Rockin’ Robin On The Grizzly Smith Episode of Dark Side of the Ring, If She’d Reunite With Jake Roberts

In an interview with Wrestling Epicenter, Rockin’ Robin spoke about the Dark Side of the Ring episode about Grizzly Smith and whether or not she’d consider reuniting with Jake Roberts. Here are highlights:

On how she feels about the finished product: “I probably couldn’t be more pleased. I’ll give you the backstory. I had been asked a couple of times before I finally agreed to do the show. I didn’t want to just come out and do a so-called hit job on the family or our father – anything like that. But, after we talked a little bit, the guys who created this and run that show, they’re incredible! They’re even more incredible than I thought in the beginning. After they approached me, I said, “Well, let me think about it.” Then, I watched a couple of episodes on other families and other subjects, when I saw how respectful they were – They were never out to do a hit job on anybody. They handled every subject with a lot of respect and a lot of care. They seemed to put a lot of care into not ticking somebody off which would be really easy to do. It is called the Dark Side of the Ring because it really covers the dark side of things. It would be really easy for them to embarrass people or really humiliate people and that isn’t what they do. That is what made me decide to go ahead and do it.”

On how difficult it was to talk about her sexual abuse: “To answer honestly, no, not really! I’m 56… Lets say I’m 56 or 57. Somewhere in there. My age or years gone by doesn’t make it any less traumatic. It really doesn’t. But, it is something that happened to me. It is something that has happened, I’m sure, to a lot more children than we could ever fathom. But, as I said in the piece, I decided that could no longer be a part of what guides my life. There were actually quite a few things that I guess they couldn’t fit in. But, I said there was a point where I stopped seeing my father as my father and started seeing him just as a human being – A very flawed human being with this very bad problem. But, once I disassociated… What really messes with your mind is this is a parent. This is someone who is supposed to take care of you and make sure you’re safe. He did the complete opposite of that. So, the only way I could reconcile this was to disassociate him as my father. A father doesn’t do that. So, when I stopped and re-evaluated him as a human being, and I didn’t spend a lot of time doing that either, I say that this is a person with a very bad problem. I don’t know if doctors would call it an illness? I really don’t know. But, if the world could be rid of something like that, it would be a better world.”

On the reaction of the wrestling world: “I think it is all kind of still settling in. I’m not on Twitter or any other form of social media except Facebook. I’m just… technology is not my forte. But, I got a couple messages that Mr. Johnson put something out on twitter. It floored me! I was very happy about it. I guess honored that he would say something. From what I understand, he received a copy of it about a week before it aired and he had commented to the Dark Side team that it was a profound episode. So, when you stop and think… The Rock was watching me! (laughs) That’s pretty cool!”

On if she’s open to a family reunion: “A family reunion might be a little ambitious. I will say that Jake called me yesterday and floated the idea of he and I doing an autograph signing together where we would be together instead of just being in the same room not even knowing the other is there. Instead, be side by side and maybe have a chance to take pictures together. Honestly, there is only one person that has a picture of Jake and I together and that is an actor by the name of Scotty Schwartz, a friend of mine. He was the little boy in the movie The Toy with Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleason. I was an extra in that movie. Scotty became a really big wrestling fan. So, many, many years later here he was knocking at my door. But, back then, he was a huge child actor in this huge movie. So, he saw Jake and I standing side by side and he knew exactly what he was doing. He asked us to turn and smile and we did. So, he’s got one of the only pictures of us together. You really can’t find a picture of us together anywhere else. So, Jake has this idea of us doing some stuff together.”

On if Sam Houston would take part: “I’m not sure. I’m just… It is a tough one. I wish I could go into a little more detail. The only thing I will really say is I wish him just the very best that he can get out of life. I love him and hope that he winds up where he wants to be. And, um, yeah.”

On the claims made about her mother in the episode: “I lost her in 2010. We were very close. Just to clarify, I still do have a problem with claims made about her and Jake. I have a bullshit flag, OK? (laughs) It is like a penalty flag in football. But, it has bullshit on it. And, I threw that bullshit flag several times while we were taping that day. The flag was thrown! I’ll put it that way. I know they couldn’t fit everything in but I was actually disappointed because I thought that (bullshit flag) was one of my very best moments. (laughs) I will be selling them. I’ve been asked about them when I bring them out. So, at upcoming signings and soon, you can get your bullshit flags! The great thing is you don’t have to say a word. Like, when you go on Facebook and you see someone with the mental capacity of a crayon and you know they’re full of it, you can just pull out your bullshit flag… You know, offsides. Throw the bullshit flag like they throw the penalty flag in football. You can throw it and walk away and that just tells somebody everything they need to know. (laughs)”.