Jimmy Jacobs Talks Past Mistakes, Drug Use, Wrestling's Size Prejudice & More
ROH and JCW star Jimmy Jacobs was the guest this past Tuesday night on the InsidePulse.com Wrestling Pulsecast with Matthew Harrak. Jacobs was extremely open about his time in the business, his past mistakes/drug use and what he wants to accomplish in the future. Here are some highlights:
On if he regrets any storylines he's participated in during his career: "I did this thing last year with Gabe in DGUSA where I kind of talked about my drug use a bit. I did it and I thought it was the best to do at the time and I don,t regret doing but... I had a certain amount of uncomfortableness in doing that. It makes people think they know me. And they don't, I don't like that. I don't like when people ask me about it. On a personal level, they think that they know me and in a way they have but in another way they haven't. Because that was just a story."
On how the line of reality is blurring more in wrestling thanks to the incorporation of the internet into angles: "I don't mean to be a guy, no offense, like Matt Hardy who works the internet and stuff like that. These are just tools we are trying to use to tell a story. That's really it. I'm not looking to work people for the sake of working people, you have to look at anything we put out there as being in the context of a story, this character you're showing. Just take it for what it is, enjoy it or don't.
Wrestling's size prejudice: "This will always be a big man's game and there's nothing wrong with that. That's just how it is. There is that prejudice in WWE. If I was 6 foot 10 with 300 pounds of muscle, I would have a job there, there's no doubt about it. That's how that works. I'm not angry that I don't have a job, I understand. I understand what it is that I am. On the indies, I'm a small guy but there's a lot of small guys now. There's a crop of guys who are 4 or 5 inches shorter than I am. And in Ring of Honor, I don't think it's an issue. Ultimately, I'm appreciated enough for what I bring to the table."
Biggest wrestling influence growing up: "Of course I was a wrestling fan growing up. I had my favorites, Macho Man, Ultimate Warrior. But the guy who really — I would have not gotten into wrestling if it wasn't for him — was Mick Foley. Mick Foley was awesome. In a matter of speaking, he was the guy WWE doesn't have now as far as he was never THE guy in the company, he was never Steve Austin but he was my guy and he might have been your guy. When he did those series of promos with Jim Ross and talked about 'sucking down the worm', kids making fun of him, I think there was this voice across the United States that collectively said 'Wow, that's like me too.' Let's face it, most wrestling fans aren't the coolest people, no offense guys, 'cause I wasn't either. It was like 'Yea, I ate bugs too to get a reaction out of people!' Some people want someone to look at and see that he's just like me. He was an outcast, he doesn't have the perfect body and he's kinda weird but that's just me. And if he can do it, I can do it."
Jacobs also talked about the CM Punk shoot promo, the Age of the Fall storyline, if wrestling has gotten better since WCW went out of business, who he'd like to work with in WWE and much more. You can check out the full interview by clicking here.
Matthew Harrak contributed to this article.