Jake "The Snake" Roberts Talks Getting Name For Stealing Groupies, Gimmick Being Turned Down, DDT

Recently, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin interviewed Jake 'the Snake' Roberts on the Steve Austin Show – Unleashed! During the podcast, Roberts talked about pitching the snake gimmick to Bill Watts, how he got the nickname of 'the Snake', and the invention of the DDT.

According to Roberts, he initially pitched the snake gimmick to Watts while he was in a feud with Lord Humongous. While Roberts admits that the snake made all of the difference in his career, Watts was not interested in the idea in the slightest.

Humongous, who wore a hockey mask, would headbutt Roberts. For an equalizer, Watts told Roberts to bring his own hockey mask in a bag. Roberts thought that doing the same thing as Humongous was not putting one over on the monster heel.

"So, I went back there and said, 'what if I put a goddamn snake in that son of a bi-tch, man, terrify that motherf-ckerr?' And he says, 'get the f–k out of here! This ain't the goddamn circus! Get the f–k out!'"

Roberts claimed that Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff gave him 'the Snake' as a nickname because Roberts would steal Orndorff's groupies.

"[Orndorff] said, 'you're a goddamn snake, Jake. You're a goddamn snake. Leave my girls alone. Leave my [ring] rats alone.'"

As for the origins of the DDT finisher, Roberts said that the move came about accidentally, as he fell backwards while holding Len Denton in a front facelock. Unlike a heel, a babyface cannot have egg on his face, so Roberts played off the mistake as though the move was intentional.

In a wide-ranging interview, Roberts also talked about the art of cheating in professional wrestling, working with Andre the Giant, and many other things. To listen to the entire podcast, click here.

Source: Steve Austin Show – Unleashed!