WWE Hall of Fame Class 2014: Jake "the Snake" Roberts
Jake “The Snake” Roberts was named as the second member of the 2014 Hall of Fame. The induction will take place at WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans. Jake Roberts is considered to be among the most technically gifted wrestlers and was a gripping speaker with a terrifying gimmick. One of the greatest and probably the most chilling heel in the history of sports entertainment will get his long due.
Roberts was the master of the DDT finishing move and was a commanding force on the microphone.
In a match against The Grappler, played by Len Denton, Roberts invented the brand-new DDT move which has become overtly popular and has been used by wrestlers ever since.
The creation of what became known as a DDT was serendipitous. Jake Roberts accidently stepped on Denton’s foot, and the imbalance caused Roberts to fall backwards. Denton too came crashing down to the mat with him. Both Denton and Roberts realized that the spectators were actually viewing this as a brand new move and were cheering along. Denton continued to lay there and sell what had just took place.
His feud with Ricky Steamboat was also a major highlight in Roberts career. The feud was intensely physical and to some it further shaped the future of WWE. Roberts made some very dangerous moves like planting a DDT on Steamboat outside the ring. The moves even resulted in a concussion to steamboat.
The feud which Jake the Snake Roberts had with Ravishing Rick Rude would also go down as a major highlight of his career. The feud revolved around Robert’s real life wife Cheryl and was very novel and gripping. The feud was very entertaining to the audience back then and helped Roberts and Rude to progress on with their careers.
And well who can forget the snake which Jake Roberts used to bring in the ring. First he used to bring Lucifer and then Damien. Perhaps the most mesmerizing moment which involved the snake was when the snake actually bit Randy Savage. The Macho Man was bit by the Cobra snake which Roberts brought along with the Undertaker. This actually made the kayfabe wrestling look so very real and added a lot of intensity to the character of Jake Roberts.
Roberts, who is now 58 years old, has however had a difficult past. He had a tough upbringing and also had post career difficulties. But he has well and truly overcome most of his past problems of addiction to drugs and drinking problems with the help of another former wrestler, Diamond Dallas Page. DDP is also going to be the one who inducts him into the Hall of fame.
Roberts’ weight had once ballooned to over 300 pounds and he was having trouble doing simple tasks such as walking without becoming short of breath. Roberts had lost close to 50 pounds and started attending meetings and holding shows at regular intervals. Page regularly updates his YouTube channel with videos emerging showing a much thinner Roberts.
Page said he was doing this for Roberts since he was one of the people who trained Page when he was attempting to enter the ring and break into the business as an active wrestler instead of a manager.
At the beginning of 2014, Roberts made his first live appearance on WWE television in some years. He hadn’t looked so good in so long. Equipped with the very familiar bag over his shoulder and his usual walk to the ring, he came out as a surprise to end the vintage old school episode of Raw and help get rid of The Shield.
Seeing him inducted into the Hall of Fame will be awesome not only because of his in-ring and microphone brilliance but it’ll also serve as a symbol of a man overcoming terrible hardships. Roberts’ career has been perhaps the most intriguing of anyone in professional wrestling with the level of talent he possesses combined with the demons he’s had to fight in the name of drug and alcohol addictions.