The Snake Has Left the Building
Pour me a double of the cheapest whiskey in the well and don't bother with the ice. We need to talk about Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who just wrapped up his six-year run in AEW and immediately decided to throw a hand grenade into the WWE locker room.
If you had told me in 2019 that a WWE Hall of Famer would spend over half a decade in Jacksonville managing Lance Archer, I would have asked for whatever you were smoking. But here we are in 2026, and the legend has officially packed his bags.
Jake confirmed his AEW departure in an interview with Bill Apter, ending a run that started with a massive pop and ended with a quiet whimper. He didn't leave angry, and he made sure to praise Tony Khan on his way out.
But the internet wrestling community doesn't care about polite goodbyes. They care about the absolute chaos Jake unleashed right after.
During his media rounds, the veteran was asked what he would do if he were running WWE. His answer was about as subtle as a DDT on concrete: as reported by Ringside News, he said the company should fire half its roster. Naturally, the wrestling corner of the internet went absolutely feral over this take.
The Roster Bloat Debate Ignites the Forums
Over on Reddit and Twitter, the fan reaction was split down the middle like a cheap table at an indie show. One camp of fans immediately rallied behind Jake's cut-throat philosophy.
These fans argue that both WWE and AEW have hoarded talent like digital packrats, leaving dozens of incredible wrestlers to rot on the bench. They point to the main roster where guys get signed to big deals only to make sporadic appearances on secondary shows.
Supporters of his statement point to the endless rematches and repetitive booking that plague both major promotions. They argue that when you have too many toys in the toybox, you end up breaking half of them or forgetting they even exist.
According to this group, a smaller roster means tighter storytelling and fewer meaningless matches. They believe that when everyone is on TV, nobody feels special.
If you have eighty active wrestlers on a brand, you end up with three-minute matches that do nothing for anyone. They want the days back when a select group of stars carried the show with actual focus.
For these enthusiasts, Jake's comments are a wake-up call to a corporate machine that values quantity over quality. They believe WWE's massive roster leads to creative paralysis, where writers struggle to find anything for fifty different people to do. They argue that trimming the fat would force the creative team to actually write compelling television for the people who remain.
The Backlash From the Workrate Fans
But the counter-argument came fast and loud from fans who think Jake is stuck in a bygone era. Skeptics pointed out that calling for mass layoffs is incredibly tone-deaf, especially in an industry where job security is already a joke. They argue that WWE's deep roster is the only reason the company survives the grueling travel schedule without everyone breaking down.
Workrate advocates also note that a larger roster allows talent to take time off for personal reasons or to heal minor injuries without disrupting storylines. They believe this sustainability is vital for the long-term health of the performers.
These fans argue that a deep roster allows for rotation, keeping stars fresh and preventing the kind of burnout that ruined careers in the nineties. If WWE fired half its talent, the remaining wrestlers would have to work twice as hard, leading to more injuries. They also point out that a massive roster gives younger talent a chance to learn on the job during live events.
Furthermore, contrarians on the forums pointed out the irony of Jake making these comments right after leaving AEW. AEW itself has been criticized for having a roster larger than some small country's militaries. For Jake to target WWE's roster size while having spent six years on the payroll of a company known for its massive signee list felt hypocritical to many.
The Sad Reality of the Murderhawk Monster
Let's get real for a second and look at how Jake's own run ended. When he debuted in 2019, it was electric.
He stood in the ring, looked Cody Rhodes in the eye, and delivered a promo that reminded everyone why he is one of the greatest talkers in history. Then he brought in Lance Archer, the "Murderhawk Monster," and for a minute, we thought we were getting a modern-day monster heel run.
Instead of building Archer as a terrifying threat to the world title, AEW kept him in a holding pattern. He would disappear from television for months, leaving fans to wonder if he was even still employed.
The forums have frequently pointed out the exact pattern that ruined his run:
- Winning squash matches against local talent only to lose every single high-profile title match.
- Disappearing from television for months at a time after a big loss.
- Quietly joining the Don Callis Family without any on-screen explanation or closure with Jake.
Recently, we haven't seen Jake on AEW television at all, and Archer has since joined the Don Callis Family. The pairing that once felt so dangerous was quietly dissolved without any major storyline payoff. It is a disappointing end to a managerial run that had so much potential back in 2020.
Who Actually Has the Stronger Argument?
So, is Jake Roberts right, or is he just an old-timer shouting at clouds? The truth lies somewhere in the middle, but Jake's point has more merit than his critics want to admit.
WWE does have too many people on the payroll who are doing absolutely nothing of note. While the company's financial success is undeniable, the creative product often suffers from trying to please everyone.
However, suggesting a fifty percent cut is typical wrestling hyperbole. A cut that deep would destroy the tag team divisions and leave the midcard looking like a ghost town. The real issue isn't the size of the roster, but how the talent is utilized by the creative teams.
We saw this exact problem with Jake's time in AEW. The roster was so packed that a talent like Lance Archer couldn't get consistent TV time, even with a legendary manager by his side.
If you want to read more about his exit, check out the reports on how Ringside News confirmed his departure after his stint. It shows that even the biggest legends can get lost in the shuffle when a promotion gets too big.
Ultimately, fans will continue to debate roster sizes as long as wrestling exists. Some will always want the streamlined rosters of the past, while others prefer the variety of a massive lineup. But one thing is certain: Jake Roberts knows how to get people talking, even when he's walking out the door.
For more details on his post-AEW comments, you can read the breakdown of his interview on WrestlingNews.co and see how fans are reacting. The snake may be out of AEW, but he is still biting.
