Jake 'The Snake' Roberts doesn't want to leave AEW, says he would work for free
WWE Hall of Famer Jake "The Snake" Roberts revealed that he doesn’t see himself leaving AEW any time soon. Roberts stated recently that he would still show up for the company even if he wasn't getting paid.
Jake "The Snake" Roberts made his first appearance for Tony Khan's promotion in 2019 prior to AEW All Out. The following year, it was revealed that the WWE Hall of Famer was going to be managing one of the promotion's newest signings, Lance Archer. Roberts has continued in that role ever since.
During a recent interview on the Rasslin with Brandon F. Walker podcast, Jake Roberts opened up about his time in AEW. He stated that he has no plans on leaving the company. He went so far as to say that he would work there without a paycheck. Roberts also revealed how long he was originally supposed to be in AEW.
"I’m gonna listen to the opportunities, but I am not gonna walk out on AEW. I don’t care what is offered me. This is where I want to be. If Tony [Khan] came to me and said, ‘Jake, we gotta save some money. You know, sorry.’ I’ll say, ‘Well do you mind if I just show up on my own?’ Because that’s why I would do it. Tony, please don’t do that to me though."
"I seen this as an opportunity to regain and recover my dream, and that was just doing whatever I could in wrestling and they opened the door just a little bit and I came to AEW with a contract that said ten weeks, only ten weeks then I was gonna be done and very quickly, they decided they wanted to keep me around." (H/T POST Wrestling)
According to the WWE Hall of Famer, his time in AEW should've been much shorter but management was probably so impressed with him that they decided to extend his stay.
Jake Roberts on possibly having a match in AEW
Jake Roberts added that despite being 65 years old, he's not done in the ring just yet. He didn't rule out the idea of returning to in-ring competition one day.
“It’s still difficult [to handle me]. Jake wants to do more, and Jake still hasn’t gotten it through his thick skull that he’s 65, and man, every now and then, it’ll start bubbling and it’s like, ‘You got a couple matches left. Man come on, you know who you are’ and I’m still not ruling that out."
We recently saw Tully Blanchard make a return to in-ring competition on AEW Dynamite, so it's possible that we could see the same thing with Jake Roberts.