Jake Roberts Recalls His Feud With Rick Rude, Not Having Their Match At WWE SummerSlam 1988

On the latest episode of The Snake Pit with Jake Roberts, the WWE Hall of Famer talked about his feud with Rick Rude in the summer of 1988 while working in WWE, not having their blowoff match at SummerSlam, and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On his in-ring chemistry with Rick Rude: “Yeah, I knew that he was following me [in the ring], you know, that he was letting me guide him. Surprised [Dave] Meltzer had that much for me, but thank you. [Rude] was a good worker but, you know, he just had his thing that he did his character and he did it well. I’m not going to bash Rude and say that he couldn’t hold his own because he could. Jesus Christ, are you kidding? In and out of the ring.”

On them working snug together: “They were solid. I like it solid, you know? That way there’s no doubt about what I should sell and what I shouldn’t sell. You know, I like it snug. And Rick didn’t have a problem with that. Sometimes it went a little beyond. But if you gave one, you got one back. It made you keep your act clean, man, because you didn’t want to give him one. [laughs] Because if you gave him one, you knew that you were going to get it back, and damn.”

On rumor of Rude knocking Ultimate Warrior: “I heard that. I also heard that he knocked out [Brutus] Beefcake in the ring. I don’t know anything about that. But that’s just — you know, these rumors get started. You don’t know what is and what isn’t. If it’s an accident or whatever. But he never knocked me out in the ring. Not to say that he couldn’t have because he damn sure could have.”

On whether he was upset with having his wife’s face on the tights of Rude: “I didn’t like it. Give me a break, I got a feelings, too. No, I thought it sucked, you know? And I didn’t think it was anything to play with. That’s why I ripped them [pants] off.”

On why he didn’t wrestle Rick Rude at SummerSlam 1988: “Ask Vince. I have no idea, brother. Feels like we got the short end of the stick, don’t it? Yeah. What the f**k? Disappointed to have the match. I didn’t get the money either.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Snake Pit with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.