WCW: Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Part 4

Afterward, Roberts had an extremely intense feud with Randy Savage after he interrupted the Savages' wedding reception by putting a snake in one of the gift boxes at SummerSlam and later famously used a (devenomed) cobra to bite Savage's arm (the snake died after the incident, due to a toxic reaction). WWF president Jack Tunney reinstated Savage, who had lost a retirement match (to the Ultimate Warrior) earlier that year at WrestleMania VII, as an active wrestler to get revenge for the attack, and he and Roberts feuded for the next few months. Their first match was at the Tuesday In Texas pay-per-view, which saw the "Macho Man" earn a victory over Roberts, but it was Roberts who would have the last laugh as he attacked Savage after the match and slapped Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth, in the middle of the ring. The feud would continue through the early part of 1992, and included Savage eliminating Roberts from that year's 1992 Royal Rumble match.

The feud would end on Saturday Night's Main Event, with Savage getting the duke. Roberts, livid at having lost to his arch-nemesis and having received two of Savage's patented flying elbow drops (one of which happened after the match; Savage was going for a third until officials intervened), was helped backstage and, enraged, grabbed a steel chair, saying that he was going to hit whoever came backstage first, whether it was Savage or Elizabeth. Just as he was about to swing the chair, someone stopped him. While Savage and Liz, seeing they had averted a potential tragedy, got out of dodge, Jake turned to confront The Undertaker, who distracted Roberts long enough so that Savage could hit Roberts with a chair instead.

In early 1992, Jake turned on The Undertaker, who had been his partner in the assault on Savage's wedding, thus completing the Undertaker's turn into a babyface. After an incident on The Funeral Parlor in which Roberts locked the Undertaker's hand in a casket and DDT'ed the show's host and Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer, the two continued to build momentum for their encounter at WrestleMania VIII. Roberts lost to his opponent at WrestleMania VIII and left the WWF soon after that, upset that WWF chairman Vince McMahon didn't offer him a position on the writing staff despite being promised previously. After Pat Patterson stepped down from his post on the writing staff, Vince decided that out of respect for Patterson, the spot would be left vacant. Jake felt he was not only being lied to, but also being betrayed. In response, Jake threatened to no-show WrestleMania VIII if he wasn't given a release from his contract.

Jake went on to work for World Championship Wrestling alongside his father, Grizzly Smith, where he aligned himself with The Barbarian and Cactus Jack to feud against Sting and Nikita Koloff. However, before he could officially join WCW, he had to wait almost 90 days. Jake had negotiated a major contract with Kip Allen Fry, who was running the company at that time, would earn him $4 million and give him 50 percent of all merchandise sold as opposed to the eight cents got per shirt sold in the WWF. Just a few days before his contract could officially go in to effect, Jake's old real-life adversary back in the NWA, Bill Watts took over for Kip Fry. Watts had promoted Roberts on his own merits in the Mid-South Wrestling, and disliked the snake-bearing gimmick the WWF had put on him. With Watts now in control, Jake went from making about $4 million to half a million.

WCW: Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Part 3

After successful surgery, Roberts returned and feuded with DiBiase throughout the end of 1989 into 1990, including a point where Roberts stole Dibiase's Million Dollar Belt, daring him or Virgil to reach into the canvas sack to retrive it. The culmination of their feud took place at WrestleMania VI, where in a match where the Million Dollar Belt was on the line, DiBiase gained a count-out victory over Roberts, thus regaining the non-sanctioned title. After the match, Roberts, to the delight of his fans at the packed SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, mounted an offensive against DiBiase and Virgil, and began giving away DiBiase's "money". One of the recipients was actress Mary Tyler Moore, who was seated at ringside.

Following a brief feud with Bad News Brown in the summer of 1990, Roberts feuded with "The Model" Rick Martel throughout late 1990 into early 1991, after Martel blinded Roberts (kayfabe) by spraying cologne into his eyes. Roberts went so far as to wear white contact lenses to 'prove' his blindness. After several months, the feud culminated in a match at WrestleMania VII, in which both contestents were blindfolded. The bout ended after Roberts vanquished his rival with the DDT.

In early to mid-1991, Roberts engaged in a bitter feud with Earthquake after his 450-pound body "squashed" Damien (in actuality, it was hamburger stuffed in pantyhose with a small motor to make it look like a live snake was in the bag), and then used Damien's "carcass" to make "Quakeburgers", which he fed to on-air commentator Lord Alfred Hayes.

Jake would appear on Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake's interview segment "The Barbershop" and stated that "you could do two things: Roll over and die, or get yourself a bigger snake", in which he revealed that his new snake was a larger python, a reticulated python whom he named "Lucifer"- the supposed big brother of Damien and "the devil himself."

In mid-1991 Jake Roberts turned heel once again. For weeks, he was the one the Ultimate Warrior turned to in his feud with The Undertaker. The angle involved Roberts telling the Warrior that he would have the knowledge of the dark side necessary to defeat his adversary after passing three tests, which would be shown on WWF TV in consecutive weeks. The first was to be locked inside of a coffin, repeating an incident that occurred on The Funeral Parlor (which was hosted by 'Taker's manager Paul Bearer), a few months prior. The second test had Roberts "bury" the Warrior alive in dirt and walk offscreen. The third test involved Warrior entering a room full of snakes to and having to walk through them to find "the answer" in a chest in the middle of the room. When the Warrior opened the chest, he was alarmed to find a king cobra, which (kayfabe) bit him in the face; in actuality, the snake was devenomized and in fact, never actually bit him. As Warrior "weakened" from the "effects" of the cobra's strike, Roberts was joined by The Undertaker and Paul Bearer, revealing the three were in cahoots all along with Roberts telling Warrior "Never trust a snake".

Although beautifully planned out, the two were set for what WWF hoped would be one of the hottest feuds of 1991 after SummerSlam 1991, but, due to a financial dispute that the Warrior had with the WWF around this same period, the match never materialized. Warrior was fired after the event, but WWE still struck while the iron was hot and turned a negative (losing one of their biggest stars and, with it, the money grossing potential the feud had) into a positive.

WCW: Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Parts 2

After Steamboat's recovery, the feud featured Steamboat introducing a "komodo dragon" (actually a small alligator) as his "pet" to combat the psychological effects Roberts' reptilian counterpart had on most adversaries. The feud continued with Steamboat winning most of the matches, most notably a Texas Death Match at The Big Event in Toronto, and the rematch on the October 1986, edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. Since their feud ended, both men have cited tremendous respect for one another, stating that the feud was a personal favorite for both. When asked about "The Dragon" in an interview, Roberts stated, "[Steamboat] was a great wrestler, but an even better man."

Jake also began a brief feud with Hulk Hogan, but the angle was dropped when Roberts started receiving cheers from the crowd (even though Jake was initially intended to be a heel). This was seen as bad for business considering that Hogan was the top box office draw for the WWF.

One of the more memorable moments in his career was when he had Alice Cooper in his corner during WrestleMania III in 1987. Jake's WrestleMania III opponent, The Honky Tonk Man, brutally attacked Jake with a guitar on Jake's interview segment The Snake Pit, making Roberts into a babyface. In reality, The Honky Tonk Man's guitar shot legitimately injured Jake's neck, rupturing two discs. Jake admitted in interviews that the shot was prior to the use of breakaway guitars, so when Honky clubbed him, he really got hit hard. Jake started using pain killers following the injury, which led to severe opiate addictions later in his life. The Honky Tonk Man denies that he legitimately injured Jake.

Perhaps his best-known feud was against "Ravishing" Rick Rude, who was doing a gimmick where he would select a woman from the audience to kiss after each match. Rude inadvertently chose Jake's real-life wife Cheryl, who refused the kiss; Jake rescued her before Rude could attack, although Cheryl slapped him hard enough to send Rude reeling. At another event, Rude wore a pair of tights emblazoned with a visage of Mrs. Roberts, which an irate Jake tore off, sending Rude running apparently naked from the ring when shown on TV, when those at the arena saw Rude in a thong.

The feud ended due to a reportedly real-life affair between Rude and Cheryl, though Roberts has stated that, to the best of his knowledge, there was no affair.

Next, "The Snake" engaged in a feud with André the Giant. In this storyline, Roberts used his snake to gain a psychological edge over the ophidiophobic André (who as part of the angle staged a heart attack on national television), to nullify the Giant's overwhelming size and strength advantage. Jake can claim a victory via disqualification over André after André attacked special guest referee Big John Studd at WrestleMania V. In retrospect, he views his feud with André as a compliment, citing that since André usually worked with the top guys in each territory, he believes WWE management was subliminally telling him he had the potential to be a top guy.

Shortly after his feud with André had ended, Roberts entered into a feud with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. It was at this time that Roberts' disc problems were publically acknowledged, as DiBiase attacked Roberts after a victory over his bodyguard Virgil on WWF Superstars of Wrestling. In the attack, Roberts was "injured" by DiBiase, and needed time off to have surgery to repair the damage.

WWF - Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Ring name(s) Jake Roberts
Billed height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Billed weight 260 lb (118 kg)
Born May 30, 1955,Gainesville, Texas
Resides Pompano Beach, Florida
Billed from Stone Mountain, Georgia
Debut May 13, 1975

Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. (born on May 30, 1955), better known by his ring name of Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Grizzly Smith. Roberts is best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1980s.

Roberts was known for his promos and his dark charisma, his extensive use of psychology in his matches and for inventing the DDT finishing maneuver. He is considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers to never hold a major championship title.[citation needed]

Jake Roberts is credited with training Diamond Dallas Page and Raven, as well as teaching much about wrestling psychology to Steve Austin and The Undertaker. Roberts and fellow wrestler Vader appeared on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World for one episode.

Roberts started his career in 1975 in the Georgia area and made his name in the NWA as part of Paul Ellering's heel stable The Legion of Doom. He feuded with Ron Garvin in the 1980s over the NWA World Television Championship.

During a match when he had his opponent in a front facelock, he slipped and fell down and his opponent fell on his head, legitimately knocking him out. From that match, he incorporated the move as his finisher, naming it the DDT. For a long time, many fans had tried to figure out what DDT had stood for, with some even believing it stood for Damien's Dinner Time, as to the fact that Jake routinely placed his pet python Damien on top of unconscious wrestlers following the (usually match-ending) DDT. Most people believe the move referenced the pesticide DDT, which was perceived by the public to be a poison during the 1980s. When at last asked what the DDT stood for, Jake famously replied, "The End".

Roberts derived his nickname from being thin and snake-like. Roberts also said that he got his nickname from Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken "The Snake" Stabler. To accentuate this, he often would slide ("slither") into and out of the ring on his belly under the bottom rope. Once he reached the WWF, Roberts would bring a huge, live python (though various snakes were used over the years, most were named "Damien", and for safety purposes, most were heavily sedated) to ringside in a canvas bag. After executing a DDT, Roberts would coil the constrictor around the opponent's neck, and the snake would slither around on top of the fallen wrestler, sometimes appearing to strangle him. It was a masterful show of kayfabe (besides the fact that numerous fellow wrestlers and commentators were legitimately ophidiophobic), as the wrestler lay twitching and sometimes foaming at the mouth with the monstrous snake appearing to squeeze the life out of him. This display of theatricality got over with professional wrestling fans when George Wells, former Canadian Football League player turned wrestler, played "victim" to Damien at WrestleMania 2. His frothing at the mouth sold the gimmick as being something lethal.

Roberts' first major feud was against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Few WWF fans knew that the two were former tag team partners in the National Wrestling Alliance, as it was never acknowledged on camera. The feud began when, on a nationally televised episode of Saturday Night's Main Event in May 1986, Roberts DDT'ed Steamboat on the floor right in front of his wife, Bonnie, whom Roberts had pointed to just before delivering the blow. He later stated that he was initially against doing the angle for fear that he might seriously injure or kill Steamboat. While Vince McMahon and booker George Scott were adamant about wanting the DDT to take place on the floor, he refused until Steamboat told him that he would be able to adequately protect himself from injury. However, Roberts' fears were not unfounded: Steamboat was rendered unconscious and sustained a concussion from the force of the blow.