Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who turns 70 today, was a master villain in WWE. In real life, he suffered cruel blows of fate that drove him into long and serious addiction problems. He has now put them behind him.
In the 1980s, he was one of the biggest crowd favorites behind Hulk Hogan in what was then the WWF.
In the early 1990s, he was a wonderfully diabolical villain with memorable feuds against the Ultimate Warrior, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and the Undertaker, whom he turned into a “good guy” as his opponent at WrestleMania VIII.
WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who turns 70 today, was a master storyteller both in and out of the ring. He is remembered as the man who made the DDT move famous, who frightened even the iconic André The Giant with his snakes “Damian” and “Lucifer” that he brought to the ring, and who even used a (detoxified) cobra in his feud with Savage.
The truly demonic story, however, is that of Jake Roberts’ real life.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts suffered under his father Grizzly Smith
The man, whose real name is Aurelian Smith Jr., repeatedly made headlines away from the camera with his years of alcohol and drug addiction. He cited his family background as the son of Aurelian Smith Sr., known in the wrestling world as Grizzly Smith, who died in 2010, as the main reason for this.
Roberts and other family members portray him as a vicious domestic tyrant and pedophile who sexually abused his own daughter, who was also formerly active in WWE. And that wasn’t the only terrible crime that left Roberts and his family with irreparable scars.
Roberts, born on May 30, 1955, in Gainesville, Texas, has recounted his father’s horrific story many times: in the WWE documentary “Pick Your Poison,” the groundbreaking film “Beyond the Mat,” and most recently in the award-winning documentary series “Dark Side of the Ring.”
Jake “The Snake” Roberts (@JakeSnakeDDT) and his siblings struggle to confront their traumatic past of familial abuse and the mysterious abduction of their sister.
“In the Shadow of Grizzly Smith” premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. on @vicetv and @CraveCanada pic.twitter.com/qNZ0xknWGt
— Dark Side of the Ring (@DarkSideOfRing) May 30, 2021
Sister abused by father
According to reports, his life is the result of Smith raping his biological mother when she was only 13 years old. Smith then married her under pressure from the family, which only made him more bitter and dangerous.
Roberts’ half-sister Robin – WWE women’s champion in the late 1980s as Rockin’ Robin – reports that her father sexually abused her between the ages of 8 and 14. Other minors he met on his wrestling tours also fell victim to Smith.
Jake Roberts adds further disturbing details to the accounts: he also suffered from anxiety because his father never told him as a child that his wrestling matches were just a show and not a fight to the death – and he suffered under his stepmother, whom he also accused of abusing him.
Roberts’ sister was kidnapped and probably murdered
The life story of the Smith siblings, which also includes half-brother Michael (Sam Houston) and Richard, who is not involved in wrestling, has another sad chapter: Jake’s sister Jo Lynn, who was 20 at the time, was kidnapped in 1979 and presumed murdered; her husband’s ex-wife was convicted of the crime.
Because Jo Lynn’s body was never found, only her kidnapping could be proven. She served seven years of an original 33-year prison sentence.
Unable to cope with the suffering inflicted on them, both Jake and Robin became alcoholics, but both now report that they are sober.
Jake Roberts kicked his alcohol and drug addiction about 13 years ago after being considered a hopeless case, lost to his “demons.” He was helped by the life coaching of former wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, who became a yoga guru and also showed many other fellow wrestlers a way out of deep life crises, including “Razor Ramon” Scott Hall (who died in 2022 after a relapse into alcoholism) and Lex Luger. Roberts’ recovery helped to shift the focus away from his excesses and back to his legacy as a true legend of the industry.
Historic moment at WWE with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
“The Snake” was not an exceptional athlete in the ring, but he understood the psychological craft of show wrestling like no other, stirring up emotions by cleverly playing with the audience. Roberts was able to win over the crowd (in his feuds against “Ravishing” Rick Rude, “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, “The Model” Rick Martel), but even more impressive was the manipulative ‘heel’ version of his snake character (“Trust me!”), which was considered a masterpiece.
A late comeback in the mid-1990s as a (supposedly) reformed character was less successful, but played a role in a historic WWE moment: Roberts was the opponent of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in the momentous 1996 King of the Ring final, after which Austin stepped up to the microphone and mocked Roberts’ faith (“Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16 – Austin 3:16 says: ‘I’ve just whipped your ass!’) – the moment that defined Austin’s cult character and became the big bang of the second WWE megaboom, the ”Attitude Era.”
Even back then, Roberts’ body had visibly suffered from his excesses, but he recently proved once again as a manager at rival AEW that, despite his impairments, he is still capable of letting his mythical presence shine through effectively.
Roberts’ private life has also undergone an unexpected change recently: in 2023, after three divorces, he reconciled with his second wife Cheryl, whom he met during their joint WWE appearances and who accompanied him through successful heart surgery just a few weeks ago.
