake DVD. Here is how he opened up the article.

 

" A lot of people will probrably like the Jake Roberts DVD that just came out this past week from WWE. But when it was over, I wanted to take a shower.

 

Jake Roberts is a tremendous talker and captivating story teller. Except he's also completely full of shit."

 

 

Ouch. I wonder if Meltz has a bone to pick with him or if Jake is just working shit up on the DVD?

[Guest Some Guy]

DA, will you be so kind as to transcribe (or give a detailed recap of) the story for those of us too cheap to by the WO?

[Guest Bruiser Chong]

I'd be interested in hearing this, too. By all accounts, this is one of the more intriguing WWE features to hit DVD and since I'll have it in hand next week, my ears are burning.

[Strummer]

Just got it today. Jake is a great talker and you can tell he has a tremendous mind for wrestling. Now I'm a mark for this time period but I have to say that I loved this DVD and it is on my top ten of all time.

 

I don't care what anyone says the Savage/Snake bite angle was GREAT. It's the first time I've seen it since its original airing and the heat is off the charts. You're just waiting for a babyface to make the save but it never comes and then the Snake actually bites him which no one watching at the time thought had a chance in hell of happening.

 

 

In retrospect Jake's acting was so good that he made all the campy stuff he was involved with watchable. The Warrior training vignettes, the Martel feud, Earthquake killing Damien are all tolerable because Jake puts everything in it and is such a convincing actor.

[sek69]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the snake bite the second recipient of the famous WWF Giant Red X censor when it was replayed on the morning recap shows?

 

(The first Giant Red X was for Ron Bass raking his spurs across Brutus Beefcake's forehead)

[Guest SweetMama Scaat]

I remember it being censored in some manner. The footage on the DVD is not. Im gonna have to from a concurence and agree that it was a great angle.

 

The main feature was deep. Somewhat unsettling. He talks about alot of things that you didnt expect but when you remember how fucked he is youre not all that surprised. Theres alot of goos historical info on the DVD from how the Dyanamite Kid treated Bret Hart to how The planned Hogan/Roberts was vetoed. Ive watched about half of the set and with a few exceptions (why does anybdoy need to see him fight The Dirty White Boy in Smokey Mountain Wrestling) its been entertaining throughout.

 

From the Snake Pit (with strange racial remarks towards the junkyard dog) to The Big Event (The Ricky Steamboat fued) theres lots of stuff you wouldnt find anywhere else. If the DVD site that bruiser chong shills for has a reliable (they have it for $16.18 no S + H) mama says you should look into it.

[Guest Dangerous A]

A few tidbits from Meltz's article regarding Jake's DVD

 

-Says he never heard Jake being shot by his father when he told him he was going to be a wrestler. He said his father did browbeat him and said he was gutless and wouldn't make it, which lead Jake to want to be a bigger star than his dad and he achieved that goal. However, he wasn't shot.

 

-Jake comes off as a bigger star than he really was. He main evented exactly one ppv, and it was in WCW, not WWF. In WWF, he did decent business with Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat, but not to the degree that he was considered a top guy. Jake headlined one MSG event on January 31 1992 against Savage and it drew 9,000, the smallest crowd for MSG that year.

 

-Claims he invented the DDT. The only thing he can really can get credit for is the name of the hold. Jake says the move came about by accident wrestling the Grappler. However, Black Gordman was using it as his finisher in Texas in the mid 70's, when Roberts was a teenager and living there. The original Tiger Mask was using the move earlier as well when it was the original Tiger Driver.

 

-Biggest credibility problem is with his brief stay in WCW in 1992. He calimed he jumped because he got a $3.5 Million dollar a year contract. Keep in mind that in 1992, the highest paid wrestler in WCW was getting $500,000. Andre and Savage, in WWF, approached about $1 million and Warrior hit $2 million. However, $3.5 million a year (and they specifically said "per yer") is ridiculous and Meltz was shocked this made the DVD.

 

- Brought up the hypocrisy of Jake calling out Warrior for holding up WWF for money when Jake was doing it all throughout his AAA/Mexico with Antonio Pena and Ron Skolar. He'd see a big house and then refuse to go out unless he was paid more in advance. If the house wasn't big, he'd still ask for more money because he was afraid to go out there because of security concerns. He was originally scheduled for the AAA "When Worlds Collide" ppv, but by this time he was only a mid carder and still tried to hold the promotion up for more money and this time they called his bluff.

 

-There was also Vince's shot at Beyond the Mat. They portrayed Jake as the victim, claiming he was duped into making the documentary. Jake says he was told it was going to be a say no to drugs film for kids, however he still acted the way he did and knew he was being filmed. Vince and Bruce Pritchard say they showed Jake intoxicated and into drugs to make a more shocking film and say they exploited Jake's drug habits. However, if you look at the marketing of the DVD, that is exactly what Vince and Co. are doing.

 

 

-Brought up how Jake was a very good psychologist , including how to do jobs without putting someone over. The trick is to do something right afterwards that gets the people's mind off of you getting pinned. The thinking is, if their minds are off the loss and on your distraction, then they'll forget you lost since the distration is now the focal point. (think of the ending of WM 6 and how Hogan played up his loss to Warrior) Jake also passed this trick on to several people in the business like Kevin Nash and DDP. Jake also was probrably using his performance on the DVD as an audition for a spot on the booking team, since he loves that aspect of the business.

 

Bruce Mitchell said it best that the DVD is entertaining, just be careful what you put stock in. Just remember Jake is a con man and is always working an angle, even with his real life.

[goodhelmet]

- Brought up the hypocrisy of Jake calling out Warrior for holding up WWF for money when Jake was doing it all throughout his AAA/Mexico with Antonio Pena and Ron Skolar. He'd see a big house and then refuse to go out unless he was paid more in advance. If the house wasn't big, he'd still ask for more money because he was afraid to go out there because of security concerns. He was originally scheduled for the AAA "When Worlds Collide" ppv, but by this time he was only a mid carder and still tried to hold the promotion up for more money and this time they called his bluff.

To be fair, Meltz said it was probably a good thing with Pena since he was so corrupt.

[Strummer]

-Jake comes off as a bigger star than he really was. He main evented exactly one ppv, and it was in WCW, not WWF. In WWF, he did decent business with Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat, but not to the degree that he was considered a top guy. Jake headlined one MSG event on January 31 1992 against Savage and it drew 9,000, the smallest crowd for MSG that year.

Hmm, this is weird because Jake clearly states on the DVD that he was a stepping stone for heels to build them up to be fed to Hogan. Which was pretty much the case from 87-91. In fact Jake talked about missing out on the money that came with being a top guy. He never once called himself a main eventer, nor did anyone else interviewed.

[Loss]

I would say Tito Santana occupied that spot more than Hogan. Jake tended to feud with guys who had already feuded with Hogan and were on their way down the card instead of up -- DiBiase, Earthquake, Bad News Brown, etc.

[Guest Bruiser Chong]

If the DVD site that bruiser chong shills for has a reliable (they have it for $16.18 no S + H) mama says you should look into it.

Very reliable place. People drops thousands there during their semi-annual 20 percent off sales. Personally, I've probably dropped over a grand there over the years.

 

The price you mention is the regular price, but with the discount, it comes to $12 and some change. I saw it at Wal-Mart for the price you picked it up at and was tempted to just get it, but I decided I needed the extra nine bucks.

[Marty]

I would say Tito Santana occupied that spot more than Hogan. Jake tended to feud with guys who had already feuded with Hogan and were on their way down the card instead of up -- DiBiase, Earthquake, Bad News Brown, etc.

Agreed about Jake with Loss. The only exceptions that come to my mind are maybe Honky Tonk Man and Ravishing Rick Rude.

[Guest teke184]

Deep Discount is pretty reliable.

 

Always free shipping, rarely any problems.

 

 

Granted, I've got a floater (DVD loose in the box) of The Insider right now from their recent Buena Vista Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale, but they've been very good about replacing those kinds of damaged titles quickly and with no hassles.

[sek69]

I have to give Jake credit, he helped get the Undertaker over as a legit threat as opposed to just another odd WWF cartoon character.

[Guest SweetMama Scaat]

Wasnt Taker over as a top heel before that. Going over Hogan at Surivor Series:The gravest Challenge.

[Marty]

I think Taker got himself over from Day One. His look felt incredibly different from many others, especially since he debuted on a Survivor Series team where he would naturally stand out in some way (with the bribe-happy Million Dollar Man and the goofy music tag team of Rhythm & Blues). They had built things up as a surprise partner being there, and it was one of those times where that truly had a solid payoff.

 

If Jake deserves any credit for Taker's success, it's for Taker's transcend from heel to face. Jake, at that point, was such a prick of a heel that finally someone needed to put him in his place.

[Mad Dog]

I forgot to mention this earlier. But this DVD made me realize that Ricky Steamboat was probably the best "worked shoot" injury seller I've ever seen.

[Guest Some Guy]

I would say Tito Santana occupied that spot more than Hogan. Jake tended to feud with guys who had already feuded with Hogan and were on their way down the card instead of up -- DiBiase, Earthquake, Bad News Brown, etc.

I was thinking the same thing. In the DVD they talk about Jake grooming DiBiase for a feud with Hogan. They Hogan/DiBiase feud was BEFORE the Jake/DiBiase feud.

 

Jake's main feuds in WWE were with Steamboat, Honky, Rude, Andre, DiBiase, Quake, Savage, and Taker. Steamboat and Rude never feuded with Hogan. Honky had a few matches with him, but not a program. And Quake, Ted, Taker, Savage, and Andre had already had their runs with Hogan.

[Guest Bruiser Chong]

Found this at Gamestop for $5.99 yesterday and watched the feature right away. I knew he lived a messed up childhood, but if half the things he says about it are true, it'd be surprising if his life wasn't so messed up.

 

The pacing of the feature was poor, though, since it seemed like they were rehashing his problems with drugs and alcohol, which didn't lead to anything else. It's tough to feel for someone who's messed things up so much for themselves, but there were a few points where I felt pity for Jake. Talking about how he wished he had been the one to die when Hawk passed away made me think how we always joke that Jake's going to outlive everyone. The portion where Dibiase talks about finding Jake in his hotel room and later praying and crying with him hit me pretty hard for some reason.

 

One thing that really stood out to me was the talk about the alcoholism angle with Lawler. Jake notes how personal angles are fine if they aren't imitating real life. He uses the example of his ex-wife never really sleeping with Rick Rude. Wasn't it confirmed a while back that this is what happened?

 

Anyway, an interesting, albeit clunky at times, feature. Certainly worth the six bucks I sprung on it. I'll be giving the extras a glimpse later tonight.

[sek69]

 

Wasn't it confirmed a while back that this is what happened?

 

 

I always heard that's why the storyline was ended.