WWE Host & SiriusXM Host Sam Roberts Dishes On How He Separates Wrestling Fandom From Wrestling Work (Exclusive)

Sam Roberts is a self-professed pro wrestling super fan and according to him, that's exactly what WWE wants from him when they work together.

Roberts has been a mainstay on WWE panels before and after major events throughout the years and currently hosts the official WWE Raw podcast, in addition to his work on the newly launched Pro Wrestling Nation channel on SiriusXM.

Roberts is proud of the fact that his fandom influences his work, so it isn't as separate as you might think. In an interview with The Takedown on SI, Roberts opened up on what its like to be a fan of WWE, while working with them in an official capacity.

"WWE basically said, we're bringing you in to be you," Roberts said. "I mean, there are things that you have to be cognizant of and aware that you're on a WWE show, but realistically, my whole thing is, I feel enthusiastic about pro wrestling. I want to share that enthusiasm."

"It's going to be like, why am I enthusiastic about this? And can I maybe spread that enthusiasm? And I think because that's kind of my natural way of doing things. It works for WWE and they let me go on to Raw Recap and just tell us what you think of the show. It's kind of really amazing that it's worked out that way."

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Roberts has been a broadcaster for over two decades, but says he's very lucky that he's been able to marry his passions for broadcasting and wrestling together throughout his career.

"I feel very privileged to be able to kind of dip my toe in both and kind of, you know, have both of those passions and execute on both of them," Roberts said. "I'm really lucky for it. I grew up listening to a lot of talk radio. My dad would listen. I'd listen to Howard Stern in the morning. You're in New York. There's all these personalities. I found Opie and Anthony when I was in high school... I just found the art of doing a call in sports show so intriguing that I would just drive around listening to sports talk when I don't even watch."

Roberts' obsession with professional wrestling began when he was a kid. Like many of us who grew up in the 80's and 90's, he would consume as much content as humanly possible. Whether that was via magazine or VHS tape back in the day or when the internet eventually came online.

"At some point I just started talking about wrestling the way I think about it, and the way I watch it, and the way I look at it. And I realized that, like, as somebody who doesn't come from the world of sports, I was far more interested in the narratives that were going on and the characters that were being built."

What has Roberts, a wrestling fan, learned while working for the biggest wrestling company in the world? A lot, but he hasn't loss his fan perspective along the way.

"I try to not let that (fandom) get manipulated by any sort of gig, because I feel like that would ruin it," Roberts said. "That's how I kind of stay a super fan, because at the end of the day, I am a super fan. I got everything that I've gotten because I was a super fan."

"In terms of learning, I think my appreciation for the art form has grown tremendously, because the more you see, the more you talk to people, the more you appreciate the kind of minutia, the tiny little details that can go into something that you're not even aware of. But it's those little details that are what give you the feeling that makes the whole thing work."

Since Roberts started working with WWE, the company has changed leadership, been sold, run two nights of WrestleMania, and been mixed into pop culture as much as pro wrestling ever has been in it's history. Can WWE keep getting bigger? Roberts says that's the age old question.

"That's what you go into every day. How much bigger can wrestling get? There was a time when people would say, we're not gonna do a whole show about wrestling and (now) we got a 24 hour channel. I personally feel like the more people who understand what pro wrestling is and what really goes into it, the more fans that you'll get."

A 24 hour pro wrestling channel on SiriusXM? Yes, Roberts joined Pro Wrestling Nation when it started this summer and hosts a weekday show.

"So I do my podcast, NotSam Wrestling, which goes up on the NotSam Wrestling YouTube channel every week -- as well as our our emergency podcasts that end up there," Roberts said. "Matt Cardona sits in on Tuesdays, on SiriusXM, and that's the new Pro Wrestling Nation 24/7. It's a 24 hour wrestling radio channel. So it's live every day. It's a really cool thing. So check out both those things."

You can find all of Sam Roberts' great work across multiple platforms, including Apple Spotify, the SiriusXM app and over on YouTube.

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