Ten in My book
TSC Evaluation #70: Jake "The Snake" Roberts
- Thread starter mrken12
- Start date
Promos and mic work, I'd give this dude a 12. Arguably the best talker ever in terms of grabbing your full attention and understanding the message that had to be sent in a particular storyline.
As a storyteller in the ring, again, one of the very best ever, and a true master of psychology, timing and understanding that less is often more when it comes to communicating with a crowd.
The DDT as a finisher, especially the sequence leading up to it which built the anticipation, is one of the greatest of all time. It's a move that was often imitated but obviously never duplicated, to the point where it's become nothing more than mid-match filler in matches between wrestlers who don't matter. I always thought nobody else should have ever been allowed to use it (apologies to Arn).
Having said all that, I can't quite bring myself to give him a 10. He kinda became an embarrassment not only to himself, but to the entire industry as one of the poster boys for substance abuse in wrestling. It's not an overstatement to say that he hurt pro wrestling by being who he was in those years. Basically, he became a slob who gave zero fukks, to a level that can't be ignored. His performance at the Heroes of Wrestling PPV was probably the low point.
At his peak, though? Absolute master. Don't let mid-card status in McMahon's WWF fool you. He was as good as it got.
9
As a storyteller in the ring, again, one of the very best ever, and a true master of psychology, timing and understanding that less is often more when it comes to communicating with a crowd.
The DDT as a finisher, especially the sequence leading up to it which built the anticipation, is one of the greatest of all time. It's a move that was often imitated but obviously never duplicated, to the point where it's become nothing more than mid-match filler in matches between wrestlers who don't matter. I always thought nobody else should have ever been allowed to use it (apologies to Arn).
Having said all that, I can't quite bring myself to give him a 10. He kinda became an embarrassment not only to himself, but to the entire industry as one of the poster boys for substance abuse in wrestling. It's not an overstatement to say that he hurt pro wrestling by being who he was in those years. Basically, he became a slob who gave zero fukks, to a level that can't be ignored. His performance at the Heroes of Wrestling PPV was probably the low point.
At his peak, though? Absolute master. Don't let mid-card status in McMahon's WWF fool you. He was as good as it got.
9
Dude is in the upper echelon with Rock, Stone Cold, Hoegan, Macho Man, Flair etc as a name that is known by people who have never watched wrestling
If only he was the Higher Power
If only he was the Higher Power
Jake unleashing the cobra on Savage one of the craziest moments ever in wrestling. His promos were always $$$. IDGAF if he never won a major belt, this guy didn't need a belt to validate him. His ring work was decent, the DDT speaks for itself.
9/10
9/10
threattonature
Veteran
shyt not just that but the post match of the This Tuesday in Texas PPV where he grabs Liz by the hair and smacks her and then the promo afterwards is right up there to me where he basically got turned on smacking her up like that. I voted an 8 initially but bumping it to a 9.
Interview skills clearly a 10. Either as a face or a heel come off completely believable. One of the guys that fans really wanted to cheer but was so great a heel he really could make fans hate him.
Personality - 10 - Goes along with interview skills. He really sold his character and made it seem believable as he bounced back from face/heel he made it all seem genuine.
In ring a 7. In ring he wasn't going to ever deliver a workrate classic but he made you care about what was happening in the ring. Had the less is more philosophy and probably one of the best in ring psychologists ever. The way he'd use the threat of the snake and the DDT into the match psychology and he was great at selling.
Fueds - This is what really put it over the top for me. Not only did he have a long list of great and memorable feuds but on the Bruce Pritchard podcast it appears that the majority of them came from Jake himself. His feuds with Steamboat, Macho Man, Rude, Bad News Brown, Million Dollar Man, Andre, Martell, Earthquake, Honky Tonk Man, Warrior, Undertaker, hell even Lawler after the fall off are all memorable as hell and that's just off the top of the head. Then his involvement with The Legion of Doom before his WWF time that I haven't seen much of but heard great things and his resume of feuds is up there with Macho Man to me of memorable moments.
Overall if he had true certified in ring classics he'd be an easy 10 to me. He made you care about his matches but none I'd want to go back and watch over and over so could only go a 9.
threattonature
Veteran
Just talking about this made me go back and watch. Another thing about Jake was the little realistic touches he put in to his matches. One was he's laying on the ropes with his back facing away from the entranceway. The crowd starts screaming like crazy. Most wrestlers don't react. Jake as soon as he hears the crowd screaming jumps away from the ropes to turn around and see who's coming down the aisle. Then the shyt where he was threatened suspension if he pulled out the snake. So the whole post match he keeps teasing and teasing like he's about to open the bag to freak Elizabeth out. Then as Tunney comes down gives Tunney a big smile and tries to shake his hand, then tells him "there's no snake in the bag, I kept my promise" with a huge smile. Just little shyt like that which made me love Jack as a performer back then.
-Mic work/promos - Are you kidding me? This guy is a top 3 promo of all time. There's not enough stars Jake can be given for his mic work and promos. Cold, dark, calculating money promos. In the 80s where animated (and roid./coke fueled) promos were the rage, dude would just talk in this low voice with a steely ass glare on his face. There was something about the shyt he would say that held your attention until he was done. Never failed to get his point across to push whatever feud he was in. Even his face promos were riveting and something he strangely excelled for the type of guy he was. The promo about Dibiase and his greed might actually be his best promo ever IMO.."wallowing in the muck of avarice"...poetic shyt..He wove the bible/religious references in better than any wrestler that ive ever seen.
-Personality/gimmicks - a sly cunning redneck (as a face) or a sly cunning demonic redneck (heel) or born again Christian redneck (face) who just happened to have a fascination for snakes...he is one of the most recognizable wrestlers of all the time...full monty
-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds) - jake in his prime was more than capable of holding his own with more athletically gifted wrestlers..he was not a technical wizard nor a physical marvel but he made every move he did count..he was a great worker in that aspect...even some of the bad matches (esp after his first WWF stint ended) he had would keep you focused...mostly because of us anticipating him hitting his finisher...that psychology.....was a fan of his arm twist/short arm clothesline combo...the DDT is wrestling all time GOAT finishers. give him a 6
-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores) Jake The Snake Roberts is the embodiment of pro wrestling both in ring and unfortunately out of it. His drug, alcohol, and serious personal problems have made him a shell of the man of what he used to be. It's actually amazing that he's outlived most of his peers. He has so much to offer to wrestling. He would be a hell of a agent or coach for today's wrestlers if he ever could get his life straighten out to the point of complete normalcy. In his prime there were few better to get it done better on the midcard...had great feuds...he was certainly popular that he could have held at least one belt in the WWE..he would have been a great IC champ..he also deserved a true main event run with Hogan, which unfortunately was cut short because Hogan got DDT'd and the fans cheered. Couldn't have that in the 80's WWF
...Him slapping Elizabeth (and the explanation why) along with Lucifer legit biting Macho Man on the arm still holds up in pure shock even after 25+ years. He could have been more but as I mentioned he freefalled hard and fast after his final stint in the WWE. So give him a 6.5 overall
-Personality/gimmicks - a sly cunning redneck (as a face) or a sly cunning demonic redneck (heel) or born again Christian redneck (face) who just happened to have a fascination for snakes...he is one of the most recognizable wrestlers of all the time...full monty
-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds) - jake in his prime was more than capable of holding his own with more athletically gifted wrestlers..he was not a technical wizard nor a physical marvel but he made every move he did count..he was a great worker in that aspect...even some of the bad matches (esp after his first WWF stint ended) he had would keep you focused...mostly because of us anticipating him hitting his finisher...that psychology.....was a fan of his arm twist/short arm clothesline combo...the DDT is wrestling all time GOAT finishers. give him a 6
-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores) Jake The Snake Roberts is the embodiment of pro wrestling both in ring and unfortunately out of it. His drug, alcohol, and serious personal problems have made him a shell of the man of what he used to be. It's actually amazing that he's outlived most of his peers. He has so much to offer to wrestling. He would be a hell of a agent or coach for today's wrestlers if he ever could get his life straighten out to the point of complete normalcy. In his prime there were few better to get it done better on the midcard...had great feuds...he was certainly popular that he could have held at least one belt in the WWE..he would have been a great IC champ..he also deserved a true main event run with Hogan, which unfortunately was cut short because Hogan got DDT'd and the fans cheered. Couldn't have that in the 80's WWF
...Him slapping Elizabeth (and the explanation why) along with Lucifer legit biting Macho Man on the arm still holds up in pure shock even after 25+ years. He could have been more but as I mentioned he freefalled hard and fast after his final stint in the WWE. So give him a 6.5 overall
Mack de la Rocha
Pro
One of the best gimmicks in wrestling.
One of best gimmicks in wrestling.
Good worker as well.
Look at the more crossover stars that Jake stands up to as the ATGs: Austin, Rock, Savage, Hogan, Taker, Michaels, Hart..... The difference is Jake is a wrestling fan's favorite wrestler - the true People's Champion.
10/10
One of best gimmicks in wrestling.
Good worker as well.
Look at the more crossover stars that Jake stands up to as the ATGs: Austin, Rock, Savage, Hogan, Taker, Michaels, Hart..... The difference is Jake is a wrestling fan's favorite wrestler - the true People's Champion.
10/10
Riley Escobar
GOAT
9
Greatest talker in the history of professional wrestling
Ring psychology 10/10. The little things he did in the ring made it memorable. 1992 Rumble, a prime example. Savage wanted to beat the shyt out of him so whenever anyone entered Jake would stop what he was doing and look towards the curtain. When Savage came in Jake was just chilling near the corner and ducked out of the ring, hid, waited for Savage to get caught and then came back in and started stomping the fukk out of him
40:00 here
One of the GOAT heels
Greatest talker in the history of professional wrestling
Ring psychology 10/10. The little things he did in the ring made it memorable. 1992 Rumble, a prime example. Savage wanted to beat the shyt out of him so whenever anyone entered Jake would stop what he was doing and look towards the curtain. When Savage came in Jake was just chilling near the corner and ducked out of the ring, hid, waited for Savage to get caught and then came back in and started stomping the fukk out of him
40:00 here
One of the GOAT heels
