Search
Stalk Us On Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Add Us On Myspace Grab Our RSS Feed


Bulldog's DVD Rack - Jake "The Snake" Roberts: Pick Your Poison

By Canadian Bulldog Dec 6, 2011 - 12:45 PM

So here's the deal - I have a ton of DVDs that have been sitting on my rack for weeks.... months.... in some cases, years.... and it's about time I reviewed them.

Previously reviewed on the Rack:

10 Must-Have Wrestling DVD's  

Andre The Giant       

Before They Were Famous  

The Best Of CM Punk (In Full Impact Pro)

TNA Best Of The Bloodiest Brawls

Bobby The Brain Heenan

Born To Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story

Breaking The Code: Behind The Walls of Chris Jericho

Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon

Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story

Compilation Tape Extravaganza~!

The Definitive Guide to Mick Foley on DVD

FMW King of the Death Match

FMW Ring Of Torture

A Guide To ECW On DVD

Hardcore Homecoming: November Reign  

Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology

The History Of TNA: Year 1

Hulk Hogan's Unreleased Collectors Series

Immortal... Forever?

IndieMania (3PW, ROH, UPW, FMW

JCW Volume 3

Jeff Jarrett: King Of The Mountain  

John Cena: My Life

King Kong Bundy: The Missing Matches    

Last Call With Raven & Sandman

WWE Legends Of Wrestling

Legends Never Die

Macho Madness: The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection

McMahon    

Omega: Uncommon Passion

Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Insiders: Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara

Raw: The Beginning

    

Ricky Steamboat - The Life Story Of The Dragon

River Of Darkness

Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag-Team In Wrestling History

The Spectacular Legacy Of The AWA

 

Triple H: The King Of Kings

The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling

The True Story Of WrestleMania

Twist Of Fate: The Matt & Jeff Hardy Story

The Very Best of WCW Nitro

The World's Greatest Wrestling Managers

WWE Unauthorized

ECW Deep Impact

Kurt Angle: Champion

The Twisted, Disturbed Life of Kane

 

Quick -- what's the first thing you think of when you hear the name Jake "The Snake" Roberts? The classic heel promos? The DDT that knocked Ricky Steamboat out cold? The angle where he forced Andre The Giant to fearfully shout "No Snakes, Bobby!"? 

Yeah, all I can think of are his substance problems, too. It's unfortunate that the legacy of a man who really has had a Hall of Fame career has been reduced to concerns about his ongoing struggle with sobriety .

WWE's 2005 DVD collection about Roberts was his opportunity  to debunk a lot of what's been said about him, and at the same show why he was such a popular performer during his peak. Roberts, clean and sober during the documentary, pulls no  punches when talking about his career, even when it doesn't benefit WWE.

For example, when Roberts was el-kabonged in the head by The Honky Tonk Man in 1987, it wasn't by a gimmicked guitar, leading to real-life neck injuries. And during his 1996 feud with Jerry Lawler, The Snake had no idea that The King would be making so much fun of his alcoholism -- let alone pouring whiskey down his throat!

One subject that I didn't expect to be tackled was Roberts's involvement in Beyond The Mat, including an infamous scene in which he was strung out on crack in his hotel room. Jake offers up his side of the story; an interesting nod to a film WWE had nothing to do with.

Beyond the substance abuse and, frankly, horrible upbringing, we look at Roberts's wrestling career, including classic feuds with Steamboat, Andre, Ravishing Rick Rude, Macho Man Randy Savage, Rick Martel, Earthquake and others. We even get a (brief) explanation on why the seemingly inevitable Roberts-Hulk Hogan feud never materialized.

As usual, a wide variety of talking heads help Roberts tell the story of his life, including Bruce Pritchard, Ted DiBiase, Jim Ross, Mean Gene Okerlund and, of course, Vince McMahon.

Beyond the documentary, there are a ton of interview clips - some from days past, some that just didn't make the final cut. And you have a handful of matches from Mid-Atlantic, Georgia, WWE, WCW, SMW and ECW, including his King of the Ring final match against Stone Cold Steve Austin that launched the "Austin 3:16" catchphrase.

Overall, this isn't a bad offering at all. A fairly complete collection, whether for fans who hadn't seen Jake compete in his prime, or for longtime wrestling fans who just want a venomous dose of nostalgia.


 

Canadian Bulldog has been writing about professional wrestling since 2003, and became a WWI Superstar at  World Wrestling Insanity  in January 2006. Need more Bulldog? Check out his "Complete and Utter Bulldog" podcast at  Club WWI ; like his  Facebook  page and follow him on  Twitter.

 


blog comments powered by Disqus

Latest Headlines From This Category:

 

(30 Mins) James Bullock's "Honor Nation": The Internet Pay-Per-View No One Saw
(21 Mins) JG's Audio Insanity: Everybody's Steve Austin Now
(23 Mins) "Winterz Wonderland" with Jason Winterz: TBS at 6:05
(23 Mins) JG's Audio Insanity: King Mo Money, King Mo Problems
(16 Mins) Complete and Utter Bulldog: Yes!


Powered by Disqus


JG's 4/2/12 Raw Insanity: They Get Rock, They Get Brock, They Want Daniel Bryan
JG's 3/16 Smackdown Insanity: The Ginger Brogue Man Hurts His Face, The Peep of Ace's, and Kane Don't Shake No Hands
JG's 3/5 Raw Insanity: The Rock Talks Us To Death
JG's 2/27 Raw Insanity: Kung Pow Cena Tattles on The Rock's Cheat Sheet
JG's 2/21/12 Smackdown Insanity: Daniel Bryan and CM Punk Share a Pin
JG's Ten False Wrestling Rumors That Everybody's Heard
JG's Ten Life Lessons I've Learned From Wrestling Commentary
JG's Ten Awful Pieces Of Official Wrestling Merchandise
JG's Ten Wrestling Characters With Undiagnosed Medical Conditions
JG's Ten Unforgettable Jobbers
JG's Ten Old School Managers For Ten Current Stars
JG's Ten Good Guy Wrestling Characters Who Would Have Been Great Heels
JG's Ten Old School Things Wrestling Got Rid Of (and No One Missed)
JG's Ten Annoying Things About Being a Wrestling Fan
JG's 8/15 Raw Insanity: Diesel Texts Himself Into The CM Punk Storyline
JG's 7/25 Raw Insanity: And a Hunter Shall Lead Them
JG's Insanity: The Time Traveling Announce Team Crime Fighter Heroes
James Guttman Responds to: Yahoo's Article on WrestleMania VII's Death Count
JG's Ten Wrestling Matches We Never Got To See (But Thought We Would)
JG's Ten Wrestling Bad Guys Who Were Completely Right
JG's Ten Wrestling Characters That Ended Too Soon
JG's Ten Untrue Things Your Grandmother Believes About Wrestling
JG's 25 Easy Ways To Get Instant Heat In The WWE Locker Room
JG's Ten Wrestling Villains With No Endgame
JG's Ten Insider Wrestling Terms You Shouldn't Use When Talking About Something Besides Wrestling
JG's Ten Wrestlers Your Non-Wrestling Fan Girlfriend Would Hate
JG's Ten Least Intimidating Wrestling Names
JG's Insanity Notebook: A Very Immortal Thanksgiving, King Sheamus, Extreme NXT, Nobody Pats Down Edge, and More

Click Here For More JG...

You Know, I've Been Thinking: MMA and Pro-Wrestling Just Don't Mix
Canadian Bulldog Presents... WrestleReunion VIII: A Photo Essay
This Week In WWE Vintage Collection History: Not Only Is This About Wacky Tag Teams, But It's Also A Sendoff to Dustin Rhodes
T.G.I.F. with Matt Dawgs: Heyman Nice Shot, Drink Some Bleach For CM Punk, Redneck Island, Mansionmania, Crash of Honor, and More
Wrestling & The Movies: A Rant by Mike Johns
Canadian Bulldog Presents... Rejected John Cena Action Figures
This Week In WWE Vintage Collection History: Two Heads Are Better Than One
T.G.I.F. with Matt Dawgs: WWE's Extreme Lesnar Error, The Mizrine, Hightailing Hulk Hogan, Dean Douglas Flunks Promoting 101, and more
Crocker! Dixie Carter, Meth Labs, Google Bischoff, and That One Time Knobbs Moved In
#FollowTheTweeter: Hulk Hogan Talks Change, Earl Hebner's 100,000th Match, Extreme Reunion's Epic Fail & Much More
Bulldog's DVD Rack: Scott Hall Shoot Interview
This Week In WWE Vintage Collection History: That's No Way To Go Out...
RDLee Presents: The Prediction Pre-Show: Extreme Rules According To WWE '12
T.G.I.F. with Matt Dawgs: Lowballing Edge, Woo Woo Woo You're Censored, Hulk's Python Shows Up Online, Jon Jones Has Jabby Elbows, and More
Crocker! How To Live Alone
Something Completely Different: Some Of My Favorite Wrestling Shows
Dear Scott Steiner: Your Advice Columnist Hookup
This Week In WWE Vintage Collection History: Kenny Powers Counts Savage's Shoulders Down
T.G.I.F. with Matt Dawgs: Bumping Otunga, Eric Loses His Bischoff, Dixie Wants More TV, Smoky Mountain of Honor, and More
SHIMMERingWarlock presents ArenaChicks: Volume 1 - A Video Review
Inside The Ropes: Here Comes The Paint, Y2Junkie, Being Interviewed With A Broken Freaking Brain AND MORE!!!
This Week In WWE Vintage Collection History: Wrestlemania Revenge Ends With Vengeance
T.G.I.F. with Matt Dawgs: Stooging Lesnar, Ciao Bellas, The 500k Ref Bump, #ThanksMick, Mrs. O.D. Young, Overeem Brings His Tainted Pee to Nevada, and More
You Know, I've Been Thinking: John Cena Can't Be Buried and The Story of Edge

Click Here For More Columns...





  All content contained here Copyright 2012 by James Guttman