Greatest Promos of All Time: Jake "The Snake" Roberts - Wrestlemania VI

[Dam0ndash9]

This man was awesome. Proved first hand that you didn't have to yell into the damn mic, to have an effective promo. Stop being a dick Vince and get him in the HOF.

[mutal3]

MEAN GENE YOU"RE are the BEST

[MrRichard13077]

One of the all time greats.

[officialvangcreative]

unbelievable mind for the psychology on that man... why the hell doesn't vince hire him already, he could write the best stuff ever.

or TNA could do it... I'd pay good money to see a year of programming from his devices.

[supergnc]

Jake Roberts is, in my opinion one of the best of all time. Heel or Babyface, he could reach out and grab your attention. And he was a master of psychology. Look at his matches. He didn't have to do much, and he didn't. But he did everything at exactly the right time. He knew how to work a crowd, what they wanted and when. How many times did Roberts have to go through a table, or even climb the top rope to get a pop?

The most recent example of Roberts' talent would be The Rock

[estyle40]

2nd best wrestler ever to NOT be world champ, only behind Owen; you agree??

[mickmobile]

@estyle40 Id say behind Piper but not by much IMO

[DanielGlennNeumann]

@estyle40 Mr.Perfect too.



[estyle40]

@DanielGlennNeumann WOW, forgot about Perfect AND Hot Rod. But I mostly thought of Owen for the sacrifice he made. Thanx, people, for makin me think.

[thesh00ter]

the master of mind games. they call HHH the cerebral assassain? lol

[merciless41582]

John Cena wish he could cut promo like this!!

[420methos]

jake was one of those few wrestlers that didnt need a belt in wwe to get over. would love to see jake and piper cut promos on each other. that is what wrestling nowadays is missing

[Freddyphelp]

Lol Jakes promo's were far too intelligent for wrestling, surprised he didn't have a movie career, he would have been great sinister villian IMO.

[ciiu]

Most wrestler scream and shout during their promos to be more threating but Jake is like someone who stands behind you and whispers in your ear what he will do to you and you don't want to turn around, because you know there will be a snake and a DDT waiting for you

[StewartLucrative]

To this day, one of the most chilling wrestling promos of all time. Jake the snake is a genius on the mic.

[britishstallion]

That voice and charisma, they sound way more than just a human, he sounds like a real character in an awesome and epic movie ! *__* Nothing to do with today's promos !

[madmartigan21]

@britishstallion He was able to be intense without using a forced deliberate cadence.

[howardinlasvegas]

Muck not muk.

[howardinlasvegas]

Muk of avarice you moron.

[Ubiquitous1984]

When I was a kid I couldn't understand why he was wallowing in the muck of Everest,

[freddy333ful]

Oaklund shook his head and said damn that was good.

[marienmarkt]

Must be in ,,Hall of Fame 2012,,

[piercdbruh]

Promo 101...mean that shit! If you don't mean it, at least make the fans think that you mean it. I think Jake and Harley race were the two best at cutting promos.

[bangdaddy6913]

No one could or can cut a promo like Jake.

[Thingfishy]

Not only is this the greatest promo ever, it is so top notch he even makes use of the correct cases in his English which most wrestlers are unlikely to do, i.e. 'go through Damian and me' (Accusative case) / 'Damian and I...' (Nominative case).

Just the best of all time at this art form.

[markdeez33]

jake the snake is pure legend

[NYJ4CK]

the Shakespeare of wwe period!!

[jpm4444]

wow; when wrestling was awesome; so many cool heels; rick rude, anti hogan macho man, undertaker, mr. perfect, ted debiase; Paul Orndorf; man those were the days!

[Eternal666Soul]

Damn Jake is truly one of the best!!..Humbled..haha...

[ghede13]

Goddammit, why can't wrestling be like this now????

[Kingoftheunknown100]

@ghede13 it is like this now the only difference is there's less drug use allowed why do you think WWE is in a decline its trying to get to the past when it needs to be heading towards the future. And tna is failing because they trying to be the late 90's and its not working

[ghede13]

@Kingoftheunknown100 Dude, no it isn't. You can easily tell that the "promos" being done today were pre-rehearsed, and there is rarely, if ever any real emotion behind it. Jake pulls this off because this came from him, not a writer. Look up Jake Roberts sick promo for a great example of what I'm talking about. Jake could really get under your skin. All he did was slap Ms. Elizabeth, but you'd have thought he raped her.

[Kingoftheunknown100]

@ghede13 well American wrestling needs worry about wrestling not promos

[ghede13]

@Kingoftheunknown100 What's with the attitude? And promos are a part of wrestling. The promos are supposed to make the people care (or hate) the wrestlers enough to make an audience want to see the match. If the audience doesn't care, the promoter's not getting paid. Cartoonish as some of the angles were back then, it got results. Just sayin'.

[Kingoftheunknown100]

@ghede13 but at the end of the day the promise can be good but if the wrestling sucks the promise don't mean anything

[ghede13]

@Kingoftheunknown100 Okay, true. lol

[LTDANMAN44]

hes the best and was my favorite. Its a shame they won't let him in the hall of fame because of his personal problems. The hall should be about talent and he had one of the best if not the best pops in the biz. Thumbs up if you agree

[690169]

@LTDANMAN44

I still think NO ONE can touch him on the mic and for his wrestling ability.....only few were more technical than Roberts....he has all my respect

[Corvus887]

@LTDANMAN44

I don't think they are keeping him from the Hall of Fame. McMahon said at one point that he will go in for sure. I think they just haven't gotten around to putting him in, although he definately deserves it and should go in ASAP.

[kgp8]

@LTDANMAN44 Damn straight Roberts should be in the HOF. I don't get why Koko is in and not Jake. If Vince focuses on wrestlers with drug problems, I wonder what happen to Sherri Martel. Makes u think, doesn't it?

[Kraftwerkfan2]

@LTDANMAN44

you are absolutly right

AND they should also introduce The Bad Guy Scott Hall/Razor Ramon

[bludluva]

WHOA

[GForceRush]

of course there were about three people who heard this who knew what avarice meant!

[Hartebreaker84]

how did he never win a major title??

[JKTube]

@Hartebreaker84: He didn't need to win one. Remember, he's a Snake so he's supposed to be a predator. If Jake had to focus on regularly defending a major title that would change the whole dynamic and make him the prey.

Jake held gold in the old Mid-South territory, in the Mid-Atlantic, World Class, in Stampede, in SMW and in indies in Australia, Puerto Rico, Colorado and the UWS in New York, just not in the WWF.

[bellefeu]

Now this is a promo. Too bad Jake succumbed to the drugs.

[aceholepictures]

@bellefeu You think you get promos like this without drugs? You think you get wrestling without drugs? I refer you to my esteemed colleague the late Bill Hicks for further clarification on the positive influence drugs have on society.

[JKTube]

@aceholepictures: Mick Foley didn't use drugs and he cut tremendous promos.

[aceholepictures]

@JKTube He tell you that himself?

[JKTube]

@aceholepictures: Well, he wrote about it in his books. The closest thing to drugs he said that he has used were pain pills, and considering that this IS Mick Foley we're talking about here, you can't really fault him for that.

[nightowl8936]

Jake should say this to those grubby ass Wall Street bastards that fucked the economy over ... they are Million Dollar Men times 10. DDT the fuckers too.

[aborins]

That promo was incredible!

[MegaDozo]

The greatest psychologist ever in the business. Even watching it now as an adult "smark," I still believe Jake The Snake wants to humiliate and destroy Ted DiBiase.

[drugstoremarc]

Ok, now watch today's wrestling. Yeah, I know. Let me get my gun and shoot myself in the head too.

[TheWindowsvista14]

Jake Roberts et Hulk Hogan était les deux lutteurs les plus charismatique de la WWE 1985-1992

[Skinnycoffee]

Intensity. That's what sells. Jake was intense. Wow. That was awesome. Great acting like Piper, Flair, The Rock, A. Anderson, Macho Man (and Ole, Tully, Dusty, Hawk, Animal, Axe in Demolition (lol - he was intense though), etc.

[Mrblancnoir]

The greatest potential feud wrestling could have had. Jake the Snake vs Arn Anderson. Imagine the promos those two could have cut on each other.

[B2B76]

"Longfellow couldn't have said it better"...Mean Gene, what a promo!

[118DMG118]

i love 'rassling!! i love 'rassling!! buh GAWD KING!!! i love 'rassling!!

i wish it was like this nowadays, no scripted promos, just let the wrestlers TALK like the used to back then, tell to mention certain things, and just let them talk the rest themselves!! the moment WWE brought in hollywood script writers and started writing wrestlers promos, it's all went down hill - you're taken the very soul from pro wrestling!!! give it BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[yeoshow]

Two of the greatest damn heels of all time.

[yrrah123]

epic xD

[TakaMaru777]

Did he win?

[datFatsoPete]

JAke The Snake is the 99%

[jw870206]

Jake Roberts: Judge, Jury, DA, Jailer and Executioner.

[cerilsneer]

I remember having some videos from this time jake was one of the best on the mike ever. In a time of ranting and raving promo's all he had to do was talk...

[eyepatchinc]

was Jake a face at this point? I don't really remember Ted or Jake ever being anything other than heels, but I wasn't even in school yet when Jake debuted..

[cerilsneer]

@eyepatchinc Yeah he was face at this time

[tyciol]

@cerilsneer Was Jake the Snake still face during his feud with Ultimate Warrior when he tricked him into Undertaker's casket with a snake?

[cerilsneer]

He turned face for this feud with the million doller man was what i ment. He'd had feuds with both ultimate warrior and undertaker so was a lone wolf(or snake) character really.

[RPenta]

@cerilsneer And McMahon pays his hack writers to come up with crap rather than gold like this--oh, well when you are trying to write sports entertainmant (or is it just entertainment, or enter this week?) crap is what you get.

[cerilsneer]

@RPenta I know prefer this anyday to that 'entertainment'. All the so called wrestlers these days are so bland. Jake the snake, million doller man, macho man, mr perfect...none of the wwe can hold a candle to one of them...

[LordInfamous2011]

This man is truly unforgettable to those who got the honour of witnessing him

[AMQ82]

Imagine a 1990 Jake Roberts cutting a Promo with CM Punk

[yrrah123]

that was so intense ! 

[Gootothesecond]

He fucked Mean Gene up with that one.

[aagilbigaatassipp]

This is one of the best promos that I have ever seen.

[huskerhotelfoxtrot]

Jake was so badass at promos.

[PUNKem733]

Now to me there are different levels of work on the mic. Most say the Rock is the best, I disagree. Sure he is the best with insults and jokes, but to get a point across, to emote, no one was better than the snake. CM Punk is getting close.

[lionkiller7]

@PUNKem733 very true. for the most part the rock basically used the same method, just changing his tone to fit the situation. Roberts could seem like a enlightened genuis at one point, then instantly change into a physicologicly disturbed madman

[antsman88]

@PUNKem733 The rock did take a lot from ric flair

[NJPlayer79]

@antsman88 What?! I think that Ric Flair was great but him and the Rock weren't even close on the mike. The Rock didn't come out and yell and scream at the top of his lungs like Flair, and the Rock was more creative where as Ric was just more straightforward.

[antsman88]

@NJPlayer79 lol so you wouldnt say that Ric Flair being the "jet flyin limousine riding, kiss stealin, wheelin dealin son of a gun" and The rock being the "jabroni beatin, pie eatin " etc etc. isnt just a little bit close? I agree the rock took it to another level but you cant deny that the rock took flair's model and made it better.

[shadapakap]

Sexy voice.

[BonesAndBones]

Do not fuck with the Snake! D:

[Starrfoxxxx]

there are so many current WWE superstars who could use lessons on ring psychology and delivering proper promos from Jake "The Snake" Roberts...

[JKTube]

@Starrfoxxxx: Mick Foley, the Undertaker and Raven all took promo lessons from Jake Roberts and Kevin Sullivan.

[MrJP75]

@JKTube add Stone Cold Steve Austin to that list, too!!!

[JKTube]

@MrJP75: I'm not sure about that. Around the time of Austin's walkout on Raw in 2002, he said that he had been basing his promos on stuff he had heard people say growing up in South Texas. Besides, Austin is more of a rant-and-raver.

@antsman88: In a way, aren't Flair and Rocky saying the same thing? Their respective lists of qualities both add up to, "I am the best, since I beat up my opponents, make money and get the women."

[cerilsneer]

Best wrestler on the mic of all time.

[Zooropa420]

This is so fucking boss.

[zzDzCzCzz]

If you like this promo, check out his promo from This Tuesday in Texas after hitting Miss Elizabeth. Jake the snake could captivate you with his worlds and demeanor like no other.

[lyndonnobles]

i remember this promo from my childhood.

"wallowing in the muck of avarice." = poetry

[tyciol]

@lyndonnobles Is Jake the Snake an Orange Lantern?

[BlackDynamiteNYC]

The Rock was trained on this promo

It's where he got The People's Eyebrow! (1:22)

[BlackDynamiteNYC]

Google Earth couldn't help you find a better promo!

[mrbluto3]

Best promo of all time.

[kpeterpm]

@mrbluto3 CM Punk .

[emperorofmoldavia1]

@mrbluto3 Couldn't agree more.

[shaundaun]

DAMN GOOD, these new WWE Stars Should Watch This