Legend says he quit WWE one night before facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania
Jake Roberts has explained why he told former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about his plans to leave the promotion in 1992.
Roberts was promised a role on the creative team around the time of his WrestleMania 8 match against The Undertaker. When a creative deal never materialized, he informed McMahon that he no longer wanted to work for WWE due to broken promises.
On the DDP Snake Pit podcast, the 67-year-old recalled how he thought he would be a good addition to McMahon's creative team:
"What the fans didn't know was the night before [WrestleMania 8] I'd had a meeting with Vince McMahon and told him that I was quitting," Roberts said. "He had broken too many promises to me. He had promised me a certain position that I wanted. Creative, yeah, because I know how good I am at that." [30:05 - 30:35]
Roberts' initial six-year spell in the company ended after his loss to The Undertaker. He went on to work for WCW and various other promotions before returning to WWE between 1996 and 1997.
Jake Roberts clarifies his mindset before facing The Undertaker at WWE WrestleMania 8
Roberts had no problem losing to The Undertaker on the Grandest Stage of Them All. The two men were friends and used to travel together alongside The Deadman's storyline manager, Paul Bearer.
When I was three I saw my first Undertaker match at Wrestlemania 8 at the Hoosier Dome live. I saw many more after that and it was a fun ride #FarewellTaker https://t.co/1R4QIF9KlP
Although the 2014 WWE Hall of Famer had issues with McMahon, he still wanted to fulfill his obligations by competing in the WrestleMania match:
"I would have never walked out," Roberts added. "No [the match was not in jeopardy], I was gonna do the job [lose] for Mark [Mark Calaway, Undertaker's real name] because I wanted to and for the business. This is business. I'm not gonna screw the fans by not giving them that." [34:50 - 35:16]
Roberts was the second victim of The Undertaker's 21-match undefeated streak at WrestleMania. The Phenom's winning run began a year earlier against Jimmy Snuka.
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Please credit DDP Snake Pit and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.