WWE Hall of Famer didn't like controversial alcohol angle with Jerry Lawler
Jake Roberts' rivalry with Jerry Lawler in 1996 was a controversial one, and the former didn't like it one bit.
Jake Roberts is regarded by many as one of the greatest mic-workers in the history of professional wrestling. His calm and composed demeanor while delivering his promos on WWE TV created quite an eerie atmosphere around him and intrigued fans to no end.
Roberts recently spoke with Perched on the Top Rope and opened up about his 1996 WWE rivalry with fellow Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler.
After Roberts' loss to Stone Cold Steve Austin in the King of the Ring 1996 final, he feuded with Jerry "The King" Lawler. It's well known that WWE integrated Roberts' real-life alcohol issues into the storyline.
Roberts made it clear that he didn't like the idea at all. When further asked about whose idea it was, Roberts stated that it certainly didn't come from him.
The angle saw Jerry Lawler mentioning Roberts' alcohol issues on WWE TV
Following his loss to Austin, Roberts faced him again on an episode of RAW. Austin picked up another win over Roberts and Jerry Lawler spat alcohol in Roberts' face following the match.
Jerry Lawler made fun of Roberts' alcohol problems during the controversial feud, which WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross found incredibly distasteful. Here's what he had to say about the same:
“Poor taste. It was in poor taste, you know. Color it any way you want, rationalize any way you want … I’m not a big fan of utilizing religion or politics, or personal demons, things like that, in a storyline. In a storyline surrounding fake fighting,” said Ross.
Ross also revealed who came up with the idea:
“It’s easy. It’s easy, Conrad. Who else would have come up with that stupid s**t? Russo came up with a lot of great ideas. And he came up with some that weren’t so great." added Ross.
Roberts' issues with alcoholism continued for years on end. He later worked on getting better and former WCW World Champion Diamond Dallas Page helped him throughout his journey. Roberts was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014. He currently works for All Elite Wrestling as the Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer's manager.
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