The Dragon vs The Snake: Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF 1986

The Dragon vs. The Snake
The Story of The Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts Feud
WWF, 1986

Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF Boston 6/27/86
 

I really enjoyed this match! These are two wrestlers that I have been a little down on, but I thought they weaved a great story in this match. I think a lot of my issues with Jake The Snake was twofold. One was not watching enough Jake to get him and understand him. Since he is not a pure power or speed guy, it does not immediately leap off the page. On top of that, a lot of what I was watching was  babyface Jake The Snake and I don't know if that's where Jake excels. From watching this and watching the SNME angle shot before this where he jumps Steamboat, cracks his head on the concrete with the DDT a couple times and lays the snake on The Dragon that Jake the Snake the heel enjoys torturing and humiliating his opponent even more than winning. On the flip side, Ricky Steamboat is pissed that he had been injured by The Snake and was red hot this match. Steamboat has a bit of a different way of showing violence and part of that is because of who Steamboat is (we know he is not the world's flashiest person) and the sanitized WWF environment. He wears his anger on his face and how quickly he is moving rather than the his moves per se.

Steamboat comes out hot looking to avenge being shown up and hurt at SNME, but one thread of this match is that his overzealousness catches him. By attacking Jake on the outside when he tries to get back in the ring, he catches a wicked knee lift. Jake immediately wants to replicate SNME with a quick DDT and presumably place the snake on him. Once could be a fluke and twice would show Jake is the man. Upon trying the DDT, Steamboat starts firing off chops and even a really heated belly to belly. I struggle sometimes with how I feel about wrestlers that really take time to signal to their audience what they are going to do. On one side, the wrestler should be in the moment and just execute. On the other, it is a powerful took to make the audience aware something big is going to happen and therefore more likely to pop because they won't miss it and are now anticipating it. I think Steamboat worked that fine line perfectly. It was especially apropos when Roberts was caught in the ropes. This gave time for Steamboat to measure his man thus getting the crowd involved and deliver a ferocious chop. I loved Steamboat's urgency going through the ref's leg just to get another chop. Soon we see how Steamboat's urgency comes back to haunt him as when he slides through Jake's legs he gets popped. Jake was showing a bit more energy here than he has in past performances, but his menacing, stalking aura is more suited to be a heel. I really his goading the struggling babyface to hit him in the face spot. It is such a dick thing to do and it is just so abusive father-ish to me. C'mon you want to hit me, but you can't, boy. It is just mean. That's the humiliating and torturing of Steamboat. There was one other time when Jake could have gone for the win and instead choose to punch Steamboat in the head more. There were other times when he reverted to a more normal heel especially how he reacted to Steamboat coming out of the sleeper. Steamboat's selling was HUGE in this and I was absolutely digging. I loved him being hurled over the top and just letting himself end up in what ever shape he did on the apron. He was a mess. Jake got a little cocky going for the snake and ended taking a big single leg pick up bump off his knee lift. Steamboat came ALIVE! Again, Jake was lying in wait and Steamboat overzealous ate knees on a splash. Steamboat rolled towards the apron where Jake successfully hit his knee lift. Roberts followed the Dragon, but was shoved into the post. Just as Steamboat was going to come crashing down on Jake the Snake with his flying chop the match was called off with Steamboat being counted out. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

They have a pretty heated post-match brawl with Jake The Snake looking to hit the DDT (he bladed really obviously on camera and it was funny trying to hear the announcers explain why he is bleeding), but Steamboat freeing himself and hitting the flying karate chop. I really loved the juxtaposition of the two energies of this match. Steamboat was firey and avenging. Roberts bided his time, struck at the right moment and then stalk and tortured his prey. This is really the type of match that WWF excels in more than probably about any promotion in history. It was very much more character-driven than it was victory-driven. I think that hurts a lot of WWF matches, but when they really knock it out of their park in their style, it is really fun to watch and really expands the breadth of what pro wrestling is and can accomplish. ****1/4  

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Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF Boston 8/9/86

They wrestled a totally different match this go around and one that I thought is pretty unique overall. Jake Roberts is definitely a low risk, conservative type wrestler. He does not have much in the way of flashy moves or bumps. He bides his time and measures the moment. He transformed this into a really interesting strategy of blocking Steamboat's chops at every turn. This frustrated the Dragon and stymied his uptempo game. The Snake played into the dickishness by reminding everyone how smart he is for formulating this strategy. There were times where it looked like Steamboat would be able to goad him into his game like a quick slugfest or a criss cross but both times Jake remembered his game plan and refused to be suckered into it. Jake planned on leveraging this counterwrestling strategy by attacking the arm, which would negate the chop. Overall, this was a much better plan than his last outing in the Garden, which was high-risk counterwrestling waiting for the right time to use Steamboat's momentum against him. Eventually, Steamboat was able to break down Jake's defenses, I think the best example was when Jake went block high and Steamboat hit low to set up a chop flurry. Steamboat really started to get on a roll. I thought this paid off the first part of the match perfectly. Then they upped the ante when Steamboat hit his left hand on the post going for a chop. What a perfect transition! What ensued is why I love pro wrestling. Steamboat milking the hand injury for all its worth. Jake giving into his tortuous inclinations. He was smashing that hand into everything and working it over. It was just awesome. Steamboat trying to use other body parts come back, but Jake going right back to the hand. Jake The Snake wanted to choke Steamboat and this was his flaw when he deviated from his game plan. It led to Steamboat snapping Roberts' throat over the top rope. I liked the symmetry there. Steamboat basically fought back with one hand in a really thrilling comeback where he hurled Roberts into the barricade and table. I am really liking violent Ricky The Dragon. I really liked the Snake's selling. Steamboat continued his barrage even hitting his big karate flying chop. I did think the finish was a misstep. Roberts sent The Dragon into the ref and then got two visual pins on the Dragon, short arm clothesline and then gutbuster before Roberts frustrated with no ref was rolled up for the loss. I feel like the finish does no one any favors. If the plan was to advance Jake The Snake up a rung to face, Hogan, which I think he earned with these great performances then just let him win, don't make slip on the banana peel and even a loss would not kill him. How does that help Steamboat who is trying to gain revenge and all he gets is a roll up. On top of that, Jake still gets to plant him with a DDT. This was a very protected finish for Jake The Snake. I usually don't let booking cloud my judgment of a match, but even just on face value, it is a very unsatisfying finish. Really badass and unique stuff in this match and up until the finish an absolute classic. ****1/2

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Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF Big Event 8/28/86 SnakePit Match ("No DQ" Match)

Again, they had a different match from the previous outings with this being their big blowoff brawl in front of a massive Toronto crowd. WWF will never be known for their brawls like a Southern territory would be, but this is still time period where they could have them with blood and all the fixins.

They play off the SNME angle where Jake The Snake heads him off getting to the ring and looks to hit the DDT on him early, but Steamboat is able to fight through this with chops. What's funny about this is that Jake is wearing this purple sequined robe that makes him look like a white trash, washed up magician. In another funny moment, they were talking about how tall Jake was and he is pretty deceptively tall. Like you don't think of Jake the Snake in pantheon of tall wrestlers, but he dwarfed Steamboat. They were saying he had long arms and long legs. Then I swear Johnny V added "He has a long peck too." All this humor was great because the match actually started off pretty slow with Steamboat working the arm. It was solid work, but it was not setting the world on fire. Actually that's what I expected out of these going into these matches, but I was happily proven wrong. Things really got going once Jake took over on the outside. He was kicking some ass until The Dragon got a hold of chair and actually laid a pretty good one in on him. Steamer hit the big flying chop, but did not get the win. I think that was Steamboat's downfall in these blood feuds. He did not have that one move that could really serve as the Grand Finale. Jake whipped him into the buckles and Steamboat tumbled to the outside. Jake was great on the outside and catapulted him into the post. We get blood BABY! Jake kicks some ass hits his big moves (short arm clothesline, gutbuster), but not the DDT so you know he ain't winning. The finish is so lame. It is the heel clearly pinning the babyface in a way to get rolled up. It is a fine spot, but as a match finish super lame. Steamboat needed a better finish. It was a pretty solid brawl, but nowhere as good as the Boston matches. ***1/2

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Ricky Steamboat vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts - SNME 10/4/86 Snakepit Match

Man, Jake The Snake should only be allowed to wrestle Steamboat. I usually find the Snakeman to be completely devoid of energy and his matches to be plodding borefests, but I have loved these Steamboat matches. It is not just The Dragon either. Roberts actually looks motivated! He is bumping and running! WHAT!?!? The shine is great loved Steamboat ducking Roberts punches and chopping him. Great bumps by Roberts throughout the shine. Just lots of energy. Steamboat is on fire. He looks to end it early with a big splash from the top, but Roberts gets the knees up. Great heat segment ensues not just because Steamboat is the king of selling because Jake is vicious. He gets a gutbuster and is just nasty working the ribs. I would have liked to see some DDT teases, but the work on the ribs was great. Finish is out of nowhere just a crucifix just as the match was really getting good. It was SNME so you knew it be short, but hot damn this was building nicely until abrupt finish. They tease the DDT on the concrete, which is what started this feud on May edition of SNME, but Steamboat gets out and he pulls out his dragon (looked like a small alligator, maybe it was a Komodo Dragon, I am no reptile expert) to scare off Jake & Damien. Thus this was the TV blowoff to their feud. One of the best Jake Roberts performance I have ever seen both in bumping on offense! ***3/4