WWE Hall Of Famer Opens Up About Why They Were Paid Less For Shows

WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts has spoken about the difference in pay between the face of the company and other talent.

In the 1980s, the WWE underwent a significant transformation marked by its national expansion, a pivotal period that revolutionised the professional wrestling landscape. Under the visionary leadership of Vince McMahon, the WWE embarked on an ambitious journey to expand its reach beyond its traditional regional strongholds.

However, many would point to Hulk Hogan being at the helm which pushed the company’s popularity into the mainstream and made The Hulkster a household name. That’s not to say other players did not play their part. One name in particular was Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, who was unquestionably also one of the biggest names in the ‘golden era’.

Recently, speaking on his own podcast, Roberts spoke about the payoffs being different on shows with Hulk Hogan…

“Yeah, I’ve seen the payoffs and how different they were. And you know what’s so amazing about it is, I’d be on sell-out crowds. You could be in the same town and sell out the same numbers as Hogan did when he was there, but your money would still be short. I have no idea why. But that’s one thing we’d do. [Hogan was making] a lot fu**ing more than we were.”

Though heavily speculated in hindsight, it has been documented before that one of the reasons why a Jake Roberts/Hulk Hogan feud was scrapped was due to crowds “reacting wrong” during a taped segment between the two.

According to some, this confrontation resulted in Roberts receiving a bigger reaction than Hogan.

Jake Roberts Opens Up About Fellow WWE Hall Of Famer The Undertaker

Roberts talked about the development of The Undertaker and how he sensed he was going to be a star from the moment he joined WWE. In this exclusive for Inside The Ropes, Roberts said how he “realised he (Undertaker) was going to be special.” Mark Calloway joined the WWE in 1990 following a run in WCW where he was known as ‘Mean’ Mark Callous. The WWE created gimmick proved to be the most successful in company history.

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