talented but in

troubled, successful but in many ways an underachiever,

a tortured genius who could have become one of the richest stars in the

wrestling industry only for things to turn out far, far differently.

While all of these things are lamentable, in truth it's a miracle that Jake the Snake Roberts is even alive at all.

On the brink for decades, he had been written off countless times and was at various points seemingly guaranteed to be the next

tragic wrestling statistic. A life marred by the demons of drug and alcohol addiction, Jake's story is not just one of him doing harm to himself,

because along with abuse comes inevitably trouble with other people and other institutions.

For Roberts, his spiraling personal life and incidents relating

to his various vices have landed him on the wrong side of the law on several occasions.

Could Jake have done anything to prevent it or was he simply snake bit from the get-go?

Born into this world in the grimest of circumstances, it could be argued that the

W. W. W. W. H. Hall of Fame was predestined for the trouble

he would encounter and the tragedy he would endure.

However, Roberts himself hardly helped his case with his own behavior or actions and there are many elements

surrounding his criminal history that suggest that Jake, like one of his famous snakes,

could be unpredictable, lash out, and strike at any moment. Jake Roberts was born Orralean Smith Jr. in Houston, Texas on May 30th,

1955. He was named after his father, Orralian Smith, Sr., who would become well known as

wrestler Grisley Smith during Jake's formative years.

An intimidating mountain of a man, Grisley Smith debuted in 1958 and wrestled for various territories

winning various titles in the NWA, many of them alongside Kentuckyans tag partner Luke Big Boy Brown. Standing at close to 7 feet tall and weighing around 350

pounds, Grizzly was a daunting presence at home and his shadow loomed large. He didn't smarten up his kids, which included Jake's

...