Jake Roberts

His father, Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith (1932–2010), also a wrestler, left his mother when she was 17 by which time she had given birth to another child.

Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "the Snake" Roberts, is an American retired professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer, and he also serves as a special advisor for AEW's community outreach program, AEW Together.

He is also signed to WWE under a legends contract.

Roberts lived with his grandmother until she died in 1966, forcing him to move back to live with his father and his new wife.

Roberts had a strained relationship with his pedophilic father, and was sexually and physically abused by his stepmother during his childhood, which included vaginal penetration - his father was doing the same thing to his daughters (Aurelian Jr.'s sisters) too.

He has a half-brother, Michael Smith, and a half-sister, Robin Smith, both of whom also became wrestlers.

Roberts had trouble developing his character, so in the late 1970s he traveled to Canada to wrestle.

While in Stampede Wrestling, Roberts feuded with the Junkyard Dog.

Roberts started his career in 1974 in the Louisiana area, as a referee and wrestler, making his name in Mid-South Wrestling, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling.

During the late 1980s, all three wrestled at the same time for the WWF (now WWE).

He wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance in 1983, World Championship Wrestling in 1992, and the Mexico-based Asistencia Asesoría y Administración between 1993 and 1994 and again in 1997.

It was in Georgia Championship Wrestling during 1983 that Roberts became part of Paul Ellering's stable, the Legion of Doom, and began a feud with Ron Garvin over the NWA World Television Championship that lasted into 1984.

In 1984, Roberts entered World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) joining up with "Gentleman" Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez in their feud against the Von Erichs, winning the WCCW Television title and 6-Man Tag Team title (with Adams and Hernandez).

Roberts returned to Mid-South Wrestling for 1985, ending his run there in February 1986 with a feud with Dick Slater after being told by management that he was not considered a top talent even though he was getting the biggest crowd reactions.

He is best known for his two stints in the World Wrestling Federation (later called WWE); the first between 1986 and 1992, and the second between 1996 and 1997.

Roberts debuted in the World Wrestling Federation on March 8, 1986, at the Boston Garden defeating Jose Luis Rivera.

A month later, he made his pay-per-view debut, defeating George Wells at WrestleMania 2.

During the match, Roberts made Wells foam from the mouth when he wrapped his snake Damien around Wells' head.

Roberts' first major feud was against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, beginning on a nationally televised episode of Saturday Night's Main Event VI in May 1986.

Roberts executed the DDT on Steamboat on the exposed concrete floor right in front of his wife Bonnie and then proceeded to rest his snake Damien on top of a prone Steamboat.

While Vince McMahon and booker George Scott were adamant about wanting the DDT to take place on the floor, Roberts initially refused until Steamboat told him that he would be able to adequately protect himself from injury.

Unfortunately, Steamboat was unable to stop his head from hitting the concrete and was rendered unconscious, sustaining a concussion.

After Steamboat's recovery, Steamboat introduced a "Komodo dragon" as his pet to combat the psychological effects of Roberts' snake.

The feud continued with Steamboat winning most of the matches (losing only one because he threw Roberts back in the ring before the 10 count, while not beating the count himself), most notably a Snake Pit Match (ostensibly a no-DQ match) at The Big Event in Toronto, and the rematch on the October 1986 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event XII.

Recognizing his microphone skills, Roberts was given his own talk segment called "The Snake Pit", which debuted on the first episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge in late 1986.

"The Snake Pit" was patterned after "Piper's Pit", wherein Roberts would conduct interviews with wrestlers or managers to help push wrestlers and get feuds over with the crowd.

In late 1986, Roberts began to enjoy an upsurge in fan popularity, despite the WWF's attempts to cast him as an unpopular villain.

In November 1986, Roberts challenged Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Championship.

Before the match, announcer Vince McMahon said the fans would probably support Savage against the disliked Roberts.

However, to the surprise of both McMahon and fellow broadcaster Jesse "The Body" Ventura, the fans cheered loudly for Roberts throughout the bout.

The match ended in a double disqualification.

Around the same time, the WWF had also tried to set Roberts up as a nemesis to then fan-favorite WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, and challenging him for the title.

The segment was eventually moved to WWF Superstars of Wrestling (to replace "Piper's Pit" after Roddy Piper's retirement following WrestleMania III) until the final segment aired in July 1987.

He appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling during the summer of 1997 and made appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2006 through 2008.

Throughout his career, Roberts, often considered one of professional wrestling's most iconic figures, was known for his intense and cerebral promos, dark charisma, extensive use of psychology in his matches, and innovative use of the DDT finishing move (which was later named the "coolest" maneuver of all time by WWE).

He often brought snakes into the ring, most famously a python.

He was one of the subjects of the 1999 documentary film Beyond the Mat.

In 2012, he moved in with fellow wrestler Diamond Dallas Page to seek help in getting his life back on track following years of alcohol and drug addiction, a period covered in the 2015 documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake.

He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 5, 2014, and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2020.

Aurelian Smith Jr. was born in Gainesville, Texas.