How WWE legend Jake 'The Snake' Roberts left lasting mark on Diamond Dallas Page's wrestling career

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts was one of pro wrestling’s first antiheroes and left an indelible mark on the industry with his use of the DDT finishing maneuver and his use of a python in the ring to create a sense of fear upon opponents and the audience watching him.

Roberts’ in-ring prowess became the driving influence for Diamond Dallas Page to step in between the ropes and make a name for himself in World Championship Wrestling and later in WWE. 

Page was a three-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, but he almost never went back to wrestling after his first stint in the industry did not work out. He told Fox News Digital in a recent interview he had stopped watching pro wrestling altogether until he saw Roberts on his television screen.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Jake "The Snake" Roberts puts his snake on Dino Bravo after their WWF match on Nov. 6, 1987 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)

"I was flipping through the channels in 1986 and I saw this guy walk through the curtain and who’s this guy? He’s got a bag over his shoulder, a Fu Manchu, long hair and he had a different kind of swag that I had never seen watching him walk to the ring," Page said of Roberts. "And then went he got in the ring and you watched his matches, he was so believable … I couldn’t see through it.

"And then when I heard him cut a promo, I was like, ‘OK, I’m a huge fan again. Jake literally sucked me back into the TV and the next thing you know, I’m a wrestling fan again."

Maybe it was a sign of things to come.

ROMAN REIGNS LEAVES ELIMINATION CHAMBER AS