Jason Roberts returns to Chicago

Interview by Al Lagattolla

Justin "Jason" Roberts dreamed his entire life of appearing at a WWE show in his hometown. He gets that chance Tuesday.

The WWE ring announcer, who worked in Chicago as Justin Roberts and Enzo Reed, is scheduled to be a part of Tuesday's show at Allstate Arena in Rosemont. He talks to Chicagowrestling.com's Al Lagattolla about his excitement about the show, as well as a prank that was pulled on him one night.

Roberts encourages fans to check out JJRoberts.com, adding "Don't forget your Jason Roberts signs this Tuesday night at the AllState Arena for Smackdown!"

AL: What exactly will your role be at the show?

ROBERTS: I've learned since June that plans constantly change, as of this time I'm set for Velocity and dark matches, if there are any.

AL: Are you looking forward to this trip moreso than others, because it is Chicago?

ROBERTS: You have no idea. Any time I have a show, I look forward to it, but working at the arena where I grew up attending shows is huge for me. In addition, my family and friends will be there. Plus, when you work in Chicago you can finally eat good pizza.

AL: When was the last time you announced at a chicago show?

ROBERTS: Dec 18, 2001.

AL: I would imagine much has changed since then. Are there some in your family who haven't seen you live since then? I mean announcing live.

ROBERTS: Welp, the athletic commission no longer has their hands out-right? That's a good thing ... and a bad thing...I'm sure the wrestling scene in Chicago has completely changed...I try to keep up as best as possible. I don't think my family has seen me announce live since last December, unless they caught some shows out west that I can't think of.

AL: Do you think you'll get a decent reaction? Do you think WWE fans have caught on to you?

ROBERTS: Fortunately I usually sneak out to the ring during the Lonely Road of Faith video, and as soon as I get in the ring I'll say welcome to (insert hometown here)! That will get a big pop 10 times out of 10, although I did witness an announcer get booed after that line in Indiana not too long ago.

AL: What has your WWE experience been like? Still love pro wrestling in all its glory, now that you've seen it on the road?

ROBERTS: The difference that I see now compared to when I used to attend house shows as a little kid is these guys are busting their butts and giving 110% at a house show, as if it was a ppv. I respect that and respect all the talent for their hard and entertaining work which does make me continue to "love pro wrestling in all its glory."

AL: Any special moments in the ring? I'm sure they've had some fun with you at some point.

ROBERTS: I did a spot with (the heel) Brock Lesnar in Calgary (in front of the 327 members of the Hart family that were in attendance) and my understanding was that he was pissed off, so I would hand him the mic and run like hell out of the ring. He thought I was interviewing him and staying in there, so as I gave him the mic-he grabbed onto my shirt. I tried to run away and he just kept me there dangling a few inches off the mat until he was done saying his piece. As soon as he dropped me I ran like hell over the top rope. Other than that Crash Holly conveniently landed in my lap one night while he was waiting to get tagged in. I never caught a baseball at a Cubs/Sox game-but I caught a Crash at a house show.

AL: Were you anywhere near Wrestlemania?

ROBERTS: I was scheduled to announce a Cedar Rapids, Iowa Toughman in February that got moved to Wrestlemania weekend, so I was already set for that, plus if I was there-there was no chance I would announce-Howard and Tony are the main guys and they deserve to do the show.

AL: I noticed Coachman had the Girls Gone Wild gig. ... do they any have jobs like that for you?

ROBERTS: You noticed? perv. So far, I have not gotten anything like that, but again Coach does a lot more than me including living in Connecticut and constantly doing work for WWE-so he deserves the fun stuff like that. Maybe in the future, but I'll have to work my way up for that.

AL: Has your involvement mostly been Velocity and Smackdown? Have you done a lot of house shows?

ROBERTS: Yes, the last Raw 'brand' show I worked was the night before my first Smackdown, so I have not been around that brand with the exception of going to Raw when they were in Arizona. House shows? Recently, no-I was in Stamford at the Tower and studios last week, but besides that it has been slow in the WWE department. Hopefully things will pick up soon, as they seem to have started. I've got Chicago on Tuesday and then Nashville for Smackdown and Velocity two weeks later.

AL: You say things constantly change. Is that difficult to deal with, or is that something you learned to deal with long ago?

ROBERTS: I've learned to accept it. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes against me. I get a little of both each time, but I'm just happy to be in the spot I'm in. What they say goes, and that's why they are still around, no one tells them what to do-they are the 'boss'.

AL: Do you still get excited when you see something like Roddy Piper coming back?

ROBERTS: I think the idea of Piper's Pit is great. I was hoping for an interview segment to come back and even though I was always a huge mark for Brother Love-Piper's Pit is a good choice. I can't get excited for this Al and I'll tell you why...As I said earlier, things change. When I was watching Saturday morning Superstars on a Saturday afternoon in about 1993 I saw a preview that said next week Piper's Pit returns. I was psyched. Finally Saturday morning rolled around, and guess what? The plans changed. No Piper's Pit. But I hope that doesn't happen this week.

AL: Will you be nervous at all in Chicago, or just excited?

ROBERTS: I don't think so. I've definitely gotten comfortable working in front of big crowds-the bigger the better, especially when they're as good as the Chicago fans. No bs there, everyone knows Chicago has one of the best crowd reputations. I assume I will be excited, just because as a kid attending shows at Rosemont, I ALWAYS wanted to walk through that curtain someday. Tuesday is that someday.