Anyone whos seen the documentary Beyond The Mat knows the story of Jake The Snake Roberts and his dark, tormented life. To say hes battled drug and alcohol addiction for decades is not quite accurate for a long time, drugs and alcohol had him beat. Almost a massive star in the late eighties and early nineties, Roberts issues meant he could never properly capitalise on his popularity. Hed go on to kick and relapse time and time and time again during the nineties - at one point he had it licked with the help of old school religion, returning to the WWF to put over Stone Cold Steve Austin before leaving again in 1997. In 1999, Beyond The Mat showed Roberts at his lowest ebb: a crack addict, ruining every relationship around him. Hed screw up in the ring and out, exposing himself to fans, having drunken breakdowns. By summer 2012, he was considering suicide and thats the rock bottom moment where he reached out to his old buddy and protégé Diamond Dallas Page. Page is one of wrestlings good guys: a foul-mouthed, big-hearted guy passionate about the business and everyone in it. He took Roberts into his home, and made it his business to help bring him back to life again, instilling in him the precepts of his DDP Yoga system to lose weight and regain fitness, health and vitality. More than that, Page helped Roberts to care about himself again, care about his past and his present to realise that, in his late fifties, he still had a future. When Diamond Dallas Page inducted Jake The Snake Roberts into the WWE Hall of Fame last year, ramrod straight, clear-eyed, healthy and hale, there was barely a dry eye in the house. His speech, brutally honest and utterly heartfelt, brought the house to its knees: one of the greatest masters of psychology in professional wrestling still had what it took to make a crowd feel just what he was feeling. Jake turned sixty a few weeks ago, and the WWE needs to recognise his talents; as the manager of a heel stable, The Snake could still mesmerise the WWE Universe.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
