This Was The Final Nail In The Coffin For Kayfabe In Jake Roberts' Opinion

There have been plenty of moments in professional wrestling history that have pulled back the curtain and made it apparent to fans that the action in the ring is scripted, but WWE Hall of Famer Jake "The Snake" Roberts said the 1989 movie "No Holds Barred" might as well have been "the final nail in the coffin as far as kayfabe goes." The film, starring Hulk Hogan as a loyal WWF wrestler who rebuffs a rival television network's attempts to lure him to their promotion, was a major bust and the first of many failed attempts by WWE owner Vince McMahon to get a foot inside Hollywood's door.

"When I started hearing some of the stories of the filming of that thing, I cringed, because now they have totally smartened up everybody," Roberts said during a recent episode of "The Snake Pit" podcast. "They're having them go out and do stuff in the ring, and then pause 30 seconds and do the exact same thing again. They've killed kayfabe forever." Roberts said he had "felt sorry for the poor people that had to sit in those damn buildings for eight-to-10 hours in a seat for whatever they made."

"Good god almighty," he laughed, "what a rib on the people to get them to sit there for hours upon hours of watching the same f****** s***. It would've been bad enough if it was good s*** to watch, but it wasn't even good s*** to watch. It was horrible s***." Roberts laughed even harder when co-host Marcus DeAngelo asked him if he thought McMahon would ever have success in the movie business. "The Snake" shook his head and scoffed: "No, no, no, no, no," he said.