Jake Roberts vs Ted DiBiase (WWF, 12-14-1989)

WWF, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

More from WWF’s Hottest Matches! We saw Jake in against Akeem, but he’s the Profile on this tape which means you get TWO matches, back-to-back! Here he’s against DiBiase, a guy with whom he had a smooth chemistry. Previously I’ve done matches with these two from April ’89 at MSG, and their big WrestleMania VI blowoff (of sorts) which may have been the last time they wrestled, actually.

So here’s one in-between. Ted and Virgil try to put the sneak on Jake, but Roberts takes them down quickly and goes for the DDT on Ted, who escapes and stalls at ringside. Commentary here is Sean Mooney leading and Gorilla on color, which is a fine team you don’t hear a lot.

Roberts goes for the DDT again and DiBiase slips out and bails again. The bad guys try a distraction routine, but Jake sniffs it out, having also already stepped on Virgil’s right arm, which is in a cast. Yet again Jake goes for the DDT and yet again DiBiase slips free and goes to the floor. They’ve really got a routine here. One of the things that sticks out about these DiBiase-Roberts matches is they actually physically do as little as possible but they’re both so good keeping the crowd engaged that you barely notice.

Jake double noggin knocks Ted and Virgil ringside as Gorilla informs Mooney that DiBiase did not earn his millions, he was handed the fortune. Jake gets caught rolling back into the ring and DiBiase takes over the control with some elbows.

DiBiase working EXTREMELY slowly here, but always talking at Jake, working the crowd, who chant for Jake’s comeback. DiBiase threatens sme sort of violence but instead puts on a front facelock. When Jake finally stands that up, DiBiase just punches him in the face and back down he goes.

Roberts is working with a bad neck here, and Gorilla thinks he came back from his broken neck too quickly. We get a dramatic bit of anticipation for…FRONT FACELOCK 2: RETURN TO FRONT FACELOCK! Ted fucks the mat.

Roberts eventually drives DiBiase into the corner, half-exposing Ted’s ass on the way, but DiBiase is really still as fresh as Jake who is selling the neck because he can’t sell taking a beating, really, because he hasn’t. But DiBiase catches him with a double sledge from the second rope and gets a two count. Then more wandering, stalling, crowd work, and it’s FRONT FACELOCK 3, but Jake counters with a swinging neckbreaker quickly and now both are down.

Roberts trying to get the crowd going, and go they do. Roberts with two jabs, a right hand, and then an inverted atomic drop. Now let’s slow it back down a bit. Jake driving knees down into the back of the neck, and Virgil gets on the apron so he can get dropped, too. Ted’s ass comes out again and the short-arm clothesline from Roberts hits.

Jake calling for the DDT, but in no rush. Virgil enters the ring, hits Jake from behind, and that’s the Coliseum DQ. DiBiase and Virgil double up on Roberts after the match, with Ted paintbrushing Jake with a fistful of Ben Franklins. Roberts does come back, of course, and chases DiBiase off, which leaves Virgil to eat the DDT and get the Damien treatment. Everyone leaves happy. Not Virgil, I suppose.

Even for a DiBiase-Roberts match this is slow, but not in a boring way. Well, not to me, anyway. I can certainly imagine someone watching this and being bored to death, but I like both guys so much that to me, while not riveting by any means, it remains an interesting enough thing to watch. They really do very, very little in the match but the crowd stays plugged in the entire way, which is in its own way a “fun” thing to watch happen. I’m an oddly big fan of mid-tier period and historical biographical dramas and this match is sort of one of those things with Keira Knightley that most people would forget watching but I enjoyed, even if I didn’t think it was great.

Rating: 3/5