Jake the Snake Roberts, WWE Hall of Famer, has been transferred between Las Vegas hospitals since Friday dealing with a number of conditions that began on a flight down to Nevada when Roberts alerted flight attendants to pain he felt in his chest and head, as well as lightheadedness and shortness of breath. Roberts’ battle with addiction has been well-documented, though his Attorney Kyle P. Magee has stated that Roberts’ condition has nothing to do with his client’s former substance issues. In a statement to the press, Magee revealed that rumors of Roberts losing consciousness on the flight were incorrect, as were the assertions made that Roberts had not been sober at the time of the incident.

“Jake was induced in a coma-like state to effectively treat the pneumonia…drugs or alcohol have no bearing on this event despite Internet rumors,” Magee said in a statement to the media.

Roberts is still in the hospital at this point, going through more tests as well as continuing treatment for pneumonia. Roberts is said to be conscious and coherent, able to speak for himself. However, it has been revealed that during an MRI, an “abnormality” was found on his brain. In the most likely case the abnormality is more likely the cause of Roberts’ very long in-ring career and not a product of his prior addictions.

Jake The Snake Roberts And DDP Yoga

Roberts is good friends with fellow retired wrestler Diamond Dallas Page. Since retiring, Page has opened up his own yoga studio and treatment facility. Both Roberts and wrestler Scott Hall have credited Page with helping turn their lives around. Both have had longstanding struggles both physically and with addiction, and neither have relapsed since coming under Page’s care. Page has helped both become sober and has helped organize drives to help both men pay for surgeries they needed due to the many years of bumps they took in their professional wrestling careers. The popularity of Page’s programs has increased substantially since he took both men on as clients.

Jake the Snake Roberts, Wrestling

Roberts is a WWE Hall of Famer, and was a major force in the wrestling world in the 1980s. He popularized or created many maneuvers used today (such as the piledriver and the DDT), and was very well known (along with Rowdy Roddy Piper) for his excellent microphone and promo work that would help revolutionize how wrestling characters communicated during interviews and verbal confrontations. Later wrestlers such as Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and CM Punk have often mentioned Roberts and Piper as major influences in the promo and in-ring work.

Roberts’ professional accomplishments have often been overshadowed by his personal demons. Not only has Roberts had very long battles with addiction, but the highly popular and Academy Award winning Darren Aronovsky film The Wrestler is said to be a thinly veiled exploration of Roberts’ life and career after leaving the WWE.