Jake Roberts on Why He Doesn’t Mind Other Wrestlers Using the DDT as a False Finish

– WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts recently started a new podcast with Diamond Dallas Page and Conrad Thompson. During the debut episode, Roberts spoke on how he came up with the DDT as his finishing move and wrestlers using it today usually for a transitional move or false finish. Here are some of the highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

DDP on what Cody Rhodes brings to AEW: “If you go back to our era, the 90s, everything was based on reality, you know? That’s how I love it (wrestling) the most. I think Cody Rhodes brings a lot in AEW, in AEW bringing it as close to reality. You know right now you got Punk back, you know, Daniel Bryan, I mean Bryan Danielson you know? A lot of these guys are like that crew, they are really focusing on bringing to back to reality-based and wrestling works the best when you don’t know what’s real.”

Jake Roberts on coming up with the DDT: “I was wrestling a guy by the name of Len Denton, The Grappler, probably one of the great hands I ever got in the ring with. He was just phenomenal, he should have gotten a whole lot more than he ever did. But, because we were wrestling in Louisiana in those days, we were the semi, and of course, JYD and Bill Watts were the main event. Normally they would be out of their match before he ever got our boots off. They’d go five minutes and we’d go 40. So we had to go out there, put some time in and work. We use to do a little thing with a front face lock, where I’d front face lock him and work on him and work on him and work on him and turn him over and try to pin him. One, two, oh he kicks out, go back to the face lock. Back in those days, you always went back to the holds, you know. Keep wrestling.”

“So he had finally fight his way to his feet and out of desperation, he crammed me into the corner, tried to get loose. Back in those days, my finish was a knee lift, so I cranked his neck some more and I fight him back into the middle of the ring and the people loved it. I take him down to the mat then he’d come up again and cram me in the corner again, well the third time, what we would do, is I would let go and he would stagger back backward still bent over and I would catch him with a knee lift, a short one and he would take a bump near the ropes. I’d cover him one, two, oh foot on the ropes, holy sh-t. Great deal, we put in 10 minutes doing that.”

“One night in New Orleans, he crammed me in the corner, fought him back out to the middle of the ring. He came up to his feet, started cramming me into a corner again and he stepped on my foot. And when he did, I couldn’t move my legs, we lost balance. Well, me being a dumb babyface at the time, I sprung to my feet like, ‘I didn’t trip, I didn’t fall, I’m not clumsy’. But Grappler stayed down and I’m listening to the people and the people were like, ‘OH what was that?’. And I’m like, ‘what was what? I just fell down’, what a huge pop man, he was smart enough to stay there. I turned him over to cover him and he barely kicked out, but people were talking about that move.”

Jake Roberts on wrestlers now using it as a false finish: “People often ask me, ‘Well Jake, don’t you get mad at these guys who are using the DDT now for a false finish?’ and I’m like, ‘no, I think it’s great because all they’re telling the people is they’re not half as good as I am, because if I did it, you’re didn’t get your a– back up.”