Jake 'The Snake' Roberts Announces Emergency Surgery to Remove Cancer from Knee

WWE legend and 2014 Hall of Fame inductee Jake “The Snake” Roberts has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor behind his knee and will undergo emergency surgery to remove it, according to TMZ.     

Roberts recently returned to the WWE at the conclusion of the Jan. 6 episode of Raw, which featured an old-school theme, to put his signature snake Damien on The Shield’s Dean Ambrose following a match.

It was also recently revealed that Roberts would be an inductee as a member of the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame class during a ceremony held the night before WrestleMania XXX and airing on the WWE Network.

The WWE legend had struggled with substance abuse problems for many years, but he recently found the straight and narrow via the assistance provided by Diamond Dallas Page and his DDPYoga program.

After years of being blackballed by the majority of the wrestling industry, Roberts has cleaned himself up and is rebuilding his legacy every day. While the cancer diagnosis is the latest in a long line of trials and tribulations, Roberts claims in the TMZ report, "If the devil can't defeat me, cancer doesn't stand a chance in hell! Pray for sick children who face this horrible disease 'cause The Snake will be just fine.”

Roberts was never given the chance to be the WWE world champion—widely regarded as one of the biggest snubs in wrestling history—but the fan favorite built a legendary status using his patented DDT finisher and his sadistic promos.

As the quintessential heel on the mic and in the ring, Roberts was able to convince all kinds of fans to despise him. Jake the Snake made a living out of drawing the ire of the fans during some of the biggest battles in history against the top names in the business.

Now, the future Hall of Fame inductee goes to battle with a much more menacing foe.

Thoughts and prayers go out to Roberts and his family during his battle with cancer.

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