Promotors in professional wrestling have been known to be as colorful as the wrestlers in the ring, and others have been threatened and insulted by former talent over the years for various reasons.
Bill Watts was one that left a bad taste in several people’s mouths over the years, and on a recent episode of his Snake Pit podcast, Jake Roberts talked about his time working for Watts in Mid-South Wrestling.
Jake Roberts Blasted Mid-South Wrestling Promotor Bill Watts as a “Ugly, Racist, Bully Bastard”
Roberts is best known for this time as Jake “The Snake” Roberts in the WWE, but like many of that era, he worked through the territories, and he’s seen his share of stories.
Not what he seems
Watts has been credited for having a great mind for the business as Mid-South was one of the top territories under his watch, but there’s always more to what’s happening most never see.
For his part, Watts was considered difficult to work with by various talents, and as the promoter he could make or break a career in Mid-South.
Because of that, it took a special kind of person to deal with what Watts would dish out or be willing to stand up to him as Roberts explained.
“Don’t get me wrong, I respect the man for what he can teach you about wrestling, but as far as a human being, he was ugly, racist, bully bastard.”
To better make his point, Roberts recalled how Watts would treat the talented Ernie Ladd, who is an African American.
“He disrespected Ernie Ladd, called Ernie Ladd words I won’t say – you know what word I’m talking about. Because he knew Ernie couldn’t do anything about it because he needed the job.”
As we mentioned above, Roberts explained how Watts had all the power and keeping his job was why he held his tongue.
“If you started moving your way up the card, then you don’t want to go back down the card. All it takes is a pencil and an eraser and you can go from making 1,500 a week to making 700 a week. That was good money then.”
There are always plenty of stories around about promoters, and those like Watts often overshadowed ones like Stu Hart, who always made sure his people were paid and was a class act.
Bill Watts was rewarded for his contributions to the sport with an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, and Roberts followed him into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
What do you think about Robert’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.
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