Misplaced Pages

#580419

122-458: Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955) better known by the ring name Jake " the Snake " Roberts , is an American retired professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs as the on-screen manager to La Facción Ingobernable , and he also serves as a special advisor for AEW's community outreach program, AEW Together . He is also signed to WWE under

244-571: A loser-leaves-town match victory over Garvin on 4 July 1984. In August, Adams employed Gary Hart as his manager before turning on him. Adams was given a contract to dismiss Hart in exchange for the Von Erichs forgiving him when he was pinned by Kevin Von Erich in a bout on 27 October. Adams seized a wooden chair and slammed it against Von Erich's skull in retaliation. Adams said that the chair had accidentally split in half, causing blood and

366-625: A "client" incoming to AEW to bring him down, hinting that he would be a manager for a new talent. On March 11, 2020, Roberts revealed Lance Archer as his new client. Archer was announced as a participant for the tournament for the AEW TNT Championship ; he defeated Colt Cabana in the quarter finals, and Dustin Rhodes in the semi-finals. At Double or Nothing on May 23, 2020, Archer lost the final to Cody Rhodes after Mike Tyson prevented Roberts from interfering on Archer's behalf in

488-482: A DDT. In early to mid-1991, Roberts engaged in a feud with Earthquake who "squashed" Damien with a pair of Earthquake splashes during their match on the April 27 (taped March 26) edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling . In reality, Roberts' bag contained hamburger meat intended to look like a snake and a small mechanical device to depict movement, Roberts said in several shoot interviews that he wanted to be tied up in

610-458: A coffin, began hitting him with a steel chair; however, Undertaker got up after each chair shot and eventually chased Roberts backstage dragging the coffin behind him. At WrestleMania VIII , Roberts lost the match, becoming the second man to lose to The Undertaker at WrestleMania . The WrestleMania VIII match turned out to be Roberts' last for the WWF for nearly four years. His departure came after he

732-541: A concussion. At the Reunion Arena a month later, Von Erich finally paid Adams back. This time, the chair shattered in two on contact, leaving a piece of wood trapped in Adams' nose, just next to his eye. The angle came to an abrupt stop as a result. Alongside Jake Roberts and Gino Hernandez, Adams later competed in a six-man tag team match, winning against Kerry Von Erich, Mike Von Erich and Bobby Fulton (subbing for

854-465: A few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure. Low Ki used the alias "Senshi" during his second TNA stint to reserve his primary ring name for other use. A similar example is the team known as The Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked

976-665: A fist fight, the tour features Jim Rose and wrestler Sinn Bodhi as "Team Jake". On January 29, 2011, Roberts wrestled what was billed as his retirement match, when he defeated Sinn Bodhi at the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) show during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend. On May 18, 2013, Roberts returned to the ring for First State Championship Wrestling, a Delaware-based wrestling promotion, as part of an eight-man tag team main event. He teamed with Eric Chapel and CraziiWolf (Crazii Shea and Greywolf), defeating

1098-456: A friend's apartment, the victims of an overdose of the drug GHB and alcohol. Adams recovered, but 10 hours later, Kaphengst died at a local hospital. He then lived in Rowlett with his new wife Karen and their 7-year-old daughter. In June 2001, Adams was indicted and charged with manslaughter for the death of Kaphengst and turned himself in but, while awaiting trial, on October 7, 2001, he

1220-542: A gift package containing a live cobra. Roberts and the Undertaker attacked Savage, until Sid Justice ran them off. A short feud with Sid ensued when Sid was scheduled to wrestle "El Diablo" and the Undertaker came out and accepted the challenge to face Sid. Paul Bearer offered "El Diablo" what appeared to be a bribe to walk away. As the match began, "El Diablo" came back to the ring and hit Sid. Then "El Diablo" unmasked revealing himself as Jake. Roberts proceeded to unleash

1342-477: A head when Roberts slapped Miss Elizabeth. The feud continued through the early part of 1992 and included Savage eliminating Roberts from that year's Royal Rumble match for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship . The feud ended on Saturday Night's Main Event XXX , 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 after

SECTION 10

#1732783989581

1464-603: A king cobra on Sid, until Hacksaw Jim Duggan intervened. Sid and Jake wrestled on Superstars a week later. But soon, 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 at Wrestlemania VII – was unable to exact revenge. On the November 23 (taped October 21) edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling , Roberts goaded Savage into

1586-536: A knee injury, refused to be tagged in by Adams during the match. Adams took a brutal beating at the hands of the Von Erichs. Adams purposely tossed Kevin over the rope to end the match and slapped Hernandez for not tagging him and left the ring. On 27 January 1986, Adams and Hernandez squared off at the Fort Worth Convention Center with the condition that the loser would once more lose his hair, this time by having Freebird Hair Cream massaged into

1708-733: A legends contract. He is best known for his two stints in the World Wrestling Federation (later called WWE); the first between 1986 and 1992, and the second between 1996 and 1997. He 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

1830-438: A nemesis to then fan-favorite WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan , and challenging him for the title. However, after Roberts hit Hogan with a DDT during an episode of The Snake Pit , fans responded positively to the attack by chanting "DDT" rather than for Hogan, and McMahon abandoned his plans for a feud between them. Years later in a 2015 shoot interview, Roberts jokingly thanked the fans for ruining what would have been

1952-399: A promo urging those who want to enter the wrestling business to not follow along his path. At one point, he said he loved the wrestling business more than anything else in the world. PWA wrestler "Rockstar" Robbie Gillmore then interrupted Roberts and attempted to make an alliance based upon the fact that Robbie wears an 80s style shirt featuring a cobra. Roberts had just said all he ever wanted

2074-462: A promoter and part-time wrestler. Adams was involved in a relationship with Jeanie Clarke , an English model, who worked ringside and managed his career from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. They had one daughter together, Jade. Adams later married Toni Collins on 20 December 1984 in Hawaii. They had a son together, Christopher Jr. They divorced on 15 August 1994, and Toni died on 24 June 2010 at

2196-439: A regular on WWE Story Time, even making an appearance on the show after his AEW debut. In 2019 during The Road to All Out , Roberts appeared as a dealer at a blackjack table dealing cards to Women's Casino Battle Royale participants, referring to his infamous "you wanna play 21?" promo from 1999. On March 4, 2020, he made a surprise appearance on AEW Dynamite , interrupting Cody . In his promo, Roberts claimed that he had

2318-478: 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 (actually 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, "I'm

2440-606: A round of English tea. Before losing to Kamala in a WCCW match on 20 June in Fort Worth, Adams won his first eleven contests. On 19 August, Kerry Von Erich served as his partner in his debut tag bout with the Von Erichs . He frequently partnered with the Von Erichs in six and eight-man tag matches against the Fabulous Freebirds . Adams and Jimmy Garvin got into a fight, and the valets Sunshine and Precious joined in; Sunshine aligned with Adams. Adams took on

2562-433: A shoot interview with Jim Ross that the feud with Savage had to end early because Elizabeth's parents were upset with Savage for not protecting Elizabeth when Roberts kayfabe slapped her. 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 hit Bearer with a DDT and, after jamming Undertaker's hand in

SECTION 20

#1732783989581

2684-663: A silver medal at the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics . Adams was a member of the British judo team for the 1976 Summer Olympics , however he never took part in any competitions. He was skilled in various martial arts and had a black belt in judo. Along with competing in football, rugby, cricket, and amateur wrestling, he also spent four years studying architecture outside of athletics. Adams made his debut in professional wrestling in June 1978 without having received any real official training and instead relying on his judo experience. He

2806-801: A six-man tag match in the main event for Reborn Wrestling (a Christian wrestling organization in Johnson City, Tennessee), teaming with The Stallion and Alex Cage to defeat E. Z. Money , Reborn Champion Cody Ices and Anthony Brody. On June 15, 2014, Roberts was an entrant in the CWF Hollywood Red Carpet Rumble which was won by Willie Mack . He wrestled his last ever match against IamThePROVIDER at BBOW No Limits Wrestling promotion on September 2, 2018. In 2016, he went on his Unspoken Word tour. Roberts had his final match to date in September 2018. Roberts made an appearance on

2928-431: A snake. Never trust a snake." , turning Roberts heel for the first time since 1987. A series of matches were planned, but the feud was canceled after the Ultimate Warrior was fired by the WWF the night of SummerSlam . After SummerSlam, Roberts was placed in a feud with Randy Savage . During the post-SummerSlam wedding reception of Savage and Miss Elizabeth (in reality they had been married since 1984), Elizabeth opened

3050-424: 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. In 2013, Roberts announced his desire to return to WWE as a participant in the 2014 Royal Rumble . On January 6, 2014, Roberts made an appearance on

3172-508: A stable consisting of his fellow Englishmen Lord Steven Regal and Squire David Taylor , but due to legitimate personal issues, this was short lived. He was engaged in a feud with Glacier over their superkicks, as well as Chip Minton . On 23 November at World War 3 , Adams competed and lost a 60-man battle royal for a future shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship . Adams wrestled Randy Savage in

3294-463: A strained relationship with his pedophilic father, and was sexually and physically abused by his stepmother during his childhood, which included vaginal penetration - his father was doing the same thing to his daughters (Aurelian Jr.'s sisters) too. He has a half-brother, Michael Smith , and a half-sister, Robin Smith , both of whom also became wrestlers. During the late 1980s, all three wrestled at

3416-477: A tour for New Japan Pro-Wrestling . 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 Triplemanía I . Roberts' run-in started a feud that lasted until 1994 at Triplemanía II-C , in which Konnan defeated Roberts in a hair vs. hair match which Roberts got his long hair cut off and shaved bald. In

3538-524: A two count before exiting the ring. Roberts also teamed with Tommy Dreamer at the 1998 November to Remember as his mystery partner defeating Justin Credible and Jack Victory . In October 1999, Roberts was one of several former NWA, WWF, and ECW wrestlers brought in to compete in the first Heroes of Wrestling event in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi . He was booked to face Jim Neidhart in one half of

3660-754: A variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their gimmick , such as Dave Bautista becoming Batista (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming Trish Stratus , Jonathan Good becoming Jon Moxley , Bryan Danielson becoming Daniel Bryan (when he wrestled in WWE), Richard Fliehr becoming Ric Flair and Randall Poffo becoming Randy Savage . Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using Goldberg , Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella , Mike Mizanin using The Miz , Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes , and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow . Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name such as. It

3782-618: A wide variety of moves, including somersaulting out of arm-bars, using backflips, diving through the ring ropes to his opponent on the floor, using a lethal enzuigiri when his left leg was held, and a powerful thrust kick, which was originally called a "judo kick", later known by its more common name, "superkick". Adams won the NWA Americas title in 1982, and was an NWA Americas tag team title winner with Tom Prichard and Ringo Rigby. He lived in Santa Monica and wrestled throughout

Jake Roberts - Misplaced Pages Continue

3904-496: A winning effort. He was released in March 1997 after not only for being deemed too out of shape for WrestleMania, but also for being frustrated by the behavior of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart backstage, and was a part of a creative team that had to mediate their real-life backstage bickering. During the summer of 1997, Roberts debuted in ECW . His introduction came towards the end of a match between Lawler and Tommy Dreamer , which

4026-635: A year to approximately $ 200,000 (equivalent to $ 434,000 in 2023) a year. Roberts made his first television appearance on August 2, 1992, at a Main Event taping in Baltimore, Maryland after coming through the crowd to attack Sting . His first WCW match came six days later when he defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell on a house show in Chicago, Illinois. He would quickly ally with Cactus Jack and The Barbarian. His first major TV wrestling appearance for WCW

4148-646: Is a highly respected tradition in Mexican lucha libre for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names ( The Undertaker , Mr. Perfect , and Diesel ). Ring names are often trademarked by

4270-448: Is also common for wrestlers of all genders to use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an atypical instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona. Some (mostly independent ) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It

4392-658: The Boston Garden defeating Jose Luis Rivera . A month later, he made his pay-per-view debut, defeating George Wells at WrestleMania 2 . During the match, Roberts made Wells foam from the mouth when he wrapped his snake Damien around Wells' head. Roberts' first major feud was against Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat , beginning on a nationally televised episode of Saturday Night's Main Event VI in May 1986. Roberts executed

4514-656: The Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), in which he twice won the federation's Heavyweight Championship in 1994, and shortly with Jim Crockett 's 1995 version of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In 1993, Adams promoted a modestly successful tour to Nigeria (co-sponsored with Pepsi). He also competed on and off in Mexico prior to joining the GWF. In 1993, Adams started a feud with Rod Price after he accidentally (or intentionally, according to Price) ripped

4636-496: The Intercontinental Championship . Before the match, announcer Vince McMahon said the fans would probably support Savage against the disliked Roberts. However, to the surprise of both McMahon and fellow broadcaster Jesse "The Body" Ventura , the fans cheered loudly for Roberts throughout the bout. The match ended in a double disqualification. Around the same time, the WWF had also tried to set Roberts up as

4758-696: The Junkyard Dog . It was in Georgia Championship Wrestling during 1983 that Roberts became part of Paul Ellering 's stable , the Legion of Doom , and began a feud with Ron Garvin over the NWA World 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

4880-528: The One Man Gang interfered in a bout, Adams lost because Flair was pinned for at least 10 seconds while the referee was preoccupied. Adams was also embroiled in a superkick competition with the Great Kabuki , who was Sunshine's ally in her conflict with Adams. Adams created a gimmick with Hernandez that Brutus Beefcake subsequently adopted: shaving his opponents' hair after a match. The outcome

5002-477: 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 legit heat with back in his days at Mid-South Wrestling . Ultimately, Roberts estimates that he went from making about $ 3.5 million (equivalent to $ 7.6 million in 2023)

Jake Roberts - Misplaced Pages Continue

5124-546: The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2020. Aurelian Smith Jr. was born in Gainesville, Texas . His father, Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith (1932–2010), also a wrestler, left his mother when she was 17 by which time she had given birth to another child. Roberts lived with his grandmother until she died in 1966, forcing him to move back to live with his father and his new wife. Roberts had

5246-527: The Royal Rumble in 1996, as a Bible -preacher. 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

5368-487: 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. Roberts made an appearance at Booker T 's Houston-based Pro Wrestling Alliance (PWA) promotion, in which he cut

5490-637: The United States Wrestling Association . Austin later described Adams as a “con man deluxe” and “a pile of crap” since he was known for taking trainees money, stiffing them, and ill-preparing them. In late 1990, following the demise of WCCW, Adams, alongside Norman Smiley against Konnan and Rey Misterio , competed in the Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament on 16 December at Starrcade , in which Konnan pinned Smiley. Adams also wrestled in other independent promotions , like

5612-1104: The Universal Wrestling Federation , where he and Terry Taylor became tag team champions in February 1987. Two months later, Taylor and Adams began a violent feud which eventually was carried over to WCCW in 1988, but he suffered nerve damage in his back during one of their matches. Adams and former partner King Parsons also engaged in a similar feud, which would continue on and off for the next decade. Adams competed in Mike George's World Wrestling Alliance promotion (formerly Central States Wrestling ) in Missouri and had brief events in Georgia in Southern Championship Wrestling (where he won that federation's heavyweight title in 1988) and Florida before promoting his own matches under

5734-626: 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 with a feud with Dick Slater after being told by management that he was not considered a top talent even though he was getting the biggest crowd reactions. Roberts debuted in the World Wrestling Federation on March 8, 1986, at

5856-485: The promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE , which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and

5978-737: The "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as Samoa Joe , A.J. Styles , Shinsuke Nakamura , Austin Aries , Bobby Roode , and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa , who wrestle both on NXT and

6100-521: The "Old School" episode of Raw , laying a python over the face of an unconscious Dean Ambrose . Roberts was announced as part of the 2014 Class of the WWE Hall of Fame . He was inducted by Diamond Dallas Page on April 5, 2014. Regarding his Hall of Fame induction, he later said, "It wasn't at all what I expected... it was more about healing between a man and his family." After his induction, he would continue to make sporadic appearances, and would also be

6222-471: The April 27, 2022 episode of Dynamite . Ring name Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming Hulk Hogan , Michael Shawn Hickenbottom becoming Shawn Michaels , Roderick Toombs becoming Roddy Piper , Dwayne Johnson becoming The Rock , Christopher Irvine becoming Chris Jericho , and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming CM Punk . A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or

SECTION 50

#1732783989581

6344-570: The British wrestlers whom Adams battled against. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1981 to compete at the Olympic Auditorium , which was run for a short period of time at the time by renowned judo giants Mike and Gene LeBell . Adams wrestled barefoot, but after his initial tour of the United States, he began to use wrestling boots, arm pads and kneepads, which he would eventually use for the rest of his career. He became famous for

6466-633: The California coast in cards promoted by the LeBells. He also wrestled for Don Owen 's Pacific Northwest promotion, as well as being involved in several tours of Japan, Europe, Mexico and Canada. Fritz Von Erich got in touch with Adams in 1983 and invited him to wrestle for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). On 15 April 1983, he began competing for the Dallas-based organization. That evening, he won both matches he competed in, defeating

6588-458: The DDT on Steamboat on the exposed concrete floor right in front of his wife Bonnie and then proceeded to rest his snake Damien on top of a prone Steamboat. While Vince McMahon and booker George Scott were adamant about wanting the DDT to take place on the floor, Roberts initially refused until Steamboat told him that he would be able to adequately protect himself from injury. Unfortunately, Steamboat

6710-613: The Intercontinental Championship from Ricky Steamboat, Roberts unsuccessfully challenged him for the 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 Steamboat and begin an angle with "the Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase , but because of the injuries from the guitar shot,

6832-572: The Light Heavyweight Championship of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Throughout a 23-year professional wrestling career, he held a total of 26 titles. Adams was in charge of training Stone Cold Steve Austin and popularizing the superkick finisher, which was subsequently employed by many other performers. Speaking about his legacy, professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer has described Adams as being "one of

6954-513: The Mongol by disqualification and Roberto Renesto in the card's first battle. The Adkissons referred to Chris as Kevin Von Erich 's "pen pal" and referred to him as a "honorary Von Erich". In a three-minute interview piece titled "Tea for Two," Adams and Bill Mercer were first introduced in WCCW during one of Mercer's "outside the ring" interviews when they first met at a nearby Dallas restaurant over

7076-826: 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". RSOW ran three events, each headlined by Roberts vs. The Honky Tonk Man. Roberts made his final British appearance at WAW's October Outrage show in Canvey Island, Essex, once again teaming with Steve Quintain against

7198-725: The NWA, Adams competed in a Chicago-based organization, the American Wrestling Federation that promoted under European wrestling rules. He was also a promoter and wrestler of a few Dallas-based organizations, including Big D Pro Wrestling and the Freestyle Wrestling Federation. In 1997, Adams began competing as a midcard performer in World Championship Wrestling . He was intended to become part of The Blue Bloods ,

7320-421: The October 19, 2006 episode 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 then gave a "mumbling" promo. After Roberts took his snake out of a bag, Brother Runt told him to put it away. Roberts performed a DDT on Runt instead. At Bound for Glory, he performed a DDT on Raven, which helped Samoa Joe win

7442-430: The WWF wanted Roberts to wind down his in-ring career and join the company's backstage side. Since he still loved to wrestle, he did not make this transition well. This led to a relapse with drugs and alcohol. He appeared at the 1997 Royal Rumble where he entered at no. 7 and was eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. His last match with WWF was at Shotgun Saturday Night on January 25, 1997, against Salvatore Sincere in

SECTION 60

#1732783989581

7564-513: The World Class heavyweight title on 4 July. Due to legal issues, Adams had to forfeit the WCCW title in September; WCCW stated that Black Bart had won the title during a match in Los Angeles that never actually happened. A month later, Bart lost the title to Kevin Von Erich at the Cotton Bowl. In September 1986, Adams left World Class to join Bill Watts ' Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), which later merged into NWA. Adams came back to World Class in October 1987. In late 1986, Adams defected to

7686-423: The age of 45. Adams also fathered a daughter, Julia (born 1994), by Brandi Freeman. Adams had promoted "Miss Brandi" that Freeman wrestled in, at a handful of wrestling cards. The couple split in late 1999. Freeman died in 2003 from a drug overdose, leaving Julia orphaned. Six weeks prior to his death, Adams married a second time to Karen J. Burge on 25 August 2001 in Dallas, with his friend Brent Parnell serving as

7808-413: The attack. To explain the absence of the cobra, 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 This Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view on December 3 in San Antonio, Texas, which saw Savage earn a victory over Roberts. Despite this, Roberts would perform the DDT on Savage 3 times after the match and things came to

7930-494: The best man at his wedding. While returning from a wrestling event in Puerto Rico , on 30 June 1986, Adams grabbed airline pilot John Bentley by the collar, headbutted him three times and punched a male flight attendant, which resulted in a 90-day jail sentence and a $ 500 fine in September. During the flight, an intoxicated Adams became belligerent when liquor sales were stopped during the flight by an onboard FAA Inspector and Adams had to be restrained by other wrestlers who were on

8052-522: 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 John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!" The catchphrase helped propel Austin to the top of the WWF, and is one of the moments that is often cited as the beginning of " The Attitude Era ". Roberts next feuded with Jerry "The King" Lawler , who went to great lengths to ridicule Roberts' past alcoholism . In early 1997,

8174-450: The biggest (and most profitable) run of his career as at the time Hogan was the biggest and most popular babyface and a run against Hogan would have meant main event television and pay-per-view matches. He officially turned face when he feuded with The Honky Tonk Man , an Elvis impersonator , who attacked Roberts with a guitar during his interview segment The Snake Pit . The Honky Tonk Man's guitar shot actually injured Roberts' neck, as at

8296-471: The bite. The segment went on longer than planned, and Savage's blood was clearly visible as it dripped from the puncture wounds. Savage stated in a shoot interview that his arm swelled and he developed a high fever afterward and had to be checked at a hospital. He also stated that the cobra died a week after the angle and he joked that the cobra must have got the venom from him. WWF president Jack Tunney reinstated Savage as an active wrestler to get revenge for

8418-408: The brand L&A Promotions, with Tom Lance as his business partner. In late 1988, Adams began operating his professional wrestling school at the Dallas Sportatorium, upon returning to World Class, on top of selling wrestling rings. In 1989, Steve Austin was one of Adams' students, and he was wrestling his first match at Sportatorium within five months. The duo feuded against each other throughout

8540-478: The burger tray out of Earthquake's hands. Roberts later introduced a new snake, Damien's "big brother" Lucifer. Roberts and Earthquake feuded throughout most of late-spring and into the summer. Roberts defeated Earthquake on July 1, at Madison Square Garden which featured André the Giant in Roberts' corner. In the summer of 1991, there were a series of televised vignettes featuring the Ultimate Warrior turning to Roberts for help in his feud with The Undertaker . In

8662-424: The card's double main event in what was billed as a "special grudge match" between the two. Roberts was so intoxicated that during the course of the night, he slurred his way through a promo before the match and staggered to, from, and around the ring during his entrance. After doing such things as pretending his snake was a penis and stroking it like he was masturbating and attempting to kiss the snake with his tongue,

8784-766: The 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 VII . Recognizing his microphone skills, Roberts was given his own talk segment called "The Snake Pit", which debuted on the first episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge in late 1986. "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

8906-450: The crowd. The segment was eventually moved to WWF Superstars of Wrestling (to replace "Piper's Pit" after Roddy Piper 's retirement following WrestleMania III ) until the final segment aired in July 1987. In late 1986, Roberts began to enjoy an upsurge in fan popularity, despite the WWF's attempts to cast him as an unpopular villain. In November 1986, Roberts challenged Randy Savage for

9028-453: The decision was made to keep the belt with The Honky Tonk Man. He then had a feud with "Ravishing" Rick Rude and his manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan , who began a gimmick of selecting a woman from the crowd to kiss after each match. On the April 23, 1988 edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling , Rude chose Roberts' real-life wife Cheryl, who refused the kiss and revealed that she was in fact

9150-522: The documentary), his widow Karen, and Gary Hart. In April 2024 Dark Side of the Ring aired an episode looking at the life and career of Adams. The day afterwards professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer described Adams as being "one of the twenty best performers" in the United States at the peak of his career but stated that the problems stemming from Adams' drug addiction ruined both his career and personal life. While he did win

9272-609: 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 where Damien was to retrieve it. The culmination of their feud took place at WrestleMania VI at the Skydome in Toronto, wherein a match where the Million Dollar Belt was on the line, DiBiase gained a count-out victory over Roberts, thus regaining his non-sanctioned title. After

9394-407: The feud culminated in a match at WrestleMania VII , in which both contestants were blindfolded (though both Roberts and Martel did later confess to having some limited vision due to mesh holes in the masks - these were briefly visible due to Jake putting his hand inside the mask after donning it shortly before the start of the match). The bout ended after Roberts was able to "locate" Martel and deliver

9516-439: The final match of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament . Changes had to be made to the match's scripting as legitimate injuries sustained earlier in the evening in a match with Vader left Roberts unable to engage in the longer, more evenly matched bout originally intended between the men. To prevent Roberts from sustaining a further injury, he was quickly defeated by Austin; in a post-match interview, Austin mocked his recital of

9638-517: The finals match for the new AEW TNT Championship. In July 2021, Roberts announced he had signed a 2-year contract extension with AEW. In 2022, Roberts would reunite with Archer, who at the time also aligned himself with American Top Team leader Dan Lambert, during Archer's feud with Adam Page for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship . Roberts would accompany Archer to the ring during Archer's match with Wardlow on

9760-454: The first match of the first WCW Thunder show in January 1998; he pinned Savage, but J. J. Dillon reversed the decision and claimed Savage the victory via disqualification by interference by Lex Luger . Aside from that, he was mainly used as a jobber and in late 1999, unsatisfied with his role in the organization, Adams was granted his release from WCW. He then returned to Texas to work as

9882-492: The flight, including Kevin Von Erich . In February 1988, Adams was arrested after his wife, Toni, was found severely beaten in Lufkin, Texas , allegedly by Adams during a drunken rage; he was sentenced to a year's probation. Adams then faced more legal issues in 1991, being put on probation for a pair of DUI arrests. In April 2000, Adams and his girlfriend of four months, Linda Kaphengst, were both found unconscious inside

10004-649: The guise of "the Masked Avenger" in a match on 21 October at the Sportatorium to earn a shot at the NWA American Heavyweight Championship, which he eventually won on Thanksgiving at the Reunion Arena. This was the first of five World Class American/World Class World Heavyweight title reigns for Adams. His first title reign ended when the title was held up in the rematch at WCCW Star Wars when Garvin pinned him. Adams scored

10126-409: The hair weave off Price's head, causing him to get over 200 stitches. He also went back to his legendary feud with Iceman King Parsons, in which his wife Toni was Parsons' manager. During one interview segment, Toni and Iceman were making plans to vacation in Hawaii, where Adams and Toni married in 1985. Adams also formed a tag team with Kerry Von Erich , until Von Erich's suicide on 18 February 1993. On

10248-482: The independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names. In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics ' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which

10370-528: The injured Kevin Von Erich). The fans chanted during the match "Chris is a traitor" and others held "Benedict Adams" posters. Adams was kayfabe dismissed by Hart at the beginning of 1985. The second iteration of the Dynamic Duo was formed when he linked up with Gino Hernandez . Adams competed against NWA World Champion Ric Flair on multiple occasions, coming close to capturing the title twice. When

10492-409: The match), 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, he was stopped by 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. Roberts stated in

10614-600: The match, Roberts mounted an offensive against DiBiase and Virgil and then began giving away DiBiase's "money" including giving some money to actress Mary Tyler Moore who was seated at ringside. Following a brief feud with Bad News Brown in the summer of 1990, Roberts also feuded with Rick "the Model" Martel throughout late 1990 into early 1991, after Martel ( kayfabe ) blinded Roberts by spraying his cologne "Arrogance" into his eyes. Roberts went so far as to wear white contact lenses to "prove" his blindness. After several months,

10736-464: The match. After the match, Roberts placed his snake 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 . Roberts made an 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

10858-658: The prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include: Chris Adams (wrestler) Christopher Adams (10 February 1955 – 7 October 2001), best known as " Gentleman " Chris Adams ,

10980-444: The prize of the feud was DiBiase's own Million Dollar Championship . It was at this time that Roberts' problems with the discs in his back 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

11102-499: The ring and brutally attacked him, eventually tying Savage into the ropes and got the king 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. According to Roberts, on the day the angle was shot, he had to let the cobra bite him on his leg at Savage's request to convince him that the snake had been devenomized and Savage would regularly check on Roberts to make sure he had no side effects from

11224-424: The ring ropes while Earthquake squashed Damien, because the original plan was for Roberts to be knocked out of the ring and not let him see it. The feud was advanced when, several weeks later, Earthquake appeared on WWF Prime Time Wrestling and served "Quakeburgers" to co-host Lord Alfred Hayes and Vince McMahon , later claiming that the meat was ground from Damien's carcass, which prompted McMahon to angrily knock

11346-465: The ring, most famously a python . He was one of the subjects of the 1999 documentary film Beyond the Mat . In 2012, he moved in with fellow wrestler Diamond Dallas Page to seek help in getting his life back on track following years of alcohol and drug addiction, a period covered in the 2015 documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake . He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 5, 2014, and

11468-625: The same time for the WWF (now WWE ). Roberts started his career in 1974 in the Louisiana area, as a referee and a year later, made his debut as a wrestler, making his name in Mid-South Wrestling , Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling . Roberts had trouble developing his character, so in the late 1970s he traveled to Canada to wrestle. While in Stampede Wrestling , Roberts feuded with

11590-495: The scalp. When Hernandez put some of the hair cream (which was actually a dark liquid substance) into Adams' eyes during an argument with the referee Rick Hazzard, Adams was unable to win the match. Adams then went on vacation to see his family in England and travel to Japan and Israel before returning to Texas to pursue his feud with Hernandez, which was written off as a result of the blinding incident. On 4 February 1986, Hernandez

11712-432: 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

11834-655: The show's promoter sent King Kong Bundy and Yokozuna , who were supposed to compete in the other main event match, to the ring and made the main event a tag team match with Roberts teaming with Yokozuna against Bundy and Neidhart. Roberts, who was so drunk that he could not stand up, took the fall in the match after Bundy splashed and pinned him. 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

11956-703: The side, Adams went to Memphis, Tennessee and competed in the United States Wrestling Association for a few months, where he was involved in an angle involving Brian Christopher , while Toni was billed as "Nanny Simpson." Adams also faced Eddie Gilbert several times for the heavyweight title. After his stint in the Global Wrestling Federation, Adams joined the Jim Crockett-promoted NWA Dallas and wrestled in several matches against Greg Valentine, Black Bart, Michael Hayes and Tully Blanchard. After finishing his time at

12078-756: The snake to ringside, and his impending first-round match against Dustin Rhodes in the first round of the King of Cable tournament. He was replaced in the tournament by The Barbarian . After leaving WCW, Roberts spent his next couple of years wrestling around the world. In February 1993, he took part in a tour in Australia. He won the American Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title defeating Don Muraco on March 4. Then in April 1993, he toured Europe, particularly Austria and Germany. In September 1993, he took part wrestling

12200-562: The spring of 1994, Roberts returned to the United States to wrestle for Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW). On May 2, he defeated Tony Anthony to win the SMW Heavyweight Championship ; the title change aired on May 14. Roberts no-showed several defenses, forcing SMW to give the title back to Anthony on July 5. By the end of 1994, Roberts took a hiatus. After spending over a year in hiatus, Roberts returned to WWF at

12322-407: The subsequent feud on the house show circuit saw André victorious after most of those matches, Roberts can claim a victory via disqualification over André after The Giant attacked special guest referee and former foe Big John Studd at WrestleMania V . Shortly after his feud with André had ended, Roberts entered into a feud with Ted DiBiase. Instead of fighting for the Intercontinental Championship,

12444-503: The summer of 1997 and made appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2006 through 2008. Throughout his career, Roberts, often considered one of professional wrestling's most iconic figures, was known for his intense and cerebral promos , dark charisma, extensive use of psychology in his matches, and innovative use of the DDT finishing move (which was later named the "coolest" maneuver of all time by WWE). He often brought snakes into

12566-622: The team of Salvatore Sincere , Steve C Wrestling and Pretty Ugly ( Jimmy Dream and Adam Ugly). On March 15, 2014, Roberts debuted in Regional Championship Wrestling's Rumblemania 9 in Reading, Pennsylvania as a surprise partner for Cliff Serenyi against Russian Mafia with Rich Rogers. This match ended in a DQ. Rogers was knocked out when Roberts stuck the snake in Roger's pants. On June 14, 2014, Roberts participated in

12688-577: The time guitars were not prepared to break easily. The Honky Tonk Man denies that he purposefully injured Roberts, although Honky's manager Jimmy Hart , as well as a video of the incident (seen on the Pick Your Poison DVD) suggests otherwise with Roberts later claiming that he was picking pieces of wood out of his back for weeks after. The attack led to their match at WrestleMania III in which Roberts had Detroit native Alice Cooper (a known lover of snakes) in his corner. After Honky Tonk won

12810-533: The twenty best performers" in the United States at the peak of his career but stated that the problems stemming from Adams' drug addiction ruined both his career and personal life. Adams was the eldest child of Cyril and Jean Adams when he was born in Rugby, Warwickshire . He got into judo when he was nine years old and trained in it solely for 14 years. Together with his younger brother Neil , he went on to win judo national and international championships. Neil also won

12932-456: The wife of Jake "the Snake". 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, which an irate Roberts tore off. Roberts moved from the feud with Rude into a feud with André the Giant who

13054-501: The worst option — the Coal Miner's Glove match . While Halloween Havoc was the company's top-selling pay-per-view for several years, Roberts soon left WCW. Following the loss to Sting he continued his feud, facing him on several house shows immediately after the event. On the November 2 episode of Saturday Night , Tony Schiavone conducted a sit-down interview with Roberts regarding the decision of Bill Watts to ban his bringing of

13176-458: The wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the " Connecticut Blueblood " Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into Triple H . A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns heroic or villainous , such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous nWo (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude

13298-825: Was a lumberjack hair vs. hair match between Adams and Hernandez and Kevin and Kerry Von Erich in October 1985 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Von Erichs triumphed, leaving Adams and Hernandez with no hair, forcing them to temporarily wrestle in masks while their hair came back. Adams and Hernandez got divorced and got into a protracted fight. In this period, Adams started wrestling for Gary Hart's Texas All-Star Wrestling organization in San Antonio, and he soon started to turn face . In 1985 on Christmas night, Adams and Hernandez reunited to face The Cosmic Cowboys, which ended up being Kevin and Kerry Von Erich. Hernandez, claiming

13420-544: Was a little respect, and the Rockstar's interruption irritated him. Roberts then attacked Gillmore. On October 6, 2007, he lost to Scott Hall at Juggalo Championship Wrestling . 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

13542-598: Was a wrestler for Joint Promotions and appeared on ITV 's World of Sport frequently. Adams did enjoy some championship success in England, taking home the British Light Heavyweight Championship from Mark "Rollerball" Rocco and the British Commonwealth Tag Team Championship with Marty Jones. Adrian Street , Big Daddy , Dave "Fit" Finlay , Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith were among

13664-516: Was also managed by Bobby Heenan. On the March 11, 1989, episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XX , André got involved in a match between Rick Rude and Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake , siding with fellow Heenan Family member Rude. Roberts came to the ring to help Beefcake, who eventually won by disqualification. Roberts used his snake Damien to scare Andre into an eventual " heart attack ". Although

13786-712: Was an English professional wrestler , promoter, coach, and judoka . He won the British National Judo Championship in his age and weight class three times by the time he was 21. Adams achieved his greatest success in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he rose to fame and reached the position of World Heavyweight Champion . He also performed for organizations like the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), where he held

13908-614: Was at Clash of the Champions XX , 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 . When the wheel stopped, it had landed on what many observers believed was

14030-404: Was discovered to be deceased. Adams toured Japan in March 1986 for New Japan Pro Wrestling events. Still selling his blinding angle at the time, the matches never aired on World Class television. Adams returned to Texas All Star Wrestling and WCCW in April. He had several matches with Matt Borne, Blackjack Mulligan, Kabuki and Buzz Sawyer, and worked an angle with Rick Rude , whom he defeated for

14152-596: Was due to Hogan being advertised as " The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name . The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior , had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior". In many cases, ring names evolve over time as

14274-555: Was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name Steve Austin to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with

14396-617: Was fatally shot in the chest with a .38 caliber handgun during a drunken brawl with a friend, William Brent "Booray" Parnell, at his home in Waxahachie, Texas . He was 46 years old. Parnell claimed self-defense and was acquitted of all charges. A documentary about Adams, The Gentleman's Choice , was released on 16 December 2008 by former WCCW promoter Mickey Grant and showed interviews from many of Adams' friends and family, including his brother Neil, Bill Mercer, referee David Manning, Kevin Von Erich, Jeanie Clarke (billed as Jeanie Adams in

14518-501: Was not given a release from his contract. On his Pick Your Poison DVD, Roberts expressed his regret for his actions to get a release from his contract. 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 90 days. According to

14640-438: 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 proceeded to give Tommy Dreamer a clothesline. He then went to the camera man and screamed; " Your God... he giveth, and he can taketh away. My God, he giveth... but he ain't got the balls to do nothin' else ." He promptly clotheslined Lawler, who fell onto Dreamer for

14762-403: Was unable to stop his head from hitting the concrete and was rendered unconscious, sustaining a concussion. After Steamboat's recovery, Steamboat introduced a " Komodo dragon " as his pet to combat the psychological effects of Roberts' snake. The feud continued with Steamboat winning most of the matches (losing only one because he threw Roberts back in the ring before the 10 count, while not beating

14884-467: 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 stemming from the recent sexual harassment scandal, 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

#580419