WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts has a message for the new generation of professional wrestlers. In a critique of the modern style, Roberts said that he thinks younger talent do not care about kayfabe and rely on “bells and whistles” instead of learning how to tell a story in the ring. Roberts is remembered for his incredible in-ring psychology and his ability to draw in an audience with his chilling promos.
Speaking in an interview with Games Hub, Roberts was asked about the differences between his era and the current one. He argued that modern wrestling has become too reliant on pyro and other distractions to “cover up the lack of knowledge” in the ring.
“I do, I think sometimes we use pyro and stuff to cover up the lack of knowledge. Back in the day man, you’re out there alone and you had to do it. But today with all the distractions and the bells and whistles and the pyro and running six, seven guys to the ring, for what? If two guys can’t get it done, get somebody there that can, it’s because guys aren’t learning the way we did.”
He went on to say that the reduced schedule of modern wrestling, with many performers only wrestling a few times a month, prevents them from getting the necessary reps to become “polished” wrestlers.“You know, it’s hard to learn your trade when you’re only doing it once or twice a month and a lot of these guys only wrestle two or three times a month. You don’t get polished wrestling two or three times a month, you get polished by putting it out there and doing it 10 times a month, 15 times a month, 20 times a month, now you’re gonna start picking up stuff.”
What seems to frustrate Roberts the most, however, is what he perceives as a lack of respect for the traditions of the business, particularly the art of protecting kayfabe. “Guys don’t even care anymore. That’s another thing that pisses me off. They don’t think about it. They couldn’t care less.”
You can check out the full interview with Roberts here.
