Former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts recently joined the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast to promote his new book, Best Seat In The House. Here are some of the highlights from the interview:
On the difference between the two era’s locker room environments:
“In that era and culture as far as the locker room enforcer and all of that and his cabinet (JBL had a “Cabinet” on TV) and he had one behind the scenes and they made life hell for me. It wasn’t good natured-fun ribbing it was hell for a long time. That could have easily been stopped by management because management was well aware of what was going on and it wasn’t because management there would not say we don’t allow that it was more like (laughing) that is great and the story I tell about my passport being taken out of my bag and getting stuck in England when I came back, I came back to Vince McMahon making a joke about it because he loves that kind of ribbing. To him that is just ribbing. He doesn’t care what it does and how it affects people.
“As far as the locker room enforcer like a JBL-type with a ‘Cabinet’. I don’t think that goes on anymore. Because that was in 2003 and I talk in the book about when Tommy Dreamer came in and how it was just a different group of people and how things really changed but at the same time where people are talking about ‘Fire JBL’, I am not looking to get JBL fired and firing won’t do anything because they have fired guys in the past just to take the heat off the company for a short time so basically that is just the culture there. There is a bullying culture and bullying mentality from upper-management and it goes all the way down from upper management and that does go on in many different forms. The constant threat of heat is something that is real and upper management uses that all the time to keep people in line and that is something that still goes on.”
On if he ever saw Triple H bury talent:
“There are a couple of things that come to mind that I write about in the book. When he was going to be wrestling The Undertaker at WrestleMania he basically said he went into the locker room and he looked around and there was nobody for him and nobody at his level besides The Undertaker. So here is a guy in charge of building talent saying that no talent is up to his level and that is why he got to fight the Undertaker at WrestleMania again. At the same time when they did that story line with the roster walking out on the company and he basically came in the ring and said how everybody is outside but he could have a better match with a broomstick than most of the guys anyway. He’s always doing whatever it takes to make himself look like Superman and to put everybody else down. He’s probably the most insecure person I’ve ever met. Constantly needs people around him telling him how great his ideas are and laughing at his jokes and he buries talent.”
On if his book in controversial:
“The only people that think it is controversial are people who haven’t read it. If you read it then you know that it is an honest story and everybody who has read it has said it is fair, it’s balanced (because it is) and it’s not controversial. If it is giving you new information that maybe you didn’t know about that is one thing but it not meant to be controversial. It is just my story and sometimes people aren’t used to hearing the truth. When you come out with the truth, like what we were just talking about with Triple H people say you are bitter but when you are there and you see everything happen you can honestly say from a first hand perspective that this is what it is like. If people are going to argue, they weren’t there. You also don’t hear a lot of people saying those kinds of things because nobody wants to upset Triple H, the top guy behind the scenes of the company and you don’t want to upset him because all of these guys and girls want to go back and they don’t want to make waves and upset anybody so they don’t really say anything.”
(quotes via Wrestling Inc.)
