Jake Roberts announces departure from AEW in recent interview

"

Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts revealed in a new interview that he’s no longer with AEW. Speaking to legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter, Roberts praised the promotion and its owner/CEO Tony Khan, but said he’s “no longer employed by AEW.” The interview was actually conducted on May 16 at 80s Wrestling Con in Parsippany, New Jersey, but the news of The Snake’s departure from AEW was unknown until Apter uploaded the clip on his YouTube channel on Sunday (June 5). Roberts, of course, is one of the most legendary wrestlers from one of the business’ golden eras, i.e., the 1980s. He is best known for his time in the then-WWF, where he engaged in legendary feuds with the likes of Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Randy “Macho Man” Savage, The Honky Tonk Man, André the Giant, among others. His career was derailed by a well-documented descent into addiction, and his eventual recovery — covered in the 2015 documentary The Resurrection of Jake The Snake — is one of wrestling’s feel-good stories. Following his commitment to sobriety, Roberts was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014. Shortly before his HOF nod, he made a surprise appearance on an episode of Raw, where he draped a python on the prone body of Dean Ambrose in what would be (as of right now) his final time in a WWE ring. After appearing in a promo for AEW in 2019, Jake became Lance Archer’s manager in the company in 2020, though he hasn’t been seen on AEW television for some time. About midway through the five-minute chat with Apter, Roberts was asked what it’s like working for Khan. “Loved it, loved it,” Roberts replied, before adding, “I just finished up working for him. I’m no longer employed by AEW.” Apter then noted that “everyone has great things to say” about Khan. “He is awesome. Really is,” Roberts said. “Breath of fresh air.” Elsewhere in the interview, Roberts criticized the modern product for its “lack of characters” and for talent “wasting so much” in the ring. “They need to go back to simple wrestling. Not so much high flying. If you’re going to do something high flying, they need to make it count,” he said. Jake pointed out that he hasn’t watched much wrestling for the past year and has instead been focused on his grandchildren and hot rod cars. What do you think about Jake’s departure from AEW? Let us know in the comments.