Jake "The Snake" Roberts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aurelian Smith Jr.

Born in 1955, Jake was named Aurelian Smith Junior after his father Aurelian aka Grizzly Smith a noted wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s. After a troubled and turbulent childhood, Jake followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a professional wrestler.

His half siblings also became wrestlers but never enjoyed the success that Jake had, his half brother was Sam Houston who was a jobber in the NWA and WWF in the mid to late 1980s. His half sister was female wrestler Rockin Robin who won the WWF Womens Title from "Sensational" Sherri in October 1988.

Answer: A Kneelift

Before becoming a genuine superstar Jake had used the knee lift as his bread and butter hold for a number of years. Jake began using the infamous "DDT" while wrestling in Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1983-1984. In reality "DDT" was a popular vermin pesticide in the 1950s and 1960s which caused instant death upon consumption.

The beauty of Jake Roberts "DDT" was that it caused its victim to immediately loose consciousness by driving them down hard on their heads.

Answer: Ronnie Garvin

In the fall of 1983, "The Snake" entered into a long and vicious feud against cagey ring veteran Ronnie Garvin, who was the reigning Georgia National Television Champion. On November 6, 1983, Roberts triumphed over Garvin to win the title for the very first time.

The war continued to rage and as a result of a controversial match in June 1984, the championship was declared vacant. On July 1, 1984 Ron Garvin defeated Jake to win the title and Jake immediately left the territory.

Answer: Gino Hernandez and Chris Adams

In the late summer of 1984 Jake arrived in the red hot territory of WCCW which was run by the legendary Fritz Von Erich. On October 27, 1984 Jake teamed with the late Chris Adams and the late Gino Hernandez to defeat Kerry, Kevin and Mike Von Erich for the WCCW Six Man Tag Team Titles.

The trio of Roberts, Hernandez and Adams held the title until The Von Erichs managed to regain it on December 31, 1984.

Answer: George Wells

In March 1986, Jake decided to take his game to the WWF where he began literally carrying a live snake mascot named "Damien" to ring with him. Initially reviled by the fans Jake had only been there a very short time when he competed at "Wrestlemania II".

At The Nassau Coliseum, Roberts defeated former CFL star George Wells who had a rather forgettable stint in the WWF from 1985 - 1986. Originally Roberts had been approached by Vince McMahon to join the WWF in the summer of 1984 and opted to decline. Jake now regrets that decision because he claims that he could have been right at the forefront of "Hulkamania" and the expansion of the WWF in 1984-1985.

Answer: May 3, 1986

On the May 3, 1986 segment of the popular "Saturday Nights Main Event" on NBC Jake Roberts faced Ricky Steamboat in a highly anticipated match. As Steamboat greeted the fans he was immediately jumped by Jake who knocked him off the ring apron onto the arena floor. Jake then grabbed Steamboat and delivered a "DDT" right on the cement floor which caused a legitimate head trauma.

The injury sidelined Steamboat for several weeks and ignited a bitter feud which lasted through the summer of 1986. Prior to the match a concerned Jake had warned Steamboat and the powers that be of the dangers of performing such a hold but was told to go ahead and do it.

Answer: His Million Dollar Belt

In early 1989 Ted Dibiase, frustrated with his inability to win any sort of title in the WWF, created his own belt which he aptly called "The Million Dollar Belt". In the spring of 1989 Jake Roberts and Ted Dibiase began their year long rivalry and in late 1989 Jake was able to gain possession of Ted's prized "Belt". On April 1, 1990 the two battled in one of the featured bouts at "Wrestlemania VI" with the "Million Dollar Belt" on the line. Dibiase was able to win the match via count out but Jake delivered a "DDT" to knock him cold and then proceeded to hand out some of his $100 bills to the fans, one of which was actress Mary Tyler Moore.

Answer: The Earthquake

In May 1991, in a televised incident, the vile heel known as The Earthquake delivered not one but two of his famous sit down splashes which "storyline" ended the life of Jake's beloved pet snake Damien. Several weeks later Jake revealed his new mascot to be Damien's big brother Lucifer.

The feud between Jake and The Earthquake ended rather abruptly as Jake made an unexpected heel turn and Earthquake formed a tag team with Typhoon called The Natural Disasters.

Answer: "Spin the Wheel, Make A Deal"

Unhappy with his direction in the WWF, Jake demanded and received his release from the company in April 1992. However, he had a ninety day no compete clause which delayed his debut until August 1992, in addition it gave enough time for Bill Watts to assume the role of "Head Booker" and significantly alter the contract.

In August 1992, Jake made his televised debut when he attacked the popular Sting during a tag team match. The two engaged in a brief feud which climaxed on October 25, 1992 at "Halloween Havoc" where Sting triumphed in a "Cole Miners Glove Match".

This bout was a "Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal" gimmick where a wheel was spun and whatever gimmick bout it stopped on was the match that would take place, in this instance "A Coal Miner's Glove Match".

Answer: Randy Orton

For the past two decades Jake has had a long and rocky road dealing with substance abuse. In 1996 after sobering up he was rehired by the WWF and lasted for about a year until he relapsed and was terminated in 1997. On the March 14, 2005 segment of "Raw" Jake appeared to warn Randy Orton about the dangers of his upcoming "Wrestlemania XXI" contest against the macabre Undertaker. Orton scoffed at Jake's words and then proceeded to deliver his signature hold "The RKO" to the legendary star.