Well, it’s Thursday again, and I’m back with another throwback to the past. This week I have chosen Jake “The Snake” Roberts. The reason I chose him is because I’m working on promoting a wrestling convention called WrestleFest 2010 here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Jake will be here next weekend signing autographs. I thought it might be good to reminisce before he comes to town.

The first thing that comes to mind for me (and probably everyone) when I think of Jake “The Snake” is obviously his snake Damien. Jake carried that green sack around with him all the time and everyone knew that his snake was in there. Occasionally, the bag would move while sitting on the apron of the ring and it just sort of gave me the willies! Rumor has it that Jake’s finishing maneuver, the DDT, stood for Damien’s Dinner Time, which is fitting considering after the match, Jake would open the sack and then place Damien on his wounded opponent and watch them squirm.

The one match that sticks out for me when it comes to Jake was back at WrestleMania VII against “The Model” Rick Martel in a Blindfold Match. The match was made because previously Martel had sprayed some of his signature cologne “Arrogance” in Jake’s eyes, blinding him. After about six months or so of build up, this Blindfold Match was the icing on the cake. Jake was a baby face, so he obviously had the advantage because the fans were on his side. I remember him pointing in different directions and when the crowd cheered, he knew that Martel was directly in front of him.

Another thing I remember when it comes to Jake was his heel turn and feud with “Macho Man” Randy Savage. It was during the time span when Macho and Miss Elizabeth were having their wedding angle. One of the wedding gifts they got had a cobra in it. As the feud went on there was a brutal scene where Jake had Macho’s arms trapped in the ring ropes and I remember watching the cobra latch onto Macho’s arm. (You can watch the clip below) Before I saw the clip, I could hear Vince McMahon‘s voice on commentary saying, “That snake better be devenomized!”

The unfortunate reality of the wrestling industry is the fact that some superstars abuse alcohol, prescription medication, and illegal drugs. Jake was one of those wrestlers. He had a lot of personal demons to deal with over the course of his life. He tried to clean up and had a few moments where he was successful, but eventually things overcame him and he would head back to his vices. As of now, I do not know for certain if he’s clean or not, but for his sake I hope that he is. The hardest part about seeing wrestlers in person at an indy show or autograph signing is seeing how they’ve aged. I hope that Jake is in good health physically and spiritually, and can look back at his roller coaster of a journey and is better for it.

If you have a suggestion for next week’s Throwback Thursday superstar, just drop me a comment or send a message on Twitter or Facebook.