Review of WWE: Jake The Snake Roberts - Pick Your Poison (2 Discs)

Introduction

This week, football mourned the passing of former Manchester United superstar George Best, aged 59. Best, European Footballer of the Year in 1968, was one of the most gifted footballers ever to play the game, and certainly was the first player to develop "pop star" iconic status on the back of his successes.

But, even though video is available of his wondrous skill, and his fame was such that we knew so much about his personal life, George Best remained an enigma.

And so, in professional wrestling, is Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

Born Aurelian Smith Jr., son of professional wrestler Grizzly Smith, Jake Roberts wrestled most notably in Mid-South Championship Wrestling and for the National Wrestling Alliance before joining the ranks of the World Wrestling Federation in 1986. At first a fearsome heel who unleashed a real-life snake, Damien, on his opponents after defeating them, Roberts was to enjoy his greatest successes in squaring off against resident heels such as "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Andre The Giant and Earthquake.

But unlike 1980s superstars such as Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior or Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Jake Roberts was neither an impressive physical specimen nor an incredible athlete. Whilst he clearly displayed some of those qualities, the key to Roberts` popularity was in his quiet intensity, and his ring psychology. Rather than dazzle with athletic feats, in a twinkle of an eye or a grimace of pain, he made you believe in him.

But behind the success, Jake "The Snake" endured tremendous personal trauma in his youth which, coupled with the pain of performing almost every night, led him to turn to alcohol, drugs, and prescription medication. It is this addiction that has darkened Jake`s latter days, as he was all but retired by 1997, with a reputation so sour that neither the WWF nor WCW were willing to offer him a non-wrestling role for fear of him no-showing.

This DVD set then, aptly named "Pick Your Poison", is both a tribute to the genius of Jake "The Snake" Roberts and an admittance of the demons that still threaten to grip him. Consisting mainly of interview material with Jake, new fans of professional wrestling will get an insight into one of the most skilled performers of his generation.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 full screen PAL and is very good for a DVD of this genre. Even the clips of old NWA matches, going back to 1982, are very good, although they show their age in their production values. Frankly, it is startling that this type of footage has been so well preserved.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, which is more than acceptable for this DVD set. As the main feature is built around comments from the likes of Vince McMahon, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Ted DiBiase, and Jake himself , I am pleased to note that there are no clarity issues, even when background music is present.

There are no audio sync problems.

Features

As we have come to expect from WWE DVDs, this set is loaded with extras (too many to mention them all!), dipping into the incredible WWE archive. On Disc 1 bouts are included against The Honky Tonk Man (alternate commentary is available with Roberts and Jim Ross), Ricky Steamboat, and "Ravishing" Rick Rude. None of the bouts are Grade-A classics, but go a long way to providing insight into Jake`s popularity, despite his dark demeanour.

Also on Disc 1, various "Snake Bites" are included. These are short clips from interviews conducted by Jim Ross with Jake and several other wrestlers of the time. Many of these are very interesting, none more so than the story of the planned feud between Roberts and Hulk Hogan, which never made it to television.

On Disc 2, we are treated to a number of excellent Jake interviews, and also (thankfully!) the so-bad-they`re-good vignettes in which a fiendish Jake promises to teach the Ultimate Warrior the "ways of the darkside".

There are also some interesting matches on this disc. The bout with Ronnie Garvin is classic early-80s wrestling, and the bout with "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony, whilst held in 1994, feels remarkably old-school. Also included is the WCW Hallowe`en Havoc 1992 bout with Sting, where a loaded glove is placed on a pole at one corner of the ring, and the first person to grab it, can use it.

For WWE fans, there are also the bouts with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (King of the Ring 1996), and Jerry "The King" Lawler (Summerslam 1996), and the shocking match with Earthquake from 1991 where Earthquake "kills" Jake`s pet snake Damien. I am not kidding!

But if you want to talk shocking, also included is the match where - after defeating a hapless opponent - "The Snake" lures commentator Randy Savage into the ring, where he entices a cobra to gnaw on Savage`s arm! And we are not talking plastic snakes here, or synthetic skin; the wounds on his arm are absolutely for real.

If you are faint of heart, please watch with caution.

Conclusion

Following on the heels of the "Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior" disc, many fans (including myself) were concerned that this DVD set was going to focus almost solely on Jake`s "demons". That would have been an insulting middle-finger to both fans and to Roberts, whose qualities as a performer have never been in doubt. Thankfully then, whilst this feature does make comment on Jake`s addictions, the interviewees are quick to point out that in "The Snake", the 1980/90s had one of the greatest creative minds ever to work in the business.

As such, the main feature was very interesting indeed, with some excellent archive footage used, and with some poignant comments from many of Roberts` peers, and the man himself. Jake appears extremely honest about his misdemeanours, and as he speaks you will find yourself locked on the thoughts and expressions of a performer who clearly still has "it". It is a gripping story, grippingly narrated.

With an excellent main feature, excellent extras, and another high-class production from WWE, I have no hesitation in recommending this 2-disc set to any pro wrestling fan.