WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who came up short to The Undertaker in a memorable affair at WrestleMania VIII, portrays his first ever encounter with “The Phenom” as one that centered around strip clubs and the consumption of alcohol.

“I was there when he first got in there in the WWE,” remembers Roberts in an interview. “Here’s really quite a story: He comes to me, he says, “Hey I hear you know where all the good strip joints are at.” And I’m like, “In the world, yes. I know them all.” And he’s like, “Well, I’ll travel with you!”

Roberts, a notorious alcoholic, did not believe the young upstart would be able to last a single week traveling with him, but took him under his wing in any case. A few weeks later, “The Deadman” was having his stomach pumped in the afternoon and performing at World Wrestling Federation live events at night as though nothing had occurred. Roberts indicated that ‘Taker didn’t even need to wear his trademark make-up given how pale his face appeared from drinking so much.

“So, he tried to hang with me, and it’s a chemical world, so I was cheating,” recalls Roberts. “After about three or four weeks, we went to TV and [Vince McMahon] looked at him and said, ‘Mark, I don’t think you need the makeup today, you look like hell. Jake is killing you and a few days later, he was in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. Finally, I had to smarten him up and tell him how I was doing it, and we then became very, very good friends.”

As wild as Roberts’ story sounds, this would be considered ordinary behavior in the professional wrestling industry in those days. Excessive amounts of alcohol was just a way for “the boys” to bond while traveling the road.

– DOWNLOAD EPISODE #33 OF THE BOWER SHOW PODCAST WHERE THEY OPEN UP ABOUT THEIR FAMOUS CM PUNK INTERVIEW RIGHT (NSFW): HERE