7. Damien
The only part of Jake's repertoire that got more of a pop than the DDT was his python, Damien. In what could be seen as a heavy-handed gimmick, it was easily on par with the times (it was the 80's, when birds and bulldogs and bagpipes all came to the ring). Jake Roberts didn't necessarily need to up his cool factor, but that burlap sack certainly added to his swagger. He'd always keep it in the corner of the ring, where his opponents could react to it whenever they were unfortunate enough to come near. That bag of snake was Jake's insurance policy: if the DDT didn't get you, Damien would. Sometimes the intimidation factor alone was enough to win matches. His feud with Andre the Giant relied heavily on Andre's fear of snakes, and I can still picture Andre's face when Jake would wield Damien like a reptilian light saber, keeping The Giant at bay. It seemed so ridiculous, a giant that's afraid of snakes! But when you're a kid, you're buying it all. I couldn't picture Koko B. Ware going through customs at the airport with that bird, Frankie. But I had no trouble picturing Jake, staring down the security officer and taking that burlap sack as carry-on. That suspension of disbelief was shattered when I got older, and learned that Damien wasn't always the same snake. That's how much I bought into The Snake. He looked like he had a connection with that python, and the announce team sold it with flair. They were always horrified and mesmerized by what was in that bag. The fans never failed to follow suit.