Roberts/DiBiase Chemistry
By Scott Keith on 6 May 2019
Hey Scott–
Just read your Mid-South review of Jake Roberts and Ted DiBiase. It's interesting to me that they could have a fun 3-star-plus match here, and yet five years later they go to WrestleMania and it's… okay, I guess.
Don't get me wrong; the psychology leading up to WM VI was fabulous, and the storyline was top-notch (even giving us the Bossman-as-babyface spinoff!) but then they get to the actual match and the highlights are various restholds, Gorilla and Jesse talking about the wave and arguing about hot dogs, and Mary Tyler Moore. WTF?
Seems like they had much better chemistry in Mid-South (and the face/heel dynamic was the same, so it wasn't that). What do you contribute the in-ring drop-off to? Being forced to wrestle a different type of match? Jake's substance problems five years later? Gremlins?
Jake’s neck was messed up by that point and he was pilled up all the time, so there weren’t many classics he was going to have by then. Most of his in ring was based on his awesome psychology and timing by that point. Plus he REALLY didn’t seem like he gave a shit for most of 1990.