Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. (born May 30, 1955) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for wrestling with WWF, WCW and ECW under the ring name, Jake "The Snake" Roberts. He is a second generation wrestler because his father is Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith. He was known for bringing out snakes during his matches, one of his snakes being a python named Damien.
| Jake Roberts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ring name(s) | Jake Roberts Jake Smith, Jr. El Diablo The Texan |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (120 kg) |
| Born | May 30, 1950 (73) Gainesville, Texas |
| Billed from | Stone Mountain, Georgia |
| Debut | May 13, 1974 |
| Retired | January 30, 2011 |
He made a surprise return on the January 6, 2014 episode of Raw titled Old School Raw and dumped a snake on the face of a downed Dean Ambrose.[1] On the January 27, 2014 episode of Raw, Jerry Lawler announced that Roberts was the second entrant in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2014.[2]
Health
During his life, he suffered from alcohol and drug addiction. He moved in with former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page to help get his life back on track.[3]
In February 2014, it was reported by TMZ that Roberts had been suffering from muscular cancer below his knee, and was scheduled to go into surgery for it on the 25th. Responding to the article, Roberts was quoted as saying "If the devil can't defeat me, cancer doesn't stand a chance in hell! Pray for sick children who face this horrible disease 'cause The Snake will be just fine."[4] In July 2014, Roberts announced that he was cancer-free, as various operations had been successful.[5]
On August 28 2014, he got sick during a flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas where he was supposed to attend a birthday event for wrestler Nick Cvjetkovich. It was first reported that Roberts had become unconscious but it was later confirmed that he was both alert and awake during the flight and had notified the flight attendant of pain and shortness of breath.[6] It was stated that he was in a 'coma-like' state in order to treat pneumonia. After he was taken to the ICU in Las Vegas, he was diagnosed with pneumonia, which was something his own doctors missed.[7] It was also confirmed that doctors had found an abnormality on his brain which they feel could be a result of all the bumps Robert's took over his career.[8]
On September 6, 2014, Robert was released from the hospital and attended the Future Stars of Wrestling's "Survival of the Fittest" event the same day. At the event, he announced that doctors had found more cancer, this time in his chest.[9]
Championships
- All-Star Wrestling Network (Georgia)
- AWN World Heavyweight Champion (one time)
- Americas Wrestling Federation
- AWF Puerto Rican Heavyweight Championship (one time)
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA National Television Championship (one time)
- NWA World Television Championship (Georgia version) (two times)
- Mid-South Wrestling Association
- Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Championship (one time)
- Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship (two times)
- Mid-South Television Championship (one time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year in 1996
- PWI ranked him #100 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- Smoky Mountain Wrestling
- SMW Heavyweight Championship (one time)
- Stampede Wrestling
- Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (one time)
- World Class Championship Wrestling
- NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (one time) with Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez
- WCCW Television Championship (one time)
- WWE
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2014)
Jake Roberts Media
Jake Roberts (left) puts his snake, Damien, on top of Ricky Steamboat (right), circa 1986
Many of Roberts' storylines revolved around the use of his snake, Damien, seen here in the middle of the ring (March 7, 1989)
André the Giant feuded with Roberts based on André's fear of snakes (pictured March 7, 1989)
Jake Roberts vs. Rick Martel at a WWF Live Event House Show in Omaha, Nebraska 1991
Roberts and Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 1996
Roberts talking at a wrestling seminar in 2016
Jake Roberts in 2022 GalaxyCon
Roberts performing the DDT on John Greed, a move he is credited for inventing by WWE
References
- ↑ "Slithering back: Jake "The Snake" Roberts on his triumphant return". WWE. Archived from the original on 2014-01-18. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
- ↑ "2014 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee: Jake "The Snake" Roberts: Raw, JAN. 27, 2014". WWE. Archived from the original on 2014-01-30. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
- ↑ "Jake 'The Snake' Roberts on Comeback Trail". Diamond Dallas Page. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
- ↑ "Jake "The Snake" Roberts -- I Have Cancer". TMZ. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ↑ "WWE Teases "Something is Coming…", Jake Roberts Says He's Cancer Free, WWE Polls Fans on Best Mic Performer". WrestleZone. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ↑ "Jake 'The Snake' Roberts hospitalized, reportedly in bad condition". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on 2014-09-01. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ↑ "Report: WWE Hall of Famer Jake 'The Snake' Roberts battling double pneumonia in Las Vegas hospital". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ↑ "Lawyer: WWE legend Jake Roberts has brain abnormality". USA Today. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ↑ "Jake News: Jake Roberts out of the hospital, appears at FSW show the same day (w/Video of Jake's Promo)". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
Other websites
- Official website Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine
- WWE profile
- Jake Roberts on Twitter