126-649: The CWA Cruiserweight Championship is the primary lightweight wrestling title in the Century Wrestling Alliance . It was first introduced as the CWA Light Heavyweight Championship and won by The Tazmaniac who defeated Flexx Wheeler in a tournament final held in Windsor Locks, Connecticut on January 3, 1993. The title was mostly dominated by IWCCW veterans Ray Odyssey and The Pink Assassin , both of whom feuded with El Mascarado over
252-513: A "client" incoming to AEW to bring him down, hinting that he would be a manager for a new talent. On March 11, 2020, Roberts revealed Lance Archer as his new client. Archer was announced as a participant for the tournament for the AEW TNT Championship ; he defeated Colt Cabana in the quarter finals, and Dustin Rhodes in the semi-finals. At Double or Nothing on May 23, 2020, Archer lost
378-472: A 20-man battle royal for the vacant NWA New England Brass Knuckles title in Milford, Massachusetts . In December 2001, Fuller assaulted then-referee Barry Ace during a match after he had unintentionally caused Fuller to mistime a wrestling move. This incident caused some controversy and NWA New England Vice President Vinnie Capelli later issued a public statement which accepted full responsibility explaining that Ace
504-479: A DDT. In early to mid-1991, Roberts engaged in a feud with Earthquake who "squashed" Damien with a pair of Earthquake splashes during their match on the April 27 (taped March 26) edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling . In reality, Roberts' bag contained hamburger meat intended to look like a snake and a small mechanical device to depict movement, Roberts said in several shoot interviews that he wanted to be tied up in
630-456: A coffin, began hitting him with a steel chair; however, Undertaker got up after each chair shot and eventually chased Roberts backstage dragging the coffin behind him. At WrestleMania VIII , Roberts lost the match, becoming the second man to lose to The Undertaker at WrestleMania . The WrestleMania VIII match turned out to be Roberts' last for the WWF for nearly four years. His departure came after he
756-470: A continuing series of matches and skits of a wrestler impersonating wrestling " dirt sheet " writer Dr. Mike Lano. He was a self-claimed NWA World Heavyweight Champion but that his belt "was upstairs in the penthouse getting buffed by the Lano-ettes". The skits followed Lano as he attempted to convince Jim Cornette to become his manager. When Lano finally tracks down Cornette, who is seen stealing crackers from
882-649: A fist fight, the tour features Jim Rose and wrestler Sinn Bodhi as "Team Jake". On January 29, 2011, Roberts wrestled what was billed as his retirement match, when he defeated Sinn Bodhi at the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) show during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend. On May 18, 2013, Roberts returned to the ring for First State Championship Wrestling, a Delaware-based wrestling promotion, as part of an eight-man tag team main event. He teamed with Eric Chapel and CraziiWolf (Crazii Shea and Greywolf), defeating
1008-537: A gift package containing a live cobra. Roberts and the Undertaker attacked Savage, until Sid Justice ran them off. A short feud with Sid ensued when Sid was scheduled to wrestle "El Diablo" and the Undertaker came out and accepted the challenge to face Sid. Paul Bearer offered "El Diablo" what appeared to be a bribe to walk away. As the match began, "El Diablo" came back to the ring and hit Sid. Then "El Diablo" unmasked revealing himself as Jake. Roberts proceeded to unleash
1134-472: A head when Roberts slapped Miss Elizabeth. The feud continued through the early part of 1992 and included Savage eliminating Roberts from that year's Royal Rumble match for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship . The feud ended on Saturday Night's Main Event XXX , with Savage getting the win. Roberts, livid at having lost to him and having received two of Savage's flying elbow drops (one of which after
1260-653: A hotel kitchen, he is challenged to a wrestling trivia duel. Following this, the skit ends with Lano going upstairs to the penthouse where he is attacked by Mae Young and the Fabulous Moolah . The promotion was mostly dominated by ex-IWCCW stars, and on occasion former WCW and WWF veterans, during its early years. Between 1993 and 1995, the CWA Heavyweight Championship was traded between The Iron Sheik , Vic Steamboat, Tony Atlas and Kevin Sullivan. Similarly,
1386-591: A king cobra on Sid, until Hacksaw Jim Duggan intervened. Sid and Jake wrestled on Superstars a week later. But soon, Sid injured his biceps, which forced the feud to end. Roberts immediately began berating Randy Savage in a series of promos, aware that Savage – who had lost a retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VII – was unable to exact revenge. On the November 23 (taped October 21) edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling , Roberts goaded Savage into
SECTION 10
#17329167905421512-471: A local high school in Thomaston, Connecticut , promoted by Ellen Magliaro. Tony Rumble had volunteered to manage Gary Steele but turned on him during the match, hitting Steele with his helmet, and allowing Ogawa to win the match with a choke-hold and regain the title. Ogawa, as well as Steele, were upset by his interference. A "visually upset" Ogawa challenged Rumble claiming he "didn't need his help" to win back
1638-421: A longtime personality and having some limited promoting experience, Ellen Magliaro attempted to hire others to take on Rumble's role as head promoter and booker. None were able to recreate Rumble's success however and, within six months of his death, business had declined significantly. Sheldon Goldberg resigned from the promotion after a few months and six months after his death, Goldberg resigned his position with
1764-438: A nemesis to then fan-favorite WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan , and challenging him for the title. However, after Roberts hit Hogan with a DDT during an episode of The Snake Pit , fans responded positively to the attack by chanting "DDT" rather than for Hogan, and McMahon abandoned his plans for a feud between them. Years later in a 2015 shoot interview, Roberts jokingly thanked the fans for ruining what would have been
1890-775: A period covered in the 2015 documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake . He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 5, 2014, and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2020. Aurelian Smith Jr. was born in Gainesville, Texas . His father, Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith (1932–2010), also a wrestler, left his mother when she was 17 by which time she had given birth to another child. Roberts lived with his grandmother until she died in 1966, forcing him to move back to live with his father and his new wife. Roberts had
2016-399: A promo urging those who want to enter the wrestling business to not follow along his path. At one point, he said he loved the wrestling business more than anything else in the world. PWA wrestler "Rockstar" Robbie Gillmore then interrupted Roberts and attempted to make an alliance based upon the fact that Robbie wears an 80s style shirt featuring a cobra. Roberts had just said all he ever wanted
2142-441: A regular on WWE Story Time, even making an appearance on the show after his AEW debut. In 2019 during The Road to All Out , Roberts appeared as a dealer at a blackjack table dealing cards to Women's Casino Battle Royale participants, referring to his infamous "you wanna play 21?" promo from 1999. On March 4, 2020, he made a surprise appearance on AEW Dynamite , interrupting Cody . In his promo, Roberts claimed that he had
2268-474: A room full of live snakes to reach a chest containing "the answer". During the latter segment, the Warrior opened the chest, only to be immediately bitten by a king cobra (actually a rubber prop). As Warrior "weakened" from the effects of the cobra's strike, Roberts was joined by The Undertaker and Paul Bearer, revealing the three were working together all along; Roberts closed the final segment by proclaiming, "I'm
2394-433: A shoot interview with Jim Ross that the feud with Savage had to end early because Elizabeth's parents were upset with Savage for not protecting Elizabeth when Roberts kayfabe slapped her. Roberts appeared on The Funeral Parlor to demand answers from the Undertaker about why he stopped him from attacking Elizabeth. When Roberts was dissatisfied with the answers, he hit Bearer with a DDT and, after jamming Undertaker's hand in
2520-781: A six-man tag match in the main event for Reborn Wrestling (a Christian wrestling organization in Johnson City, Tennessee), teaming with The Stallion and Alex Cage to defeat E. Z. Money , Reborn Champion Cody Ices and Anthony Brody. On June 15, 2014, Roberts was an entrant in the CWF Hollywood Red Carpet Rumble which was won by Willie Mack . He wrestled his last ever match against IamThePROVIDER at BBOW No Limits Wrestling promotion on September 2, 2018. In 2016, he went on his Unspoken Word tour. Roberts had his final match to date in September 2018. Roberts made an appearance on
2646-624: A small wrestling promotion, the Century Wrestling Alliance, with his wife Ellen Magliaro. Many of its stars chose to leave the Savoldi's for his new promotion including The Pink Assassin , "Surfer" Ray Odyssey , Vic Steamboat and "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas , then IWCCW Heavyweight Champion . As the IWCCW declined during the early 1990s, Rumble was able build up the CWA and eventually succeeded the former as
SECTION 20
#17329167905422772-432: A snake. Never trust a snake." , turning Roberts heel for the first time since 1987. A series of matches were planned, but the feud was canceled after the Ultimate Warrior was fired by the WWF the night of SummerSlam . After SummerSlam, Roberts was placed in a feud with Randy Savage . During the post-SummerSlam wedding reception of Savage and Miss Elizabeth (in reality they had been married since 1984), Elizabeth opened
2898-425: A soul-altering experience; he then fell victim to Orton's "RKO," helping to fuel Orton's "Legend Killer" gimmick . He worked with the company to create a DVD retrospective of his career (the aforementioned Pick Your Poison DVD), which was released later that year. In 2013, Roberts announced his desire to return to WWE as a participant in the 2014 Royal Rumble . On January 6, 2014, Roberts made an appearance on
3024-461: A strained relationship with his pedophilic father, and was sexually and physically abused by his stepmother during his childhood, which included vaginal penetration - his father was doing the same thing to his daughters (Aurelian Jr.'s sisters) too. He has a half-brother, Michael Smith , and a half-sister, Robin Smith , both of whom also became wrestlers. During the late 1980s, all three wrestled at
3150-915: A three-way match in Sanford, Maine for the NWA New England Division X Championship. On 20 November, Gino Martino was awarded the NWA Colonial title after winning the annual 20-man battle royal at the 2004 Tony Rumble Memorial in Bellingham, Massachusetts . He later surrendered the title after winning the NWA New England Heavyweight title three months later. Just a week earlier, the Millennium Wrestling Federation had held its Tony Rumble Memorial battle royal at their Soul Survivor 2004 supercard held at Shawsheen Tech . The event
3276-631: A three-way match with the Big Islanders (Makua & Ka Hoku). The third and final night had an interpromotional match between Jason Rumble and NWA UK Hammerlock's Conscious in Nashville. On 25 November 2005, NWA New England held the 6th annual Tony Rumble Memorial Show at the Ringside Entertainment Complex in Revere, Massachusetts . Celebrity wrestler Robby Ellis took part in the event. In
3402-472: A tour for New Japan Pro-Wrestling . Roberts debuted in the Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in April 1993, causing the defeat of Konnan in the career vs. career match at Triplemanía I . Roberts' run-in started a feud that lasted until 1994 at Triplemanía II-C , in which Konnan defeated Roberts in a hair vs. hair match which Roberts got his long hair cut off and shaved bald. In
3528-570: A tournament final for the then vacant NWA New England Television title in Everett, Massachusetts . At the same event, Damien "Pitbull" Vachon and Pierre "The Beast" Vachon defeated The Rough Ryders (Nyxx and Devin Raines) in a three-way match with The Big Islanders (Kahoku and Makua) to win the NWA New England Tag Team titles. The Vachons, who had recently debuted in the promotion, are the sons of
3654-516: A two count before exiting the ring. Roberts also teamed with Tommy Dreamer at the 1998 November to Remember as his mystery partner defeating Justin Credible and Jack Victory . In October 1999, Roberts was one of several former NWA, WWF, and ECW wrestlers brought in to compete in the first Heroes of Wrestling event in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi . He was booked to face Jim Neidhart in one half of
3780-538: A winning effort. He was released in March 1997 after not only for being deemed too out of shape for WrestleMania, but also for being frustrated by the behavior of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart backstage, and was a part of a creative team that had to mediate their real-life backstage bickering. During the summer of 1997, Roberts debuted in ECW . His introduction came towards the end of a match between Lawler and Tommy Dreamer , which
3906-623: A year to approximately $ 200,000 (equivalent to $ 434,000 in 2023) a year. Roberts made his first television appearance on August 2, 1992, at a Main Event taping in Baltimore, Maryland after coming through the crowd to attack Sting . His first WCW match came six days later when he defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell on a house show in Chicago, Illinois. He would quickly ally with Cactus Jack and The Barbarian. His first major TV wrestling appearance for WCW
CWA Cruiserweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-657: A year. The title was revived as the NWA Cold Front Cruiserweight Championship in 2006 but returned to its original name when the CWA withdrew from the NWA on March 10, 2007. Silver areas in the history indicate periods of unknown lineage. Century Wrestling Alliance The Century Wrestling Alliance , formerly known as NWA Cold Front and NWA New England , was a New England–based American independent wrestling promotion located in Boston, Massachusetts . It
4158-640: The Boston Garden defeating Jose Luis Rivera . A month later, he made his pay-per-view debut, defeating George Wells at WrestleMania 2 . During the match, Roberts made Wells foam from the mouth when he wrapped his snake Damien around Wells' head. Roberts' first major feud was against Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat , beginning on a nationally televised episode of Saturday Night's Main Event VI in May 1986. Roberts executed
4284-484: The Intercontinental Championship . Before the match, announcer Vince McMahon said the fans would probably support Savage against the disliked Roberts. However, to the surprise of both McMahon and fellow broadcaster Jesse "The Body" Ventura , the fans cheered loudly for Roberts throughout the bout. The match ended in a double disqualification. Around the same time, the WWF had also tried to set Roberts up as
4410-663: The Junkyard Dog . It was in Georgia Championship Wrestling during 1983 that Roberts became part of Paul Ellering 's stable , the Legion of Doom , and began a feud with Ron Garvin over the NWA World Television Championship that lasted into 1984. In 1984, Roberts entered World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) joining up with "Gentleman" Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez in their feud against
4536-533: The Mat Marketplace newsletter, collaborated on a working agreement with Michinoku Pro Wrestling to bring its stars to perform in the United States. In February 1997, the groups efforts paid off when Michinoku owner and main star, The Great Sasuke , brought a group of wrestlers with him to Boston where they appeared in exhibition matches at an ECW television taping and a house show for the CWA. The latter show
4662-812: The NWA World Tag Team Championship , as well as the NWA New England titles, while with the promotion. World Championship Wrestling 's Harley Race , Barry Windham , Kevin Sullivan , The Rock 'n' Roll Express ( Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson ) and the World Wrestling Federation 's Steve Keirn (wrestling as Doink the Clown ), Jake "the Snake" Roberts , Jimmy Snuka , King Kong Bundy , The Honky Tonk Man and The Iron Sheik also made frequent appearances. In 1989, veteran wrestler and longtime on-air IWCCW personality Tony Rumble opened
4788-468: The Pick Your Poison DVD, Roberts had initially signed a lucrative contract under Kip Allen Frey, who was running WCW at the time. On the 87th day, Frey stepped down and was replaced by Bill Watts , for whom Roberts had legit heat with back in his days at Mid-South Wrestling . Ultimately, Roberts estimates that he went from making about $ 3.5 million (equivalent to $ 7.6 million in 2023)
4914-518: The Royal Rumble in 1996, as a Bible -preacher. To go along with his new gimmick, his new albino Burmese python was named " Revelations ". His gimmick also mirrored his real life, as Roberts had recently become a born-again Christian and had been preaching around the country. During his second tenure with the company, Roberts was pushed as a " Cinderella story" and faced Stone Cold Steve Austin in
5040-482: The UK Pitbulls . However, Roberts turned up at the show "in no fit state to compete", but went ahead with his match. Roberts cut a drunken promo paying tribute to Ray Traylor , who had died a few days before, and almost got into a scuffle with several WAW wrestlers who were sent out to defuse the situation. Roberts made an appearance at Booker T 's Houston-based Pro Wrestling Alliance (PWA) promotion, in which he cut
5166-653: The Von Erichs , winning the WCCW Television title and 6-Man Tag Team title (with Adams and Hernandez). Roberts returned to Mid-South Wrestling for 1985, ending his run there in February 1986 with a feud with Dick Slater after being told by management that he was not considered a top talent even though he was getting the biggest crowd reactions. Roberts debuted in the World Wrestling Federation on March 8, 1986, at
CWA Cruiserweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
5292-773: The World Wrestling Federation (later called WWE); the first between 1986 and 1992, and the second between 1996 and 1997. He wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance in 1983, World Championship Wrestling in 1992, and the Mexico -based Asistencia Asesoría y Administración between 1993 and 1994 and again in 1997. He appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling during the summer of 1997 and made appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2006 through 2008. Throughout his career, Roberts, often considered one of professional wrestling's most iconic figures,
5418-411: The ring name Jake " the Snake " Roberts , is an American retired professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs as the on-screen manager to La Facción Ingobernable , and he also serves as a special advisor for AEW's community outreach program, AEW Together . He is also signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his two stints in
5544-470: The "Old School" episode of Raw , laying a python over the face of an unconscious Dean Ambrose . Roberts was announced as part of the 2014 Class of the WWE Hall of Fame . He was inducted by Diamond Dallas Page on April 5, 2014. Regarding his Hall of Fame induction, he later said, "It wasn't at all what I expected... it was more about healing between a man and his family." After his induction, he would continue to make sporadic appearances, and would also be
5670-546: The 8th annual Tony Rumble Memorial Show , was held in Saugus, Massachusetts on 17 November 2007, and has been inactive since that time. NWA New England has held an annual tribute show in memory of founder Tony Rumble since the year of his death, the Tony Rumble Memorial Battle Royal being introduced the following year. It is typically an "over-the-top" battle royal , at times using Royal Rumble rules, in which
5796-562: The CWA Light Heavyweight Championship was dominated by Ray Odyssey and The Pink Assassin, and Double Trouble (Tony & Val Puccio ) were the first tag team champions, followed by Ray Odyssey and Vic Steamboat. Rumble himself would hold the CWA New England Heavyweight Championship a record 3-times during a five-year period before his wife, and then CWA President, stripped him of the title when
5922-455: The DDT on Steamboat on the exposed concrete floor right in front of his wife Bonnie and then proceeded to rest his snake Damien on top of a prone Steamboat. While Vince McMahon and booker George Scott were adamant about wanting the DDT to take place on the floor, Roberts initially refused until Steamboat told him that he would be able to adequately protect himself from injury. Unfortunately, Steamboat
6048-587: The Intercontinental Championship from Ricky Steamboat, Roberts unsuccessfully challenged him for the Championship several times throughout the rest of 1987. The initial plan was for Roberts to win the Intercontinental Championship shortly after The Honky Tonk Man's win over Steamboat and begin an angle with "the Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase , but because of the injuries from the guitar shot,
6174-633: The NWA New England developmental league Impact Independent Wrestling. At the NWA 54th Anniversary show , held at the WrestlePlex in St. Petersburg, Florida on 26 October 2002, Jason Rumble defeated Rocky Reynolds in an interpromotional match between NWA New England and NWA Tri-State . The match was to decide the number one contender to the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship . His victory
6300-550: The NWA New England heavyweight title from beat Beau Douglas by submission via the Boston crab . The match was dedicated to late Tony Rumble. In June, Jason Rumble represented NWA New England in the 2002 J-Cup tournament in Elizabeth, New Jersey , but lost to Scoot Andrews in the opening rounds. Rick Fuller, then touring the Northeast independent circuit after his departure from WCW, returned to NWA New England and, on 9 June 2001, won
6426-791: The NWA UK Hammerlock Heavyweight Champion in Maidstone , Kent , England by defeating "Vigilante" Johnny Moss. Moss regained the title the next night in Ashford, Kent , though. In November 2002, Roberts started his own wrestling promotion in the UK, called "Real Stars of Wrestling". RSOW ran three events, each headlined by Roberts vs. The Honky Tonk Man. Roberts made his final British appearance at WAW's October Outrage show in Canvey Island, Essex, once again teaming with Steve Quintain against
SECTION 50
#17329167905426552-424: The October 19, 2006 episode of TNA Impact! . He announced he would referee the Monster's Ball match between Brother Runt , Abyss , Raven , and Samoa Joe at Bound for Glory . Roberts then gave a "mumbling" promo. After Roberts took his snake out of a bag, Brother Runt told him to put it away. Roberts performed a DDT on Runt instead. At Bound for Glory, he performed a DDT on Raven, which helped Samoa Joe win
6678-430: The WWF wanted Roberts to wind down his in-ring career and join the company's backstage side. Since he still loved to wrestle, he did not make this transition well. This led to a relapse with drugs and alcohol. He appeared at the 1997 Royal Rumble where he entered at no. 7 and was eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. His last match with WWF was at Shotgun Saturday Night on January 25, 1997, against Salvatore Sincere in
6804-413: The attack. To explain the absence of the cobra, Tunney "banned" Roberts from ever bringing a snake to the ring again. Savage and Roberts feuded for the next few months. Their first match was at This Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view on December 3 in San Antonio, Texas, which saw Savage earn a victory over Roberts. Despite this, Roberts would perform the DDT on Savage 3 times after the match and things came to
6930-618: The backbone of the CWA's success, had become more difficult to promote as the ex-NWA/WCW and WWF stars from the 1970s and 80s began retiring or had died. All these contributed to the promotions slow decline during the next several years. NWA New England was again present at the NWA 52nd Anniversary Show held at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee . Among the NWA-affiliate promotions included NWA East (PWX), NWA Mid-South , NWA Mississippi, NWA Nashville, NWA New Jersey, NWA New York, NWA Ohio , NWA Southwest, NWA West Virginia and NWA UK Hammerlock. The main event saw Jason Rumble win
7056-523: The biblical passage John 3:16 by saying, "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms , talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!" The catchphrase helped propel Austin to the top of the WWF, and is one of the moments that is often cited as the beginning of " The Attitude Era ". Roberts next feuded with Jerry "The King" Lawler , who went to great lengths to ridicule Roberts' past alcoholism . In early 1997,
7182-450: The biggest (and most profitable) run of his career as at the time Hogan was the biggest and most popular babyface and a run against Hogan would have meant main event television and pay-per-view matches. He officially turned face when he feuded with The Honky Tonk Man , an Elvis impersonator , who attacked Roberts with a guitar during his interview segment The Snake Pit . The Honky Tonk Man's guitar shot actually injured Roberts' neck, as at
7308-471: The bite. The segment went on longer than planned, and Savage's blood was clearly visible as it dripped from the puncture wounds. Savage stated in a shoot interview that his arm swelled and he developed a high fever afterward and had to be checked at a hospital. He also stated that the cobra died a week after the angle and he joked that the cobra must have got the venom from him. WWF president Jack Tunney reinstated Savage as an active wrestler to get revenge for
7434-454: The brass knuckles title in Somerville, Massachusetts on 22 June 2000. Although the promotion was primarily known as NWA New England, or sometimes NWA Cold Front, it ran under its original name when holding events outside New England itself such as an 25 April house show in Ogdensburg, New York . This was partly due to contractual obligations agreed to with the NWA and did not affect its regular shows elsewhere in New England. NWA New England
7560-480: The burger tray out of Earthquake's hands. Roberts later introduced a new snake, Damien's "big brother" Lucifer. Roberts and Earthquake feuded throughout most of late-spring and into the summer. Roberts defeated Earthquake on July 1, at Madison Square Garden which featured André the Giant in Roberts' corner. In the summer of 1991, there were a series of televised vignettes featuring the Ultimate Warrior turning to Roberts for help in his feud with The Undertaker . In
7686-487: The card were Wagner Brown and King Kong Bundy . Two days later, Knuckles Nelson and Dukes Dalton regained titles from The Public Enemy in Dorchester, Massachusetts . Jeff Mangles also defeated Jay Jaillet to win the NWA New England Junior Heavyweight title. Earlier that year, the promotion was profiled by the ESPN series Outside the Lines . On 2 October, NWA New England hosted an NWA World Heavyweight title defense between Gary Steele and challenger Naoya Ogawa at
SECTION 60
#17329167905427812-424: The card's double main event in what was billed as a "special grudge match" between the two. Roberts was so intoxicated that during the course of the night, he slurred his way through a promo before the match and staggered to, from, and around the ring during his entrance. After doing such things as pretending his snake was a penis and stroking it like he was masturbating and attempting to kiss the snake with his tongue,
7938-403: The company to start his own promotion, New England Championship Wrestling . Magliaro finally turned the promotion over to Jason Dellagatta, an NWA New England wrestler known as Jason Rage, and helped develop his character "Boston Bad Boy" Jason Rumble, the kayfabe son of Tony. Although the promotion stabilized for a time, Dellagatta was never able to match the success that Tony Rumble had with
8064-545: The count himself), most notably a Snake Pit Match (ostensibly a no-DQ match) at The Big Event in Toronto , and the rematch on the October 1986 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event VII . Recognizing his microphone skills, Roberts was given his own talk segment called "The Snake Pit", which debuted on the first episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge in late 1986. "The Snake Pit" was patterned after " Piper's Pit ", wherein Roberts would conduct interviews with wrestlers or managers to help push wrestlers and get feuds over with
8190-401: The crowd. The segment was eventually moved to WWF Superstars of Wrestling (to replace "Piper's Pit" after Roddy Piper 's retirement following WrestleMania III ) until the final segment aired in July 1987. In late 1986, Roberts began to enjoy an upsurge in fan popularity, despite the WWF's attempts to cast him as an unpopular villain. In November 1986, Roberts challenged Randy Savage for
8316-402: The decision was made to keep the belt with The Honky Tonk Man. He then had a feud with "Ravishing" Rick Rude and his manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan , who began a gimmick of selecting a woman from the crowd to kiss after each match. On the April 23, 1988 edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling , Rude chose Roberts' real-life wife Cheryl, who refused the kiss and revealed that she was in fact
8442-533: The dominant independent promotion in the Greater Boston area. With help from personal friends such as World Wrestling Federation manager Jim Cornette and World Championship Wrestling booker Kevin Sullivan , he was able to bring in a number of wrestlers from both organizations throughout the decade. Rumble also developed a collection of local wrestlers as unique or entertaining " gimmick workers ", referring to them as his personal "whack pack". He also displayed an ability to pick up "sold shows", events in which
8568-429: The end of 1989 into 1990, including a point where Roberts stole DiBiase's Million Dollar Belt, daring him or Virgil to reach into the canvas sack where Damien was to retrieve it. The culmination of their feud took place at WrestleMania VI at the Skydome in Toronto, wherein a match where the Million Dollar Belt was on the line, DiBiase gained a count-out victory over Roberts, thus regaining his non-sanctioned title. After
8694-407: The feud culminated in a match at WrestleMania VII , in which both contestants were blindfolded (though both Roberts and Martel did later confess to having some limited vision due to mesh holes in the masks - these were briefly visible due to Jake putting his hand inside the mask after donning it shortly before the start of the match). The bout ended after Roberts was able to "locate" Martel and deliver
8820-439: The final match of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament . Changes had to be made to the match's scripting as legitimate injuries sustained earlier in the evening in a match with Vader left Roberts unable to engage in the longer, more evenly matched bout originally intended between the men. To prevent Roberts from sustaining a further injury, he was quickly defeated by Austin; in a post-match interview, Austin mocked his recital of
8946-407: The final to Cody Rhodes after Mike Tyson prevented Roberts from interfering on Archer's behalf in the finals match for the new AEW TNT Championship. In July 2021, Roberts announced he had signed a 2-year contract extension with AEW. In 2022, Roberts would reunite with Archer, who at the time also aligned himself with American Top Team leader Dan Lambert, during Archer's feud with Adam Page for
9072-618: The first CWA Light Heavyweight Champion defeating Flexx Wheeler in a tournament final in Windsor Locks, Connecticut and, three years later, The Public Enemy ( Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge ) won the CWA Tag Team Championship. They would eventually lose the titles to The Extremists ( Ace Darling & Devon Storm ) in Worcester, Massachusetts on 24 July 1996. It was around this time that Rumble began working with then ECW promoter Paul Heyman and Sheldon Goldberg, then editor of
9198-466: The following year and continued in later shows held by both NWA New England and the Millennium Wrestling Federation two years later. This would be one of the last events ever held in the Wrestleplex and it closed at the end of the month. The venue had not only been a home area for NWA New England but of several other local wrestling promotions including PWF Northeast, High Impact Championship Wrestling and
9324-579: The legendary Paul Vachon and mainstays of NWA: Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling . At the 3-day NWA 57th Anniversary show in Springfield, Tennessee , NWA New England Tag Team Champions Damien & Pierre Vachon defeated NWA Green Mountain Tag Team Champions Really Sensational ("Real Deal" Jay Davis & "Sensational" Sean Reed) on 6 October. On the second night, they lost the titles to Sonny Roselli & Larry Huntley in
9450-545: The main event. The promotion had been experiencing trouble booking events and had been on hiatus for the last seven months. While there were indications for a planned comeback during the summer, the promotion remained inactive for the remainder of the year. The promotion resumed running events again, with new arrivals Chad Merchant and Chad Peters, hired by Ellen Magliaro to take over promotion and booking duties. Two new titles were introduced that year. On 19 June 2004, Cameron Matthews defeated Shawn Styles, Gina Marie and Psycho in
9576-409: The match), was helped backstage. Enraged, he grabbed a steel chair and said that he was going to hit whoever came backstage first, whether it was Savage or Elizabeth. Just as Roberts was about to swing the chair, he was stopped by the Undertaker; Roberts was distracted long enough for Savage to hit him with the chair instead. That incident helped set up Roberts' feud with the Undertaker. Roberts stated in
9702-596: The match, Roberts mounted an offensive against DiBiase and Virgil and then began giving away DiBiase's "money" including giving some money to actress Mary Tyler Moore who was seated at ringside. Following a brief feud with Bad News Brown in the summer of 1990, Roberts also feuded with Rick "the Model" Martel throughout late 1990 into early 1991, after Martel ( kayfabe ) blinded Roberts by spraying his cologne "Arrogance" into his eyes. Roberts went so far as to wear white contact lenses to "prove" his blindness. After several months,
9828-466: The match. After the match, Roberts placed his snake on Raven. Roberts made a one-night return to TNA in 2008 as a guest of "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal and SoCal Val 's storyline wedding at Slammiversary . Roberts made an appearance on March 14, 2005, on Raw , where he confronted Randy Orton , who was preparing to challenge The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21 . Roberts warned Orton that facing The Undertaker, particularly at WrestleMania, could be
9954-525: The match. At the end of the night, Rumble walked away holding three championship titles. Prior to 2007, Chad Merchant and Chad Peters had left NWA New England to start their own promotion in Vermont , NWA Green Mountain (later NWA Addicted). On 10 March 2007, Beau Douglas defeated Jason Rumble for the NWA New England Heavyweight title in Saugus, Massachusetts , ending Rumble's third reign as champion. Douglas had lost
10080-444: The prize of the feud was DiBiase's own Million Dollar Championship . It was at this time that Roberts' problems with the discs in his back were publicly acknowledged, as DiBiase attacked Roberts after a victory over his bodyguard Virgil on WWF Superstars of Wrestling . In the attack, Roberts was (storyline) injured by DiBiase and needed time off to have surgery to repair the damage. Roberts returned and feuded with DiBiase throughout
10206-546: The program. A local car dealership, Atlantic Toyota, initially agreed to sponsor the show but pulled out at the last minute. Several weeks later, on 13 November 1999, Tony Rumble died of a massive heart attack. His wife Ellen took over the promotion, as well as his seat on the NWA Board of Directors, choosing to continue running NWA New England. Rumble's death greatly disrupted the independent wrestling scene in New England. Though
10332-622: The promotion is hired by a school or private organization, and then continuously promote upcoming events from these shows. Within a few years, Rumble had carved out a sizable territory and was promoting shows throughout New England. While Rumble had already been a highly recognizable personality from his years in IWCCW, he also started a Public-access television show, Mass Madness , produced by Pat Doyle. The series had fairly high quality production and featured not only televised wrestling events but also comedic "wrap-around segments". One of these segments, "Tony Rumble's Mike Lano Chronicles", featured
10458-526: The promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance. Rumble, having seen them perform in IWCCW, had also used future Extreme Championship Wrestling stars The Tazmaniac and Tommy Dreamer . In fact, Dreamer became the promotion's first heavyweight champion when he defeated Tony Atlas in a tournament final in Wallingford, Connecticut on 5 November 1992. On 3 January 1993, The Tazmaniac became
10584-654: The promotion's website, wrote and designed arena programs, posters and tickets. Sheldon was very well-connected due to his newsletter and his position on the Board of Directors of the Cauliflower Alley Club. He proved a valuable addition to the company and was especially involved in the promotion's association with the NWA. Sheldon would later become close friends with its president Howard Brody. Other important members were Patrick Doyle, television producer of Mass Madness , and Boston radio personality Jeff Katz. The promotion
10710-476: The promotion. His inexperience, both as a wrestler and businessman hindered Dellagatta's efforts as well increased competition from rival promotions desperate to take the promotion's top spot in New England. Another factor was the rapidly changing business during " the Attitude Era " instigated by Extreme Championship Wrestling, and later imitated by the World Wrestling Federation. The "sold shows", which had been
10836-436: The referees while Rumble snuck back in and eliminated the last man Beau Douglas. Rumble ended up winning the match making Ortiz submit to an Elevated Boston crab . At the start of the match, the referee was seen taking money from Johnny Fabulous in exchange for a priority mail envelope alleged to have medical records related to an injury Ortiz had recently suffered. He was also observed making deliberate "slow counts" throughout
10962-499: The ring and brutally attacked him, eventually tying Savage into the ropes and got the king cobra to bite his arm; the snake was devenomized and, according to Roberts' DVD Pick Your Poison , he had trouble getting the cobra to release his bite. According to Roberts, on the day the angle was shot, he had to let the cobra bite him on his leg at Savage's request to convince him that the snake had been devenomized and Savage would regularly check on Roberts to make sure he had no side effects from
11088-425: The ring ropes while Earthquake squashed Damien, because the original plan was for Roberts to be knocked out of the ring and not let him see it. The feud was advanced when, several weeks later, Earthquake appeared on WWF Prime Time Wrestling and served "Quakeburgers" to co-host Lord Alfred Hayes and Vince McMahon , later claiming that the meat was ground from Damien's carcass, which prompted McMahon to angrily knock
11214-533: The rival promotion at this event. On 25 November 2006, in Saugus, Massachusetts , the 7th annual 2006 Tony Rumble Memorial featured several independent stars such as Wagner Brown, Scott Grimes and Millennium Wrestling Federation manager Johnny Fabulous, father of WWE wrestler John Cena . In the opening bout, Rumble had also won the Cruiserweight and X-Division titles in a five-way match between TNT, "Black Lotus" Matt Ledge, Paul Hudson and Cameron Matthews. On
11340-604: The same time for the WWF (now WWE ). Roberts started his career in 1974 in the Louisiana area, as a referee and a year later, made his debut as a wrestler, making his name in Mid-South Wrestling , Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling . Roberts had trouble developing his character, so in the late 1970s he traveled to Canada to wrestle. While in Stampede Wrestling , Roberts feuded with
11466-549: The semi-main event, Luiz Ortiz defeated Beau Douglas for the vacant NWA New England Championship. During the annual battle royal, the veteran members eliminated the newer NWA members then stopped the battle royal to address the crowd with their fondest memories of Tony Rumble. At the conclusion of the night's events, Rumble's grandson Hunter was invited to the ring where he was given a baseball cap by Bull Montana. The MWF also held theirs weeks earlier, in association with AWA Superstars of Wrestling , at MWF Soul Survivor 2005 and which
11592-432: The set-up, Roberts explained to Warrior that, after passing three tests, he would have the "knowledge of the dark side" to defeat Undertaker. The segments included Warrior being locked inside a coffin (a reprise of an incident that occurred on The Funeral Parlor , hosted by the Undertaker's manager, Paul Bearer ; earlier in the year); the Warrior being "buried alive" in dirt before being abandoned; and Warrior walking through
11718-650: The show's promoter sent King Kong Bundy and Yokozuna , who were supposed to compete in the other main event match, to the ring and made the main event a tag team match with Roberts teaming with Yokozuna against Bundy and Neidhart. Roberts, who was so drunk that he could not stand up, took the fall in the match after Bundy splashed and pinned him. In 2001, Roberts moved to Great Britain , where he began competing for Brian Dixon's All Star Wrestling . In December, he made his debut for Ricky Knight 's World Association of Wrestling in Lowestoft . On October 20, 2002, Roberts became
11844-729: The snake to ringside, and his impending first-round match against Dustin Rhodes in the first round of the King of Cable tournament. He was replaced in the tournament by The Barbarian . After leaving WCW, Roberts spent his next couple of years wrestling around the world. In February 1993, he took part in a tour in Australia. He won the American Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title defeating Don Muraco on March 4. Then in April 1993, he toured Europe, particularly Austria and Germany. In September 1993, he took part wrestling
11970-545: The spring of 1994, Roberts returned to the United States to wrestle for Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW). On May 2, he defeated Tony Anthony to win the SMW Heavyweight Championship ; the title change aired on May 14. Roberts no-showed several defenses, forcing SMW to give the title back to Anthony on July 5. By the end of 1994, Roberts took a hiatus. After spending over a year in hiatus, Roberts returned to WWF at
12096-407: The subsequent feud on the house show circuit saw André victorious after most of those matches, Roberts can claim a victory via disqualification over André after The Giant attacked special guest referee and former foe Big John Studd at WrestleMania V . Shortly after his feud with André had ended, Roberts entered into a feud with Ted DiBiase. Instead of fighting for the Intercontinental Championship,
12222-601: The team of Salvatore Sincere , Steve C Wrestling and Pretty Ugly ( Jimmy Dream and Adam Ugly). On March 15, 2014, Roberts debuted in Regional Championship Wrestling's Rumblemania 9 in Reading, Pennsylvania as a surprise partner for Cliff Serenyi against Russian Mafia with Rich Rogers. This match ended in a DQ. Rogers was knocked out when Roberts stuck the snake in Roger's pants. On June 14, 2014, Roberts participated in
12348-569: The time guitars were not prepared to break easily. The Honky Tonk Man denies that he purposefully injured Roberts, although Honky's manager Jimmy Hart , as well as a video of the incident (seen on the Pick Your Poison DVD) suggests otherwise with Roberts later claiming that he was picking pieces of wood out of his back for weeks after. The attack led to their match at WrestleMania III in which Roberts had Detroit native Alice Cooper (a known lover of snakes) in his corner. After Honky Tonk won
12474-830: The title for much of the 1990s. The title was renamed as the NWA New England Cruiserweight Championship when the CWA joined the National Wrestling Alliance and became NWA New England in January 1998. A year later, it changed to the NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Championship and co-promoted with NWA East / Pro Wrestling eXpress . The title was defended throughout the New England area, most often in Massachusetts and Connecticut , from 1999 until 2002 when it became inactive for
12600-571: The title to Rumble six years before in Nashville, Tennessee . Matt Ledge also won the NWA New England Cruiserweight title in a five-way elimination match against Legion Cage, Paul Hudson, Cameron Matthews and Scotty Vegas. That same day, it was announced that NWA New England was leaving the National Wrestling Alliance after nearly a decade under its banner, returning to its original Century Wrestling Alliance name. Its last advertised event,
12726-424: The title. Steele also threatened Rumble in a post-match interview, "promising to return to New England in the near future for revenge". During 1999, Mass Madness was eventually shown on regular broadcast television via independent UHF television station WNDS, out of Derry, New Hampshire . The show changed its format and, after 16 weeks, the station wanted to change the arraignment and be paid in order to air
12852-463: The undercard, Antonio Thomas defeated "Future Legend" Luke Robinson. Earlier in the night, two different matches were held to determine the opponents of NWA New England Heavyweight Champion Louis Ortiz in the main event. Wagner Brown defeated Beau Douglas and Scott Hanson in a triple threat match, and "Boston Bad Boy" Jason Rumble won a Royal Rumble-styled battle royal. Although Rumble had been eliminated, along with Todd Hanson, Johnny Fabulous distracted
12978-414: The undercard, saw The Brotherhood (Erich Sbraccia & Knuckles Nelson ) defeat NWA World Tag Team Champions NWA All-Star 's The Border Patrol (Agent Gunn and Agent Maxx) in an interpromotional four corners match with NWA Southwest's Team Extreme (Kit Carson and Khris Germany) and special guests Tully Blanchard and Dr. Tom Prichard . Barry Windham was originally scheduled to team with Blanchard but
13104-607: The vacant title at the supercard Extreme Revenge in Bellingham, Massachusetts. The title was eventually merged with the NWW Heavyweight Championship when Bidondi failed to arrive for a match against NWW Champion Beau Douglas at another supercard, Summer Blackout , in Attleboro, Massachusetts on 20 August, which ended the working partnership between the two promotions. The previous month, Adam Booker beat Beau Douglas in
13230-454: The wife of Jake "the Snake". After Rude began insulting Roberts, Cheryl slapped him, angering Rude before Roberts ran out for the save. This began a heated feud throughout the summer of 1988, which escalated after Rude began wearing a pair of tights emblazoned with a visage of Mrs. Roberts, which an irate Roberts tore off. Roberts moved from the feud with Rude into a feud with André the Giant who
13356-503: The winner receives a match against the NWA New England Heavyweight Champion in the main event. This event should not be confused with a separate version held by the Millennium Wrestling Federation which, although is also held as a tribute to Tony Rumble, has no connection to NWA New England and is held at their supercard Soul Survivor . Jake Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955) better known by
13482-496: The worst option — the Coal Miner's Glove match . While Halloween Havoc was the company's top-selling pay-per-view for several years, Roberts soon left WCW. Following the loss to Sting he continued his feud, facing him on several house shows immediately after the event. On the November 2 episode of Saturday Night , Tony Schiavone conducted a sit-down interview with Roberts regarding the decision of Bill Watts to ban his bringing of
13608-743: The wrestlers who followed Rumble to the CWA included The Pink Assassin , "Surfer" Ray Odyssey , Vic Steamboat and "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas . As with IWCCW, several future stars of Extreme Championship Wrestling spent their early careers in the promotion including Tommy Dreamer , The Tazmaniac and The Public Enemy ( Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge ) as well as established Northeastern independent wrestlers such as Amanda Storm, April Hunter , LuFisto , Alex Arion, Juggernaut , Metal Maniac, Al Snow , Tom Brandi , Handsome Johnny , Dan Quirk , Rick Fuller , Wagner Brown , The Extremists ( Ace Darling & Devon Storm ) and The Brotherhood (Erich Sbraccia and Knuckles Nelson ). Sbraccia and Nelson later won
13734-532: Was a little respect, and the Rockstar's interruption irritated him. Roberts then attacked Gillmore. On October 6, 2007, he lost to Scott Hall at Juggalo Championship Wrestling . In May 2009, Roberts joined the Jim Rose Circus for the Jim Rose Circus vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts: The Legends Collide Tour . Advertised as "a grueling 40 city campaign" containing pretty girls, wrestling, amazing circus stunts, and
13860-532: Was also featured in Ringside Wrestling . On 24 January 1998, the Century Wrestling Alliance became an official affiliate for National Wrestling Alliance and renamed NWA New England, as was its titles. The secondary CWA New England title, previously held by Tony Rumble, would be merged with the main CWA Heavyweight title to create a new NWA New England Heavyweight Championship. The Light Heavyweight title
13986-509: Was also managed by Bobby Heenan. On the March 11, 1989, episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XX , André got involved in a match between Rick Rude and Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake , siding with fellow Heenan Family member Rude. Roberts came to the ring to help Beefcake, who eventually won by disqualification. Roberts used his snake Damien to scare Andre into an eventual " heart attack ". Although
14112-550: Was assisted by outside interference from A.J. Styles and Mortimer Plumtree on Reynolds' behalf which backfire allowing him the victory. On 6 April 2003, NWA New England held a fundraiser at Riverside Middle School in Riverside, Rhode Island for victims and families of the Station nightclub fire , the proceeds later being donated to related charities. The event also featured Jonah from WWE Tough Enough 3 who wrestled Jason Rumble in
14238-597: Was at Clash of the Champions XX , where his team won a 4-man elimination tag match. Roberts scored a pinfall victory over Sting, which built their feud further. His single WCW pay-per-view match was against Sting at Halloween Havoc in 1992. Their match was determined via the Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal gimmick . When the wheel stopped, it had landed on what many observers believed was
14364-558: Was founded by Tony Rumble in 1989, a retired wrestler and manager in International World Class Championship Wrestling , and included much of its roster prior to and following its close during the early 1990s. The promotion eventually replaced IWCCW as the dominant independent promotion in the Greater Boston area and, in 1997, became an affiliated territory of the National Wrestling Alliance . Among
14490-406: Was headlined by Kevin Sullivan, still a booker at WCW, and had held the heavyweight title for the past two years. He would eventually be stripped of the title after losing a Loser-Must-Retire match against Chris Benoit on 14 July 1997. Rumble was so impressed by Goldberg that he offered him a position as the official CWA Commissioner. Goldberg oversaw merchandise sales at house shows, but also ran
14616-612: Was known for his intense and cerebral promos , dark charisma, extensive use of psychology in his matches, and innovative use of the DDT finishing move (which was later named the "coolest" maneuver of all time by WWE). He often brought snakes into the ring, most famously a python . He was one of the subjects of the 1999 documentary film Beyond the Mat . In 2012, he moved in with fellow wrestler Diamond Dallas Page to seek help in getting his life back on track following years of alcohol and drug addiction,
14742-687: Was not a fully trained referee at the time. Fuller remained in the promotion during the next year eventually winning the heavyweight title from Beau Douglas in Woonsocket, Rhode Island on 13 July 2002. On 22 November 2002, the first annual Tony Rumble Memorial Show was held at the Wrestleplex in Woonsocket, the first of several tribute shows held in Tony Rumble's memory during the next five years. The "Tony Rumble Memorial Battle Royal won by 2nd Generation Brotherhood Member BIG DA The DarkAngel" would be introduced
14868-499: Was not given a release from his contract. On his Pick Your Poison DVD, Roberts expressed his regret for his actions to get a release from his contract. Roberts went on to work for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) alongside his father, Grizzly Smith , where he aligned himself with The Barbarian and Cactus Jack to feud against Sting and Nikita Koloff . However, before he could officially join WCW, he had to wait 90 days. According to
14994-616: Was present at the NWA 50th Anniversary Show , held at the Cherry Hill Hilton's "Crystal Ballroom" in Cherry Hill, New Jersey , on 24 October 1998. The first match was a three-way dance between Tre, Ray Odyssey and The Inferno Kid for the NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Championship which lasted a little over 12 minutes and ended by count-out, allowing Tre to retain the title. The second match, part of
15120-655: Was renamed as an NWA cruiserweight championship. In addition, several new titles were introduced including the Brass Knuckles and Women's titles. Tournaments were held for several of these new titles. On 17 January 1998, Erich Sbraccia defeated Vic Steamboat to win the NWA New England Heavyweight title in Southbridge, Massachusetts . Violet Flame defeated Amanda Storm for the women's title in Bridgeport, Connecticut on 15 October 1999, and Mike Johnson defeated Trooper Gilmore for
15246-438: Was the main event of the show. As the match went on, the arena lights were turned off. Moments later when the lights came back on, Roberts was already in the ring, and proceeded to give Tommy Dreamer a clothesline. He then went to the camera man and screamed; " Your God... he giveth, and he can taketh away. My God, he giveth... but he ain't got the balls to do nothin' else ." He promptly clotheslined Lawler, who fell onto Dreamer for
15372-541: Was unable to attend. Rumble had been the manager and cornerman for both events. The Brotherhood continued to defend the World titles, as well as the NWA New England versions, and included other members, most notably Dukes Dalton and Rick Fuller , who substituted for Sbraccia when he was injured. Fuller and Knuckles Nelson eventually lost the titles to The Public Enemy at a house show in Bolton, Massachusetts on 17 June 1999. Also on
15498-404: Was unable to stop his head from hitting the concrete and was rendered unconscious, sustaining a concussion. After Steamboat's recovery, Steamboat introduced a " Komodo dragon " as his pet to combat the psychological effects of Roberts' snake. The feud continued with Steamboat winning most of the matches (losing only one because he threw Roberts back in the ring before the 10 count, while not beating
15624-467: Was upset that WWF chairman Vince McMahon did not offer him a position on the writing staff, despite being promised such previously. After Pat Patterson stepped down from his post on the writing staff stemming from the recent sexual harassment scandal, McMahon decided that, out of respect for Patterson, the spot would be left vacant. Roberts felt he was not only being lied to, but also being betrayed. In response, he threatened to no-show WrestleMania if he
15750-587: Was won by Ox Baker . On 30 July 2006, NWA New England was subjected to an "invasion" by Collision Pro Wrestling (now ACID Wrestling) after inviting promoter Brian Reese and the CPW roster to promote their organization at an event held at Sanford Sound's 10th Annual Bikini Car Wash in Sanford, Maine. Reese and his roster mocked the promotion announced their intention to "destroy NWA New England". Three NWA New England members, two of which were Gino Bauer and Barry Ace, defected to
15876-469: Was won by CWA alumni Bull Montana by eliminating The Outpatient. Montana had been Rumble's best friend and best man at his wedding. During 2004 and early 2005, NWA New England became affiliated with another local promotion, New World Wrestling, and had together co-promoted the tribute show. The Colonial title was soon being defended in both promotions. On 5 February 2005, "Bionic" Dan Bidondi defeated Chris Blackheart, "Gorgeous" Donny Rotten and Don Vega for
#541458