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The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Top 5 Jake Roberts Matches/Moments

September 19, 2014 | Posted by Larry Csonka

The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. We take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to participate and give us their Top 5 on said topic. So, onto this week’s topic…

Week 281 – Top 5 Jake Roberts Matches/Moments

Name your top 5 Jake Roberts Matches and or Moments!

MICHAEL WEYER
5. vs. Randy Savage, Saturday Night’s Main Event, November, 1986 In the late ’80’s, you just didn’t see heel vs. heel matches that much and so this SNME encounter was very notable as Roberts challenged Savage for the Intercontinental title. Both guys were great, starting with wristholds before hair pulling, each hamming it up cheating for the crowd, who loved it. It’s interesting how, on commentary, both Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura figured the crowd would back the flashy champ Savage and were surprised they sided with Jake. They just fired it up more and more, trading brutal shots, double axe handle vs. short-arm clothesline, Jake close to a DDT but Savage getting out and the tide turning back and forth. In the end, both ended up shoving the ref to cause a double-DQ but still a great battle that boosted both men nicely and began Jake’s turn to a face which he fitted in well.

4. Embarrassing the Ravishing One In 1988, Rick Rude was established as one of the best heels around, his ring skills matched by his oozing arrogance and declaring himself God’s gift to women. This included calling a woman to the ring to kiss her into a faint. When Roberts asked a woman to the ring, she refused, saying she was married and, in fact, was Cheryl, Jake’s real wife. Rude went on about how he was the better man and Cheryl didn’t deserve him, causing Roberts to come out in a rage to attack Rude. This led to some fun altercations such as a TV match where Rude beat a jobber and then peeled off his tights to show another pair with Cheryl’s face on them. As Rude did his posing, Jake ran in and yanked his tights down in the ring, a censor mark on TV but fans in the ring howling as the humiliated Rude rushed to the back. Another great feud for Jake and a showcase on how well real life can work into a wrestling program.

3. “Oh my God, it’s Jake Roberts!” WWF was in transition in 1992 and Roberts (his personal demons popping up more and more) was on his way out. He did leave putting over the Undertaker at WrestleMania VIII before heading to WCW, although it was rough as Bill Watts literally ripped up the cushy deal Jake had made and forced him to sign on for more money. But Jake made up for it in his debut on August 2nd in Baltimore. Sting had been slated to challenge WCW Champion Vader and got involved in an earlier match. Coming out in street clothes, Jake attacked Sting, one of the big surprise debuts for many, Jim Ross selling it well on commentary. Jake hit Sting with a pair of DDT’s on the chair, sending him off to the hospital and setting up Ron Simmons to beat Vader for the belt later. Roberts would do fantastic promos on how “the devil made me do it” and promising more. The pay-off would not be nice (“Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal”) but debuting by taking out the company’s biggest star was a move Jake could handle well and kicked off a new cycle to his career.

2. The cobra biting Randy Savage Turning heel after years as a face, Roberts was going pretty wicked, altering his act to more sinister to win folks over. He and the Undertaker attacked Randy Savage at his reception after marrying Elizabeth with a king cobra in a box and a run-in. Roberts was mocking Savage, “retired” at the time and lured him into the ring for an attack. He wrapped Savage into the ropes and proceeded to have his king cobra bite Savage on the arm, a freaky as hell sight for so many to see. It put Roberts over as a monster and helped set up a wild feud, showing the amazing psychology the Snake always had to win you over.

1. DDTing Ricky Steamboat, Saturday Night’s Main Event, May, 1986 Roberts had been in WWF for a few months at this point and while he was getting attention with Damien and such, wasn’t really a huge name yet. That changed with this segment on SNME as he was set to face Ricky Steamboat. As Steamboat stood on the apron waving to fans, Roberts ran over to clothesline him off the apron and to the floor. Roberts then grabbed Steamboat and, in a move truly extreme for 1986 WWF, gave him a DDT on the concrete. A fun story is that Roberts warned Steamboat this was a bad idea but Steamboat insisted, saying he’d block it. He was wrong and was legitimately knocked out cold. Roberts went ahead to roll him into the ring and drape his snake over the Dragon’s unconscious body. This set up a great feud between them and sold Roberts as a total bad-ass that would keep to his persona for a long time.

Dino Zee
5. Pre-Match Interview, WrestleMania 6 – This is one of my favorite interviews, as Jake lays out what his match with Ted DiBiase is all about – making DiBiase pay for his sins. “Wallowing in the muck of avarice.” It’s just so freaking awesome.

4. Survivor Series 1989 – Basically, I loved the team of Demolition, Jake, and Hulk Hogan. Just an unreal collection of talent, and a good representative of who was doing the ass kicking at a main event level, a sub-main event level, and at the tag team level. The match itself wasn’t an all time classic, but this is a top Jake moment for me. Hell of a team.

3. 1996 Return – Down and out, Jake had been written off, until his return in 1996 proved he still had a lot to give. Without this return, we never get the Austin 3:16 promo, which makes it weird to think of all the things that have to happen for something huge like that to work out. Jake worked feuds with Camp Cornette, Austin, and Jerry Lawler before leaving (and eventually succumbing to the same demons again), but this was still a fun run that showed the kids what Jake the Snake was all about.

2. Stopping Andre in his tracks – I was a youngster when Jake and Andre the Giant crossed paths on that fateful Saturday Night’s Main Event. When Jake threw Damien at Andre, and Andre fell to the ground with Bobby Heenan frantically pounding on his chest in a failed attempt to revive the Giant, I knew I had seen something huge. Andre had never looked so fragile as he did in this confrontation, and for me, it made Jake an even scarier presence than he already was.

1. Hall of Fame, 2014 – Jake Roberts had been, for the 2000s at least, a punchline. Swinging his snake around like it was his own anatomy and being overall drunk at Heroes of Wrestling, his appearance in Beyond the Mat, and all the other stories we’d seen/read had dropped his stock. When it was announced he had signed up with DDP to get back in shape, I’d say at best that people were cautiously optimistic. A goal of returning at the Royal Rumble seemed to be a dream that would never come true, but it was still nice that he was working for something. When it was announced he’d be in the 2014 Hall of Fame, we wondered what kind of shape he’d be in. Jake’s speech that night was a nice gift for those of us who had always hoped he’d pull it together. He got to thank the fans, and we the fans got to thank him. Nothing tops that for me.

JUSTIN WATRY
5. Snake Bite – Very few wrestling clips can be shown time and time again from generation to generation. Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant is obvious. Stone Cold beating Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14 is up there. Pretty big moments. For me, one of those timeless clips is seeing that scary snake all over Randy Savage. Keep Indiana Jones away from that ring. Young or old, Jake The Snake Roberts carrying his snake (save the jokes) around was creepy. Macho Man found out first hand of that…

4. DDT/Psychology – Not really a match or moment. However, it needs to be mentioned. I am not going to pretend to care one bit about wrestling from the old days or carnival style. I have zero interest and could NOT care less (see how that phrase is used properly folks). That being said, nearly every single legend, historian, reporter, wrestler, and everything in between raves about how the DDT belonged to Jake Roberts. How he used the move. How it meant something. How his psychology played into it. How it just fit his character soooooooo well. For that, you cannot help but give props to him for his contributions to the wrestling business.

3. Beyond The Mat – Like it or not, this is what most people recognize Jake Roberts for. What SHOULD have been a real eye-opening scene for him and the biggest opportunity to turn his life around was not meant to be sadly. Instead, he looked about as bad as can be…and did nothing about it afterwards to improve his life. Now you can look back and see what casual wrestling fans see with this industry and understand their viewpoint. Right or wrong, I STILL get people bringing up Jake Roberts and Scott Hall to me, and guess what folks? It is NOT about any match, win, or wrestling moment with them. Nope. It is about Beyond the Mat with Roberts and/or the ESPN special with Hall. That is just the reality of the situation. Harsh but true.

2. Redemption – Everything I just talked about above? Yeah, welcome to 2014. WWE held their annual Old School edition of WWE Raw earlier in the year. It was kind of ‘blah’ to be honest. Nothing really stood out, and the appearances did not feel special at all. Kind of ‘in the way’ more than anything else…until the ending of the show. Thanks to the help of DDP, friends, and family, Jake Roberts had gotten on the right track in life and SHOCKED the world by returning to WWE on RAW!!! One of the most surprising scenes of the year. Despite any thoughts on the whole thing, you had to be happy for the guy. Just a super cool moment whether you were a fan of his or not…

1. WWE Hall Of Fame Induction – No explanation needed.

Mike Chin
5. Manipulating the Ultimate Warrior – As The Ultimate Warrior prepared to wage war with The Undertaker, Jake Roberts offered to teach him how to tap into and handle the dark side. It turned out to be a ruse as Roberts was in cahoots with ‘Taker all along. Campy as the vignettes may have been, the program offered an intriguing dark edge to another otherwise cartoony WWF landscape at the time.

4. Putting Over Steve Austin – Bible-thumping, sober Jake Roberts may not have been the most iconic, fun, or entertaining iteration of “The Snake,” but he did offer a near-perfect foil for upstart, badass Steve Austin, and provided perfect fodder for Austin’s iconic “Austin 3:16” promo when he beat Roberts to become King of the Ring.

3. Feuding with Rick Rude – Not entirely unlike Randy Savage, Jake Roberts turned in some of his best work when his hubby’s honor was at stake. Rick Rude made passes at Roberts’s wife, culminating in painting her likeness on his tights, lending some real fire to a heated program between two guys who probably deserved to graduate to the main event level.

2. Hall of Fame – I, like many, had my doubts as to whether Jake Roberts would ever make the Hall of Fame, not because I doubted his worthiness, but rather because I wasn’t confident he would survive until that day. But survive he did and Roberts went on to deliver and honest and unforgettable speech upon his induction.

1. Terrorizing Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth – The combined effect of Roberts hiding a king cobra among the wedding gifts and later tying Savage to the ring ropes so a snake could bite The Macho Man’s arms always ranked as high-water marks for heel work in my book.