Before I start my review, here are some of the questions that were asked to Jake, courtesy of the RFVideo.com website:

What is the hardest thing for a young wrestler to grasp
What is the first thing you were taught by your father
What are some of the missing ingredients or intangibles in independent wrestlers
Explain wrestling psychology
What is more important, selling, psychology, the finish, or bumping
How do you develop a good finish
What is the difference between a good and bad finish, examples
Do you prefer to have your opponents adapt to your style or do you adapt to theirs
Explain the kick out, the pin, and the timing
Why do you think so many wrestlers do not go for a pin early in a title match and your thoughts
Is there a different approach technically when wrestling on a Wrestlemania as compared to a house show back in the wwf
Who back in the 80's and 90's did you learn the most from as an opponent
Who have you been in the ring with where you said, this guy just doesn't get it
Explain the difference between stiffing your opponent and making something look good
Can you be a good high flying wrestler and still have good psychology
How smart do you think the fans are to what is going on in the ring
Has wrestling had to adapt in the ring to the lack of kayfabe and smarting up of the fans
Do you think Hulk Hogan had good psychology, and why
How important are managers and explain their roles

What is the difference between a good and bad promo
How much do you know about what you are going to say before you say it on a promo
Do you prefer to sell or comeback
What is the key to the placement of the DDT and why it got so over
Do you think that full scripted promos are hurting today's product
Do you think cruiserweight wrestlers expose the business
What is the difference in psychology in working in a main event as compared to an under card match
How do you go about working a championship match any differently
How would you book a successful feud from start to finish in today's era
What were the key elements to the success of your feuds with Dick Slater and Randy Savage
Why do you think some of your other feuds did not draw as well
Do you think the promos in your feud with Jerry Lawler were to real, what was right or wrong with that program
How can a baby face set the pace of the match as compared to a heel
What is the psychology of working a good tag team match as opposed to a bad one
Talk about the start and end to a good wrestling story
How much does a crowd dictate what you do in a match
Thoughts on when wrestlers ignore the crowd and book the match from start to finish and stick to it regardless
Back in the 80's how much of the match did you know before you went into it
What is the difference in psychology when you wrestle someone once knowing that you are coming back to the same town next month in a rematch and possibly a third
Thoughts on Ric Flairs psychology
Take us through a match with Ric Flair, what you knew going in, through the match, the finish, etc
What makes someone a good baby face
How difficult is it to do a live promo when the crowd isn't reacting to what you are saying
What made Roddy Piper and Ric Flair such great promo men as compared to a Lex Luger
What makes someone a good heel
How a heel can command attention from the crowd.
Showing your face while selling.
The importance of listening to the crowd.
Mistakes made in selling.
The role of the manager/valet/second.
When the right time is to interfere.
Can a booker be successful as a full time wrestler at the same time
What made Bill Watts a good booker as compared to Eric Bischoff
Can two heels or two baby faces have a successful match against each other without tarnishing the other's character or your own
What are the keys to staying on top after you have done jobs to the top guy in the top program
What are some common mistakes made in matches
How a heel can set the tone of a match.
How a baby face can set the tone of a match.
What is the difference psychology wise in working in a gimmick match like a steel cage match or a lumberjack match
What advice would you give to someone in the wwe who gets a rare match on Heat and Velocity to make themselves stick out
Can a non wrestler be a good booker
People say you have a great wrestling mind, what makes you so great in their eyes do you think
What everyone should do in a basic promo.
What makes a good baby face promo.
What characteristics a baby face should have.
What makes a good heel promo.
What characteristics a heel should have.
When is it right and when is it wrong to get color
Can a newsletter or an Internet reporter objectively critique a match
Can talent overcome being buried by the office
What is a good wrestling surprise as compared to a bad surprise
How important as a booker is it to listen to the fans or not to
What made Pat Patterson a great finish man
Talk about "less is more"
Can a good television writer write good wrestling
Can the southern style of wrestling still get over today
How do you go about putting a match together against Honkytonk Man as compared to Bret Hart or Ricky Steamboat.

Right off the bat, I have to say that I really enjoyed this DVD, because I enjoy hearing booking ideas and booking philosophies. I'd rather watch a shoot interview or read a book about a Bill Watts, Eddie Graham or a Tod Gordon, than watch a shoot interview or read a book about a wrestler. I think for anyone looking to truly learn the business, it's more beneficial to hear how other minds approach booking wrestling and how to draw money in wrestling. That's why some of the smartest wrestlers today are given booking jobs, such as Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Simon Diamond, and in this case, Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Jake had his hand in the old Georgia territory and embraced and stuck to the southern style of booking. In this interview, Jake talks about booking, how to create a storyline and how to find the right pieces to solve the puzzle that is pro wrestling.

Jake starts this interview off by talking about the infamous movie "Beyond The Mat". "Beyond The Mat" is the only question asked in this interview, that doesn't deal with booking or ring pyschology. I should also mention that Jake does not look like the Jake that you might remember from TV. Jake has added alot of weight, has balding gray hair, has yellow stained teeth and looks like a shell of his former self. It is depressing to see Jake look the way he does, but fortunately, unlike his physical traits, his mental state of mind is sharp as ever. Jake has grown wiser in age, and in this interview, fans and people in the wrestling business can learn valuable pearls of information.

Going back to "Beyond The Mat", Jake says that he was played. He didn't see a nickel from the movie, and the movie went out of its way to make Jake look like a jackass. He said he did somethings on the video as a joke, just to make the movie funny. The director of the movie used some of the footage out of context. Jake says concerning the director, "It wasn't the first time I was screwed, and it won't be the last time I was screwed." RF Video then stiffed him for his time to make this video. (Just kidding!)

After talking about the movie that really let the public know that Jake wasn't the squeaky-clean American Hero, Jake talks for the next 2 hours or so about the business side of wrestling. Jake discusses ring pyschology, the art of the promo and so much more. Like ROH's "Secret of the Ring" series, this DVD is a must for any aspiring indy wrestler. To be honest, I found this DVD to be better than the ROH Cornette DVD I saw because one it's Jake fucking Roberts and two Jake has multiple examples and explanations to back his theory.

One thing that is killing the wrestling business, according to Jake, is the lack of selling going on today. He said that wrestlers aren't letting things registering anymore. Lex Luger was a name brought up time and time again in this interview, and during this part, Jake talks about how Luger would clothesline wrestlers alot of times. Each time, the wrestler would come up. Jake called that bullshit, and then talked about another big subject in wrestling- keeping your credibility. He said if you're getting clotheslined 9 times, and you're getting up 9 times, it makes both guys look like bullshit and makes both wrestlers lose their credibility. How are you supposed to take someone serious when they clotheslined someone 9 times and their opponent got up 9 times? On the other foot, how smart are you, if you can get up from 9 clotheslines? Why not block the second one and halt your opponents offense. I really enjoyed this part of the shoot because it is something I've noticed on the indy scene.

Another thing that was discussed in depth was the art of the finish. Jake talked about crafting a perfect finish and how to get to a finish. He also talked about guys hitting finishing moves, and losing their credibility when opponents kick out of them. That is another pet peeve of mine, as a fan, while watching wrestling. Just last Saturday, in the opening match, 78 DDT's were used. A DDT was a finisher. You also got guys on today's indy scene doing piledrivers and powerbombs all the time, only for their opponent to kick out of the move. Jake called instances like that bullshit. Jake also took a dump on alot of the indy wrestlers today, saying 1/2 of them don't even look like wrestlers, and that guys are too worried about getting all their spots in and doing too much in a match. It was at this point that Jake said the familiar phrase from many wrestling veterans when talking about today's wrestling- "Less is more."

Jake also discussed adapting to your opponent. He said that one wrestler he can not stand watching is Chris Jericho, who he referred to several times as "Jeri-blow." He said Jericho doesn't adapt to his opponents. He said instead, Jericho tries to do what his opponent does. For example, if he's wrestling Benoit, he'll try to out submission wrestle him. He said if Jericho is wrestling Rhyno, he'll try to outpower him. Jake said that's bullshit, and it hurts both wrestlers credibility. Jake talking about Jericho's work is something I never noticed before, and is something that only a wrestler eye can bring to the forefront. I know that I for one, will be watching Jericho matches closer, to see what Jake is talking about in fuller detail.

Jake put over Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit as two of his favorites today. He said these two are great. He said that Vince McMahon couldn't create an Olympic Champion like a Kurt Angle. He said he enjoys watching both guys.

Jake then talked about the art of the feud and the gimmick match. I swear alot of the stuff Jake was saying is similiar ideas I have while watching wrestling, and when I worked as a booker. One thing that I fully agreed with was when Jake was talking about steel cage matches. Why are wrestlers climbing the cage and leaving through the door? Obviously it's for the heel wrestler to escape a beating from a face wrestler, but isn't the purpose of a steel cage match to end the feud with a bloody victory? Jake talked about how steel cage matches suck today and how it should just be two guys fighting in a ring. Jake also said that too many feuds are rushed today and are not built up properly because the writers of the major promotions do not have deep or any wrestling backgrounds at all. Jake also mentioned that if he could have any job in the business, that he said he loves and never leaves, it would be a booker job, and not an agent job.

Jake then pitched some ideas on camera of some wrestling ideas that would work. All that you need are the wrestlers to fill the holes. Jake talked about the art of the manager and how to incorporate a manger into a feud. Jake talked about how some managers would try to get themselves over the wrestlers, which he didn't like. He accused Jim Cornette as being the biggest offender of this.

Jake did talk about the internet and wrestling media. He said that people can't critique wrestling without being a wrestler themselves. That is an argument that will always be debated. It is obvious that unless you have wrestled, you don't have the "wrestler eye" to pick up things. An internet writer might know what he likes or doesn't like, but he wouldn't know how to tell a wrestler how to improve themselves.

Jake talks about his reputation of being one of the smartest men in wrestling. He said it's a compliment. He said it comes with time and experience. Jake also talked about his substance abuse, and said he was only the 2nd wrestler in the world to use drugs and alchohol. He then laughed. Jake seemed to be in a really good mood during this whole interview.

Jake closed the interview by thanking all the fans and by letting them know he'd never leave the business. He said the only way he'll leave the business is when he's in a box six feet under.

Final McWord
Obviously I didn't touch everything Jake talked about because it was so much. You really need to see it for yourself. Hearing one of wrestlings greatest minds talk about wrestling concepts and ideas was a big treat. I actually liked this better than Jake talking about his career when he did a shoot interview for RF Video 5 years ago. Jake really let his mind empty out on film, and I for one loved it.

This DVD is a MUST for any indy wrestler, and for alot of indy promoters. Jake gives alot of good ideas and teaches the art of booking. You might watch this and think you know it all, and while you won't know the wrestling business 100%, you will become much smarter to this business after watching it. Many indy wrestlers complain with some of my reviews here on this site, but I'm sure if you watch this DVD and apply some of Jake's teachings here, not only will you see my reviews of your work get better, but you will see more bookings and bigger paydays. I'm not saying that I have a Jake eye, but if you do some of the stuff Jake is talking about, fans, wrestlers and bookers will not even realize all the little things you are doing, but they will realize that Wrestler X is a fucking good wrestler. Alot of indy wrestlers will benefit by watching this, and I hope alot of indy bookers will pick this up too, because there alot of indy feds who don't know what the hell they are doing.

Jake teaches so much on this DVD, and I learned so much from watching this. The DVD flies by, and prior to reviewing this DVD, I watched it twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. Jake has taught many great wrestling minds, and this DVD is Wrestling 101 and Wrestling 102 all in one DVD. As a matter of fact, RF Video should be as so kind to send a few of these DVD's to some of the WWE writers. Maybe they will learn a thing or two.

As far as how this series compares to ROH's Secrets of The Ring, well I have seen both inital installments from both sides. Both are a similiar concept, and that is having the subject talk about wrestling pyschology, how to get over and basically teach you the wrestling business. I thought the questions asked from both sides were pretty much the same, but with ROH's they just read a list of questions and didn't feed off the answers as well. RF Video did a great job of hearing Jake out, asking good follow-up questions, then moving on to the next subject. That is not something I think ROH did as well as RF Video here.

Now if you could only buy one DVD, which one would I recommend? Honestly, with all bias aside, I'd pick up RF Video's "Behind Closed Doors...With Jake "The Snake" Roberts" before purchasing ROH's "Secrets of the Ring with Jim Cornette." Both are great DVD's, but I'm a huge Jake fan. I also think Jake offered more and had better questions to work with. Jake was one of my favorites and I respect his mind, as much as I respect his partying life style. The man is a fucking genius. With Cornette, I found that he was one-minded and set in his way, in alot of his answers. Jake gave you different scenarios and different ways to do things. Jake didn't mind burying anyone he thought wasn't that hot, and like many mid-card WCW wrestlers in the 90's, Jake even talked about some differences he had with Ric Flair. If you watch both DVD's I believe you will agree with me, that this DVD is better and that Jake The Snake is one of the greatest wrestling minds of all time. Just like how Jake is one of the best wrestlers never to win a World Title, he's also one of the best wrestling minds never to hold a booking job with a national wrestling company.

Overall-
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. If you love the wrestling business and have a thirst for knowledge, this DVD needs to be in your possession. I really think some of the WWE writers should even watch it. If you're satisfied with just being a fan and enjoying wrestling for what it is, then maybe you should stay away from it, because the way you watch wrestling will be different after seeing this. I think it will take much more for you to believe in pro wrestling, because Jake shows you what works and what doesn't work in wrestling. For me though, I loved this DVD and I hope RF Video does some sort of part 2 with Jake, because I'd just love to hear Jake talk about classic wrestling angles, how he would book stuff today and more. This DVD fills up your glass, but it leaves you wanting a second cup.

To pick up this DVD, check out either http://www.rfvideo.com or go to Behind Closed Doors With...Jake "The Snake" Roberts
RF Video also has this DVD on VHS. You can also pick up this Tape or DVD at any indy show RF Video is at.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com