Jake Roberts has been battling health issues for quite some time, but recently provided a positive update indicating he’s made progress.
WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts is no stranger to health issues, undergoing foot surgery last year and contracting COVID-19 in December. He’s openly struggled with addiction in the past, and detailed how fellow Hall of Famer DDP helped him with many of his struggles in the documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake.
Speaking on their DDP Snake Pit podcast, Jake Roberts opened up further about his recent health issues and his use of an oxygen tank. Roberts says that he’s genetically predisposed to difficulty breathing and lung disease, which hasn’t been helped by a lifetime of smoking cigarettes.
“Genetics being what they are, my mother had two lung diseases that she passed on to me. There’s no cure for either one of them. The last thing I should ever do is smoke a cigarette, and yet I’ve been smoking since I was 17, to the point that I have COPD and a little emphysema tossed in.”
The master of the DDT continued, revealing that he was scared of contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic because of being a high risk patient. He says he was one of the first to get vaccinated in order to protect himself from the disease, and says he likely wouldn’t have made it through otherwise.
“Now I have to see a specialist. I have to keep my eyes on it. During the pandemic, it was a real scare for me because if I got COVID, I probably wouldn’t have made it. I was really terrified. I was one of the first to get the damn shots because I have to protect my ass.”
However, Jake Roberts is feeling much better, and shared the positive news that he no longer has to use an oxygen tank in his everyday life, which is marked progress for the Hall of Famer.
“Today, I feel great. I don’t have to use any oxygen at all. I do have to use it on the airplanes when they pressurize and go up high, but it’s something that can be dealt with. I can still live a great life.”
Jake Roberts is currently working for AEW, where he serves as the manager to Lance Archer. He recently got involved in Archer’s Texas Death Match for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship against Hangman Adam Page, but despite interference from both Roberts and Dan Lambert on the Murderhawk Monster’s behalf, Page was successful in retaining his championship.
h/t Ringside News for the transcription used in this article