Back in 1996, WWE used Jake Roberts’ alcohol problems on screen and Jim Ross believed that it was poor taste of WWE. Roberts at the time was doing a “born again” character which was incorporated into real life at the time as well.
Jerry Lawler spit alcohol in Roberts’ face following his second loss to Stone Cold Steve Austin, the first loss happening at King of the Ring. Lawler mocked Jake Roberts’ alcohol addiction during the storyline and Ross believed it was a terrible idea.
Jim Ross had the following to say about Roberts’ reborn angle and how they used it following his drug abuse:
“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.”
Ross also commented on how booked the angle:
“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. That was one of them in my opinion. And if was edgy or different, whether we thought it would work or wouldn’t work, Vince would usually go along with it because it was different and edgy. And it took him farther away from being recognized as a pro wrestling promoter than an entertainment impresario. And that’s what he wanted to be. That’s what he is today, he’s a multimedia mogul. He is not a pro wrestling promoter.”
Credit Grilling with JR podcast and H/T to 411mania for the transcription
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