Jake Roberts Recalls How Stiff Early WWE Rings Were

WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts opened up about the harsh physical toll of wrestling in the 1980s, particularly highlighting the notoriously unforgiving WWE rings of that era.

In a candid discussion on his podcast, “The Snake Pit,” Jake Roberts vividly described the extreme conditions wrestlers faced. Roberts, who joined WWE in 1986, was a seasoned performer by then, but even he was shocked by the stiffness of the rings compared to other promotions he had worked for. According to the wrestling legend, the rings were intentionally made rigid under the orders of then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

Vince said at the time ‘Make them super fucking stiff, man.’

This decision resulted in rings that were particularly tough on the bodies of the performers, leading to widespread discomfort and injuries. Reflecting on his first experience in a WWE ring, Roberts didn’t hold back:

‘Oh, fuck, here we go.’ I mean, I’ve been in some stiff rings before, but the WWF rings were just fucking beyond stiff, man. They were just fucking solid.

The rigid ring setup became a common source of dark humour among the wrestlers, as they coped with the physically demanding environment. Roberts shared one of the inside jokes that circulated in the locker room:

We used to joke, ‘Take a bump on the outside. The concrete is softer.’

Over the years, other wrestlers have voiced similar complaints. The Undertaker once mentioned that it wasn’t until Vince McMahon himself began wrestling in 1998 and taking bumps that changes were made to soften the rings.

What Did Jake Roberts Struggle With Early On In His WWE Career?

Jake Roberts discussed the early days of his WWE career including how he came up with his iconic mannerisms and that they weren’t a directive issued to him by the company but something that he took upon himself to develop. Roberts also discussed how he struggled to make friends in the locker room as the other wrestlers were worried he would come in and replace someone but that didn’t happen and Roberts said that a new spot was made for him.

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