WWE Hall Of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts was recently interviewed on the Prime Time with Sean Mooney podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Roberts first discussed how his poor relationship with his father, Aurelian “Grizzly” Smith, both angered and motivated him in his professional wrestling career:

“It was ultimately about anger. I was upset with my father. For me, to be in a locker room where there are crude jokes being made, but are being thrown at me because of my father. That blistered me. It made me feel so empty inside, and so full of shame. Shame is such a dangerous thing to deal with,” Roberts said.

“I had a tough time in the locker room because sometimes wrestlers have this hard-edge to them. There were a lot of things being said and done, and as I look back I wondered how I was able to overcome all of that.”

He then discussed how professional wrestling was his life 24/7, and he sometimes even wonders if he could’ve accomplished more:

“The way I was able to was because of the wrestling. It would consume my mind, heart and soul, it was 24/7 wrestling. I couldn’t trust anything else in life to be fair, because I never knew what was going to come to me next. Just to be able to focus on wrestling and have a great career, sometimes I think about how I could have accomplished so much more.

“Maybe I could have, but I feel that I did a hell of a lot,” Roberts said. “I had a pretty good career; rang some bells, and all of that. I am just so grateful for what I did do, and so grateful to of found the right woman to have children with and that my children do not have alcohol of drug issues. I am so grateful for that. My oldest daughter heads the largest rehab in the world.”

Prior to signing with WWE, Roberts earned his claim to fame during his run in Mid South Wrestling. His work caught the attention of Vince McMahon, who offered him a deal he was initially hesitant to accept. Eventually Roberts realized a WWE move was what was best for his career:

“I gave my notice to Mid-South, and they accepted it. Vince McMahon had tried to hire me before when I was in Georgia Championship Wrestling. I wanted to stay true to the NWA, so I didn’t go. Few years later I gave my notice after being screwed over again by Bill Watts. I picked up the phone and called New York and asked to speak with Vince McMahon,” Roberts explained.

“They said that Vince McMahon wasn’t going to be around for a few more weeks, and I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I just gave my notice, so what am I going to do?’ I let my wife know that I couldn’t get a hold of him, and of course she didn’t want to hear that. As soon as I was going to head to the gym she said that Vince McMahon was on the phone, which I didn’t believe her.

“I went to the phone and he had told me to get on the airplane and fly up there, which was what I did. I sat down with him and we had a decent conversation, and that was that.”