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Future Foundation: Jake Roberts Is Building the Legacy He Always Wanted

How the WWE Hall of Famer picked up the pieces of his past and reclaimed his glory

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North Texas Central College self-identifies as “the oldest continuously operating two-year college in Texas.” The school has undergone multiple name changes . Similar to Texas State University, it has renamed itself to make it sound like a more appealing destination and to look better on a diploma or résumé. From 1961 to 1974, the school was named Cooke County Junior College, and embraced its goal of producing associate’s degrees meant to allow students to transfer to universities, and one-year instructional certificates tied to specific careers. One of the courses it currently offers is Architectural Drafting—Residential , part of its Engineering Technology Area of Study. In a perfect world, Aurelian Smith Jr. would’ve taken that class, or its past equivalent, in the fall of 1973, shortly after his high school graduation. Almost 50 years later, Smith aims to build on what his past, his persona, and the people around him have repeatedly broken down. Jake “The Snake” Roberts is truly putting himself together, for the very first time, brick by brick, piece by piece.

One of the core objectives required to complete the drafting course is communication. It’s a skill that Jake Roberts has only very recently honed when it’s needed away from crowds and backstage interview segments. His development was immediately and continually stunted, Roberts coming from, and emulating, a string of broken relationships. Presently, he’s days away from the premiere of his episode of Biography: WWE Legends . After years of living like a sailor, the only vice he seems to maintain from his time on the high seas of bars, back roads, and bingo halls is the cursing. He’s more than willing to color his conversation with all the words you’ll no longer hear on Monday or Friday nights. “Doing this thing and having it come out so well, I think that I’ve finally had the one happen that really tells the whole story. … It’s not pretty. It’s got some rough, nasty edges to taste, but it was life and it was the truth,” Roberts told The Ringer . “I didn’t candy coat anything. I’m sick and tired of seeing these docs where these guys go out and put on and never have a fucking problem and never did things. Are you fucking kidding me? I was there. I watched your dumb ass!” He made a point to be as transparent as possible in the documentary. Jake Roberts does not blame anyone other than Jake Roberts for his struggles. Not peers, not dealers, not women, not even family. The last party, specifically his parents, may have been spared Jake’s blame, but it’s difficult to ignore the correlation between childhood trauma and adult struggles. In the opening 15 minutes of the documentary, we’re given the details of his upbringing, which will likely inspire anger in decent folk, and outrage in the emotional. Jake Roberts, with his trademark handlebar mustache now an endless winter of white, is the product of an underage mother and a pedophilic father. Aurelian “Grizzly” Smith Sr. , a 6-foot-10, 350-pound professional wrestler, left Jake, his siblings, and mother to start a new family about five years later. Jake’s mother was too young to raise her children on her own, so that responsibility was left to the children’s maternal grandparents. After the grandparents passed away, the Smith children were sent to live with their father and new stepmother. This would begin a cycle of sexual abuse, with Grizzly Smith repeatedly assaulting his daughters, and his wife assaulting Roberts. Jake’s stepmother would physically abuse him after her sexual assaults, expressing the disappointment Senior would show if he found out.

Jake eventually changed his career path because he wanted his father’s approval. After a conversation between the two at his high school graduation, Jake gave up on his architectural dreams to pursue his father’s recommended path: professional wrestling. After his first match, his father intimated how disappointed he was in Jake’s performance, leading him to refocus and take the craft seriously. The mind that wants to build, the mind that can see structures before they are on paper, that’s the mind Jake Roberts would apply to professional wrestling. “I put a lot of time and a lot of thought into what I do out there, man. A lot of it comes naturally. But the things that come natural to me are because I’ve learned through my life what works and what doesn’t. How to go about achieving what I want to achieve in the ring. There are certain things that I picked up going through life that I use, and those are natural things. The way I walk, the way I talk, the way I look at people.” Learning what worked, and what didn’t work, would be mostly on-the-job training. Roberts’s history of substance misuse is well documented. But the details, the actual accounts of some of the lowest lows, border on the hyperbolic.

A key component of effective communication is finding the flaws in past conversations/interactions and then not repeating them. Similar to his high school graduation experience, an older Roberts, at this point well established in the World Wrestling Federation (and married to his second wife, Cheryl Hagood), traveled from Georgia to Texas for his oldest daughter’s commencement ceremony. They agreed that after the ceremony, she’d make the return trip with him to live with his new family. Jake Roberts smoked crack cocaine the entire 17-hour-plus trip, according to the documentary. Mirroring how Jake has had to maneuver in dangerous situations, his daughter explains in the documentary that she’d preferred to drive and allow him to smoke rather than let him do both at the same time. At the height of his success, doubt cast at an early age crept into all aspects of his life, even when his persona, his promos, and his matches were lauded. “I never watched television when I was wrestling. I never heard what the commentators were saying or what Vince was saying. And you go back now and hear some of that. I go, ‘Holy shit, man. They did hold me in a high regard,’ and because of my upbringing, and what I went through, I never thought I was good enough. I was very insecure, very insecure. So that’s why everything was so deliberate in the ring. I wanted it to be absolutely fucking perfect. And I think I pulled it off.”

Jake Roberts would become one of wrestling’s biggest stars and would do so in his own way. Lots of students, specifically at the community college level, think that the best way to appeal to their university of choice is to take as many classes as possible to put onto a transcript. They are often reminded that it’s not how many classes you take, it’s the grades you get in the ones you take that matters. In a world of vivid color, over-the-top antics, and arguments with the volume on 11, Jake Roberts was in full control, deliberate, almost plodding with his promos and in-ring style. With his python Damien in tow, Jake would strike a practical fear in opponent and attendant alike, afraid of possible poisoning, or suffocation, at one false move. Roberts understood that being the bad guy meant his opponents—and, at times, the audience—would live in fear of what he’d say next, of what he’d do next. “That was intimidation. Intimidation. You walk slow, you walk sure. You carry a big stick. I didn’t need to jump around and flutter around. Let the young boys do that.”

Perhaps the most stressed core component of the Introduction to Architectural Drafting course is critical thinking. This tends to be much easier when you’re surrounded by examples of the right way to approach a situation. For Jake Roberts, that was pupil turned peer turned life coach Diamond Dallas Page . Page, one of WCW’s most prolific participants in the Monday-Night Wars , had almost a full decade in the ring before reaching stardom. Known for his ability to make even the most mundane details of a wrestling tale feel like a childhood fable, he doesn’t mince words about where he got his style. “I would say I stole a lot from Jake,” Page says, looking back on the swagger and delivery that helped him earn multiple world titles and the adoration of millions at the hottest time in the industry. “I’d be the first to say it, but Jake loved how I made it my own. And I never even realized that until I’d watched one of the matches. … It was just instinctively I was around him so much. There was a guy on the road one time who had 40 VHS tapes of Jake that were full-hour tapes, 80 hours of just Jake, and he brought them in a box and gave them to Jake. And I go, ‘Man, I want to tear through that.’ He goes, ‘You can have it,’ and wish I still did. But I watched every minute of all of those tapes. There’s a little piece of [“Macho Man” Randy] Savage in me, there’s a little piece of ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig, there’s a little piece of Terry Funk in me, there’s a lot of Jake, and I just love those styles of work in the ring because all of them were believable as hell. And to me, that’s the most important thing, that people don’t see through your work. … I think Jake Roberts was one of the most realistic people ever in a place where everybody knows it’s predetermined. Jake made it real.”

After their wrestling days were over, he moved both Roberts and longtime friend/nWo frontman Scott Hall into his home to help them battle substance addiction with tough love, positive thinking, and a particularly effective fitness regimen. This upward climb to sobriety was covered in 2015’s The Resurrection of Jake the Snake . Roberts, a staple of the early WrestleMania years , had spent the late 1990s and early 2000s playing high school gyms and community centers, and was in poor shape externally and internally . Knowing that this wasn’t how he wanted his story to end, he reached out to Dallas Page for help. While it was Roberts who came to Page, that didn’t mean that path to peace wouldn’t cover tough terrain. Page still recalls some of Jake’s toughest moments, particularly of self-doubt. “He’d come down one night, and he was, like, so mad. He punched a marble table and a marble counter, and I was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’ He goes, ‘I’m such a loser.’ I’m like, ‘Stop saying that.’ He goes, ‘I’m such a loser, Dallas. I’m so pissed at myself.’ And I pull him aside, and I go, ‘Come here. Let me show you something.’ We walk in the bathroom off the living room, and I said, ‘What do you see?’ He goes, ‘A loser.’ I go, ‘Stop saying that … look at the shirt you’re wearing.’ And the shirt was a skeleton, was waving a flag, and wasted youth on the flag. I said, ‘Every time you wear that shirt, you catch it in the mirror. You tell yourself what you wasted. You wear shirts with Manson on it. Would you want your kids to be around Manson? Hell, no.’ I go, ‘What are you doing? The story you tell yourself is everything, bro. You should have positive energy on there or ‘Unstoppable’ or ‘Never give up.’ I go, ‘That’s what you should be wearing.’ And he goes, ‘You know, you’re right.’ And he went upstairs for 20 minutes, and he came down, and Jake’s an artist, and he drew this banner and wrote through it, ‘My history is not my destiny.’ I was like, wow, that’s powerful. And that became the story he told himself.”

Selfishly, Page appreciates not only Roberts’s recovery and sobriety, but also that he’s regained his friend after all the years of struggle. Even in the early days after completing Page’s program to the best of his ability, Jake Roberts had to fight off relapsing. “After being in this house for two years and moving out in that first week, seeing where I was at and [questioning his progress]. ‘But what if? So the first time I [go] to a meal by myself, am I going to pick up a drink or what?’ And I didn’t. So those early victories just kept me rolling.” Where they once sat isolated, sharing space, time, and conversation within the confines of Page’s home, they can now experience the world, both with each other and the people they hold close. Jake Roberts has begun to build relationships with three of his eight children. He fishes with his sons, who have families of their own, as they talk through finding the right way to establish understanding. He’s even resumed his relationship with Hagood, his second wife, 26 years after their divorce. “Today he’s back with his wife, Cheryl. Are you kidding me? That’s the coolest thing ever. They were at my party this year, and Jake doesn’t normally do parties because he doesn’t want to be around the alcohol and liquor. But now he’s cool. He’s good with it, and they’re great together. My wife, Paige, and Cheryl and Jake, we all went up to Boston to go to see Aerosmith, and we saw them at Fenway. Jake right now is living his best life.”

With most college courses, the final tends to weigh heavier than any assignment, quiz, or previous test from that semester. It’s that culmination of the skills you’ve acquired, the knowledge you’ve retained, and how you can apply that to your future courses and tasks. North Texas Central College’s Architectural Drafting—Residential course has a term project that accounts for 20 percent of the student’s final grade. It’s the difference in most cases between passing and failing. When you ask Jake Roberts what he’s learned on his long journey toward peace, toward normalcy? It’s a lot like a degree. You take it for granted when it comes early in life, but you know its full value if you earn it later in life. Jake has found stability, in the same way that others like Sting and Arn Anderson have, being legends and mentors to talent on the All Elite Wrestling roster. Still every bit of 6-foot-5, Jake holds his own when backing acts like the towering Lance Archer to the ring. Jake Roberts takes pride in being someone whom younger acts can turn to about their own personal struggles. “I’m able to help some of the young guys. I’ve steered a couple of guys that were struggling with alcohol. I’ve been able to help those guys out, which makes me feel unbelievable. Well, I sponsor several guys that are struggling fans. They’re fans and I’m helping them. So anytime I can help somebody with addiction is a great day, and I enjoy doing it, and I take pride in doing it, and I just like who I am today, man. Standing tall forthwith. And it may be a little rough on the edges, but I’ll give it and I’ll take it.” He’s able to reflect not only on his life, but also on the business that he helped make special. Still one of the brightest minds around, this version of Jake Roberts is critical with a smile, reflecting on his signature move, the DDT, and its place in modern wrestling. “Every time they DDT somebody,” he starts, with eyes bright and shoulders broad and pushed forward, “and they don’t beat them with it, people say to themselves, Jake Roberts did it. You didn’t fucking get up!”

One course does not an architect make. There are more classes, studying, finding the right school to finish your program. There’s testing, getting hired. There’s finding people to trust that what you’re building will stand up against code, against storms, against time. Jake Roberts can’t get time back, but he’s taken steps to make the time that he does have left matter. “It’s real simple. I became a man,” Roberts explains. “Each day that I stay sober is another victory for me. Believe me when I say there ain’t no way in hell I’m picking up again. I enjoy who I am today. I like waking up and looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Hey, dude, you’re a bad son of a bitch, man, come on, let’s kick some more ass.’ And I like being able to pick up the phone and not worry about what’s going to be said on the other end. ‘Like, Jake, you fucked up last night. What the fuck are you doing?’ Man, I’m glad that shit is over. Are you kidding me? I’m glad that I could remember what I did yesterday. I may not remember what I had for breakfast, but I know that I ate. It was all good. So where I’m at today, man, I’m walking tall and kicking ass and taking names.”

Cameron Hawkins writes about pro wrestling, Blade II , and obscure ’90s sitcoms for Pro Wrestling Torch , Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and FanSided DDT . You can follow him on Twitter at @ CeeHawk .

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Jake Roberts

• View history

Roberts is best known for his two stints in the World Wrestling Federation —the first between 1986 and 1992, and the second between 1996 and 1997—though he also wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance in 1983, World Championship Wrestling in 1992 and the Mexico based Asistencia Asesoría y Administración between 1993 and 1994 and again in 1997. He appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling during the summer of 1997, and has made sporadic appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2006 through 2008.

Throughout his career he was known for his intense and cerebral promos , his dark charisma, his extensive use of psychology in his matches, and has been credited as inventor of the DDT . Roberts was also one of the subjects of the 1999 documentary film Beyond the Mat . In 2014, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame

• 1.1 Early career
• 1.2.1 1986–1988
• 1.2.2 1989–1990
• 1.2.3.1 Heel turn
• 1.2.3.2 Feuds with Sid Justice, Randy Savage and Undertaker
• 1.2.3.3 Departure
• 1.3 World Championship Wrestling (1992–1993)
• 1.4 Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
• 1.5 World Wrestling Federation (1996–1997)
• 1.6 Extreme Championship Wrestling (1997)
• 1.7 Beyond the Mat and Heroes of Wrestling
• 1.8 Great Britain; All Star/WAW/Hammerlock/WWE (2001–2005)
• 1.9 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2006–2008)
• 1.10 PWA; Jim Rose Circus and retirement (2008–2011)
• 1.11 Post in ring retirement (2012–present)
• 3 Personal life
• 4 In wrestling
• 5 Championships and accomplishments
• 6 External links

Professional wrestling career [ ]

Early career [ ].

Roberts started his career in 1974 in the Louisiana area, as a referee and wrestler, making his name in Mid-South Wrestling , Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling , and Georgia Championship Wrestling . It was in the National Wrestling Alliance during 1983 that Roberts became part of Paul Ellering 's heel stable , the Legion of Doom , and began a feud with Ron Garvin over the NWA National Television Championship that lasted into 1984. In 1984, Roberts entered World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) joining up with "Gentleman" Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez in their feud against the Von Erichs , winning the WCCW Television title and 6-Man Tag Team title (with Adams and Hernandez). Roberts returned to Mid-South Wrestling for 1985, ending his run there in February 1986 after a feud with Dick Slater .

World Wrestling Federation (1986–1992) [ ]

1986–1988 [ ].

Roberts' first major feud was against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat . The feud began on a nationally televised episode of Saturday Night's Main Event in May 1986. Roberts executed the DDT on Steamboat on the floor right in front of his wife, Bonnie, whom Roberts had pointed to just before delivering the blow and then proceeded to rest his snake Damien on top of a prone Steamboat. Roberts went so far as to put the snake in Steamboat's mouth. 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. Steamboat was rendered unconscious and sustained a concussion. 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 (losing only one and because he threw Roberts back in the ring before the 10 count, then not beating said count himself), most notably a Snake Pit Match (ostensibly a no-DQ 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."

Also during this time, Roberts began hosting a talk segment called "The Snake Pit," which debuted on the first episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge . "The Snake Pit" was patterned after " Piper's Pit ," wherein Roberts would conduct interviews with wrestlers or managers to help push wrestlers and get feuds over with the crowd. The segment was eventually moved to WWF Superstars of Wrestling (to replace "Piper's Pit") before the last segment aired in July 1987.

In November 1986, Roberts challenged Randy "Macho Man" Savage for the Intercontinental Championship in a nationally televised match. Before the match, announcer Vince McMahon stated that the fans would probably support Savage against the disliked Roberts. However, to the surprise of both McMahon and fellow broadcaster Jesse Ventura , the fans cheered loudly for Roberts throughout the fight. The match ended in a double disqualification. Around this time, the WWF was trying to get a feud between Roberts and Hulk Hogan going, but after Roberts DDT'd Hogan during an episode of The Snake Pit , too many people started chanting for the DDT rather than for Hogan, forcing them to step away from this like it never happened.

He officially turned face when he feuded with The Honky Tonk Man , a heel with an Elvis impersonator gimmick. The Honky Tonk Man attacked Roberts with a guitar during his interview segment The Snake Pit . In reality, The Honky Tonk Man's guitar shot legitimately injured Roberts' neck. The shot was prior to the use of gimmicked breakable guitars, so it caused a legitimate injury. The Honky Tonk Man denies that he legitimately injured Roberts, although Jimmy Hart , as well as a video of the incident (seen on the Pick Your Poison DVD) suggests otherwise. The attack led to their match at WrestleMania III in which Roberts had Alice Cooper in his corner. He would go on to unsuccessfully challenge The Honky Tonk Man for the WWF Intercontinental Championship several times throughout the rest of 1987. The initial plan was for Roberts to win the Intercontinental Championship shortly after The Honky Tonk Man's win over Ricky Steamboat and begin an angle with the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase , but because of the injuries he suffered from the guitar shot, the decision was made to keep the belt with The Honky Tonk Man.

Perhaps his best-known feud was against "Ravishing" Rick Rude , who began a gimmick of selecting a woman from the crowd to kiss after each match. In one segment, Rude chose Roberts' real-life wife, Cheryl, who refused the kiss. After Rude began insulting Roberts, Cheryl slapped him, angering Rude before Roberts ran out for the save. This began a heated feud throughout the summer of 1988, which escalated after Rude began wearing a pair of tights emblazoned with a visage of Mrs. Roberts, (another act that was not sanctioned by WWF at the time and was Rude's own brainchild) which an irate Roberts tore off. Many believe this angle was far ahead of its time, a precursor to The Attitude Era.

1989–1990 [ ]

Roberts moved from the feud with Rude into a feud with André the Giant . On a nationally televised Saturday Night's Main Event, Roberts and Rude fought to a no-contest, and Andre came out to help Rude. Roberts used his snake, Damien, to scare Andre into an eventual "heart attack." Although the subsequent feud on the house show circuit saw Andre victorious after most of those matches, Roberts can claim a victory via disqualification over André after André attacked special guest referee Big John Studd at WrestleMania V .

Shortly after his feud with André had ended, Roberts entered into a feud originally scheduled to happen years before with Ted DiBiase . Instead of fighting for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, the prize of the feud was DiBiase's Million Dollar Belt . It was at this time that Roberts' disc problems were publicly acknowledged, as DiBiase attacked Roberts after a victory over his bodyguard Virgil on WWF Superstars of Wrestling . In the attack, Roberts was (storyline) injured by DiBiase and needed time off to have surgery to repair the damage. 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 retrieve 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 mounted an offensive against DiBiase and Virgil and then began giving away DiBiase's "money".

Following a brief feud with Bad News Brown in the summer of 1990, Roberts feuded with Rick "The Model" Martel throughout late 1990 into early 1991, after Martel ( kayfabe ) blinded Roberts 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 contestants were blindfolded. The bout ended after Roberts beat Martel with a DDT.

1991–1992 [ ]

In early to mid-1991, Roberts engaged in a feud with Earthquake after he "squashed" Damien with a pair of Earthquake splashes during a televised match; in actuality, Roberts' bag contained hamburger stuffed in pantyhose with a small motor to make it appear that a live snake was in the bag. When the match aired on WWF Superstars of Wrestling , footage of Earthquake landing on Damien was interrupted with cutaway shots to that show's "Events Center," but when aired later on WWF Prime Time Wrestling the following week, Earthquake's actions toward Damien aired uninterrupted and uncensored. The feud was advanced when, several weeks later, Earthquake appeared on WWF Prime Time Wrestling and served "Quakeburgers" to co-host Lord Alfred Hayes , later revealing that the meat was ground from Damien's carcass. Roberts appeared 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."

Heel turn [ ]

Roberts began a heel turn later in the summer of 1991 following a series of televised vignettes featuring the Ultimate Warrior turning to Roberts for help in his feud with The Undertaker . In the set-up, Roberts explained to Warrior that, after passing three tests, he would have the "knowledge of the dark side" to defeat Undertaker. The segments included Warrior being locked inside a coffin (a reprise of an incident that occurred on The Funeral Parlor, hosted by the Undertaker's manager, Paul Bearer ; earlier in the year); the Warrior being "buried alive" in dirt before being abandoned; and Warrior walking through a room full of live snakes to reach a chest containing "the answer." During the latter segment, the Warrior opened the chest, only to be immediately bitten by a King Cobra (the snake was a rubber prop). As Warrior "weakened" from the "effects" of the cobra's strike, Roberts was joined by The Undertaker and Paul Bearer, revealing the three were working together all along; Roberts closed the final segment by proclaiming, "Never trust a snake." A series of matches were planned, but the feud was canceled after the Ultimate Warrior was fired by the WWF the night of SummerSlam .

Feuds with Sid Justice, Randy Savage and Undertaker [ ]

After SummerSlam, Roberts was placed in a feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage . The set-up story had Roberts crashing the post-SummerSlam wedding reception of Savage and Miss Elizabeth ; Roberts' presence was explained when Elizabeth opened a gift package to reveal a live snake. Roberts and The Undertaker appeared to beat up Savage, until Sid Justice ran them off.

Roberts was then in a Short feud with Justice, When Sid was scheduled to wrestle "El Diablo", The Undertaker came out and accepted the Challenge to Sid, Then "El Diablo" unmasked himself, It was Jake, Then Jake unleashed a King Cobra to have it bite Sid, Until Hacksaw Jim Duggan saved Sid, Sid & Jake wrestled on Superstars a week later, Then Sid injured his biceps, Which forced the Feud to end.

Roberts immediately began berating Randy Savage in a series of promos, aware that Savage - who had lost a retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior earlier in the year - was unable to exact revenge. During an October 21 taping for WWF Superstars of Wrestling in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Roberts goaded Savage into the ring and brutally attacked him, eventually tying Savage into the ropes and getting a live cobra to bite his arm; the snake was devenomized and, according to Roberts' DVD Pick Your Poison , he had trouble getting the cobra to release his bite. The segment went on longer than planned, and Savage's blood was clearly visible as it dripped from the puncture wounds. The footage of Savage suffering was censored with a large "X" when aired on WWF Superstars of Wrestling November 23, but aired uncensored on cable television. Ironically, the snake died shortly afterwards, causing Savage to later joke that the snake got the venom from him.

WWF president Jack Tunney reinstated Savage as an active wrestler to get revenge for the attack. To explain the absence of the cobra in kayfabe, Tunney "banned" Roberts from ever bringing a snake to the ring again. Savage and Roberts feuded for the next few months. Their first match was at the Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view December 3 in San Antonio, Texas, which saw Savage earn a victory over Roberts; the two continued to brawl after the match, and Roberts eventually gained the upper hand by laying Savage out with a series of DDTs. Roberts then demanded that Elizabeth beg him to stop the assault, but when he was dissatisfied with her pleas, he slapped her 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 Royal Rumble match. The feud ended on Saturday Night's Main Event , with Savage getting the win. Roberts, livid at having lost to him and having received two of Savage's flying elbow drops (one of which happened after the match; Savage was going for a third until officials intervened), was helped backstage. Enraged, he grabbed a steel chair and said that he was going to hit whoever came backstage first, whether it was Savage or Elizabeth. Just as Roberts was about to swing the chair, an unknown person stopped him. Roberts turned to confront this person, who turned out to be the Undertaker; Roberts was distracted long enough for Savage to hit him with the chair instead.

That incident helped set up Roberts' feud with the Undertaker, who along with Bearer were in the midst of a face turn. Roberts appeared on The Funeral Parlor to demand answers from the Undertaker about why he stopped him from attacking Elizabeth. When Roberts was dissatisfied with the answers, he DDT'd Bearer and, after jamming Undertaker's hand in a coffin, began hitting him with a steel chair; however, Undertaker was able to fend off the blows and chased Roberts backstage. At WrestleMania VIII , Roberts lost the match.

Departure [ ]

The WrestleMania VIII match turned out to be Roberts' last for the WWF for nearly four years. Roberts' departure came after he was upset that WWF chairman Vince McMahon did not offer him a position on the writing staff, despite being promised such previously. After Pat Patterson stepped down from his post on the writing staff, McMahon decided that out of respect for Patterson, the spot would be left vacant. Roberts felt he was not only being lied to, but also being betrayed. In response, he threatened to no-show WrestleMania if he was not given a release from his contract.

World Championship Wrestling (1992–1993) [ ]

Roberts went on to work for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) 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. According to the Pick Your Poison DVD, Roberts had initially signed a lucrative contract under Kip Allen Frey , who was running WCW at the time. On the 87th day, Frey stepped down and was replaced by Bill Watts , for whom Roberts had legitimate heat with back in his days at Mid-South Wrestling . Ultimately, Roberts estimates that he went from making about $3.5 million a year to approximately $200,000 a year.

His first major TV wrestling appearance for WCW was at Clash of the Champions , where his team won a 4-man elimination tag match. Roberts scored a pinfall victory over Sting, which built their feud further. His single WCW pay-per-view match was against Sting at Halloween Havoc in 1992. Their match was determined via the Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal gimmick . There was a series of gimmick matches on the wheel, but because the wheel itself was not gimmicked, neither Roberts nor Sting knew the kind of match they'd be wrestling until the wheel stopped spinning. When the wheel stopped, it had landed on what many pundits believed was the worst option—the Coal Miner's Glove match. While it was the company's top-selling PPV for several years, Roberts soon left WCW.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración [ ]

Roberts debuted in the Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in April 1993, causing the defeat of Konnan in the career vs. career match at TripleMania I . Jake's run-in started a feud that lasted until 1994 at TripleMania II-C , in which Konnan managed to defeat Roberts in a hair vs. hair match .

For some months of 1997 Roberts fought again in the AAA, teaming with Gorgeous George III , Glenn Jacobs , and Rick Bognar . This stint was not successful and Roberts left after TripleMania V.

World Wrestling Federation (1996–1997) [ ]

Roberts returned to WWF at the Royal Rumble in 1996, as a Bible-preaching face . To go along with his new gimmick, his new Albino Burmese Python was named "Revelations." His gimmick also mirrored his real life, as Roberts had recently become a born-again Christian and had been preaching around the country.

During his second tenure with the company, Roberts was pushed as a "Cinderella story" and faced "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in the final match of the King of the Ring tournament. Due to injuries received at the hands of Vader in their semi-final match that night, Austin easily defeated him and mocked his recital of the biblical passage John 3:16 by saying "You sit there, and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere... Talk about your Psalms, talk about your John 3:16 ... Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!" . The catch phrase would help propel Austin to the top of the WWF and pro wrestling throughout "The Attitude Era" of the late 1990s to early 2000s. Roberts next feuded with Jerry "The King" Lawler , who went to great lengths to ridicule Roberts' past bouts against alcoholism. At one point, Lawler spat real whiskey at Roberts.

In November 1996, Roberts, Vader, and Brother Love appeared on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World for one episode. In early 1997, the WWF wanted Roberts to wind down his in-ring career and to join the backstage side of the company. Since he still loved to wrestle, he did not make this transition well. This led to a relapse with drugs and alcohol. He was fired in February 1997. According to the Pick Your Poison DVD, after his firing, his long-time wife Cheryl filed for divorce.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1997) [ ]

During the summer of 1997, Jake debuted in ECW . His introduction came towards the end of a match between Lawler and Tommy Dreamer , which was the main event of the show. As the match went on, the arena lights were turned off. Moments later when the lights came back on, Roberts was already in the ring, and had given his signature DDT on Dreamer. He then went to the camera man and screamed; " Your God... he giveth, and he can taketh away. My God, he giveth... but he aint got the balls to do nothin' else ." He promptly clotheslined Lawler, dragging him over Dreamer for the victory in Lawler's favor before exiting the ring.

Beyond the Mat and Heroes of Wrestling [ ]

In 1999, Roberts was unflatteringly featured in the wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat . Throughout the film he made numerous confessions about his tragic past, including the murder of his sister and the collapse of his marriage. Amongst the more disturbing moments was Roberts reportedly smoking crack in a hotel room after a reunion with his daughter Brandy, though the act is not shown on camera. In 2005, Roberts, along with others, heavily criticized the film for showing him in a negative light, complaining that the depiction of him was "not the real Jake Roberts." Roberts also claimed that director Barry Blaustein and Terry Funk lied to him about the aims of the film, telling him it was a television special on the effects of drug and alcohol abuse.

Great Britain; All Star/WAW/Hammerlock/WWE (2001–2005) [ ]

In 2001, Roberts moved to Great Britain, where he began competing for Brian Dixon's All Star Wrestling . In December, he made his debut for Ricky Knight's World Association of Wrestling in Lowestoft. On October 20 , 2002, Roberts became the NWA UK Hammerlock Heavyweight Champion in Maidstone, Kent, England by defeating "Vigilante" Johnny Moss. Moss regained the title the next night in Ashford, Kent, though. In November 2002, Roberts started his own wrestling promotion in the UK, called "Real Stars of Wrestling".

Roberts made his final British appearance at WAW's October Outrage show in Canvey Island, Essex, once again teaming with Steve Quintain against the UK Pitbulls. However, Roberts turned up at the show "in no fit state to compete", but went ahead with his match. Roberts cut a drunken promo paying tribute to Ray Traylor , who had died a few days before, and almost got into a scuffle with several WAW wrestlers who were sent out to defuse the situation. This involved challenging Zak Zodiac, son of Ricky Knight and Sweet Saraya, and who was only 13 at the time, to a fight.

Roberts made a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) appearance on March 14, 2005 on Raw , where he confronted Randy Orton , who was preparing to challenge The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21 . Roberts warned Orton that facing The Undertaker, particularly at WrestleMania, could be a soul-altering experience; he then fell victim to Orton's "RKO," helping to fuel Orton's "Legend Killer" gimmick . He worked with the company to create a DVD retrospective of his career (the aforementioned Pick Your Poison DVD), which was released later that year.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2006–2008) [ ]

Roberts made an appearance on the October 19 , 2006 edition of TNA Impact! . He announced he would referee the Monster's Ball match between Brother Runt , Abyss , Raven , and Samoa Joe at Bound for Glory . Roberts proceeded to cut a rambling, incoherent promo that was barely audible to the live audience. At least once, he ended up on his back during the promo and had trouble getting up. The promo lasted a couple of minutes live but was so incoherent that it was edited down to about 15 seconds on the broadcast of Impact! He had a snake in a bag, which he placed on Brother Runt after Runt came out and confronted Roberts. At one point, he even stuffed the snake's head down the front of Runt's pants. The confrontation was only partially aired on Impact! . At Bound for Glory, he performed his signature DDT on Raven, giving Samoa Joe the win in the match. Roberts did his signature after match ritual by putting a snake (which resembled "Revelations") on Raven.

Roberts made a one-night return to TNA in 2008 as a guest of "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal and SoCal Val 's storyline wedding at Slammiversary .

PWA; Jim Rose Circus and retirement (2008–2011) [ ]

Roberts made an appearance at Booker T 's Houston-based Pro Wrestling Alliance (PWA) promotion, in which he cut a promo urging those who want to enter the wrestling business to not follow along his path. At one point he stated that he loved the wrestling business more than anything else in the world. PWA wrestler "Rockstar" Robbie Gillmore then interrupted Jake and attempted to make an alliance based upon the fact that Robbie wears an 80s style shirt featuring a cobra. Jake had just stated that all he ever wanted was a little respect, and the Rockstar's interruption irritated him. Jake then attacked Gillmore.

In May 2009, Roberts joined the Jim Rose Circus for the Jim Rose Circus vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts: The Legends Collide Tour . Advertised as "a grueling 40 city campaign" containing pretty girls, wrestling, amazing circus stunts, and a fist fight, the tour features Jim Rose and wrestler Sinn Bouldi - Sinn Bowdee as "Team Jake".

On January 29, 2011, Roberts wrestled what was billed as his retirement match, when he defeated Sinn Bowdee at the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) show during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend.

Post in ring retirement (2012–present) [ ]

News circulated beginning in October 2012 that Roberts had moved in with former pro-wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, and was living in Atlanta, Georgia. Page stated that their goal was to get Jake clean, sober, and back in shape through DDP Yoga so that he could make one last pro wrestling run.

At WrestleCon 2013, Roberts announced his desire to return to WWE as a participant in the 2014 Royal Rumble .

On January 6, 2014, Roberts returned on WWE television for the first time in almost nine years as a part of Old School Raw at the end of the CM Punk vs Roman Reigns match, bringing out a new snake with him and aiding The New Age Outlaws and Punk in fending off The Shield .

Gimmick [ ]

Jake Roberts invented the DDT in a match where he had his opponent, The Grappler , in a front facelock, but when Jake tripped over Denton's foot he fell backwards and Roberts' opponent landed on his head. From that match, Roberts claimed the move as his finisher , calling it the DDT, though instead of falling back, he stepped back before falling (which, as he explained on his DVD Pick Your Poison , was the quickest way to drive his opponent's head into the mat and also gave the move a "snap" effect). When asked what the initials DDT stood for, he famously replied "The End." In the 2005 DVD documentary, World Wrestling Entertainment employee Bruce Prichard said Roberts named the move after the pesticide of the same name. Roberts has also said often that "DDT" stands for "Drop Dead Twice". Roberts has further been said to claim it stands for "Don't Do it Twice." Many Jake Roberts critics are quick to point out that he never tells a story the same way twice and that if asked the same question in two separate interviews, Jake Roberts is known for giving two completely different versions of the "honest to God truth".

Roberts derived his nickname for being known as "snake like" and untrustworthy. Roberts also said on the Pick Your Poison DVD that he got his nickname by copying Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken "The Snake" Stabler (of whom Roberts was a huge fan). To accentuate this, he would often slide ("slither") into and out of the ring on his belly under the bottom rope. Once he reached the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in March 1986, Roberts would bring a huge, live Burmese Python (though various snakes were used over the years, most were named "Damien") to ringside in a canvas bag. Other snakes used were a Reticulated Python named Lucifer, who was called Damien's older brother after Earthquake sat on the bag that ( kayfabe ) contained Damien, and the de-venomized Cobra that bit Macho Man Randy Savage . 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. Besides the fact that numerous fellow wrestlers and commentators were legitimately afraid of snakes, it was a masterful show 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 was big with professional wrestling fans.

Personal life [ ]

Roberts is the son of wrestler Grizzly Smith, with whom he had a strained relationship. He has a half-brother, Michael and a half-sister, Robin , both of whom also became wrestlers (Sam Houston and Rockin' Robin). Roberts has a daughter named Brandy Grace (born 29 July 1975) with his first wife Karen S. Rauschuber, whom he married on 27 February 1975.Brandy appeared in the wrestling documentary, Beyond the Mat . Roberts also has a son from his first marriage, named Dustin (born 1980). On 2 August 1984 Roberts married his second wife, Cheryl Dawn Hagood. The couple had 2 children, including a daughter named Codi Dawn (born 1985) before divorcing in 2000.

In 2004, Roberts faced a charge of "causing unnecessary suffering" after his snake, Damien, was allowed to starve to death in the garage of his London Colney home.

In 2007, WWE started a policy that they would pay all expenses for any former WWWF/WWF/WWE performer who needed to enter into any form of drug rehabilitation. According to various wrestling news reports, as well as his own MySpace page, Roberts was placed in a 14-week voluntary rehab program by WWE as of December 10, 2007. In May 2008, Jim Ross reported that, "Jake Roberts has been doing well the past few weeks, after completing a treatment program." / Roberts' official MySpace page reported that he was back to working indy shows. Roberts is an unlockable character in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 , alongside several other legends, such as Stone Cold Steve Austin , Jimmy Snuka , and Terry Funk .

On November 27, 2010, Roberts was inducted into the Legends Pro Wrestling "Hall of Fame" by Jack Blaze in Wheeling, WV at their annual "LPW November To Remember" event.

In wrestling [ ]

• Swinging knee lift - 1975 - 1984 - used as a signature move thereafter
• DDT – from 1984 - innovated
• Short-arm clothesline
• Swinging knee lift
• Alice Cooper ( WrestleMania III )
• Paul Ellering
• Sherri Martel
• Cheryl Roberts (wife)
• Kevin Sullivan
• "The Snake"
• " Snake " by Jim Johnston (1986–1992, 1996–1997, 2005)
• " Trust Me " by Jim Johnston (1992)
• " Satan's Sister " (WCW) 1992
• " Master of the DDT " by L.Velez , J.Papa and M.Hayes (1992)
• " Hiss Me " by Dale Oliver (2006)

Championships and accomplishments [ ]

• Americas Wrestling Federation
• AWF Puerto Rican Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Georgia Championship Wrestling
• NWA National Television Championship ( 1 time )
• NWA World Television Championship (Georgia version) ( 1 time )
• Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
• NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship ( 1 time ) - with Jay Youngblood
• Mid-South Wrestling
• Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time )
• Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship ( 2 times )
• Mid-South Television Championship ( 1 time )
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
• PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year award in 1996
• PWI ranked him # 100 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
• Smoky Mountain Wrestling
• SMW Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time )
• Stampede Wrestling
• Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time )
• World Class Championship Wrestling
• WCCW Six Man Tag Team Championship ( 1 time ) - with Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez
• WCCW Television Championship ( 1 time )
• WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2014)

External links [ ]

• 1 Von Erich family
• 2 The Tonga Twins
• 3 Kerry Von Erich

• Sports Betting
• Sports Entertainment

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Jake roberts: a&e’s wwe doc ‘went to great lengths’ showing my fall, redemption.

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Jake “The Snake” Roberts once had a dream other than becoming one of the biggest professional wrestling stars ever.

Before Aurelian Smith Jr. ever stepped in a ring he hoped to be an architect, having a love of working with wood and buildings. But at 18, he decided to give wrestling a try to prove his toughness to his infamous father Grizzly Smith. Roberts was expecting a triumphant night before heading to college, but instead was embarrassed during his match and scolded by his dad. It led to him “praying to the devil” to help him one day become a bigger wrestling star than his father.

Being a traditional architect was out the window.

“I’ve built crossbows. I’ve built guns, I’ve built all sorts of things,” Roberts said on Zoom call sitting in front of a wooden china hutch he built at 18. “I built a house full of furniture for my first marriage, but I loved working with wood. I think I would have been very successful, but I’m very fortunate that I did fall into the wrestling because I think I’ve been an architect in many ways because I helped build a lot of people.”

After a childhood lived under a cloud of sexual abuse, that night set him on a path to creating one of the best personas in wrestling history while helping build some of the company’s top stars in the process. There were also the lows of being away from his family and drug and alcohol addiction that left him wanting to die before getting help in 2012. Roberts, who has been sober for 10 years, now wants to show others you can come back from anything.

“That there’s hope,” Roberts said when asked what he wants people to take away from the documentary. “That no matter how far down somebody is there’s hope. We went to great lengths to show how far down I went and the road to recovery.”

All of it is covered in the latest documentary in A&E’s “Biography: WWE Legends” series airing Sunday at 8 p.m. It provides an inside and very raw look at Roberts’ life. It is the first time we hear some of his kids’ feelings about the pain his absence caused and the healing that has brought him back into their lives. The documentary opens with Roberts, who has eight children, fishing on a boat with two of his sons, Derek and Dustin. It’s a moment he doesn’t take for granted.

“Me and the boys, we go fishing and all sorts of things,” Roberts said. “I try to get involved with the grandkids and I’ve just truly been blessed.”

Roberts, 67, said there are still moments “where I get really down on myself when I realize how much I missed” because he was on the road wrestling and later in his life battling addiction. At one point in the documentary, Derek says “I can’t imagine as a father not doing that [everything] for your own kids.” His daughter Brandy tells a story about how she drove her and her dad from Texas to Georgia in 1993 while he smoked crack the entire time. She says things were so bad in 1998 she “was grateful when he stayed away.” Roberts, who still has four of his kids who currently don’t want him back in their lives, said it was a gradual process getting accepted back by the other four – starting with asking for forgiveness.

“You start getting involved, go to church with the kids, do this with the kids, and become involved in what they’re doing and not what you’re doing,” he said. “Because it’s not about me anymore, it’s about them.”

Roberts always had a complicated family reality because his father was a pedophile with young women. His half-sister Robin speculates in the documentary that their dad likely pushed Roberts’ stepmother to molest and beat him as a child. He said “you were constantly on guard” and “try to read that person you were afraid” was gonna hurt you.

“It’s hard to hide in a small house,” he said. “So you go to find things to do. You got to have outlets and when the time comes and you know things are gonna happen then you just try to go through that and find a hole to hide in within yourself while it’s going on. Afterward, you just got to know that it’s not you, it’s them that’s sick.”

In wrestling, Roberts got to be someone else when he walked through the curtain and the documentary gives you a look at the journey, which did not include going to a wrestling school. After the ill-fated night at 18, he learned the business through trial and error and got his “ass handed to me” often by veterans over his first two years. He said that often instead of following his partner’s lead he would try something at the wrong place and time during a match.

Once he began coming into his own, he stumbled into his famous DDT when “The Grappler” stepped on his left foot and he fell “flat on his ass.” The accident became one of pro wrestling’s most devastating and protected finishers and changed Roberts’ career.  

“That first time I knew that son bitch was gold,” Roberts said.

While working in Mid-South in 1986 he caught the eye of Vince McMahon and WWE – then the WWF. McMahon wanted to add a live snake to his persona. The only problem was Roberts was deathly afraid of them – and still is today. Somehow he overcome that when he stepped out into an arena.

“I don’t think anybody can say they ever saw me scared of that damn snake,” Roberts said. “Because something would just happen because when I would walk out of that damn locker room, it was like a switch being clicked and, I was no long Aurelian Smith, I became Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts then and Jake ‘The Snake’ didn’t give a f—k about anything.”

It led to a persona that Roberts agreed was ahead of its time in the 1980s with the shock value of a live snake moving around in a bag and on opponents – including the famous scene of one biting a tied-up “Macho Man” Randy Savage in the ropes. Roberts’ slow, methodical and intense promo style was the opposite of the loud and boisterous ones of that era.

“People were looking for somebody who they couldn’t see through,” Roberts said. “Being as good and great as Hulk [Hogan] was there was some corn in that, a little too much in believability. I always kept it very, very real. You couldn’t see through my s—t.”

One of the big avenues the documentary gets into is Roberts as wrestling’s first anti-hero. It likely happened before the industry was ready for one. The WWE Hall of Famer never won a singles title in WWE, partly Roberts said he believes because McMahon was “afraid” of relying on him because of his issues outside the ring. The reactions he was getting in the ring didn’t help either. Roberts does believe he may have played better during WWE’s “Attitude Era.” That famous period of wrestling popularity was led by the anti-hero “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who Roberts helped create at King of the Ring 1996.  

“I probably would have been able to go further with it [during the Attitude Era],” Roberts said. “But at the time, whenever the fans started chanting ‘DDT’ and I was with Hogan that was not a good thing and it cost me a lot of money. It’s pretty impossible to invest in somebody that might not be there in the end, that he’s a loose cannon, who can’t guide him, you can’t control it.”

After Roberts’ second run in WWE ended in 1997, he would pop up around the industry from time to time in ECW, WWE and TNA. Roberts attempted to go to rehab, but it wasn’t until 2012 that he hit rock bottom. He described it as “living in a s—thole” and you’re not sure if you have enough money to eat for the week or pay the rent. You don’t have a car because you’ve already sold it and you “don’t give a f—k.” 

“All you think about is where you’re gonna get your next hit and you didn’t care what you did to do it,” Roberts said. “Does that mean I got to sell some furniture? OK, f–k it. But when you get to the bottom, brother, it’s a lonely cold place. I stayed there for some period of time. … I was trying to die at the time.”

That led to him reaching out to his friend Diamond Dallas Page and living with him for the next two years. Roberts finally got sober, all of which is chronicled in the “ Resurrection of Jake the Snake ” documentary. He said the most important thing was creating new habits to replace his destructive ones, something he didn’t feel traditional rehab provided.

It’s allowed him to truly feel good about himself for the first time in a long time. There is a point in the A&E documentary where he happily says, “I’m that guy that’s doing the right thing.” Being able to do so without “lying” has been freeing.

“It’s so good,” Roberts said. “That’s the thing about me now, I don’t have to lie. I don’t have to walk around the corner and hide something. I can wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and go, ‘You know what dude, you’re a bad son of bitch. You got your s—t right.’”

It’s why Roberts, who is currently working backstage with AEW after a run as Lance Archer’s on-screen manager, wants his story to be an inspiration for others trying to break their own cycle of addiction and help them rebuild their lives.

“Hopefully I’m building a lot of people as we speak, showing them a way out of their alcohol addiction or your drug addiction,” Roberts said. “It’s showing them that things are possible.”

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Interview With Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts

“Jake was such a strong character, such a strong persona, he never needed to be champion, he just needed to be Jake The Snake.” Those were the words of Arn Anderson to Inside The Ropes recently when he discussed the legacy of the WWE legend that is Jake Roberts.

Roberts would cement his legacy as one of wrestling’s biggest characters through his incredible promos, wonderful in-ring psychology and affinity with snakes but, as detailed in our recent Wrestler Spotlight on Jake in Issue 6 of Inside The Ropes Magazine, it was his battles outside the ring that made headlines after being bitten by addiction and suffering several health woes. Thanks to some assistance from Diamond Dallas Page, though, Roberts is a man reborn – and is now ready to tell the tale of the start of his life and career in an upcoming book, as Roberts recently told Inside The Ropes ‘ Lead Writer Gary Cassidy.

So thank you so much for taking the time. The first thing I have to ask, last year, obviously, you announced that you were suffering from COPD . We wouldn’t know it from your recent appearances in AEW and you said on Twitter recently that your lungs will actually outlive the rest of you if you don’t smoke again. I need to ask firstly, how are you doing health-wise? Are you feeling good?

You know, I’ve got some issues that I have to watch, but it’s getting better all the time because I did quit smoking. That’s really hard to do. I will be around for a long time, I have grandkids I want to hang out with now. I want to make somebody else miserable, so have fun. Yeah, I’m doing much better.

That’s absolutely great to hear. It looks like you’ve been doing a lot better, at least. We’re going to talk a lot more about the start of your career, because I know you’ve got a book coming out, but I think I need to ask you a couple of things first, if that’s OK. I normally start off by apologising for my accent, but I know you’re actually quite familiar with Scotland and Glasgow. You actually ran a now-legendary seminar in East Kilbride, in a post office, where you pointed to former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre as being someone that was going to make it big. Do you remember much about that seminar, and why did you think he was going to make it?

Sure, I remember it, I remember saying, “He’s going to make it.” But, yeah, he’s a hell of a talent, man. I’m so happy for the guy.

The best thing about that entire thing is just knowing Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts was teaching a future WWE Champion in a post office in Glasgow. I actually heard that you lived in Glasgow for a bit! Is that true?

I don’t remember if that’s true or not, bro.

We’ll forgive you for that! In the words of DDP, you’ve had more lives than a cat! Your upcoming book covers a lot of your early career, I believe, pre-WWE, leading up to your first run with the company. Do we have a name for the book yet, or a release date?

I don’t have a title for it yet. I don’t have a date. I would say within the next three months, four months at the most. It will be worth worth waiting for. It’s going to be special, man.

I can’t wait for it. I recently wrote an article for the Inside The Ropes Magazine , all about your first run in WWF and doing my research on leading up to that point made me excited to read it! I need to ask. Your run as a heel in WWF was absolutely incredible but, despite doing despicable things, the crowd cheered for you so much, it essentially put the kibosh on a potential WWF Title run. Some of the things you done to be hated… You slapped Elizabeth, you had a snake bite Randy Savage’s arm. How easy or difficult was it to do those things? Did you struggle with any of your more sinister actions?

No. Me just being myself, going out there and having fun, that’s what I was doing, and I was very fortunate at the time to have people in place to take care of me. It was good, man.

Definitely – and it did all build this incredible character that’s one of the most iconic in wrestling history. Another of those is The Undertaker, who recently said you gave him advice on character during his earlier years. Do you recall that, and do you have any fond memories of working with the Undertaker or how he was in the locker room?

Yeah. When Mark first came up there, I realised he was going to be special and, if given the opportunity, and he was given the opportunity and he went along with it – we all know that – but I told him in the beginning that he was going to be a superstar, you know, that he would have that opportunity.

Vince picks who he wants and Vince picked Mark to go a long way, and he did. I’m happy for him, very happy for him.

One person I spoke with yesterday about an iconic Jake the Snake moment that I love is Jon Moxley . You’re both in AEW now but, back in WWE, you returned to RAW, hit Moxley, then Dean Ambrose, with a DDT, you put the snake on him and he had the biggest smile on his face . What do you remember from that, and were you meant to do more in the ring after that? It seemed like you were kind of teasing more appearances.

Yeah. Well, at the time, I was trying to get in line for the Rumble, but that didn’t happen. It’s probably a good thing it didn’t. But that’s done.

At the time, actually, Moxley… It really wasn’t Moxley’s fault because CM Punk, who was right there, told Moxley, “Oh, my God, the snake s*** on your chest,” so that’s why Moxley couldn’t stop laughing.

One other thing that had been speculated – you were mentioned on-screen as possibly being the “Higher Power” on RAW by Vince McMahon. Was that ever talked about behind the scenes as a potential plan at all?

Just using the iconic jake roberts name to generate some buzz so, a lot of people always bring up the fact that jake roberts didn’t win a championship in wrestling. my argument for that is that your arm was busy carrying something more important, in damien or lucifer, and that the very same arm created one of the most iconic moves in wrestling – the ddt. i won’t ask about the name as i know you’ve said many times it was from a bottle of poison (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) and not damien’s death trap. i want to ask your thoughts on that move, though, and how it’s used so regularly nowadays. has it been diminished, or is it a good thing as no-one will ever do it like jake roberts.

Well, you know, the guys have really messed with using it as a high spot just to show all the fans that they’re not as good as I was. So, every time they use it, it reminds people how good I was. So I think it was pretty funny.

You know, today they just… They don’t use a lot of things properly and it’s sad but hopefully AEW is trying to do some things a little differently, I know I’ve met some people there and they’re trying to change the way things are done in the ring, so we’ll have to wait and see. Good wrestling may be coming.

The one thing I love about AEW is how they treat and use legends – the way you joined the company was incredible, you’ve got people like Arn Anderson, who you shared the for the first time ever in AEW, which is mind-blowing. Obviously, Sting is going to be wrestling there. DDP had a match. Tully Blanchard’s going to have a match. Does Jake The Snake have one more match in him? I know your last match was a six-man in 2018. Might we see some more physicality in AEW?

Probably. [He laughs]

You know, even though I shouldn’t. But if my health starts to get to a point where I feel like it’s safe, I definitely would, because I still love it. it’s hard to give it up, man, it really is.

Yeah, we definitely saw that from The Undertaker’s documentary, that thing of always chasing a dream match. He found the perfect final opponent in AJ Styles. Is there anyone you have your eye on if it were to become possible to have one more match?

No, not really.

I still want to do Bray Wyatt. I think we should have a Stripper’s Pole Match.

Well, that brings me perfectly to something else I wanted to talk about! Being 30, I’ve had to go back to watch most of the iconic Jake Roberts stuff I saw as a child, but one of my key memories from your career was actually in WCW. The Coal Miner’s Glove Match against Sting! How did that come about, and how do you look back on the Coal Miner’s Glove Match?

Yeah. It was tit for tat, we just had to go for it. I hadn’t wrestled Sting much and he obviously hadn’t seen much of me. We’re still professionals, man, so you’ve got to go out there and, when the bell rang, you’ve got to be ready to go. I thought the stripper’s pole, the Coal Miner’s Glove was probably the worst idea. There ain’t no way in hell I’m going up that pole.

One of the other things that sticks in my mind, and one of the most heartbreaking moments for me was Earthquake killing Damien. How did that come about? And with Lucifer replacing Damien later, was it an immediate regret when it happened or was that something that you wanted to do?

Well, that was an idea that was brought up and we went with it and the only thing that I called attention to was, Vince wanted it to happen where and I didn’t see Earthquake do the damage to Damien, but I argued with him on that and said it’s more important this guy ties me to the ropes, and this guy to show me what he’s doing. Because that’s really evil.

That really shows a lot of strong hate, man. For anybody, you’re caught in that position of being tied in the ropes, you can’t do a damn thing about what’s going on… It really gets to people and that got a lot of people. RSPCA gave me a hard time!

That brings me on to something else! You mentioned that you actually used to be scared of snakes, but it became crucial to your character. What people didn’t see was you actually travelled with, and shared a hotel room with, the snakes – which changed weekly! I’ve heard you played chicken with the snakes in your hotel room. Can you tell me about that? What was that relationship like of having to get used to a new snake every week and having to teach them while being scared of them?

You can’t really get used to them, you know, they don’t have much of a personality, you know. They really give you a hard time, in a hotel room, they really didn’t like hotel rooms. They destroy rooms.

I played chicken with the cobra because I knew that I could beat it, you know. The only time it got me was when the phone would ring or something and I’d forget what I was doing, turn my attention to the phone and then he would get me, but he doesn’t have fangs, he has teeth, so it didn’t really hurt that bad – so it was fun, man.

I think a lot of people may have a different perception of fun than Jake Roberts! Recently, I interviewed Diamond Dallas Page , a man you obviously know really well, and he mentioned how different you are now. He said, you’re a whole different cat, you’ve got a whole new life and doing your one man shows and being with AEW is something you love. What’s your relationship with Diamond Dallas Page? What do you think of DDP?

He’s done very well. You know, we had friendship a long time ago that started this whole thing, so we’re still living off of that.

The thing with Dallas is, the reason I helped Dallas was because he was so hungry, he wanted to learn. And I’ve always been one that felt like it’s my duty to teach people how to do it right. That’s the reason I helped the guy. He took it and he went with it, and he did pretty damn well, so kudos to him. We still talk all the time, and he’s done very well with the yoga and some other projects that he’s done. So keep going, man, just keep going.

I know your book is going to cover everything up to your first run and we’ve spoken a little bit about that run. One of the most iconic Jake the Snake things you’ve been involved with was in your second run, and the iconic Stone Cold Steve Austin ‘Austin 3:16’ promo at King of the Ring in 1996. Can you tell me about that? What are your memories of that time?

It was very smart. He knew exactly what he wanted to do and he did it, man. He took the pieces that were on the table and he made them go together. He was a great worker, he twisted and turned. As far as the 3:16 thing, man, that had been it’s been coming for a long time. I mean, in the States mostly, you seen it at all the football games, there was always somebody with that sign, so it was just Stone Cold doing it at the right time because there was a lot of focus on the match.

Another kind of sad thing that I always remember that was pretty emotive seeing on-screen… Obviously your battles with addiction have been well-documented and how you’ve amazingly overcome them, we got the Resurrection of Jake the Snake, but you were involved in a famous rivalry with Jerry the King Lawler, where he tried to force feed you a bottle of Jim Beam. How did you cope with that? Was that the kind of thing that you had any reluctance or hesitancy to do – or did you see it as part of the storytelling?

Well, I thought it was a horrible thing for McMahon to ask me to do. It was cheap, it was disrespectful, it didn’t prove a damn thing other than the fact that Vince McMahon’s an asshole, so there you go. Lawler, he’s in the the same boat. Both assholes.

It was particularly difficult to watch so I can only imagine how difficult it was to actually be part of. You’re in AEW now and working with Lance Archer, and even had a “first” recently when you shared the ring with Arn Anderson ! I know you only signed for ten appearances then Cody was so happy with your work, he wanted to keep you around. What’s it been like working with Cody and how long will we see you in AEW?

Well, they’re going to see me as long as they want me. I think that there’s a great opportunity for them to use my knowledge.

If they don’t, it’s a mistake, but I think Cody Rhodes and the powers that be… Mr. Khan is a very wise man, he’s a great man, a good man, and I wish AEW nothing but the best, but I think they’re going to get some knowledge out of this old man and put it to use out there for some of the guys. It’s certainly my dream.

As far as how long? As long as they want me, man.

Fingers crossed, and obviously you are one of the most iconic characters in wrestling. You mentioned passing on that knowledge to the Undertaker in the past and in AEW now. Is there any younger talents in AEW that you look at and go, “Oh, they’ve got potential, they are going to be huge at one point”?

Yeah, absolutely! Darby… The Latin Sex God…

Sammy Guevara.

Yes. There’s a couple other guys that have it too but it’s all about evolving. You can’t just stop in the middle of the song and quit. You’ve got to keep on going. So it will be interesting to see these guys develop.

Yeah, I can’t wait to see how it goes. I’ve got two final questions, just to bring it back to your WWF days. I was a little bit young for this, but looking back, I always wondered, it seemed like yourself and Bret Hart were on a collision course in 1992 that never quite happened as you didn’t both stay in the company. Were there any plans, in 1992, for a Jake the Snake vs Bret Hart rivalry?

One of the things i had to ask as that would have been an incredible rivalry we did see some incredible jake the snake matches. your incredible promo ability and character work somehow seem to overshadow your legacy of being a great worker in terms of in-ring psychology. you shared the ring with some of the greats – ricky steamboat, randy savage, rick rude – but who, for jake roberts, is the best in-ring worker of all time.

I don’t know. I don’t know. You need different guys for different reasons that are just phenomenal. Steamboat was known for his ability to sell, I was known for my ability to talk and get the most out of anything, because of my psychology. There’s a lot to be said for the fact, then you start going on the other side of the fence and you’ve got the Road Warriors and guys like that just went in there and brutalised people, tossed people around – that’s not great wrestling. That’s not great wrestling. Yeah, so I don’t know. I don’t know, but it could be me. I don’t know.

I’m most definitely not going to argue with Jake Roberts, I’ll tell you that much. Thank you so much for taking the time, Jake! I can’t wait to read the book, and best of luck with your health and career in the future.

I appreciate you very much. Thank you for having me on, let’s do it again sometime – and you know, do me a favour and help somebody. Just help somebody. That’s all. If we all help somebody, we’ll all live better lives.

Thank you so much to Jake Roberts for taking the time.

You can keep up to date with all the news about Jake Roberts’ upcoming book via Twitter and his official website .

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Jake Roberts

On this page, you find the full wrestling profile of Jake Roberts , with his Career History , real name, age, height and weight, the Promotions he worked for, all the Face/Heel turns, the Championship Titles he won, his Finishers, Theme Songs, Tag Teams and Stables, his appearance changes through the years, and more.

Aurelian Jake Smith Jr. was born in Gainesville, Texas on May 30, 1955, and he is currently 68 years old.

He is currently a Manager, working for AEW , under the ring name of Jake Roberts .

Jake Roberts was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014 as an individual and in the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) in 2020 as part of the Modern Era wing.

Profile Info

• Gender Male
• Real Name Aurelian Jake Smith Jr.
• Jake Roberts ( September 10, 1977 - Present )
• The Texan ( March 4, 1993 - March 14, 1993 )
• Jake Smith Jr. ( September 16, 1975 - December 1, 1975 )
• Born May 30, 1955 (age 68)

• Birth Place Gainesville, Texas
• Stone Mountain, Georgia
• Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
• 249 lbs (113 kg)
• Nicknames The Snake; The Founder of The DDT

Career History

• Manager ( March 4, 2020 - Present )
• Wrestler ( September 16, 1975 - August 21, 2018 )

• DDT ( September 16, 1975 - August 21, 2018 )
• Theme Song "Snake" by Jim Johnston - Single ( January 21, 1996 - March 1, 1997 )
• Theme Song "Master of the DDT" by L.Velez,J.Papa & M.Hayes - Single ( August 2, 1992 - October 25, 1992 )
• Theme Song "Trust Me" by Jim Johnston - Single ( February 1, 1992 - April 5, 1992 )
• Theme Song "Snake" by Jim Johnston - Single ( March 2, 1986 - January 31, 1992 )

Titles & Accomplishments

• WWE Hall of Fame - Year 2014 , Individual
• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) - Year 2020 , Modern Era

All-Star Wrestling Network (Georgia)

• 1 AWN World Heavyweight Champion

Americas Wrestling Federation

• 1 AWF Puerto Rican Heavyweight Championship

Bad Boys of Wrestling

• 1 BBOW Heavyweight Championship

Georgia Championship Wrestling

• 1 NWA National Television Championship
• 2 NWA World Television Championship (Georgia version)

Mid-South Wrestling Association

• 1 Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Championship
• 2 Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship
• 1 Mid-South Television Championship

Smoky Mountain Wrestling

• 1 SMW Heavyweight Championship

Stampede Wrestling

• 1 Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship

World Class Championship Wrestling

• 1 NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (with Chris Adams & Gino Hernandez)
• 1 WCCW Television Championship
• LPW Hall of Fame induction (class of 2010)
• Cauliflower Alley Club's Inductee (2013)
• GCW One Night Tournament Winner (1984)
• PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1996)
• The Barbarian ( April 10, 1985 - August 28, 1985 )
• Wrestlers managed Dutch / Bill Carr , Lance Archer , Vincent / Vinny Marseglia

Jake Roberts Games Appearances (27)

Wwe main series (11/24).

Other Games (16)

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Jake Roberts (II)

IMDbPro Starmeter See rank

• Contact info

• Sam (as Jake 'The Snake' Roberts)

• Jake 'The Snake' Roberts

• 1986 • 9 eps

• Post-production
• The Stranger
• Pre-production

• Jake the Snake Roberts

• 60 episodes

• Jake the Snake

• Jake Roberts

• Remy (as Jake 'The Snake" Roberts)

• 13 episodes

• Doyle the Dart Player
• Dart Playing Thug (voice, as Jake 'The Snake' Roberts)

Personal details

• Jake "The Snake" Roberts
• 6′ 5″ (1.96 m)
• May 30 , 1955
• Gainesville, Texas, USA
• Spouses Judy Lynn February 17, 2006 - August 18, 2011 (divorced)
• Relatives Robin Smith (Sibling)
• Other works Infomercial: Appeared (as "Jake the Snake Roberts") in an infomercial for "Diamond Dallas Page Yoga".
• 3 Biographical Movies
• 1 Portrayal

Did you know

• Trivia His King Cobra actually bit the "Macho Man" Randy Savage . The snake had been de-venomised, though.
• Quotes [describing how he handled dealing with his neck and back injury from the guitar shot he took on The Snake Pit from Wayne Farris , aka The Honky Tonk Man] I took so many downers, muscle relaxers and painkillers to kill the pain that I had to have something to get me up for the show.
• Trademarks Brings a bag with a snake down to ringside
• How old is Jake Roberts?
• When was Jake Roberts born?
• Where was Jake Roberts born?

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