Jake Roberts Speaks On Old School RAW, Being Hidden Backstage, CM Punk

The following are highlights from a new WWE.com interview with Jake “The Snake” Roberts:

On how his return at Old School RAW came about: “I got a call from [Diamond] Dallas [Page] on Saturday afternoon saying, “Dude, are you sitting down? Are you alone?” He told me WWE wanted to talk with me about an opportunity. At that point, I went completely blank. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t make sense of what was inside my head. It has been such a journey for me. They told me they were going to play it really old school by keeping it a secret from everybody, which was pretty cool. It brought back a lot of memories.”

On being hidden backstage at Old School RAW in Baltimore: “They said I was going to fly into a different airport so nobody saw me. I flew into Washington instead of Baltimore. They picked me up there and told me to call when I was 10 minutes away from the building so they could smuggle me in. I went to one of the busses and I stayed on there until about 10 minutes before the whole thing. I had no idea what we were going to do. At about five o’clock, after I had been there for about four or five hours, I was told what was going on. I was told to chill out and they’d bring me food and to call a number if I needed anything. It was a good, because it gave me time to reflect about where I’d been and what got me there.”

On his new level of respect for CM Punk: “I appreciate CM Punk so much more now than I ever have. He kneeled down over at the side, got completely out of the picture and allowed me to have that moment. It was incredible. It shows people what a true professional he is. He really raised himself up on my list of people that I respect. He didn’t have to do that. I’m the old fart who screwed up what I had. To be allowed to come back to WWE is the greatest gift that’s ever been given to me. Back in the day, I never appreciated what WWE had given me, because I was in too much disarray and too confused about my own life. I let opportunities foolishly slip through my hands. To be given this opportunity to come back and grab a small piece of what was, that’s very special.”

Check out the complete interview online at WWE.com.