Jake “The Snake” Roberts had the unenviable task of carrying around a real snake, but the WWE legend revealed he did it despite his fear.
The WWE Hall of Famer was initially opposed to the idea of this gimmick until Vince McMahon handed him a large check. His hesitation was initially because he was terrified of snakes. The veteran joked that he should have been called “Billy The Bug” instead and carried a cockroach everywhere.
“I don’t like snakes at all. They scare me and you never get used to being bitten,” Roberts said in a recent interview on “Overview with Chris Van Vliet“ “You know, if I put a cockroach in your ear, it would mess with your head, yeah, yeah, especially your ear.”
When asked why he chose snakes even though he was afraid of them, Roberts admitted that he made this decision simply because most people are afraid of snakes. “Your parents tell you from the beginning to keep snakes away. And it’s ingrained in you. It’s kind of something we’re taught from the beginning, and the kids love it because mom and dad don’t can’t stand it.”
Roberts later revealed that he had been bitten by snakes between 15 and 20 times during his career. “15-20. Yeah, some of them are pretty nasty. I had one on the inside of my arm, here it was 30 – it was a big reticulated python, it ripped my arm off arm,” he said.
The veteran recalled advice he was given regarding snake bites, saying he was simply told not to move when they attacked. But he argued that this advice is difficult to implement because the natural reaction to a bite is to move away, causing the snake to burrow deep into the flesh.
