Jim Cornette on Jake Roberts' Advice For Younger Wrestlers

From Episode 244 of Jim Cornette's Drive Thru
Artwork by Travis Heckel!
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[@WarGhoulKharas]

Bret Hart started as a referee too. Another pearl from Jake: "Don't do drugs; those are for me!"

[@who7950]

Don’t remind me of his debut in wcw

[@Ability-King-KK]

"Drugs for me, not for thee."

[@whammy250]

I saw Jake at an indy show a couple of years ago and after his match he gave a motivational speech. The speech started with him says, "God, I fuckin love cocaine..."

[@Ability-King-KK]

@Dino Vasiljevic Is that you, HBK?

[@dustdevil240]

Hehe

[@HothVeteran]

If I was Jake I would’ve told the Younger Wrestlers to play 22 when the others played 21.

[@SSJ4Supermanarot]

Also, they should have TWO Blackjacks instead of one. 5 head level thinking right there.

[@herzkine]

Well they followed the advice but WWE 22 is a horrible game they found out. :-D

[@HothVeteran]

@@herzkine good one even if that wasn’t what I was referencing I’ll give you props for that.

[@swishbenoit4489]

No one will get this Lmao jeeeeezus !!!

[@jamesvinson3998]

LOL that drunk Legends of Wrestling promo. That show was just so incredibly bad that it was impressive.

[@LeoRyker]

Being a referee is extremely valuable to a rookie, they can learn about ring positioning, helping pass spots between wrestlers, learning about hard cams. Plus once you learn it you have something to fall back on in case you get hurt, or age out of being an active in-ring wrestler. There are many other jobs that a rookie should do. Being a cameraman is good because you can learn to anticipate impact, and have a more close-up view of the action to learn how and when to call spots. Being a security guard is great too, you learn to watch the crowd, how they react, what they react to, and when a fan is about to get squirrely. If you start as a rookie performing all of the tasks in a company then it will help you tremendously as your career goes along, everything from helping with commentary, to setting up cameras, to learning to edit shows. Plus as a rookie you can pop a mask on, put a few guys over, get a feel for the in-ring stuff, all while performing the other duties. All while helping setup and tear down the ring of course too.

[@maxxdahl6062]

It was exactly the plan for me when I thought about being a wrestler.

[@danielburger1775]

@@timmyotoole7312 So did Missy Hyatt..

[@Dr170]

Learning is a modern wrestler's Kryptonite

[@adamlane6453]

I did camera work for Nick Dinsmore's now-defunct promotion in South Dakota, and I can attest that I learned more about wrestling during the course of my first show than I did during decades of watching on TV. Best seat in the house!

[@nathueil1]

And running away from Pat Patterson if you were from that era.

[@scooobydoo27]

If I remember correctly, Jake has said that getting in the ring as a ref gave him a chance to learn the psychology of working with the crowd. When Jake finally became a wrestler, he was a master at getting a reaction from the crowd.

[@MrDrokkul]

Modern wrestlers: _"But refs don't get to dive off a ladder in the ring onto chairs on the floor!! I don't _*_wanna_*_ !"_

[@mockingbird9646]

Suicida through the middle rope

[@doctorfeelfunny584]

These days, they all just want to give the fans want nearly all of them want: Exciting high spots, gimmicks and acrobatics. They should go back to sixty minute Broadways featuring 55 minutes of rest holds, dammit!

[@jamied4486]

These kids all want to emulate the shit they saw guys doing during the attitude era. Difference is all the guys in the attitude era came up through the territories and learned how to work matches and work the crowd. These kids just spam moves with no psychology and that is a problem, the super kick has absolutely no value now its as effective as a wrist lock.

[@brandonwooster7663]

Jim molineaux - "hold my beer"

[@metalmutherfucker1016]

@@doctorfeelfunny584 sometimes you have to feel that headlock bro. It's so amazing bro, when they don't move from one spot bro. It's like the bro's in the ring are in a transcendental state of meditation bro. It just draws you in bro.

[@dexterwooten7839]

Teddy Long started as a ref too and he also said it was a really good way to start in the business.

[@calvinelliott9087]

He went back to reffing after managing in wcw.

[@williamshaw9047]

That Jake episode of Joe Rogan is worth listening to. He tells some great stories about traveling with the snakes and the guy who supplied them to the WWF. He also tells some great stories about Andre.

[@mr.heywood9361]

Jake the Snake Roberts said one of the most intelligent things I've ever heard "You can't shame me, I have to do that myself!" pretty much resonates in all contexts of life.

[@foreverunsaved6661]

Jake Roberts said something over 30 years ago that I have never forgotten. He said 'A friend is the worst enemy you can have - because you trust them. If you don't trust somebody, they can not hurt you'. I took his advice, and i have never been burned since.

[@drinkinouttacups2665]

@@foreverunsaved6661 cringe

[@egyptian316]

I think the good example would be Nick Patrick. Tried to be a wrestler, blew out his knee. They made him a referee and he was able to make a good living for himself. There's a lot of jobs in wrestling, and maybe you're not going to be the superstar world champion, but you can still do something and support your family.

[@Filmation77]

His dad was The Assassin Jody Hamilton,so that makes sense

[@MaynardOwns]

Imagine nick Patrick after a decade of hgh and testosterone. I can’t see him being all jacked up. He landed right where he needed to be and he was the perfect nwo inside man ref

[@al5306]

"I'm going to count to 10 and if you don't break that hold, then a disqualification is going to be the least of your worries, son."

[@markfroman738]

He’s signaling for it! He’s calling for the DDT, Brain!

[@CamSTL]

Can you imagine Andre or someone massive like The Warlord or a young Brock being a ref. They'd totally draw attention away from the match lol

[@obsoleteworlds]

It'd be the first time Warlord drew anything.

[@danielburger1775]

@@obsoleteworlds You resemble that remark

[@williamshaw9047]

Andre as guest referee for a midget wrestling match would be comedy gold.

[@kidwaryodproduction]

What about New Jack as a ref.

[@spanky9676]

Warlord should have drawn disability, because he sure couldn’t work

[@liquidamerican8543]

lmao imagining Batista breaking in as a referee is pretty funny.

[@Comrade2261]

Best way to start Saturday.

[@Sargebri]

Barry Windham started as a referee and he becane one of the best workers in the business.

[@ThomasMiddlehurs1984]

Dean Malenko started off as a ref as well.

[@Bale4Bond]

And he turned out a charismaless non-draw and a terrible road-agent...

[@That_Guy-]

@@Bale4Bond the most vanilla of vanilla midgets

[@Michael-cz6ob]

​@@Bale4BondTerrific wrestler regardless. Had some classic matches in wcw and against Scotty at backlash 2000

[@oliverl.5834]

Young Tom Zenk reffed in the AWA. They often put the students in as refs I believe.

[@dudemanjack9884]

When you switch companies get your deal guaranteed so your new boss can't tear up your contract

[@matthillegas3099]

Especially after forfeiting all of your outstanding royalties from the company you're leaving.

[@standardofexcellence]

Yep

[@ADAMdinho1]

Jim Ross started in the business as a referee. Teddy Long too. Barry Windham, many have started as a referee.

[@Kas58223]

I didn’t know Barry Windham and Jim Ross were referees starting out

[@ADAMdinho1]

@@Kas58223 yep, JR has talked about it a lot over the years, a lot of guys broke into the business that way!

[@Kas58223]

@@ADAMdinho1 I knew Bret hart did I had no idea JR was the same

[@bobbydalton6664]

Setting up and taking down the ring is also a good place to start

[@LoPhatKao]

wasnt it Terry Gordy who did that?

[@danielburger1775]

@@LoPhatKao Sure lots of guys did.

[@johansvanborg5870]

@@LoPhatKao Big Show got to do it when he was demoted to OVW to learn the basics in wrestling.

[@StaggerLee55]

Before watching the video let me guess what it is: Dont drink the bottle of piss and dont commit animal & drug abuse

[@doctorfeelfunny584]

Jeff Jarrett made sense. Jake's too tall. Referees should never be bigger than the workers. I'm surprised Cornie doesn't know that.

[@Mr.BeastFacts]

*“When someone books you to get hit with a guitar, tell ‘em, ‘fuck you!’*

[@MilMaska]

"No not the p I s s Jake. Not the p I s s" ' HTM

[@matthillegas3099]

Like LT's advice in The Waterboy. "Don't smoke crack."

[@doclank3d6]

Jake should've told younger wrestlers that alcohol and smoking crack leads to an AEW contract

[@baronsamedi4603]

This is a little off topic but I love what Jim cornette said about grizzly Smith

[@Savage-sr6lh]

Jake a true legend,invented the legit hold the ddt that knocked out the 1st guy that took it now it would be a 2 count if it was off the top rope

[@DevoJetBoy8680]

It's so disheartening what the modern era has done to both the DDT and the Piledriver. Those used to be two of the most feared one-and-done finishers in all of wrestling and now they're akin to a f'n Atomic Drop or a goddamn Clothesline. It's pathetic!

[@chrischar9428]

He didn't invent shit

[@DevoJetBoy8680]

@@chrischar9428 Um, yes he did essentially. He was the first to refine and use the DDT globally. He also named the move.

[@Savage-sr6lh]

@@chrischar9428 yes he did,he did it by accident and knocked the guy out

[@Kas58223]

I don’t know where Jake said it but he said he didn’t need a thousand superkicks to wow the people the minute I was signalling for the DDT the people went nuts and especially when I hit the move that was it it was over

[@Scorch1028]

Jake Roberts' advice for younger wrestlers: "Don't smoke, unless you want to spend 4 to 8 hours per day connected to an oxygen tank".

[@foleynj86]

Bill Alfonzo was a referee before he managed Taz. I wonder whose idea it was to make him a manager? Paul Heyman? Tod Gordon? Alfonzo himself?

[@ComicalKid]

I’ve been Reffing for 2 years professionally and it helps my wrestling

[@genekendrick679]

Nice

[@baronsamedi4603]

Dave Bautista as a referee that sounds like a fever dream of old Vince Russo

[@MilkmanC]

Remember when Jake wanted to give Bray a gumdrop? 🤣🤣🤣

[@brenthenshaw3585]

I worked 2 and half years, not as a wrestler, but as a ring announcer for two indy companies, and I started to pick up on the booking. Because the ring announcer needs to know who's over and what the finish is.

[@rickwoelfel4876]

I was a ring announcer for a couple indy shows. Didn't need to know the finishes except in a. couple instances. I was only told what I needed to know. This was when kayfabe was still in place.Worked with some WWE guys that didn't want to travel anymore

[@Reb10999]

Advice... Don't drink the piss...

[@joselopez1892]

I would say the kids did travel with grizzly

[@perturabo420]

It would be a good advice if we were still in the territory days. There you could be a ref in one territory, gain that kind of experience, then go to another one, be a wrestler, go around the country, when you get back to the place where you were ref, they already forgot about it. Now you have a few bigger promotions with TV deals and a lot of indy mudshows. The latter won't give you any usable experience, and with the former you can't really go with being ref on TV for months or years, then finish that and show up as a wrestler shortly after. The best way today is what Jim told about MJF: go around, pay attention to detail, learn from people with actual valid experience. JR said that MJF has lunch with him as often as possible, and they talk about wrestling and MJF is trying to learn as much as he can.

[@TJLucas-xq9ro]

Shane Mcmahon was also a ref in the 80's, and he helped the ring crew to set up...check it out.

[@mikepitt8437]

Yeah Shane Stevens

[@stevengrvp]

Jake knows his stuff

[@chrisscott5214]

Kids didn’t travel?? Well maybe not grizzly’s kids, but kids definitely traveled with with Grizzly

[@JDotWill]

I thought this was going to be about Jake recently saying that he tried to give some young wrestler in AEW advice & they blew him off

[@tonyruby4467]

Seriously? They did that?

[@mikemck4796]

@@tonyruby4467 If you watch the show, it’s obvious good advice is being blown off.

[@vincejo7953]

I soooo bad want to sit in the production truck.

[@wilcee238]

Serious question for my fellow cult members, who was the better wrestler, Jake Roberts or Diamond Dallas Page?

[@nygreek743]

Jake easily

[@forestcampbell8962]

I'm gonna get mauled perhaps but i suppose Ddp. I will say however i seen more of page's work when he was younger,Jake was already a veteran by the time i seen his work.

[@brandonlee9077]

I think DDP was a seriously underappreciated in-ring performer, but I might put Jake ahead slightly.

[@nygreek743]

@@forestcampbell8962 Jake was better at promos and a better performer including his acting inside the ring

[@homedeezyfasheezy5662]

Jake

[@masterj4777]

Smart advice by Jake! And Jim you forget they made Batista a church Deacon 🤦

[@sidhenihilist]

I mean...kids did travel the roads with Grizzly...

[@zamplify]

Jake's hair looks like the Elden Ring.

[@Devul1600]

I'm stupid so can u put this in simple terms😥

[@set1237]

So Jake 'the snake' Roberts should have actually been Aurelion 'the chameleon' Smith?

[@sickboy703]

I'm a snake. I'm a slithery little snakey snake.

[@msoileau83]

Say no to crack?

[@tylerneckbeard4294]

I dont know why, but Rich Bikini is a hilarious name to me

[@MICKEY4356]

A referee has to perform to a live crowd. And is part of the show.

[@johnnyd6135]

I love on the 1992 Royal Rumble how Bobby Heenan is constantly worried about Ric Flair in the match and Gorilla jokes with him about how he's got no chance in it and later in the match when Jake the Snake comes out, both of them at the same time say "Jake the Snake Roberts!" in the same manner, similar to how JR used to say (back in the good days of wrestling "business is about to pick up!") It's sad AEW has the mind of a Jake Roberts yet they do nothing with him. Even if he is an old man that needs to wear O2 backstage, who cares. Guy could easily be a mentor and a good manager to the right talent. I sorta like him with Lance Archer in the beginning but AEW dropped the ball on Archer.

[@BlueFox284]

You have to be certain size to be a ref. I worked with an indy wrestler at my first job and talked about breaking in. I wanted to get my feet wet by being a ref. He looked at me from head to toe really quick, shook his head and said "Naw man, you're too tall." 😕 Turns out you definitely gotta be shorter, maybe sorta out of shape (or just lacking in physique) and sometimes older. At least that's what was wanted back in the day.

[@mikemck4796]

It was better to be smaller back in the days when wrestling was supposed to make sense. With that said, jake isn’t exactly a small guy.

[@insupportofjunhado]

I remember Mission Pro Wrestling's first All Women/Covid 19 show, with that giant referee towering over the wrestlers. I suppose that works, if you want to fans to think every person in the company is an ass kicker, right down to the ref, but she got phased out, so I guess that was not the intention.

[@maddogsportzjh]

If you are between 17-21? Yes. After that, you know if you are a career wrestler or a career official.

[@SticcyStaton]

Meanwhile all Jon moxley could tell me was to not smoke crack And what the high feels like Lol

[@noiserocker]

Well, maybe for very young aspiring sports entertainers, but a lot of the big guys would look awkward as refs.

[@Hakeem990]

And wasn't Kenny omega first role a valet 🤣

[@lceidolon]

On the contrary Jim, the "kids" did travel a lot with Grizzly... just not his own.

[@MisterFridayOMG]

He’s should stayed a ref. He could have been a heel ref and pulled out a snake.

[@tomr3422]

No pee drinking referrences - what a let down.

[@lindseykipp191]

I’d love to be a ref, but I’m 6’4” and I remember reading that they don’t like refs to be physically more imposing than the wrestlers

[@ExpressDunlop]

I feel jake Roberts have nothing to teach the young wrestler nowadays he's just there because of is name.

[@NelsonRodriguez_]

burn one peace from California

[@englishjoe70]

Jake the Snakes advice # 1. Don’t do Crack Cocain # 2. Don’t run out of Crack Cocain # 3. Don’t do Crack Cocain

[@michigan9191]

Spectrum

[@spanky9676]

Whatever advice Jake Roberts gives you, do the opposite.

[@user-bg5fx1mx1y]

consider the fact video starts at 0:00

[@Michael-cz6ob]

Yes but again why should any young guy listen to jakes advice? .. For many years as an adult jake was a known heavy drug user and drinker who wouldn't take advice so why should anyone listen to him? Same with people like Shawn Michaels.. all the stuff he would do in his 20s and early to mid 30s he wouldn't listen to anybody so why should he be allowed to give advice out like he's some sort of angel?

[@mckali9999]

@Bone Malone Yeah, they'll ignore the wiser wrestler's advice and make the same (or worse) mistakes their predecessors made

[@tylertravis2081]

Not about the drugs and alchol mainly jakes advice about wrestling dummy

[@maceomaceo11]

Because they fucked up, multiple times, they are experts at it. Being too arrogant, or stupid, to take whatever you can from all people you meet hinders you.

[@Michael-cz6ob]

@Bone Malone Absolute rubbish. Why so many of you think people like shawn michaels have the right to give out advice I will never know. You all jump on their wagon when they quit drugs, drinking ect and change their bad ways and attitude like they're angels but you don't think ..wait why am I listening these guys advice when they never listened to anybody and just did a load of bad stuff for years? Is that the way life works.. you can be a jerk as much as you want, abuse drugs, alcohol, bulky people for years but then just later in life do some quick apology and all of a sudden you're some kind of Saint who can do no wrong and give out advice to kids? Get out. If you're gonna take advice, take it from people who actually never did any of that garbage

[@Goldenleyend]

@@Michael-cz6ob Take advice from someone who has never done anything wrong, yeah thats completely faultless logic there. And its not like we're talking about the most successful people in the industry, who will definitely know a thing or two about getting to the top. Sorry to burst your bubble but nobody is a saint, not in this industry nor in any other. If you want to get to the top, take advice from people who've been at the top. If you wanna pat yourself on the back over how righteous you are, become a priest.

[@pleaseshutup7053]

Oh Jake roberts the man who was handed opportunity after opportunity but never lived up to his potential. His promos have not aged well and are some of the most overrated ever. This is one legend I don’t respect. His sister was the best wrestler in the family and earned the opportunity Jake got.

[@herzkine]

I lived through early 90s jake as kid any who cares how it aged, jake was phenomenal in his presentation. Maybe things are valued a little bit different today, but i still think Gerd Müller is a better football player than c. Ronaldo, even if todsys Sport medicine would deny that.

[@pleaseshutup7053]

@@herzkine you completely missed the point the soccer analogy you made. You got to factor in the old player would have use of todays science. Most of roberts promos are boring af. The exact opposite for a man like JBL he has aged like fine wine and people are starting to give him the respect he deserves.

[@coyote520]

The reason you don't respect Robert's promos and interviews, is because you are not intelligent enough to understand them. You have no real understanding of professional wrestling. Grow up, and let the adults talk.

[@c.bretmiller6148]

What do you mean? Grizzly Smith always had kids traveling with him! ...oh... You meant his own. Right...