When WWE fans talk about the career of Jake Roberts, they usually bring up his original run in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had a lot of memorable feuds in that period against the likes of Randy Savage, Rick Rude and The Ultimate Warrior among others. In 1992, he left the company due to creative issues. Roberts returned to WWE in 1996 and did so under a new gimmick as a Bible preaching babyface due to the fact that he was a Born Again Christian. Roberts has always dealt with alcoholism, so it was encouraging to see him in this role. It was different, but it worked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKyZ3T2bu-Y Most remember Roberts run at the King of the Ring 1996 because it was a chance for WWE to build him up as a returning veteran star, but it's more memorable for Steve Austin's 3:16 speech. Since Roberts was doing the character that mentioned the bible, Austin had his own spin on the John 3:16 bible passage. Austin's words were something that wrestling fans will never forget: "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!" The next night on Raw "Austin 3:16" signs started showing up and they continued from there. The "Austin 3:16" shirt became one of the biggest selling merchandising items in wrestling history. I had a shirt. If you were watching at that time you probably were too. As for Roberts, he stuck around in WWE through most of 1996, but it was clear he wasn't the same performer he was earlier in the decade
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