Aurelian Smith Jr., best known by the ring name Jake “The Snake” Roberts, is an American retired professional wrestler and actor now signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he acts as promoter and valet to Lance Archer. His two stints in the World Wrestling Federation (later known as WWE), the first from 1986 to 1992 and the second from 1996 to 1997, are his most well-known accomplishments.
In 1983, he competed in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling in 1992, and Asistencia Asesora y Administración in Mexico from 1993 to 1994, and again in 1997. During the summer of 1997, he participated in Extreme Championship Wrestling, and from 2006 to 2008, he appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Roberts was known for his powerful and cerebral promos, dark charm, heavy use of psychology in his matches, and pioneering use of the DDT finishing move in his career (which was later named the “coolest” manoeuvre of all time by WWE).
He was renowned for taking snakes into the arena, the most famous of which was a python. Beyond the Mat, a documentary film released in 1999, featured him as one of its subjects. After years of alcohol and opioid abuse, he moved in with fellow wrestler Diamond Dallas Page in 2012 to get support in getting his life back on track. On April 5, 2014, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2020.
