After leaving the WWE in acrimony in 1992, Jake returned to WWE in at the Royal Rumble in 1996, as a Bible-preaching face. In the finals of King of The Ring tournament that year, Roberts was defeated by Stone Cold and in a post-match interview, he mocked his recital of 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!". This helped propel Austin to the top of the WWF, and is one of the moments that is often cited as the beginning of Attitude Era.
In the video below, WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts talks about returning to WWE in 1996 and working with Steve Austin. Jake says he was the only one pushing for Austin because the Chairman didn’t see him as a main eventer then. Jake also says he was all for the “Austin 3:16” angle.
