Jake Roberts had returned to the World Wrestling Federation at the 1996 Royal Rumble. He would only be with the company for a year -- getting released in February 97. Jakes one year run would prove rather lackluster, as Roberts portrayed a religious character -- based on his own preachings after becoming a Born-Again Christian. The most noteworthy thing this spurred was the inspiration for Stone Colds infamous Austin 3:16 catchphrase. Following his unsuccessful short stint with the Federation, Roberts shockingly debuted for ECW. During a match between Tommy Dreamer and Jerry The King Lawler -- who will be discussed later -- the lights went out, in typical ECW fashion. When the lights came back on, The Snake was standing in the middle of the ring. He attacked Dreamer before grabbing a microphone and proclaiming, Your God He giveth, and He can taketh away. My God He giveth, but He aint got the balls to do nothing else. It was an obvious play on his prior run in the Federation as a preachy Christian. Jake wasnt finished, however, as he laid out The King also. Nothing would come of the invasion, however, as Jake would not be seen in an ECW ring again until 1998s November to Remember PPV, when he was announced as Tommy Dreamers mystery partner against Justin Credible and Jason Knight. And that too, would be a one-off appearance that led nowhere.
Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.
