WWE: 10 Things You Need To Know About Jake "The Snake" Roberts

6. That DDT On The Concrete

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sHWP3F_gk8 One of the most beloved wrestlers of all time has got to be Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. He is known for his epic feuds with Ric Flair, his classic match with Randy Savage at WrestleMania III, and never turning heel for his entire career. The Dragon epitomized the term "babyface", and was the perfect opponent for Jake when the latter first started with the WWF. Ricky Steamboat could so easily elicit sympathy from the fans, and was a natural in the ring. When the cool customer with the snake came to town, who better to make him look as dastardly as possible? Well, it worked. In 1986, Steamboat and Roberts clashed at a Saturday Night's Main Event (a prime-time program put on in partnership with major network NBC). As the story goes, Roberts was instructed to administer a DDT to Steamboat, but on the floor outside the ring. There were no protective mats, just cold, hard concrete. Steamboat was not protected as per the plan, and he was immediately knocked unconscious. You can see Jake lift his dead weight back into the ring, and Steamboat was out with a concussion (which must have been fairly serious, given how common it was for wrestlers to work injured in those days). It's not easy footage to find. But that DDT was brutal, and it sent a message that Jake Roberts meant serious business. The feud continued when Steamboat recovered, with both men citing great respect for one another thereafter. I wonder if Vince McMahon saw how strong a reaction came from Steamboat's injury, and if it informed his decision for Randy Savage to injure Steamboat's larynx with the ring bell? Some mysteries are best left unsolved.