10 Wrestling Returns We Marked Out For
8. Jake Roberts
For years, it seemed that the only way we would ever see Jake Roberts again in WWE would be as part of a memorial segment. That may sound morbid, but the man’s life was so incredibly troubled, that it felt like it was only going to be a matter of time before we heard his personal demons had finally got the best of him.
After 1996, Roberts was basically not welcomed back in WWE in any form. Besides one appearance in 2005 with Randy Orton, he had nothing to do with the company. It was just too risky. He was too out of shape to wrestle, and way too unreliable to show up for any sort of angle or advertised appearance.
We watched as his life continued to spiral out of control, with no signs of it turning around. That is until he moved in with Diamond Dallas Page. He cut out the drugs and alcohol, and took on Page’s Yoga program. Roberts quickly became a new man. There were a few stumbles along the way, but he truly seemed transformed. It got to the point where WWE could confidently work with him again, and had him inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
But it was his return to an episode of Old School Raw a few months earlier that was one of the best feel-good moments in the history of the company. At the end of the night, his music hit, and the man walked out carrying a sack, while trying to contain the huge smile on his face. It was impossible not to mark out for seeing him again.
All he did really was lay a python over Dean Ambrose’s face, but just the fact he was on our TVs once again was pretty much a miracle.