In the colorful saccharine world of the late eighties, early nineties WWE, Jake The Snake Roberts provided an element of danger. Not just because he came to the ring carrying a ginormous pet python, but because it was clear that even as a babyface, he had some evil intentions running around the back of his skull. Clearly, that didn’t stop fans from loving him.
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On this week’s Most Wanted Treasures, Jake Roberts teams up with A.J. Francis to track down some memorabilia from his storied career and impart some of classic wisdom to Top Dolla himself.
A “Grisly” Beginning
As was the case with Jake in his promos, before you could get to the meat and potatoes of what he was trying to talk about, first he offered you a glimpse into the mind of the madman. No different for Most Wanted Treasures. The Snake explained that this father, Grizzly Smith once told him that you’ll never amount to anything. That was when Jake decided to get into wrestling and become the legend he became.
The Adoration Of All And The Addiction Of One
Triple H, Undertaker, and AJ Francis all spoke highly of Jake and his ability to captivate the crowd. They, along with Jake also speak of the demons that almost took his life. Triple H tasked him with trying to find a bag he carried Damien in and maybe the guitar Honky Tonk Man smashed over Jake’s head.
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Jake explained that the bags might be with an old girlfriend, but she might have burned them. As for the guitar, Jake’s feud is not over and Honky is one person whose grave Jake is looking forward to urinating on.
Motor City Madmen
AJ and Jake headed to Detroit to visit Steve GWC Morand, who helped Francis find some of Mick Foley’s memorabilia. GWC hopefully had a snake bag for The Snake, who told AJ how terrified he still is of snakes.
Of course, Vince’s grand idea for Jake when he invited him to come to WWE was that he wanted him to carry a snake to the ring. The first time ever touched a snake was in his WWE debut match.
The Snake Bag
After regaling AJ and GWC with the story of how he let the king cobra bite him on the leg to prove to the Macho Man that the snake had been devenomed, GWC showed off a snake bag. Jake explained that he used to cut one string otherwise the snake could push out of the bag and he also had to switch bags because it was softer for the snake. Morand was so gracious to share this piece of WWE nostalgia with everyone and gifted and the bag back to The Snake.
Off To Oldsmar, Florida
Somehow, WWE was hoping that the broken pieces of Honky Tonk Man’s guitar still existed. Since the guitar shot is what began Jake’s dark road down addiction, there is a ton of heat between the two superstars. AJ Francis headed to Oldsmar, Florida alone time meet with Honky’s friend and manager Jimmy Hart. Archivist Ben Brown and AJ Francis explained how great a heel HTM was.
The Heat Between The Two
Jake had invited Honky to his Snake Pit for an interview segment. The segment ended with the vicious and infamous guitar shot that would lead the two into a match at WrestleMania III.
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Francis explained to The Mouth Of The South that Jake has gone on record to say that the shot is what began Jake’s addiction to painkillers and just about everything else. Jimmy not even laughed off the claim but said, Jake might have broken a fingernail. Clearly, the heat between all parties involved has never faded.
Dave's Vinyl
Jimmy brought AJ to Dave’s Vinyl in Oldsmar. The store has housed Jimmy’s memorabilia for years and Hart and AJ went to work scouring through boxes in hopes to find the busted guitar. Despite the guitars always being gimmicked to not hurt, Jake has always intimated that wasn’t the case with the guitar that hit him. The guitar that was at Dave’s was the exact same one AJ and WWE were looking for, but it would still look great in the WWE warehouse and eventual museum. Jimmy was also gracious enough to gift WWE the piece.
Palm Coast, Florida
AJ once again teamed up with Jake to meet up with Mike Busey, the owner of Sausage Castle Wrestling to see a very unique and storied piece of memorabilia. He supposedly had the very ring from the historic WrestleMania III. The event is widely regarded as being the foundation that the WWE as we know it is built on.
Before anyone could get down to business about the ring, Jake once again let the world know his disdain for Honky Tonk and how his bout with addiction began.
The Resurrection Of Jake The Snake
Some of the most uncomfortable footage from Jake and DDP’s documentary was shown as Jake explains how Diamond Dallas Page saved his life. Busey passed on the information about he got the ring from someone who got his from Yokozuna’s family.
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Ben Brown was able to track down information. But since Brown wasn’t able to confirm whether it was a WrestleMania III ring or not, they turned down the opportunity to nab it for now.
The Hall Of Fame
Hoping he’d get a guest spot in the Royal Rumble, Triple H had reached out to invite him to come to the WWE Hall Of Fame instead.
DDP and Jake achieved the impossible and got The Snake clean. Jake showed AJ the snake-skin suit that Jake wore that evening. All Jake wanted for the unique tuxedo was a mere five grand. The night, of course, was an affirmation that the redemptive story of Jake was all worth it and he was able to reconnect with his family and of course the WWE.
