WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Jake 'The Snake' Roberts (1987)

 

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Jake 'The Snake' Roberts (1987)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover features Jake handling his snake - 'his only friend'

Craig DeGeorge and Johnny Valiant host, from the studio

Jake Roberts v Scott McGhee: From New York City on April 22 1986, and aired on the April 28 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. Will Ferrell comedies have totally ruined ‘McGhee’ as a surname. Jake takes his time with him, but McGhee gets fired up with a dropkick, and a gutwrench suplex gets him two, so Roberts bails. McGhee gives chase, and delivers a hiptoss on the way back in, setting up a kneedrop for two. McGhee with a stomp to the groin, and a matslam sets up another kneedrop, but Jake dodges it this time. That allows Roberts a short-clothesline, so McGhee tries a rollup, but Jake drops him with the DDT at 4:01. Very slow stuff here. ½*

Ricky Steamboat v Jake Roberts: From Saturday Night's Main Event, aired May 3 1986 from Providence Rhode Island. Weird neon green tights with purple trim for Jake tonight, that looks like something he borrowed them from Randy Savage's early 90s closet. As for the match, Jake attacks him before the bell, and absolutely KILLS him with a DDT on the floor, then drags his limp carcass into the ring (with Steamboat doing an impressive job of playing dead weight) for the Damien treatment - resulting in a no contest. So, yeah, no match, really, but the angle was a winner.

From Tuesday Night Titans, Jake brings various snakes to the set, to the chagrin of Gene Okerlund and Lord Alfred Hayes

Ricky Steamboat v Jake Roberts: From Boston Massachusetts on August 9 1986. Steamboat is very cautious in the early going, and Jake gets him in a wristlock. Ricky throws elbows to escape, and they keep feeling each other out, with Jake able to dominate with use of cheap tactics. He frustrates the Dragon at every turn, until Ricky explodes, and unloads on him on the outside. A chop against the post gets dodged, however, and Steamboat cracks his hand against the steel. Jake goes to work on the hand, until Steamboat gets fired up again, and sends him into the barricade. Ricky feeds him the announce table next, and Dragon keeps control with a facebuster on the way back inside. Backhand gets two, and a flying tomahawk chop finds the mark. Turnbuckle smash, but Jake shoves him into the referee to buy time. Jake delivers a short-clothesline, but the referee is still down, so no count. Roberts stays on him with a stomachbreaker, but still no referee to count. Roberts goes to revive him, but that allows Steamboat to recover with a rollup at 17:20. This was solid work, but kind of on the dull side. *

Gene catches up with Jake, who promises to continue dropping fools with the DDT at will

Jake Roberts v Junkyard Dog: From Phoenix Arizona on December 9 1986. Sometimes I forget how tall Jake is. Roberts gets in his face at the bell, so JYD swats him away, and gets a nervehold on. Jake escapes, so Dog uses an armdrag. Jake tries an elbowdrop, but Dog dodges, and uses a series of headbutts to send Roberts to the outside. Back in, Jake gets a chinlock on, and he wears Dog down in the hold, using the ropes for leverage before eventually getting busted. Dog comes back with a series of six bodyslams, and Jake tries bailing, but Dog drills him with another headbutt. Dog follows to slug it out on the floor, so Jake goes for the snake, but ends up getting himself counted out at 9:15. What a weird choice for a showcase considering 1) the match was bad and 2) Jake doesn’t even win. DUD

King Kong Bundy v Jake Roberts: From New York on February 23 1987. Jake frustrates him early on, but stupidly engages in a test-of-strength, and ends up in trouble. Bundy goes to work, and gets Roberts in a chinlock, but Jake escapes. He manages a kneelift, but Bundy blocks the DDT. Bundy tries an elbowdrop, but Roberts dodges. DDT, but Bundy blocks again, and Jake ends up on the outside for his efforts. Bundy hops out to roll him back in, but is somehow counted out in the process at 9:18. This was extremely boring. DUD

Jake Roberts v King Kong Bundy: From Saturday Night's Main Event, aired March 14 1987 in Detroit Michigan. Jake actually tries working a wristlock with the mammoth Bundy to start, but gets swatted away. Jake changes gears to a stick-and-move routine, but stupidly agrees to a test-of-strength, and nearly gets pinned during it. You know, for a master of psychology, Roberts is making literally all the wrong choices in this one thus far. Bundy hammers him in the corner before slapping on a front-facelock. You know, I don't think anyone has ever tried it, but if the ropes are out of reach, and you can't find a counter, I'm pretty sure a finger up the butt would totally break that hold. Something to think about, for all you aspiring young wrestlers. Jake mounts a comeback, so Bobby Heenan steals the snake to distract him, and Roberts has to abandon the match to go after it - allowing Bundy to jump him. King Kong with a few shoulderblocks, but the Avalanche misses, and Jake unloads a series of jabs, followed by a clothesline. He goes for the snake, so the referee objects, and Roberts makes the mistake of decking him - getting disqualified at 6:14. Again, for a master of psychology, he's pretty fucking dumb. I guess he was still getting used to wrestling as a full fledged face. Dull match. ¼*

From the Snake Pit, as Jake reviews his feud with Honky Tonk Man, just ahead of WrestleMania III. That guitar shot from the start of the feud is just brutal

Jake Roberts v Honky Tonk Man: From WrestleMania III, March 29 1987 in Pontiac Michigan. Jake has Alice Cooper in his corner for this. Makes sense, since Jake was probably the only guy on the roster who could keep up with Alice. Jake attacks him during the entrances, and hammers him both inside and outside of the ring. He give Honky a bodyslam on the floor before bringing it back in for a cross corner whip, but a charge hits knee, and Honky delivers a falling axehandle. Slugfest goes Roberts' way with a short-clothesline, but Honky manages to avoid the DDT, and bail back to the floor to break the momentum. Jake is on him, but gets reversed into the post out there, and Cooper helps him beat the count. Well, sure, winner's end of the purse money buys much better party favors for after. Honky with a bodyslam to setup a 2nd rope fistdrop, and he adds a backelbow. Shake, Rattle, and Roll (what a fucking stupid name for a finisher, right out of the PG-era), but Jake blocks, so Honky tries a ten-punch instead, but Roberts counters with an inverted atomic drop. Jake unloads with a series of jabs and a backdrop, but Jimmy Hart saves Honky from the DDT, and the distraction allows Honky to schoolboy Roberts at 7:04. Competent, but on the dull side. ½*

Jake Roberts v Kamala: From Saturday Night's Main Event, aired May 2 1987 from Notre Dame Indiana. Jake scares Kamala to the floor with the python, but gets jumped while putting it back in his sack. Kamala unloads for a bit before trying a bearhug, but Jake takes advantage of the fact that the Ugandan giant wrestles barefoot, and stomps his bare feet to escape. Heh. Jake works a wristlock, but Kamala chops free, and chokes him down. Headbutt puts Roberts on the floor, so he wisely goads Kamala into a chase - winning easily, and leaving the big man winded. That allows Jake a 2nd rope flying high knee on the way back in, so Kim Chee interferes, and Kamala splashes him for the pin at 4:18. Afterwards, Kim Chee unmasks as Honky Tonk Man, to further his feud with Jake. Like most Kamala matches, this was mostly punch/kick/choke (no wonder they paired him up with Undertaker in 1992), but it was really more about the angle, and that's just fine for TV. DUD

BUExperience: Ugh. Jake was never the best guy from a workrate perspective to begin with, but there wasn’t much interesting here in terms of what Jake was great at, and it’s mostly just a collection of not good matches.

Not a good addition to your Coliseum Collection.