Jake Roberts is a case of someone whose immense talents have been wasted away by substance abuse, because otherwise there's no reason why the man who could write a textbook on perfecting the art of being a heel shouldn't have been contributing to the business in some form or another for the past several decades. Anyone who wants to make it in the industry has studied The Snake. His promos were soliloquies of psychological warfare designed to keep his opponents on edge. In an era where the typical wrestling interview consisted of aggressive, coked-up threats, Jake stood out because he spoke softly in drew the viewer in his with his promises of violence and mayhem. The pinnacle of his heel work was his feud with Randy Savage, where Roberts so badly tormented The Macho Man and his lady, Miss Elizabeth that many fans are still unsettled by some of what they witnessed. The two pushed the envelope to the extreme when Roberts had his pet cobra take a bite of Savage's arm on national television. Another memorable moment was when The Snake and The Undertaker locked The Ultimate Warrior inside a casket, with the Warrior furiously attempting to claw his way out from the inside while Jake laughed his maniacal cackle. A true master manipulator, if Jake Roberts can stay healthy WWE would be wise to bring him into the fold and teach some of these young talents the true art of heeling.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
