Roddy Piper
Encyclopedia
Roderick George Toombs (born April 17, 1954), better known by his ring name
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian
semi-retired professional wrestler
and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE. Although he is Canadian, due to his Scottish heritage, he was billed as coming from Glasgow
in Scotland
and was known for his signature kilt
and bagpipe
entrance music. He earned the nickname "Rowdy" by displaying his trademark "Scottish" rage, spontaneity and quick wit, and despite being a crowd favorite for his rockstar-like persona, often played the villain; he was also nicknamed "Hot Rod". He was never a world champion, but he accumulated thirty-four championships in various promotions during his career. Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
in 2005. Piper spent some time as a teacher at Menzieshill High School in the city of Dundee, Scotland.
, Saskatchewan
and raised in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
. He attended Windsor Park Collegiate
. His father was an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
while they lived in The Pas, Manitoba
. After being expelled from junior high and having a falling out with his father, Piper hit the road and stayed in youth hostels wherever he could find them.
, against Larry Hennig
. Piper lost the match in ten seconds. He was a boxer and an amateur wrestler before he started to become a pro wrestler. He won the Golden Gloves
boxing championship. He was awarded a Black Belt in Judo
from Gene LeBell
, American Judo champion, instructor, stuntman, and professional wrestler.
, and Texas working for Paul Boesch
's NWA Houston Wrestling promotion and in Dallas working for Fritz Von Erich
's Big Time Rasslin. What was supposed to be a brief run in California, however, turned out to be a long term stint as booker Leo Garibaldi and publicist Jeff Walton were impressed with Piper and saw the money making possibilities he had as a villain
.
's NWA Hollywood Wrestling. In 1977–78, he also started to work for Roy Shire's NWA San Francisco Wrestling in addition to remaining with the L.A. office. Los Angeles was where Piper developed his Rowdy character and became one of the most hated villains in Los Angeles since the days of Classy Freddy Blassie. During this time, he made continuous insults directed at the area's Mexican community; he later promised to amend by playing the Mexican national anthem on his bagpipes only to anger the fans further by playing "La Cucaracha" instead. Piper also served as manager for several villains in Los Angeles and worked as a referee from time to time. Piper feuded with all the fan favorites
in the area and had a long feud with Chavo Guerrero, Sr..
As part of the L.A. storyline, Roddy Piper feuded with Chavo and the whole Guerrero family for about three years in the L.A. territory going so far as to routinely wear a T-Shirt to the ring reading "Conqueror of the Guerreros". The feud started during a TV bout in early 1976 where Chavo was defending the Jules Strongbow
Memorial Scientific Trophy against Piper. Late in this match, Gory Guerrero
(who had been in Chavo's corner giving him advice throughout the match) was slapped by Piper. Chavo "lost his cool" and starting punching Piper, getting DQ'ed and losing the Scientific Trophy for "breaking the rules". A short time later, Piper then defeated Chavo for the Americas Heavyweight Title; the two competed in the top feud in Los Angeles for the better part of three years. They main evented against each other often during this era (1976 through 1978). The hair match gimmick was one of the top stipulations between these two, resulting in Piper getting his head shaved. Another top stipulation was when Chavo beat Piper in a loser leave town match and Piper immediately reappeared as The Masked Canadian. In his first televised match as The Masked Canadian, Piper actually teamed with Chavo to battle the Americas Tag Team Champions (Gordman and Goliath) and Piper turned on Chavo late in the match, causing Chavo to get pinned. Piper wrestled as The Masked Canadian for several months until he was unmasked by Hector Guerrero
.
By late 1978-early 1979, Buddy Rose talked Piper into leaving the California promotions for even more fame in Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest Territory
where he teamed with Killer Tim Brooks
, Rick Martel
, and Mike Popovich to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
. Piper also won the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
with victories over both Lord Jonathan Boyd
and "Playboy" Buddy Rose
.
for the Mid-Atlantic title and Ric Flair
for the US belt which turned into a huge feud. In 1981, Piper started with the Georgia territory as an antagonistic villainous commentator. In 1982, due to showing up late for a match, he was fired and reportedly blackballed. Piper maintains this in his book, but others dispute this. He did receive an offer from Gary Hart
to go to World Class Championship Wrestling
but the money was not good enough. Instead, he went to Puerto Rico for a month or so and was able to get booked by Jim Barnett
shortly thereafter. It was in Barnett's promotion Georgia Championship Wrestling
that Piper became a fan favorite to save broadcast partner Gordon Solie
from an attack. In Wrestling to Rasslin, Gerald W. Morton and George M. O'Brien described the transformation: "the drama finally played itself out on television when one of his [Piper's] hired assassins, Don Muraco
, suddenly attacked the commentator Gordon Solie. Seeing Solie hurt, Piper unleashed his Scottish fury on Muraco. In the week that followed, like Achilles avenging Patroklas, he slaughtered villain after villain.... In the arenas fans chanted his name throughout his matches." Eventually, Piper moved back to Jim Crockett Promotions
. As a fan favorite, Piper feuded with Sgt. Slaughter
, Ric Flair, and Greg Valentine
. Piper's feud with Valentine culminated in a dog collar match at the first Starrcade
. Valentine broke Piper's left eardrum
during the match with the collar's chain, causing Piper to permanently lose fifty percent of his hearing.
contacted Piper, who insisted on serving out his contract with Jim Crockett. Piper started in the WWF in late 1983 and at the same time fulfilled dates with Crockett. On his way out of Crockett's promotion he became a heel
, which set the stage for his WWF run in 1984. He started as a manager at first, due to the injuries he sustained during his dog collar match with Greg Valentine
, but soon started wrestling full-time. Piper came in as the manager for "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff
, and soon began to wrestle with Orndorff as well.
Later that year, he was given his own interview
segment called Piper's Pit
, in which he talked to other superstars and which frequently ended in a fight between Piper and his guest. The Piper's Pit segments helped create the feuds Piper had with other wrestlers. According to Piper's autobiography, Piper's Pit was completely unscripted and was in fact so popular that it was taken on the road. In addition to pleasing many of his fans who wanted to see the Pit in person, it accomplished other things: it gave Piper the opportunity to heal some nagging injuries while still retaining his heat
with the fans. An early guest on Piper's Pit was his Mid-Atlantic nemesis Valentine, who also arrived to the WWF. In a rare occurrence for WWF programming at the time, the two made reference to their history in the rival organization and hinted at rekindling it, but as the two were now top villains, they both agreed that they had mutual respect for each other, and it was left at that. In one Piper's Pit, Piper had an interview with Jimmy Snuka
. Piper started insulting Snuka's Polynesian heritage by bringing out pineapples, bananas, and dropping coconuts onto the table; this was to make Snuka "feel at home" in an act of "remorse" after Snuka was not given much time to speak the previous times he was on Piper's Pit. Snuka took offense to this and Piper then attacked Snuka by smashing him over the head with a coconut
and shoving a banana in his face. He followed this up by whipping Snuka with his belt. Snuka was legitimately knocked woozy allowing Piper to leave before Snuka, now seriously enraged, could fight back. This incident led to a long feud between the two. Piper also insulted Bruno Sammartino
during a Piper's Pit which led to a feud between the two, ending in a steel cage match which Piper lost.
Another feud, this time between Piper and Hulk Hogan
erupted soon after and became what was at the time the highest-profile feud in wrestling history, thanks to the involvement of pop singer Cyndi Lauper
, where Piper kicked Lauper in the head—and even attacked Captain Lou Albano
—with Hogan seeking revenge as a result. In 1985, MTV
broadcast The War to Settle the Score
, featuring a main-event matchup between Piper and Hogan, who was accompanied to the ring by Albano, Lauper, and Mr. T
. This event set up the very first WrestleMania, which pitted Piper and Paul Orndorff against Hogan and Mr. T. Orndorff was pinned by Hogan when Piper's bodyguard "Cowboy" Bob Orton
interfered and mistakenly struck Orndorff instead of Hogan with his trademark "injured" arm covered in a plaster cast. In Born to Controversy, Piper recalled how he had to keep Mr. T busy with tie-ups and other shoot wrestling moves to keep Mr. T's lack of wrestling ability from being seen by the fans, thus ruining the match. From this situation, Piper and Mr. T's real-life relationship became hostile, leading to the inevitable conclusion that they be put into a feud with one another. It was on Right After Wrestling in March 2011, hosted by Arda Ocal
and Jimmy Korderas, that Piper explained why WrestleMania didn't feature a 1-on-1 main event. He said it was because that match happened at the War to Settle the Score, before the WrestleMania event actually happened. Piper once again faced Mr. T, this time alone, in a boxing
match at WrestleMania 2
in 1986. Piper lost the match by disqualification after bodyslamming Mr. T.
Following a leave of absence from the WWF, Piper returned during a TV taping on WWF Superstars
in 1986 against jobber A.J. Petrucci
and received a thunderous ovation from the audience, turning him face. After being slapped in the face by Petrucci twice, Piper placed one hand behind his back and beat his opponent to a pulp. One of the more memorable "Piper's Pit" sequences during this time came when he had Hulk Hogan on the show to present him with a trophy for being the WWF Champion for 3 years. Shortly after presenting Hogan with the trophy, Hogan's long-time friend, André The Giant
, came out to congratulate Hogan, but closed the segment by simply stating: "Three years to be world champion....it's a long time." After saying this, Andre went to shake Hogan's hand, apparently placing a little too much pressure causing Hogan to wince in pain. The following week, Hogan attempted to return the favor by presenting Andre with a trophy for being undefeated for 15 years, and unwittingly took over the interview. Although the attempt was sincere, Andre couldn't help but notice that the trophy was noticeably smaller than the one Hogan received the week before, and grew irritated when Hogan became the focal point of the spotlight once again. As Hogan was attempting to congratulate Andre, the Frenchman abruptly stormed off the Pit set. The following week, Piper attempted to get some answers and Jesse "The Body" Ventura
interrupted the segment only to tell Piper that something was amiss in the Hogan/Andre situation, and that he needed to have Hogan on the set next week and he would produce Andre so they could have the situation resolved. Piper stayed true to his word and brought Hogan out the following week, only to be stunned when Andre appeared with his long-time nemesis, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
, at his side. Hogan pleaded with Andre to explain why he was with Heenan and Andre simply replied with "I'm here for one reason, to challenge you to a championship match at Wrestlemania." Hogan attempted to keep the peace, only to have Heenan order Andre to attack Hogan to show how serious he was in his challenge. Andre ripped off Hogan's shirt and gold crucifix necklace, leaving Hogan in hurt and shock and with Piper of all people trying to console his former enemy. Piper then brought Hogan back the following week to get Hogan to respond to Andre's challenge. When Hogan sidestepped the issue for several minutes, Piper put it to him bluntly: "Yes or no? Are you or are you not going to face Andre the Giant for the WWF championship at Wrestlemania? YES OR NO?!!" Hogan paused for a brief second only to respond with a thunderous "YES!"
Piper was distressed to find his Piper's Pit segment replaced by The Flower Shop, a segment hosted by the then effeminate wrestler Adrian Adonis
. Piper spent weeks crashing Adonis' show and trading insults, leading to a "showdown" between the two segments that ended with Piper being assaulted and humiliated by Adonis, Piper's former bodyguard Orton (now in Adonis' employ), and Don Muraco
. The trio left Piper with his face covered in red lipstick lying in the middle of the remnants of the Piper's Pit set, which had been destroyed. In response, Piper stormed the set of Adonis' show and destroyed it with a baseball bat. This led to their Hair vs Hair match at WrestleMania III
, which was billed as Piper's retirement match from wrestling before he left to become an actor full-time. Piper won the match with the assistance of Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
, who had been sheared by Adonis shortly before the match.
, where he hosed down a smoking Morton Downey, Jr.
with a fire extinguisher. After this, Piper began co-hosting Prime Time Wrestling with Gorilla Monsoon, providing a much needed change of pace from the constant bickering that was caused between Monsoon and Bobby Heenan during Heenan's tenure. Heenan insisted on having his own show opposite Prime Time called "The Bobby Heenan Show". Which was basically used as a catalyst to insult Piper and Monsoon after leaving "Prime Time" on bad terms. Eventually, Heenan's comments began to irritate Piper and Piper finally told Heenan to either "put up or shut up." Shortly after this, Heenan brought "Ravishing" Rick Rude into the mix by inviting him to his show to further insult Piper. The feud reached the physical level when Piper made an appearance on "The Brother Love Show" to address his position on the matter. Brother Love
provoked Piper for several minutes by questioning his courage and ring ability. Piper finally had enough and told Love he had bad hygiene. When Love questioned Piper for bringing this up, Piper pulled out a small bag of toiletries and began dousing Love with toothpaste and mouthwash. Rude made his move during this moment and attacked Piper from behind, eventually spewing mouthwash into his eyes rendering him temporarily blind. This eventually brought Piper's return to the ring full-circle as Piper interfered in Rude's Intercontinental Title defense against The Ultimate Warrior
at SummerSlam '89, costing Rude the belt. Rude vowed revenge and the two engaged in a very physical and violent feud that lasted the rest of the year. The feud finally came to an end when Piper defeated Rude in a match where the stipulation stated that if Piper won, Heenan would have to dress as Santa Claus for an episode of "Prime Time". Piper was victorious, and Heenan was forced to dress as Claus the following week. Initially, Heenan seemed pleased with portraying Santa and even went so far as to imitate Claus and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. However, as the show progressed, Heenan's true motives were revealed as he began to call Christmas "a sham", and that the children of the world had been "scammed" by their parents. Piper snapped and attacked Heenan, ignoring pleas from Monsoon to stop the attack due to Piper's agreement to abstain from physicality on the "Prime Time" set. Piper refused, and in turn, was fired from "Prime Time." Piper also wrestled Bad News Brown
at WrestleMania VI
in 1990. The match ended with both men being counted out of the ring, but the real highlight of the match was Piper's choice of ring attire. In true 'Rowdy' fashion, Piper cut a promo and came to the ring with half his body painted black in a strange attempt to play head games with Bad News.
In 1991, he supported Virgil
in his feud against "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
and was present at their matches at WrestleMania VII
and SummerSlam
. He also renewed his feud with Ric Flair
and at the 1992 Royal Rumble
defeated The Mountie
for his first, and only, Intercontinental Championship
. He lost it soon after to Bret Hart
at WrestleMania VIII
. After playing the bagpipes at SummerSlam
, he disappeared from the WWF.
He reemerged in 1994 at WrestleMania X
as guest referee for the WWF Championship
match between Bret Hart and Yokozuna. During the match, commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler
remarked that he hated Piper and continued to taunt Piper on his King's Court segment on Monday Night Raw
, eventually culminating with Lawler bringing out a skinny teenager in a Piper T-shirt and kilt and forcing him to kiss his feet. Enraged, Piper agreed to wrestle Lawler at the King of the Ring
, where Piper emerged victorious. Piper wrestled as a fan favorite, saying he had "made a mess of most of his career as a heel", and adding to the face attitude by donating part of his purse from the fight with Lawler to a children's hospital in Ontario.
Leaving the WWF again, he soon returned in 1995 at WrestleMania XI
, once again in a referee capacity, for the submission-only match between Hart and Bob Backlund
. In 1996, Piper was named as interim WWF President, following Vader's malicious assault on Gorilla Monsoon
, following the Royal Rumble
. As president, Piper had become the object of affection for Goldust. Enraged, Piper claimed he would "make a man" out of Goldust at WrestleMania XII
, in a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl." While the contest began in an alleyway behind the Arrowhead Pond, Goldust jumped into his gold Cadillac and ran Piper over, ultimately escaping (allegedly) onto the highways of Anaheim
. Piper pursued in his white Ford Bronco
, which when viewed from aerial footage looked similar to the O. J. Simpson
"low-speed" chase from two years prior (the WWF had attempted to be humorous and recycle the footage with Vince McMahon quipping on commentary, "This footage looks awfully familiar"). The two eventually returned to the arena, where Piper disrobed Goldust in the ring, effectively ending the confrontation. With Gorilla Monsoon back in control of the WWF by the end of the night, Piper once again left the Federation.
(WCW). He appeared at Halloween Havoc to "break Hogan
's monotony." In his first appearance, Piper asked Hogan, "Do you think [the fans] would've loved you so much, if they hadn't hated me?" Piper and Hogan wrestled in a non-title match in the main event of Starrcade
, WCW's biggest pay-per-view event of the year. Piper defeated Hogan with a sleeper hold. Piper faced Hogan in a title match at SuperBrawl VII. This time, Hogan beat Piper when Randy Savage
interfered and joined the New World Order
(nWo). Promos showed Piper locking himself in the Alcatraz
prison and vigorously exercising in order to prepare for the highly anticipated match. During the spring of 1997, Piper joined forces with Ric Flair
and The Four Horsemen
in their battle with the nWo. Shortly thereafter, Piper and Flair feuded before Piper disappeared from the scene. Piper briefly returned in October 1997 to face Hogan once again in a steel cage match, which Piper did win.
In early 1998, Piper once again returned to feud with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Bret Hart
. In early 1999, Piper had a short run as United States Champion, became WCW Commissioner, and resumed his feud with Flair over control of WCW. Piper also had a short feud with Buff Bagwell
in the summer of 1999, where he was defeated by Bagwell, whose mother got involved. In late 1999, Piper was featured on WCW Television, in an angle with Vince Russo
, who was now portraying himself as the "Powers That Be" (an unseen power that was controlling WCW). At Starrcade
, Piper was the special referee in the WCW title match featuring Goldberg
and Bret Hart. This match was otherwise notorious for Goldberg legitimately injuring Bret Hart, giving him the concussion that would eventually lead to his retirement. Forced by Russo, Piper called for the bell when Hart locked in the Sharpshooter on Goldberg, when it was apparent that Goldberg had not submitted. Piper apologized for this incident the next night on Nitro and attempted to make the save for Goldberg when Bret Hart and the nWo beat him down, but the nWo also attacked Piper. Piper's last appearance was at SuperBrawl in 2000 where he was a surprise referee in the title match between Sid Vicious
, Jeff Jarrett
And Scott Hall
. The feud between Piper and the Powers That Be ended shortly after and Piper disappeared, never to be seen on WCW TV again. In the fall of 2000, WCW terminated Piper's contract, and the organization ceased to exist after being sold to WWF several months later.
Before going to the WWE in 2003 Piper was the figurehead and commissioner of the now defunct XWF promotion featured in its earliest live events. (Indiana, Milwaukee, Green Bay)
, In the Pit with Piper: Roddy Gets Rowdy, was released. At WrestleMania XIX
in Seattle, Washington, Piper ran in during the Hulk Hogan-Vince McMahon
match and made his second WWE run as a villain by attacking Hogan with a steel pipe. He brought back Piper's Pit on the April 10 edition of SmackDown!, and after aligning with Sean O'Haire
, Piper smashed a coconut over the head of Rikishi, a relative of Snuka. At Backlash
that month, Rikishi returned the favor to Piper. Piper was then put in a program against "Mr. America". The storyline was Hulk Hogan had been bought off WWE television forever by McMahon. Hulk Hogan returned "incognito" although the joke was that everybody knew who he really was, which infuriated McMahon. At this point, Piper and O'Haire were portrayed as McMahon's lackeys attempting to unmask Mr. America. Despite Piper being a heel he still got cheered due to being a legend.
Around the same time on Raw
, Chris Jericho
started The Highlight Reel—a show similar to 'Piper's Pit'. The two even verbally sparred on TV, with Jericho calling Piper fat and telling him to call him "when he lost some weight"; Piper's retorted, "I have seen Chris Jericho wrestle. I have heard Chris Jericho talk. I have even heard Chris Jericho sing. So I'll make you a deal: I promise you that when I lose some weight, I'll call you. And when you get some talent, you call me." At Judgment Day
, the two met again, with Jericho telling Piper he made a wrong turn and missed the senior's home and alluding to the incident where Piper ripped off a fan's (later revealed to be Zach Gowen
) leg and used it as a weapon, mentioning there were some midgets and lepers he could thrash, and while patting Piper's stomach, asked if he ate the leg. Piper responded by blasting him for ripping off the Piper's Pit idea and drilling it into the ground and called Jericho's birth an "accident". In June 2003, WWE decided to stop using Piper (who was working without a contract at the time) after a controversial interview with HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
in which Piper discussed the darker side of the wrestling business. On his 2006 DVD, Piper claimed that HBO took parts of his interviews out of context to make wrestling look worse.
(TNA) promotion, hosting several In the Pit with Piper interview segments. He interviewed former rival Jimmy Snuka at the company's first three-hour pay-per-view, Victory Road
, where he dared Snuka to get revenge by hitting him with a coconut. Instead, TNA wrestler Kid Kash eventually used the coconut on Sonjay Dutt
. Piper also served as a member of the National Wrestling Alliance
Championship Committee, culminating in refereeing a match at Final Resolution
between Scott Hall
and Jeff Hardy
.
at the time was at the center of a massive power struggle (kayfabe) between the TNA roster and Russo's stable of young wrestlers called Sports Entertainment Xtreme. Piper had requested a segment to plug his new book, but instead, used the time to basically shoot on Russo and his effect on the world of professional wrestling. Piper touched on subjects from the death of Piper's real-life cousin, Owen Hart
, for which Piper held Russo to blame, to the downfall of WCW amongst other touchy subjects. Russo came to the ring basically "in character" to confront Piper. But, when Piper got in Russo's face, Russo made the comment that Piper was "a moron". Piper not only took offense to the remark, but delivered a "potato shot" to the side of Russo's head. Russo immediately realized that Piper's heat with him was legitimate, and quickly backed off unsure of what Piper might do next. When The Harris Brothers hit the ring to try and cool the situation down, Russo became visibly upset as Piper continued to vehemently shoot on him. Russo got so upset that at one point in time it took both the Harrises to restrain him. Piper later said in a shoot
interview
that everything he had to say to Russo was real and that he was willing to get physical if Russo had taken it that far. Russo retaliated later by saying that he and Owen were very close and that Piper wasn't even with the company the night Owen died so he had no way of knowing how upset he was with Owen's death.
On February 21, 2005, it was announced that Piper was to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
. Piper held an edition of Piper's Pit at WrestleMania 21
where he interviewed Stone Cold Steve Austin
. The interview was interrupted by Carlito
, who was promptly beaten up by both Piper and Austin.
In February 2005 at an event called WrestleReunion
, Piper teamed with Jimmy Valiant
and Snuka against Colonel DeBeers
, "Cowboy" Bob Orton
, and "Playboy" Buddy Rose
.
On the July 11, 2005 episode of Raw, Piper returned as a face to host Piper's Pit with guest Shawn Michaels
, who superkicked Piper at the end of the show. This was during Michaels' feud with Hulk Hogan. Piper once again appeared on Raw on October 3, 2005 for Raw Homecoming. He hosted Piper's Pit with guest Mick Foley
; later in the segment, Randy Orton
and "Cowboy" Bob Orton
appeared and attacked both Foley and Piper.
to take on Randy Orton, Bob Orton, and Mr. Kennedy. Piper won after applying the sleeper hold to Bob Orton. Piper's feud with The Ortons came to an end on the November 4, 2005 episode of SmackDown! with a DQ victory over Bob Orton.
on September 11, 2006 for a six-man tag team match win with The Highlanders
against the Spirit Squad
. He also appeared on the Raw Family Reunion, along with Money Inc.
and Arn Anderson
to accompany Ric Flair
ringside for a match against Mitch
of the Spirit Squad. On November 5, Piper won the World Tag Team Championship with Ric Flair from The Spirit Squad at Cyber Sunday
, after being chosen to be Flair's partner by voters at WWE.com over Sgt. Slaughter
and Dusty Rhodes
. On the November 13, 2006 edition of Raw, Piper and Flair lost the title to Rated-RKO
. Piper never made it to the ring, as he was attacked by Edge with a con-chair-to before the match. On November 17, 2006, WWE announced on their website that Piper was flown from the UK to his home state of Oregon and had surgery for what was originally believed to be kidney stones, but was speculated to be a disc problem in his back. It was later determined to be cancer. As a result of the procedure, it was announced that he was withdrawing from the Survivor Series
match which would have pitted himself (as a co-captain), along with Flair, Anderson, Sgt. Slaughter, and Dusty Rhodes against the Spirit Squad. He was replaced with Ron Simmons
.
. During his appearance Umaga, with manager Armando Alejandro Estrada, entered the ring and laid out both men. He then returned on the June 11, 2007 edition of Raw as part of "Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night", where he introduced a video of some of McMahon's most embarrassing moments. In 2008, after finishing his therapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma
, he made a brief appearance in the Royal Rumble
, primarily focusing on "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
. Both men were eliminated by Kane
shortly after they entered the ring.
Piper returned to Raw on April 28, 2008. He was a backstage visitor, and was confronted by Santino Marella. Marella poked fun at Piper's weight, which resulted in Santino getting slapped by Piper. The next week, Piper was a guest on Carlito's Cabana and Carlito and Santino were about to double team Piper when they were chased off by Cody Rhodes and Cryme Tyme
. On May 12, Piper's interference stopped Santino and Carlito from beating Rhodes and Hardcore Holly
for the World Tag Team Championship. Santino then threatened Piper with retaliation, culminating in a confrontation with Piper during the May 16 edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He wrestled his presumed last match on April 18, 2008 one day after his 54th birthday at Newburgh Free Academy’s Spring Slam. On October 26, 2008, however, Piper appeared on WWE's Cyber Sunday
as one of the three choices fans could choose to face Marella for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
. The other choices were Goldust and The Honky Tonk Man
. Honky Tonk Man was chosen and won via a disqualification due to interference by Beth Phoenix
and therefore did not win the title. Goldust then entered the ring, followed by Piper. The three candidates then fought Santino, afterwards celebrating together in the ring. Piper appeared on the October 27, edition of Raw as a special guest commentator, along with both Goldust and Honky Tonk Man, for Marella's match against Charlie Haas
.
On February 16, 2009 Piper returned to Raw to confront Chris Jericho
after Jericho continued to act disrespectfully towards the Hall of Famers. After the segment, Jericho attacked Piper. One month later, on the March 16 edition of Raw, Piper would get his revenge when he, along with Ric Flair, Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat
, attacked Jericho. For the first time since Wrestlemania XII in 1996, Piper wrestled at WrestleMania XXV
along with Snuka and Steamboat with Flair in their corner to go against Jericho in a three on one handicap match. Jericho won the match; Piper was the second of the three to be eliminated. Piper later guest hosted WWE Raw on November 16, 2009 at Madison Square Garden
in New York City
. Piper challenged Vince McMahon to a street fight later in the evening only to have Randy Orton come out to fight against, then shortly after Kofi Kingston
came out to stop Randy's assault on Piper. He inducted Wendy Richter to the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame on March 27, 2010. He also appeared the next night on Raw as one of the Legend Lumberjacks in a match that involved Christian and Ted Dibiase
. Two months later, Piper turned heel for one night only by hiring DiBiase to capture guest host Quinton Jackson
so he could "gain revenge on BA", but was unsuccessful.
On the July 12, 2010 edition of Raw, it was hinted that Piper could possibly be the Anonymous General Manager as on an e-mail sent to Michael Cole, the GM said "Just when you think you have all the answers, I change the questions." The idea was abandoned on the July 24 edition of Raw when Cole said " And if you're not down with that I got two words for you" which was Triple H
and Shawn Michaels
trademark line as D-Generation X
, but again this idea was dropped. On the November 15, 2010 edition of Raw, Piper quickly turned face during a return of Piper's Pit telling John Cena
to do the right thing by calling the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series between Wade Barrett
and Randy Orton
down the middle. He went on to point out that legends such as Ricky Steamboat
, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
, Jimmy Snuka
, and himself had never won a World Championship in WWE. On January 29, 2011, Piper made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
(PWG) during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend, defeating nineteen other men, last eliminating Terry Funk
, to win the Legends Battle Royal. He appeared in a backstage segment at WrestleMania XXVII
where he hit Zack Ryder
in the back of the head with a coconut, reminiscing of what he did to Jimmy Snuka. Piper made an appearance on the June 13, 2011 edition of Monday Night Raw, hosting Piper's Pit once again. His guests were The Miz and Alex Riley
, which led to a match with The Miz with Riley as the special guest referee. He went on to win the match, and won $5,000 out of The Miz's money per the pre-match stipulation. Roddy Piper noted that he was paid $5,000 for his appearance on the June 13th RAW for Piper's Pit with The Miz and Alex Riley. Piper currently co-host the WWE Vintage
show with Gene Okerlund
. He recently made an television appearance in WWE by hosted a Piper's Pit
segment featuring John Cena
on the Monday 28th November edition of Monday Night Raw. He also appeared on November 29th, 2011 special holiday edition of SmackDown.
. Piper was a guest on a 1985 Saturday Night Live
episode, tormenting hosts Hulk Hogan
and Mr. T
, and has appeared as a special guest on MADtv
along with Bret Hart
. In 1991, the pilot episode for "Tag Team", a television program about two ex-professional wrestlers turned police officers, starred Piper and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Piper appeared as a wrestler loosely based on himself in an episode called "Crusader" from Walker, Texas Ranger
where his name was Cody "The Crusader" Conway. Piper appeared as a prison antagonist in an episode of The Outer Limits
TV series. Piper was the host of ITV's Celebrity Wrestling
in the UK. Piper appeared as a character named Commander Cash on RoboCop: The Series
. Piper appeared as a choice in the "Wheel of Destiny" segment of The Man Show
. Piper also starred in the 1988 John Carpenter cult classic, They Live
. Piper played a drifter turned saviour of the human race after discovering a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see the world's elite for what they truly are, money hungry aliens with a new-world-order-like agenda. That same year, he starred in the cult classic Hell Comes to Frogtown
. He also starred in an episode in the second season of the Highlander
TV series, and appeared in the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
episode "The Gang Wrestles For the Troops" as "The Maniac", a parody of Mickey Rourke
's role in the film The Wrestler.
In 2007, Piper became the second pro-wrestler, the other being Sgt. Slaughter
, to have their likeness crafted in a G.I. Joe
figure. According to his filecard, he is a trainer for Destro
's Iron Grenadiers
.
In April 2005, Piper co-presented Celebrity Wrestling
in the United Kingdom on ITV1
. This Saturday evening reality show saw celebrities learn wrestling and compete in challenge matches. After a few weeks the program was to be canceled, due to a huge drop in TV ratings but instead was moved to Sunday mornings to finish its final episodes.
In the 1980s, Piper also appeared in singer Cyndi Lauper
's music video for the song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
." He also appeared as a guest VJ on MTV in 1988.
Wizard
s list of the 100 Greatest Villains of All Time ranked Roddy Piper as #35.
On October 29, 2009, Piper appeared as pro-wrestler named "Da' Maniac" on season 5 episode 9 ("The Gang Wrestles for the Troops") of the sitcom It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
.
In UGK
'S "International Players Anthem" DJ Paul
pokes fun at Andre 3000
asking him why is he dressed as Roddy Piper.
On March 14, 2010, Piper appeared in an episode in CBS's 'Cold Case' playing a wrestler named Sweet Sil. The episode was titled 'One Fall'. The team reopens the case of a dock worker who was moonlighting as an indy-circuit wrestler until he was shot dead in 1986.
In September 2010, Piper appeared in a FunnyorDie.com video, fighting against childhood obesity in a PSA parody. The clip included him using wrestling moves on children eating junk food and the parents who feed junk food to their kids.
In 2010 Piper was expected to appear in a reality series from Red Line Films the producers of Dhani Tackles the Glode and the Ocho de Cinco Reality Series http://www.americancombatassn.com/files/The%20Mighty%20Gran..pdf
, and have four children: daughters Anastacia Shea, Ariel Teal, and Falon Danika and son Colton Baird. Anastacia has a child, making Piper a grandfather. His son Colt Toombs is also an aspiring professional mixed martial arts
fighter. His daughter Ariel Teal Toombs is following her dad's lead in Hollywood as an actress. Piper was notable for wearing his wedding band during his matches, a rarity among professional wrestlers. Piper is also a cousin of the Hart wrestling family
.
On April 4, 2006 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Piper was issued an award by the Mayor, Sam Katz
. On July 27, 2006, he had the honor of throwing out the first pitch of a St. Louis Cardinals
/Chicago Cubs
baseball game at Wrigley Field
in Chicago.
On November 27, 2006, it was announced on WWE.com that Piper has Hodgkin's lymphoma
, and he finished radiation therapy on January 15, 2007. This was also confirmed on Piper's official web site where he posted messages of thanks to all his fans and stated that had the fans not chosen him as Ric Flair
's partner at Cyber Sunday
he would not have been taken to the hospital and diagnosed with his disease as early as he was.
In November 2008 a video spread around the internet showing Piper smoking pot and taking a hit from a bong in front of a crowd cheering him on, although he later acknowledged his use of medicinal marijuana "to alleviate the symptoms associated with cancer." This was reiterated on a blog from Jim Ross
.
On July 2, 2009, TMZ.com
reported that Piper was arrested on suspicion of DUI in the early morning hours in Hollywood, California. Piper was stopped by police at around 1:00 a.m. and given field sobriety tests. He was then arrested. His bond was set at $5,000.
in wrestling history. Piper's Pit
interview segments were considered innovative, especially in an atmosphere where only the people like the World champion got to talk, and the wrestlers were the interviewees - never the interviewers. Many of the people on Piper's Pit never got to be World champion, but were main eventers. According to Bobby "the Brain" Heenan
, he could just leave Piper in a room and return twenty minutes later with Piper having done a class-A promo.
1The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is no longer recognized or sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance.
's animated series Robot Chicken
(as himself), as well as providing the voice of The Pyro Messiah in the Night Traveler
multimedia adventure series produced by Lunar Moth Entertainment. He will also be doing voice for Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
semi-retired professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE. Although he is Canadian, due to his Scottish heritage, he was billed as coming from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and was known for his signature kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
and bagpipe
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
entrance music. He earned the nickname "Rowdy" by displaying his trademark "Scottish" rage, spontaneity and quick wit, and despite being a crowd favorite for his rockstar-like persona, often played the villain; he was also nicknamed "Hot Rod". He was never a world champion, but he accumulated thirty-four championships in various promotions during his career. Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
in 2005. Piper spent some time as a teacher at Menzieshill High School in the city of Dundee, Scotland.
Early life
Toombs was born in SaskatoonSaskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and raised in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. He attended Windsor Park Collegiate
Windsor Park Collegiate
Windsor Park Collegiate or WPC is a public secondary school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, within the Louis Riel School Division. The ultimate aim of Windsor Park Collegiate is to provide a positive learning environment in which students are able to succeed academically, and to develop into responsible...
. His father was an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
while they lived in The Pas, Manitoba
The Pas, Manitoba
The Pas is a town in Manitoba, Canada, located in Division No. 21, Manitoba in the Northern Region, some 630 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, near the border of Saskatchewan. It is sometimes still called Paskoyac by locals as the first trading post was called Fort Paskoyac...
. After being expelled from junior high and having a falling out with his father, Piper hit the road and stayed in youth hostels wherever he could find them.
Professional wrestling career
By the age of 15, he made his pro debut in WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, against Larry Hennig
Larry Hennig
Larry "The Axe" Hennig is an American retired professional wrestler. He is the father of the late "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, the grandfather of Joe Hennig, and is best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association, National Wrestling Alliance and World Wide Wrestling Federation...
. Piper lost the match in ten seconds. He was a boxer and an amateur wrestler before he started to become a pro wrestler. He won the Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
boxing championship. He was awarded a Black Belt in Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
from Gene LeBell
Gene LeBell
Ivan Gene LeBell is a former American Judo champion, instructor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and professional wrestler born in Los Angeles, California. LeBell has worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows, and has authored a number of books.In 2000, he was promoted to 9th Dan in US Ju-Jitsu...
, American Judo champion, instructor, stuntman, and professional wrestler.
American Wrestling Association (1973–1975)
From 1973 to 1975, Piper was a jobber in the AWA, Kansas City, the MaritimesMaritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
, and Texas working for Paul Boesch
Paul Boesch
Paul Max Boesch was a professional wrestling promoter most famous for his work as an announcer and promoter for Houston Wrestling. He also spent several stints working with the Universal Wrestling Federation, World Class Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation.-Biography:Paul...
's NWA Houston Wrestling promotion and in Dallas working for Fritz Von Erich
Fritz Von Erich
Jack Barton Adkisson was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Fritz Von Erich, better known today as a wrestling promoter and the patriarch of the Von Erich family...
's Big Time Rasslin. What was supposed to be a brief run in California, however, turned out to be a long term stint as booker Leo Garibaldi and publicist Jeff Walton were impressed with Piper and saw the money making possibilities he had as a villain
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
.
National Wrestling Alliance (1975–1980)
By late 1975 and early 1976, Piper was a top villain for Mike and Gene LeBellGene LeBell
Ivan Gene LeBell is a former American Judo champion, instructor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and professional wrestler born in Los Angeles, California. LeBell has worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows, and has authored a number of books.In 2000, he was promoted to 9th Dan in US Ju-Jitsu...
's NWA Hollywood Wrestling. In 1977–78, he also started to work for Roy Shire's NWA San Francisco Wrestling in addition to remaining with the L.A. office. Los Angeles was where Piper developed his Rowdy character and became one of the most hated villains in Los Angeles since the days of Classy Freddy Blassie. During this time, he made continuous insults directed at the area's Mexican community; he later promised to amend by playing the Mexican national anthem on his bagpipes only to anger the fans further by playing "La Cucaracha" instead. Piper also served as manager for several villains in Los Angeles and worked as a referee from time to time. Piper feuded with all the fan favorites
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
in the area and had a long feud with Chavo Guerrero, Sr..
As part of the L.A. storyline, Roddy Piper feuded with Chavo and the whole Guerrero family for about three years in the L.A. territory going so far as to routinely wear a T-Shirt to the ring reading "Conqueror of the Guerreros". The feud started during a TV bout in early 1976 where Chavo was defending the Jules Strongbow
Jules strongbow
Frank Hill is a former professional wrestler, who is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation , where he used to wrestle as Chief Jules Strongbow or simply Jules Strongbow, the brother of Chief Jay Strongbow.-World Wrestling Federation :Jules made his wrestling debut in the 1970s...
Memorial Scientific Trophy against Piper. Late in this match, Gory Guerrero
Gory Guerrero
Salvador Guerrero Quesada , better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Hispanic professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside of Mexico. He wrestled primarily in Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre between the 1940s and 1960s...
(who had been in Chavo's corner giving him advice throughout the match) was slapped by Piper. Chavo "lost his cool" and starting punching Piper, getting DQ'ed and losing the Scientific Trophy for "breaking the rules". A short time later, Piper then defeated Chavo for the Americas Heavyweight Title; the two competed in the top feud in Los Angeles for the better part of three years. They main evented against each other often during this era (1976 through 1978). The hair match gimmick was one of the top stipulations between these two, resulting in Piper getting his head shaved. Another top stipulation was when Chavo beat Piper in a loser leave town match and Piper immediately reappeared as The Masked Canadian. In his first televised match as The Masked Canadian, Piper actually teamed with Chavo to battle the Americas Tag Team Champions (Gordman and Goliath) and Piper turned on Chavo late in the match, causing Chavo to get pinned. Piper wrestled as The Masked Canadian for several months until he was unmasked by Hector Guerrero
Hector Guerrero
Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, better known simply by his paternal name, Héctor Guerrero...
.
By late 1978-early 1979, Buddy Rose talked Piper into leaving the California promotions for even more fame in Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest Territory
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...
where he teamed with Killer Tim Brooks
Killer Tim Brooks
Timothy Paul Brooks is a retired American professional wrestler, better-known by his ring name "Killer Tim Brooks". He competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, Pacific Northwest Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling during the 1970s and...
, Rick Martel
Rick Martel
Richard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...
, and Mike Popovich to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...
. Piper also won the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...
with victories over both Lord Jonathan Boyd
Jonathan Boyd
Jonathan Barry Boyle was an Australian professional wrestler who is known worldwide under the name "Lord" Jonathan Boyd. Initially Boyd competed both in North American and international promotions as part of the Royal Kangaroos with his cousin Norman Frederick Charles III...
and "Playboy" Buddy Rose
Buddy Rose
Paul Perschmann was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Playboy" Buddy Rose.-Career:Paul Perschmann was trained by Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in the early 1970s...
.
Mid-Atlantic (1980–1983)
In late 1970s, Piper ventured to the Mid-Atlantic territory. He beat Jack BriscoJack Brisco
Freddie Joe Brisco was an American professional wrestler, better known as Jack Brisco or Uvalde Slim. He performed for various territories of the National Wrestling Alliance , becoming a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA Tag Team Champion with his brother Gerald Brisco...
for the Mid-Atlantic title and Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
for the US belt which turned into a huge feud. In 1981, Piper started with the Georgia territory as an antagonistic villainous commentator. In 1982, due to showing up late for a match, he was fired and reportedly blackballed. Piper maintains this in his book, but others dispute this. He did receive an offer from Gary Hart
Gary Hart (wrestler)
Gary Richard Williams, was a former professional wrestling manager, as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart...
to go to World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
but the money was not good enough. Instead, he went to Puerto Rico for a month or so and was able to get booked by Jim Barnett
Jim Barnett (wrestling)
James E. Barnett was an American professional wrestling promoter, and owner of Georgia Championship Wrestling and Australia's World Championship Wrestling.-Professional wrestling career:...
shortly thereafter. It was in Barnett's promotion Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
that Piper became a fan favorite to save broadcast partner Gordon Solie
Gordon Solie
Jonard Frank Labiak , better known as Gordon Solie, was a Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for World Championship Wrestling...
from an attack. In Wrestling to Rasslin, Gerald W. Morton and George M. O'Brien described the transformation: "the drama finally played itself out on television when one of his [Piper's] hired assassins, Don Muraco
Don Muraco
Donald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler...
, suddenly attacked the commentator Gordon Solie. Seeing Solie hurt, Piper unleashed his Scottish fury on Muraco. In the week that followed, like Achilles avenging Patroklas, he slaughtered villain after villain.... In the arenas fans chanted his name throughout his matches." Eventually, Piper moved back to Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
. As a fan favorite, Piper feuded with Sgt. Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus , better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling...
, Ric Flair, and Greg Valentine
Greg Valentine
John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:...
. Piper's feud with Valentine culminated in a dog collar match at the first Starrcade
Starrcade (1983)
Starrcade '83: A Flair for the Gold was the first annual Starrcade professional wrestling event. It was produced under the National Wrestling Alliance banner by Jim Crockett Promotions . The event took place on November 24, 1983 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina and was...
. Valentine broke Piper's left eardrum
Eardrum
The eardrum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear in humans and other tetrapods. Its function is to transmit sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear. The malleus bone bridges the gap between the eardrum and the other ossicles...
during the match with the collar's chain, causing Piper to permanently lose fifty percent of his hearing.
1984–1987
Around this time World Wrestling Federation (WWF) owner Vince McMahonVince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
contacted Piper, who insisted on serving out his contract with Jim Crockett. Piper started in the WWF in late 1983 and at the same time fulfilled dates with Crockett. On his way out of Crockett's promotion he became a heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, which set the stage for his WWF run in 1984. He started as a manager at first, due to the injuries he sustained during his dog collar match with Greg Valentine
Greg Valentine
John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:...
, but soon started wrestling full-time. Piper came in as the manager for "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff
Paul Orndorff
Paul Parlette Orndorff, Jr. is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling as "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff...
, and soon began to wrestle with Orndorff as well.
Later that year, he was given his own interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
segment called Piper's Pit
Piper's Pit
Piper's Pit was an interview segment featuring Roddy Piper which was a mainstay of WWF/WWE television from 1984 to 1987, and then returned briefly in 1989. Also, Piper hosted similar segments while wrestling for other promotions in 2003 - 2011....
, in which he talked to other superstars and which frequently ended in a fight between Piper and his guest. The Piper's Pit segments helped create the feuds Piper had with other wrestlers. According to Piper's autobiography, Piper's Pit was completely unscripted and was in fact so popular that it was taken on the road. In addition to pleasing many of his fans who wanted to see the Pit in person, it accomplished other things: it gave Piper the opportunity to heal some nagging injuries while still retaining his heat
Heat (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, heat refers to both crowd reaction and real-life animosity between those involved in the professional wrestling business. In terms of crowd reaction, heat is usually either cheers for a babyface or boos for a heel...
with the fans. An early guest on Piper's Pit was his Mid-Atlantic nemesis Valentine, who also arrived to the WWF. In a rare occurrence for WWF programming at the time, the two made reference to their history in the rival organization and hinted at rekindling it, but as the two were now top villains, they both agreed that they had mutual respect for each other, and it was left at that. In one Piper's Pit, Piper had an interview with Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
. Piper started insulting Snuka's Polynesian heritage by bringing out pineapples, bananas, and dropping coconuts onto the table; this was to make Snuka "feel at home" in an act of "remorse" after Snuka was not given much time to speak the previous times he was on Piper's Pit. Snuka took offense to this and Piper then attacked Snuka by smashing him over the head with a coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
and shoving a banana in his face. He followed this up by whipping Snuka with his belt. Snuka was legitimately knocked woozy allowing Piper to leave before Snuka, now seriously enraged, could fight back. This incident led to a long feud between the two. Piper also insulted Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino is an Italian-American former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign...
during a Piper's Pit which led to a feud between the two, ending in a steel cage match which Piper lost.
Another feud, this time between Piper and Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
erupted soon after and became what was at the time the highest-profile feud in wrestling history, thanks to the involvement of pop singer Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, where Piper kicked Lauper in the head—and even attacked Captain Lou Albano
Lou Albano
Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
—with Hogan seeking revenge as a result. In 1985, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
broadcast The War to Settle the Score
The War to Settle the Score
The War to Settle the Score was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation and broadcast live on MTV. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on February 18, 1985. The main event featured Hulk Hogan defending the WWF Championship against Roddy...
, featuring a main-event matchup between Piper and Hogan, who was accompanied to the ring by Albano, Lauper, and Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
. This event set up the very first WrestleMania, which pitted Piper and Paul Orndorff against Hogan and Mr. T. Orndorff was pinned by Hogan when Piper's bodyguard "Cowboy" Bob Orton
Bob Orton, Jr.
Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
interfered and mistakenly struck Orndorff instead of Hogan with his trademark "injured" arm covered in a plaster cast. In Born to Controversy, Piper recalled how he had to keep Mr. T busy with tie-ups and other shoot wrestling moves to keep Mr. T's lack of wrestling ability from being seen by the fans, thus ruining the match. From this situation, Piper and Mr. T's real-life relationship became hostile, leading to the inevitable conclusion that they be put into a feud with one another. It was on Right After Wrestling in March 2011, hosted by Arda Ocal
Arda Ocal
Arda Ocal is a Turkish Canadian TV personality, announcer and writer, currently with The Score Television Network...
and Jimmy Korderas, that Piper explained why WrestleMania didn't feature a 1-on-1 main event. He said it was because that match happened at the War to Settle the Score, before the WrestleMania event actually happened. Piper once again faced Mr. T, this time alone, in a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
match at WrestleMania 2
WrestleMania 2
WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
in 1986. Piper lost the match by disqualification after bodyslamming Mr. T.
Following a leave of absence from the WWF, Piper returned during a TV taping on WWF Superstars
WWF Superstars of Wrestling
WWF Superstars of Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It debuted on September 6, 1986...
in 1986 against jobber A.J. Petrucci
A.J. Petrucci
A. J. Petrucci is an American professional wrestler. He was one half of the Extreme Championship Wrestling tag team The Super Destroyers as Super Destroyer #1 with his partner Doug Stahl, who was known as Super Destroyer #2....
and received a thunderous ovation from the audience, turning him face. After being slapped in the face by Petrucci twice, Piper placed one hand behind his back and beat his opponent to a pulp. One of the more memorable "Piper's Pit" sequences during this time came when he had Hulk Hogan on the show to present him with a trophy for being the WWF Champion for 3 years. Shortly after presenting Hogan with the trophy, Hogan's long-time friend, André The Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
, came out to congratulate Hogan, but closed the segment by simply stating: "Three years to be world champion....it's a long time." After saying this, Andre went to shake Hogan's hand, apparently placing a little too much pressure causing Hogan to wince in pain. The following week, Hogan attempted to return the favor by presenting Andre with a trophy for being undefeated for 15 years, and unwittingly took over the interview. Although the attempt was sincere, Andre couldn't help but notice that the trophy was noticeably smaller than the one Hogan received the week before, and grew irritated when Hogan became the focal point of the spotlight once again. As Hogan was attempting to congratulate Andre, the Frenchman abruptly stormed off the Pit set. The following week, Piper attempted to get some answers and Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
interrupted the segment only to tell Piper that something was amiss in the Hogan/Andre situation, and that he needed to have Hogan on the set next week and he would produce Andre so they could have the situation resolved. Piper stayed true to his word and brought Hogan out the following week, only to be stunned when Andre appeared with his long-time nemesis, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
, at his side. Hogan pleaded with Andre to explain why he was with Heenan and Andre simply replied with "I'm here for one reason, to challenge you to a championship match at Wrestlemania." Hogan attempted to keep the peace, only to have Heenan order Andre to attack Hogan to show how serious he was in his challenge. Andre ripped off Hogan's shirt and gold crucifix necklace, leaving Hogan in hurt and shock and with Piper of all people trying to console his former enemy. Piper then brought Hogan back the following week to get Hogan to respond to Andre's challenge. When Hogan sidestepped the issue for several minutes, Piper put it to him bluntly: "Yes or no? Are you or are you not going to face Andre the Giant for the WWF championship at Wrestlemania? YES OR NO?!!" Hogan paused for a brief second only to respond with a thunderous "YES!"
Piper was distressed to find his Piper's Pit segment replaced by The Flower Shop, a segment hosted by the then effeminate wrestler Adrian Adonis
Adrian Adonis
Keith A. Franke was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.-Career:Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling under his own name...
. Piper spent weeks crashing Adonis' show and trading insults, leading to a "showdown" between the two segments that ended with Piper being assaulted and humiliated by Adonis, Piper's former bodyguard Orton (now in Adonis' employ), and Don Muraco
Don Muraco
Donald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler...
. The trio left Piper with his face covered in red lipstick lying in the middle of the remnants of the Piper's Pit set, which had been destroyed. In response, Piper stormed the set of Adonis' show and destroyed it with a baseball bat. This led to their Hair vs Hair match at WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan....
, which was billed as Piper's retirement match from wrestling before he left to become an actor full-time. Piper won the match with the assistance of Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
Edward Leslie
Edward Harrison "Ed" Leslie is an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Brutus The Barber Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship Wrestling under a variety of names, mainly as "The Disciple" of real-life best friend...
, who had been sheared by Adonis shortly before the match.
1989–1996
Piper returned from a hiatus with a live Piper's Pit at WrestleMania VWrestleMania V
WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 1989 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey...
, where he hosed down a smoking Morton Downey, Jr.
Morton Downey, Jr.
Morton Downey, Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and later a television talk show host of the 1980s who pioneered the "trash TV" format on his program The Morton Downey Jr. Show....
with a fire extinguisher. After this, Piper began co-hosting Prime Time Wrestling with Gorilla Monsoon, providing a much needed change of pace from the constant bickering that was caused between Monsoon and Bobby Heenan during Heenan's tenure. Heenan insisted on having his own show opposite Prime Time called "The Bobby Heenan Show". Which was basically used as a catalyst to insult Piper and Monsoon after leaving "Prime Time" on bad terms. Eventually, Heenan's comments began to irritate Piper and Piper finally told Heenan to either "put up or shut up." Shortly after this, Heenan brought "Ravishing" Rick Rude into the mix by inviting him to his show to further insult Piper. The feud reached the physical level when Piper made an appearance on "The Brother Love Show" to address his position on the matter. Brother Love
Bruce Prichard
Bruce Prichard is a professional wrestling personality, best known as a manager and producer for World Wrestling Entertainment , where he portrayed Brother Love, the original manager of The Undertaker...
provoked Piper for several minutes by questioning his courage and ring ability. Piper finally had enough and told Love he had bad hygiene. When Love questioned Piper for bringing this up, Piper pulled out a small bag of toiletries and began dousing Love with toothpaste and mouthwash. Rude made his move during this moment and attacked Piper from behind, eventually spewing mouthwash into his eyes rendering him temporarily blind. This eventually brought Piper's return to the ring full-circle as Piper interfered in Rude's Intercontinental Title defense against The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
at SummerSlam '89, costing Rude the belt. Rude vowed revenge and the two engaged in a very physical and violent feud that lasted the rest of the year. The feud finally came to an end when Piper defeated Rude in a match where the stipulation stated that if Piper won, Heenan would have to dress as Santa Claus for an episode of "Prime Time". Piper was victorious, and Heenan was forced to dress as Claus the following week. Initially, Heenan seemed pleased with portraying Santa and even went so far as to imitate Claus and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. However, as the show progressed, Heenan's true motives were revealed as he began to call Christmas "a sham", and that the children of the world had been "scammed" by their parents. Piper snapped and attacked Heenan, ignoring pleas from Monsoon to stop the attack due to Piper's agreement to abstain from physicality on the "Prime Time" set. Piper refused, and in turn, was fired from "Prime Time." Piper also wrestled Bad News Brown
Allen Coage
Allen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division...
at WrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI was the World Wrestling Federation's sixth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event and the first to be held outside of the U.S...
in 1990. The match ended with both men being counted out of the ring, but the real highlight of the match was Piper's choice of ring attire. In true 'Rowdy' fashion, Piper cut a promo and came to the ring with half his body painted black in a strange attempt to play head games with Bad News.
In 1991, he supported Virgil
Mike Jones (wrestler)
Mike Jones is an American professional wrestler, who most recently performed for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Virgil, where he appeared on its Raw brand as Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s personal assistant...
in his feud against "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
and was present at their matches at WrestleMania VII
WrestleMania VII
WrestleMania VII was the seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 24, 1991 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California...
and SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1991)
SummerSlam was the fourth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 26, 1991 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York....
. He also renewed his feud with Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
and at the 1992 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1992)
Royal Rumble was the fifth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 19, 1992 at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York...
defeated The Mountie
Jacques Rougeau
Jacques Rougeau Jr. is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie. Rougeau has held fifteen championships during his career...
for his first, and only, Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
. He lost it soon after to Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
at WrestleMania VIII
WrestleMania VIII
WrestleMania VIII was the eighth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 5, 1992 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana...
. After playing the bagpipes at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1992)
SummerSlam was the fifth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 29, 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, England but was aired in the United States on August 31...
, he disappeared from the WWF.
He reemerged in 1994 at WrestleMania X
WrestleMania X
WrestleMania X was the tenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on March 20, 1994. The central focus of the pay-per-view was the WWF Championship, which was defended...
as guest referee for the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
match between Bret Hart and Yokozuna. During the match, commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
remarked that he hated Piper and continued to taunt Piper on his King's Court segment on Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, eventually culminating with Lawler bringing out a skinny teenager in a Piper T-shirt and kilt and forcing him to kiss his feet. Enraged, Piper agreed to wrestle Lawler at the King of the Ring
King of the Ring (1994)
King of the Ring was the second annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on June 19, 1994 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. "King of the Ring" is also the name of the tournament that was the focus of...
, where Piper emerged victorious. Piper wrestled as a fan favorite, saying he had "made a mess of most of his career as a heel", and adding to the face attitude by donating part of his purse from the fight with Lawler to a children's hospital in Ontario.
Leaving the WWF again, he soon returned in 1995 at WrestleMania XI
WrestleMania XI
WrestleMania XI was the eleventh annual WrestleMania pay-per-view event held by the World Wrestling Federation at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut on April 2, 1995...
, once again in a referee capacity, for the submission-only match between Hart and Bob Backlund
Bob Backlund
Robert Lee "Bob" Backlund is an American professional wrestler with an in ring career that spanned over 30 years. Over that time, he went on to become a two-time WWWF/WWF Champion...
. In 1996, Piper was named as interim WWF President, following Vader's malicious assault on Gorilla Monsoon
Gorilla Monsoon
Robert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker...
, following the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1996)
Royal Rumble was the ninth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 21, 1996 at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California....
. As president, Piper had become the object of affection for Goldust. Enraged, Piper claimed he would "make a man" out of Goldust at WrestleMania XII
WrestleMania XII
-Other on-screen talent:-External links:**...
, in a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl." While the contest began in an alleyway behind the Arrowhead Pond, Goldust jumped into his gold Cadillac and ran Piper over, ultimately escaping (allegedly) onto the highways of Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
. Piper pursued in his white Ford Bronco
Ford Bronco
The Ford Bronco is a sport utility vehicle that was produced from 1966 to 1996, with five distinct generations. Broncos can be divided into two categories: early Broncos and full-size Broncos ....
, which when viewed from aerial footage looked similar to the O. J. Simpson
O. J. Simpson
Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson , nicknamed "The Juice", is a retired American collegiate and professional football player, football broadcaster, and actor...
"low-speed" chase from two years prior (the WWF had attempted to be humorous and recycle the footage with Vince McMahon quipping on commentary, "This footage looks awfully familiar"). The two eventually returned to the arena, where Piper disrobed Goldust in the ring, effectively ending the confrontation. With Gorilla Monsoon back in control of the WWF by the end of the night, Piper once again left the Federation.
World Championship Wrestling (1996–2000)
Later in 1996, Piper joined World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW). He appeared at Halloween Havoc to "break Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
's monotony." In his first appearance, Piper asked Hogan, "Do you think [the fans] would've loved you so much, if they hadn't hated me?" Piper and Hogan wrestled in a non-title match in the main event of Starrcade
Starrcade (1996)
Starrcade was the fourteenth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was the ninth Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 29, 1996 from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee...
, WCW's biggest pay-per-view event of the year. Piper defeated Hogan with a sleeper hold. Piper faced Hogan in a title match at SuperBrawl VII. This time, Hogan beat Piper when Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
interfered and joined the New World Order
New World Order (professional wrestling)
The New World Order was a professional wrestling stable that originally wrestled for World Championship Wrestling . The group later appeared in the World Wrestling Federation after the purchase of WCW by the WWF...
(nWo). Promos showed Piper locking himself in the Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as "The Rock" or simply "Traz", the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal...
prison and vigorously exercising in order to prepare for the highly anticipated match. During the spring of 1997, Piper joined forces with Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
and The Four Horsemen
Four Horsemen (professional wrestling)
The Four Horsemen were a professional wrestling stable in the National Wrestling Alliance and later World Championship Wrestling that was disbanded in 1999. The original group featured Ric Flair, Arn and Ole Anderson, and Tully Blanchard...
in their battle with the nWo. Shortly thereafter, Piper and Flair feuded before Piper disappeared from the scene. Piper briefly returned in October 1997 to face Hogan once again in a steel cage match, which Piper did win.
In early 1998, Piper once again returned to feud with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
. In early 1999, Piper had a short run as United States Champion, became WCW Commissioner, and resumed his feud with Flair over control of WCW. Piper also had a short feud with Buff Bagwell
Buff Bagwell
Marcus Alexander Bagwell is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling between 1991 and 2001, where he was a five time World Tag Team Champion.-Professional wrestling career: Bagwell...
in the summer of 1999, where he was defeated by Bagwell, whose mother got involved. In late 1999, Piper was featured on WCW Television, in an angle with Vince Russo
Vince Russo
Vincent James "Vince" Russo is an American creative writer and author, well known for his work in the professional wrestling industry. He is notable for his tenure with World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, who was now portraying himself as the "Powers That Be" (an unseen power that was controlling WCW). At Starrcade
Starrcade (1999)
Starrcade was the seventeenth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was the twelfth Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 19, 1999 from the MCI Center in Washington, D.C....
, Piper was the special referee in the WCW title match featuring Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....
and Bret Hart. This match was otherwise notorious for Goldberg legitimately injuring Bret Hart, giving him the concussion that would eventually lead to his retirement. Forced by Russo, Piper called for the bell when Hart locked in the Sharpshooter on Goldberg, when it was apparent that Goldberg had not submitted. Piper apologized for this incident the next night on Nitro and attempted to make the save for Goldberg when Bret Hart and the nWo beat him down, but the nWo also attacked Piper. Piper's last appearance was at SuperBrawl in 2000 where he was a surprise referee in the title match between Sid Vicious
Sid Eudy
Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy is an American professional wrestler, best known as Sid Vicious in World Championship Wrestling, and as Sid Justice and Sycho Sid in the World Wrestling Federation...
, Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
And Scott Hall
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
. The feud between Piper and the Powers That Be ended shortly after and Piper disappeared, never to be seen on WCW TV again. In the fall of 2000, WCW terminated Piper's contract, and the organization ceased to exist after being sold to WWF several months later.
Before going to the WWE in 2003 Piper was the figurehead and commissioner of the now defunct XWF promotion featured in its earliest live events. (Indiana, Milwaukee, Green Bay)
World Wrestling Entertainment (2003)
In November 2002, Piper's autobiographyAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, In the Pit with Piper: Roddy Gets Rowdy, was released. At WrestleMania XIX
WrestleMania XIX
WrestleMania XIX was the nineteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on March 30, 2003 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Washington, and the first...
in Seattle, Washington, Piper ran in during the Hulk Hogan-Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
match and made his second WWE run as a villain by attacking Hogan with a steel pipe. He brought back Piper's Pit on the April 10 edition of SmackDown!, and after aligning with Sean O'Haire
Sean O'Haire
Sean Christopher Haire is an American mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sean O'Haire.-World Championship Wrestling:...
, Piper smashed a coconut over the head of Rikishi, a relative of Snuka. At Backlash
Backlash (2003)
Backlash was the fifth annual Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment...
that month, Rikishi returned the favor to Piper. Piper was then put in a program against "Mr. America". The storyline was Hulk Hogan had been bought off WWE television forever by McMahon. Hulk Hogan returned "incognito" although the joke was that everybody knew who he really was, which infuriated McMahon. At this point, Piper and O'Haire were portrayed as McMahon's lackeys attempting to unmask Mr. America. Despite Piper being a heel he still got cheered due to being a legend.
Around the same time on Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
started The Highlight Reel—a show similar to 'Piper's Pit'. The two even verbally sparred on TV, with Jericho calling Piper fat and telling him to call him "when he lost some weight"; Piper's retorted, "I have seen Chris Jericho wrestle. I have heard Chris Jericho talk. I have even heard Chris Jericho sing. So I'll make you a deal: I promise you that when I lose some weight, I'll call you. And when you get some talent, you call me." At Judgment Day
Judgment Day (2003)
Judgment Day was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on May 18, 2003, at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, the two met again, with Jericho telling Piper he made a wrong turn and missed the senior's home and alluding to the incident where Piper ripped off a fan's (later revealed to be Zach Gowen
Zach Gowen
Zach Gowen is an American professional wrestler. Gowen has competed for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown! brand, as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
) leg and used it as a weapon, mentioning there were some midgets and lepers he could thrash, and while patting Piper's stomach, asked if he ate the leg. Piper responded by blasting him for ripping off the Piper's Pit idea and drilling it into the ground and called Jericho's birth an "accident". In June 2003, WWE decided to stop using Piper (who was working without a contract at the time) after a controversial interview with HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly sports newsmagazine on HBO that debuted on April 2, 1995. The show was "spawned by the fact that sports have changed dramatically, that it's no longer just fun and games, and that what happens off the field, beyond the scores, is worthy of some serious...
in which Piper discussed the darker side of the wrestling business. On his 2006 DVD, Piper claimed that HBO took parts of his interviews out of context to make wrestling look worse.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004–2005)
In 2004, Piper appeared for the Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(TNA) promotion, hosting several In the Pit with Piper interview segments. He interviewed former rival Jimmy Snuka at the company's first three-hour pay-per-view, Victory Road
Victory Road (2004)
Victory Road was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on November 7, 2004 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the first event under the Victory Road chronology, which became an annual event in 2006...
, where he dared Snuka to get revenge by hitting him with a coconut. Instead, TNA wrestler Kid Kash eventually used the coconut on Sonjay Dutt
Sonjay Dutt
Retesh Bhalla is an American professional wrestler of Indian Punjabi descent, better known by his ring name, Sonjay Dutt. He is best known working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is also known for his stints with Combat Zone Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, and other various independent...
. Piper also served as a member of the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
Championship Committee, culminating in refereeing a match at Final Resolution
Final Resolution (2005)
Final Resolution was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on January 16, 2005 from the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the first annual event under the Final Resolution chronology...
between Scott Hall
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
and Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
.
The Vince Russo/TNA Controversy
One of Piper's more controversial TNA moments came during one of its weekly pay-per-view shows. Vince RussoVince Russo
Vincent James "Vince" Russo is an American creative writer and author, well known for his work in the professional wrestling industry. He is notable for his tenure with World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
at the time was at the center of a massive power struggle (kayfabe) between the TNA roster and Russo's stable of young wrestlers called Sports Entertainment Xtreme. Piper had requested a segment to plug his new book, but instead, used the time to basically shoot on Russo and his effect on the world of professional wrestling. Piper touched on subjects from the death of Piper's real-life cousin, Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
, for which Piper held Russo to blame, to the downfall of WCW amongst other touchy subjects. Russo came to the ring basically "in character" to confront Piper. But, when Piper got in Russo's face, Russo made the comment that Piper was "a moron". Piper not only took offense to the remark, but delivered a "potato shot" to the side of Russo's head. Russo immediately realized that Piper's heat with him was legitimate, and quickly backed off unsure of what Piper might do next. When The Harris Brothers hit the ring to try and cool the situation down, Russo became visibly upset as Piper continued to vehemently shoot on him. Russo got so upset that at one point in time it took both the Harrises to restrain him. Piper later said in a shoot
Shoot (professional wrestling)
A shoot in professional wrestling is a term that refers to any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. Contrary to popular belief, the name does not originate from "shooting in" for a takedown, as in amateur wrestling - rather it is a carny term shortened from...
interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
that everything he had to say to Russo was real and that he was willing to get physical if Russo had taken it that far. Russo retaliated later by saying that he and Owen were very close and that Piper wasn't even with the company the night Owen died so he had no way of knowing how upset he was with Owen's death.
Hall of Fame (2005)
WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
. Piper held an edition of Piper's Pit at WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21 was the twenty-first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 3, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It started off with an interpormotional battle royal, for which Booker T...
where he interviewed Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
. The interview was interrupted by Carlito
Carly Colon
Carlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
, who was promptly beaten up by both Piper and Austin.
In February 2005 at an event called WrestleReunion
WrestleReunion
WrestleReunion is the premier professional wrestling and fan convention, founded by Sal Corrente in 2005.-WrestleReunion 1:...
, Piper teamed with Jimmy Valiant
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as Jimmy Valiant.-Personal life:...
and Snuka against Colonel DeBeers
Edward Wiskoski
Edward Wiskoski is a former American professional wrestler best known as Colonel DeBeers in the AWA . He also wrestled as Derek "The Mongoose" Draper and Mega Maharishi...
, "Cowboy" Bob Orton
Bob Orton, Jr.
Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
, and "Playboy" Buddy Rose
Buddy Rose
Paul Perschmann was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Playboy" Buddy Rose.-Career:Paul Perschmann was trained by Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in the early 1970s...
.
On the July 11, 2005 episode of Raw, Piper returned as a face to host Piper's Pit with guest Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
, who superkicked Piper at the end of the show. This was during Michaels' feud with Hulk Hogan. Piper once again appeared on Raw on October 3, 2005 for Raw Homecoming. He hosted Piper's Pit with guest Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
; later in the segment, Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
and "Cowboy" Bob Orton
Bob Orton, Jr.
Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
appeared and attacked both Foley and Piper.
SmackDown!; Feud with The Ortons (2005)
This event sparked a mini-feud between Piper and The Ortons. On the next SmackDown! after Homecoming, Piper took on the Ortons in a handicap match. Piper won with a roll-up on Bob Orton after a distraction by The Undertaker. On October 28, Piper teamed with Batista and Eddie GuerreroEddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
to take on Randy Orton, Bob Orton, and Mr. Kennedy. Piper won after applying the sleeper hold to Bob Orton. Piper's feud with The Ortons came to an end on the November 4, 2005 episode of SmackDown! with a DQ victory over Bob Orton.
World Tag Team Champion (2006)
Piper returned to RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
on September 11, 2006 for a six-man tag team match win with The Highlanders
The Highlanders (professional wrestling)
The Highlanders are a Scottish professional wrestling tag team consisting of storyline cousins Robbie and Rory McAllister who were best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment on the Raw brand.-History:Couch and Murray were both born and raised in Oban, Scotland The Highlanders are...
against the Spirit Squad
Spirit Squad
The Spirit Squad was a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling that consisted of Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky, and Mikey. The team's ring personas were those of an all-male cheerleading squad....
. He also appeared on the Raw Family Reunion, along with Money Inc.
Money Inc.
Money Inc. was a heel professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from February 1992 to August 1993. The team consisted of "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster . They held the WWF Tag Team Championship three times, defeating the Legion of Doom, The Natural...
and Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...
to accompany Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
ringside for a match against Mitch
Nick Mitchell
Nicholas Cole "Nick" Mitchell is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment as Mitch of the Spirit Squad on the Raw brand. Before starting a wrestling career, Mitchell played football for the Beaumont Drillers while at Blinn College...
of the Spirit Squad. On November 5, Piper won the World Tag Team Championship with Ric Flair from The Spirit Squad at Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday (2006)
Cyber Sunday was the first annual Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on November 5, 2006 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, with 7,000 fans attending...
, after being chosen to be Flair's partner by voters at WWE.com over Sgt. Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus , better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling...
and Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
. On the November 13, 2006 edition of Raw, Piper and Flair lost the title to Rated-RKO
Rated-RKO
Rated-RKO was a villainous professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Entertainment based on the Raw brand. The team consisted of Edge, Randy Orton, and Lita, their valet...
. Piper never made it to the ring, as he was attacked by Edge with a con-chair-to before the match. On November 17, 2006, WWE announced on their website that Piper was flown from the UK to his home state of Oregon and had surgery for what was originally believed to be kidney stones, but was speculated to be a disc problem in his back. It was later determined to be cancer. As a result of the procedure, it was announced that he was withdrawing from the Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2006)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It was the twentieth annual Survivor Series event, and it took place on November 26, 2006 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The main match on the SmackDown brand was King...
match which would have pitted himself (as a co-captain), along with Flair, Anderson, Sgt. Slaughter, and Dusty Rhodes against the Spirit Squad. He was replaced with Ron Simmons
Ron Simmons
Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,...
.
Various storylines (2007–present)
He made a return to Raw on an episode taped February 12, 2007, during which he announced that his friend Dusty Rhodes was to be the first person inducted into the 2007 class of the WWE Hall of FameWWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
. During his appearance Umaga, with manager Armando Alejandro Estrada, entered the ring and laid out both men. He then returned on the June 11, 2007 edition of Raw as part of "Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night", where he introduced a video of some of McMahon's most embarrassing moments. In 2008, after finishing his therapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...
, he made a brief appearance in the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2008)
Royal Rumble was the twenty-first annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 27, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands. The event was...
, primarily focusing on "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
. Both men were eliminated by Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
shortly after they entered the ring.
Piper returned to Raw on April 28, 2008. He was a backstage visitor, and was confronted by Santino Marella. Marella poked fun at Piper's weight, which resulted in Santino getting slapped by Piper. The next week, Piper was a guest on Carlito's Cabana and Carlito and Santino were about to double team Piper when they were chased off by Cody Rhodes and Cryme Tyme
Cryme Tyme
For animated series named Crime Time, visit Crime TimeCryme Tyme was a professional wrestling tag team that was signed to WWE.The team consisted of JTG and Shad , an over-the-top parody of stereotypical street thugs.-Early lives:Of Haitian and...
. On May 12, Piper's interference stopped Santino and Carlito from beating Rhodes and Hardcore Holly
Bob Holly
Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
for the World Tag Team Championship. Santino then threatened Piper with retaliation, culminating in a confrontation with Piper during the May 16 edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He wrestled his presumed last match on April 18, 2008 one day after his 54th birthday at Newburgh Free Academy’s Spring Slam. On October 26, 2008, however, Piper appeared on WWE's Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday (2008)
Cyber Sunday was the fifth and final Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 26, 2008 at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. It featured wrestlers from the Raw, ECW, and SmackDown brands...
as one of the three choices fans could choose to face Marella for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
. The other choices were Goldust and The Honky Tonk Man
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
. Honky Tonk Man was chosen and won via a disqualification due to interference by Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix
Elizabeth Kocianski is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she wrestles on the Raw brand under the ring name Beth Phoenix, where she is the reigning WWE Divas Champion....
and therefore did not win the title. Goldust then entered the ring, followed by Piper. The three candidates then fought Santino, afterwards celebrating together in the ring. Piper appeared on the October 27, edition of Raw as a special guest commentator, along with both Goldust and Honky Tonk Man, for Marella's match against Charlie Haas
Charlie Haas
Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II is an American professional wrestler and former collegiate amateur wrestler. He competes on the independent circuit, and is signed to Ring of Honor , where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions with Shelton Benjamin...
.
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
after Jericho continued to act disrespectfully towards the Hall of Famers. After the segment, Jericho attacked Piper. One month later, on the March 16 edition of Raw, Piper would get his revenge when he, along with Ric Flair, Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
, attacked Jericho. For the first time since Wrestlemania XII in 1996, Piper wrestled at WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV was the twenty-fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas...
along with Snuka and Steamboat with Flair in their corner to go against Jericho in a three on one handicap match. Jericho won the match; Piper was the second of the three to be eliminated. Piper later guest hosted WWE Raw on November 16, 2009 at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Piper challenged Vince McMahon to a street fight later in the evening only to have Randy Orton come out to fight against, then shortly after Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
came out to stop Randy's assault on Piper. He inducted Wendy Richter to the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame on March 27, 2010. He also appeared the next night on Raw as one of the Legend Lumberjacks in a match that involved Christian and Ted Dibiase
Ted DiBiase, Jr.
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE, where he appears on its SmackDown brand...
. Two months later, Piper turned heel for one night only by hiring DiBiase to capture guest host Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
so he could "gain revenge on BA", but was unsuccessful.
On the July 12, 2010 edition of Raw, it was hinted that Piper could possibly be the Anonymous General Manager as on an e-mail sent to Michael Cole, the GM said "Just when you think you have all the answers, I change the questions." The idea was abandoned on the July 24 edition of Raw when Cole said " And if you're not down with that I got two words for you" which was Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
trademark line as D-Generation X
D-Generation X
D-Generation X was a professional wrestling stable in WWE . The group originated in the midst of the WWF's "Attitude Era" from 1997 to 2000...
, but again this idea was dropped. On the November 15, 2010 edition of Raw, Piper quickly turned face during a return of Piper's Pit telling John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
to do the right thing by calling the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series between Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:...
and Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
down the middle. He went on to point out that legends such as Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
, Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
, and himself had never won a World Championship in WWE. On January 29, 2011, Piper made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is a professional wrestling promotion that is run by wrestlers themselves as it was created by Southern California wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar...
(PWG) during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend, defeating nineteen other men, last eliminating Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
, to win the Legends Battle Royal. He appeared in a backstage segment at WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII was the twenty-seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , held on April 3, 2011 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
where he hit Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
in the back of the head with a coconut, reminiscing of what he did to Jimmy Snuka. Piper made an appearance on the June 13, 2011 edition of Monday Night Raw, hosting Piper's Pit once again. His guests were The Miz and Alex Riley
Alex Riley
Alex Riley is a TV and radio presenter.Born and brought up in Sheffield, Riley started performing with the city's Crucible Youth Theatre during which time he originated, and appeared in, dozens of sketches and devised pieces, as well as appearing in a number of plays and farces at the Library...
, which led to a match with The Miz with Riley as the special guest referee. He went on to win the match, and won $5,000 out of The Miz's money per the pre-match stipulation. Roddy Piper noted that he was paid $5,000 for his appearance on the June 13th RAW for Piper's Pit with The Miz and Alex Riley. Piper currently co-host the WWE Vintage
WWE Vintage Collection
WWE Vintage Collection is a professional wrestling television program from World Wrestling Entertainment showcasing action from the extensive WWE video library...
show with Gene Okerlund
Gene Okerlund
Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan...
. He recently made an television appearance in WWE by hosted a Piper's Pit
Piper's Pit
Piper's Pit was an interview segment featuring Roddy Piper which was a mainstay of WWF/WWE television from 1984 to 1987, and then returned briefly in 1989. Also, Piper hosted similar segments while wrestling for other promotions in 2003 - 2011....
segment featuring John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
on the Monday 28th November edition of Monday Night Raw. He also appeared on November 29th, 2011 special holiday edition of SmackDown.
Other media
Piper featured in the wrestling documentary Bloodstained MemoirsBloodstained Memoirs
Bloodstained Memoirs is a professional wrestling documentary released online via an official stream in 2009. It is compiled by interviews featuring wrestlers synonymous with different eras in wrestling and different wrestling regions . Production was filmed in the UK, USA, France, Japan, and Italy...
. Piper was a guest on a 1985 Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
episode, tormenting hosts Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
, and has appeared as a special guest on MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
along with Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
. In 1991, the pilot episode for "Tag Team", a television program about two ex-professional wrestlers turned police officers, starred Piper and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Piper appeared as a wrestler loosely based on himself in an episode called "Crusader" from Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...
where his name was Cody "The Crusader" Conway. Piper appeared as a prison antagonist in an episode of The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
TV series. Piper was the host of ITV's Celebrity Wrestling
Celebrity Wrestling
Celebrity Wrestling is a British television programme, broadcast on ITV in 2005. It involved two teams of celebrities, competing against each other in wrestling style events. The series was presented by Kate Thornton and Rowdy Roddy Piper...
in the UK. Piper appeared as a character named Commander Cash on RoboCop: The Series
RoboCop: The Series
RoboCop: The Series is a 1994 television series based on the film of the same name. It stars Richard Eden as the title character. Made to appeal primarily to children and young teenagers, it lacks the graphic violence that was the hallmark of RoboCop and RoboCop 2...
. Piper appeared as a choice in the "Wheel of Destiny" segment of The Man Show
The Man Show
The Man Show is an American comedy television show on Comedy Central. It was created in 1999 by its two original co-hosts, Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla, and their executive producer Daniel Kellison.-Format:...
. Piper also starred in the 1988 John Carpenter cult classic, They Live
They Live
They Live is a 1988 science fiction/horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Frank Armitage ....
. Piper played a drifter turned saviour of the human race after discovering a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see the world's elite for what they truly are, money hungry aliens with a new-world-order-like agenda. That same year, he starred in the cult classic Hell Comes to Frogtown
Hell Comes to Frogtown
Hell Comes to Frogtown is a 1988 cult film that was created by Donald G. Jackson. The screenplay for this film was written by Jackson and Randall Frakes. The film was directed by Jackson and R. J...
. He also starred in an episode in the second season of the Highlander
Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
TV series, and appeared in the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
episode "The Gang Wrestles For the Troops" as "The Maniac", a parody of Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
's role in the film The Wrestler.
In 2007, Piper became the second pro-wrestler, the other being Sgt. Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus , better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling...
, to have their likeness crafted in a G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
figure. According to his filecard, he is a trainer for Destro
Destro
Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is a fictional villain from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys from Hasbro. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston in the 2009 live-action film, G.I...
's Iron Grenadiers
Iron Grenadiers
The Iron Grenadiers are a faction from the military-themed line of action figures and toys known as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.-History:They are a private army owned and maintained by the arms dealer Destro. The Grenadiers are composed of Destro's castle guards, personal bodyguards, and...
.
In April 2005, Piper co-presented Celebrity Wrestling
Celebrity Wrestling
Celebrity Wrestling is a British television programme, broadcast on ITV in 2005. It involved two teams of celebrities, competing against each other in wrestling style events. The series was presented by Kate Thornton and Rowdy Roddy Piper...
in the United Kingdom on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
. This Saturday evening reality show saw celebrities learn wrestling and compete in challenge matches. After a few weeks the program was to be canceled, due to a huge drop in TV ratings but instead was moved to Sunday mornings to finish its final episodes.
In the 1980s, Piper also appeared in singer Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's music video for the song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
"The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper. It was released as a single for The Goonies, a 1985 film which was released around the same time as the single...
." He also appeared as a guest VJ on MTV in 1988.
Wizard
Wizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
s list of the 100 Greatest Villains of All Time ranked Roddy Piper as #35.
On October 29, 2009, Piper appeared as pro-wrestler named "Da' Maniac" on season 5 episode 9 ("The Gang Wrestles for the Troops") of the sitcom It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
.
In UGK
UGK
UGK was an American hip hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas formed in 1987 by the late Chad "Pimp C" Butler . He then joined with Bernard "Bun B" Freeman, who became his longtime partner...
'S "International Players Anthem" DJ Paul
DJ Paul
Paul Beauregard, better known by his stage name DJ Paul, is an American rapper and record producer from Memphis, Tennessee. He is one half of the current Memphis-based rap group Three 6 Mafia. He is also the half brother of former Three 6 Mafia member Lord Infamous. He won an Academy Award for Best...
pokes fun at Andre 3000
André 3000
André Lauren Benjamin , better known by his stage name André 3000 is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor, best known for being part of American hip-hop duo OutKast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi...
asking him why is he dressed as Roddy Piper.
On March 14, 2010, Piper appeared in an episode in CBS's 'Cold Case' playing a wrestler named Sweet Sil. The episode was titled 'One Fall'. The team reopens the case of a dock worker who was moonlighting as an indy-circuit wrestler until he was shot dead in 1986.
In September 2010, Piper appeared in a FunnyorDie.com video, fighting against childhood obesity in a PSA parody. The clip included him using wrestling moves on children eating junk food and the parents who feed junk food to their kids.
In 2010 Piper was expected to appear in a reality series from Red Line Films the producers of Dhani Tackles the Glode and the Ocho de Cinco Reality Series http://www.americancombatassn.com/files/The%20Mighty%20Gran..pdf
Personal life
Piper and his wife Kitty live in Hillsboro, OregonHillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, and have four children: daughters Anastacia Shea, Ariel Teal, and Falon Danika and son Colton Baird. Anastacia has a child, making Piper a grandfather. His son Colt Toombs is also an aspiring professional mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
fighter. His daughter Ariel Teal Toombs is following her dad's lead in Hollywood as an actress. Piper was notable for wearing his wedding band during his matches, a rarity among professional wrestlers. Piper is also a cousin of the Hart wrestling family
Hart wrestling family
The Hart wrestling family is a Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family is wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart, amateur and professional wrestler, promoter and trainer, who not only owned and operated his own wrestling...
.
On April 4, 2006 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Piper was issued an award by the Mayor, Sam Katz
Sam Katz
Samuel Michael Katz, OM is the 42nd mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is also a businessperson and a member of the Order of Manitoba.- Life before mayorship :...
. On July 27, 2006, he had the honor of throwing out the first pitch of a St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
/Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
baseball game at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in Chicago.
On November 27, 2006, it was announced on WWE.com that Piper has Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...
, and he finished radiation therapy on January 15, 2007. This was also confirmed on Piper's official web site where he posted messages of thanks to all his fans and stated that had the fans not chosen him as Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
's partner at Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday (2006)
Cyber Sunday was the first annual Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on November 5, 2006 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, with 7,000 fans attending...
he would not have been taken to the hospital and diagnosed with his disease as early as he was.
In November 2008 a video spread around the internet showing Piper smoking pot and taking a hit from a bong in front of a crowd cheering him on, although he later acknowledged his use of medicinal marijuana "to alleviate the symptoms associated with cancer." This was reiterated on a blog from Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
.
On July 2, 2009, TMZ.com
TMZ.com
TMZ.com is a celebrity news website that debuted on November 8, 2005. It was a collaboration between America Online and Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. However, it is still affiliated with AOL News and has the AOL News logo affixed in...
reported that Piper was arrested on suspicion of DUI in the early morning hours in Hollywood, California. Piper was stopped by police at around 1:00 a.m. and given field sobriety tests. He was then arrested. His bond was set at $5,000.
Legacy
Piper is considered one of the greatest heelsHeel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
in wrestling history. Piper's Pit
Piper's Pit
Piper's Pit was an interview segment featuring Roddy Piper which was a mainstay of WWF/WWE television from 1984 to 1987, and then returned briefly in 1989. Also, Piper hosted similar segments while wrestling for other promotions in 2003 - 2011....
interview segments were considered innovative, especially in an atmosphere where only the people like the World champion got to talk, and the wrestlers were the interviewees - never the interviewers. Many of the people on Piper's Pit never got to be World champion, but were main eventers. According to Bobby "the Brain" Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
, he could just leave Piper in a room and return twenty minutes later with Piper having done a class-A promo.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Sleeper hold
- Open-hand strikesOpen-hand strikesOpen-hand strikes include various techniques used in the martial arts to attack or defend without curling the hand into a fist. The most famous of these techniques is probably the so-called "karate chop", which is also described as a knife-hand strike although there are many other techniques.Some...
(used rarely)
- Signature moves
- Belly to back suplex
- Bulldog
- Figure four leglock
- Inverted atomic drop
- Low blow
- Multiple jabJabA jab is a type of punch used in the martial arts.Several variations of the jab exist, but every jab shares these characteristics: while in a fighting stance, the lead fist is thrown straight ahead and the arm is fully extended...
s - Poking or raking the opponent eyes
- Running high knee strike
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Bob Orton Jr.
- Wrestlers managedManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Sean O'HaireSean O'HaireSean Christopher Haire is an American mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sean O'Haire.-World Championship Wrestling:...
- VirgilMike Jones (wrestler)Mike Jones is an American professional wrestler, who most recently performed for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Virgil, where he appeared on its Raw brand as Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s personal assistant...
- Paul OrndorffPaul OrndorffPaul Parlette Orndorff, Jr. is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling as "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff...
- Dr. D. David SchultzDavid Schultz (professional wrestler)David Schultz is an American retired professional wrestler. Although he is known for competing in North American regional promotions such as Stampede Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association during the late 1970s and 1980s, he is perhaps best remembered for...
- Big John StuddBig John StuddJohn William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
- Sean O'Haire
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Rowdy"
- "The Rowdy One"
- "Hot Rod"
- "Hot Scot"
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "Green Hills of Tyrol" from the Chappell Production Library (WWE/WCW/TNA)
- "Hot Rod" by Jim JohnstonJim Johnston (composer)James Alan "Jim" Johnston is an American music composer who has been working for WWE since 1985. His work is often accredited to the names Jim Johnston, James A...
(WWE) - "Bonnie Lass of Fyvie and Scotland the Brave" (WWE/TNA)
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley ClubCauliflower Alley ClubThe Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America....
- Reel Member Inductee (2001)
- Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingJim Crockett PromotionsJim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
/ World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested for in Jim Crockett Promotions , a territory-promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . The title was only contestable by male individual wrestlers...
(3 times) - NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(1 time) - with Big John StuddBig John StuddJohn William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:... - NWA Television ChampionshipWCW World Television ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
(2 times) - NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight ChampionshipWWE United States ChampionshipThe WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
(3 times)
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
- NWA All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)The Vancouver version of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship was established in 1962 as the top tag team title in NWA All-Star Wrestling. The title held that status until late summer 1985, when the title was renamed the UWA Tag Team Championship upon All-Star Wrestling's departure as a member of...
(1 time) - with Rick MartelRick MartelRichard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...
- NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)
- NWA Hollywood WrestlingNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Americas Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Americas Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first established in 1967 as a secondary championship in...
(5 times) - NWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California....
(7 times) - with Crusher Verdu (2), Adrian AdonisAdrian AdonisKeith A. Franke was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.-Career:Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling under his own name...
(1), Chavo Guerrero (1), Kengo KimuraKengo KimuraSeiei Kimura is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Kengo Kimura and for his many years working for New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japan.-Japan Wrestling Association :...
(1), Ron BassRonald HerdRonald Heard is a former American professional wrestler, best known under the name Ron Bass. His gimmick was a Texan cowboy who entered World Wrestling Federation rings to the sound of a bullwhip.-Career:...
(1), and The Hangman (1) - NWA World Light Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA World Light Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is a currently inactive professional wrestling championship promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance . For the majority of its existence it has been promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where it was known as the Campeonato...
(1 time)1
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship
- NWA San FranciscoNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time)
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version)NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version)The San Francisco, California version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship existed from 1950 until 1961, and then from 1968 until 1979.-Title history:...
(1 time) - with Ed WiskoskiEdward WiskoskiEdward Wiskoski is a former American professional wrestler best known as Colonel DeBeers in the AWA . He also wrestled as Derek "The Mongoose" Draper and Mega Maharishi...
- Pacific Northwest WrestlingPacific Northwest WrestlingPacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...
- NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...
(2 times) - NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...
(5 times) - with Killer Tim Brooks (1), Rick MartelRick MartelRichard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...
(3), and Mike Popovich (1)
- NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1982)
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1984, 1985)
- PWI Match of the Year (1985) with Paul OrndorffPaul OrndorffPaul Parlette Orndorff, Jr. is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling as "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff...
vs. Hulk HoganHulk HoganTerrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
& Mr. TMr. TMr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
at WrestleManiaWrestleMania (1985)WrestleMania was the first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The attendance for the event was 19,121 fans... - PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1986)
- PWI ranked him # 17 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Class of 2007
- World Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bulldog Brower
- World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWF Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(1 time) - World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ric FlairRic FlairRichard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
- WWE Hall of FameWWE Hall of FameThe WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
(Class of 2005) - Slammy Award for Best Personality in Land of a Thousand DancesLand of a Thousand Dances"Land of a Thousand Dances" is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962. The song is famous for its "na na na na na" hook, which was added by Cannibal & the Headhunters in their version of the song in 1965, whose version peaked at number thirty...
(1986)
- WWF Intercontinental Championship
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Best Interviews (1981) tied with Lou AlbanoLou AlbanoLouis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
- Best Interviews (1982, 1983)
- Best Heel (1984, 1985)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1986) vs. Mr. TMr. TMr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
in a boxing match at WrestleManiaWrestleMania 2WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation... - Worst Worked Match of the Year (1997) vs. Hulk HoganHulk HoganTerrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
at SuperBrawl
- Best Interviews (1981) tied with Lou Albano
1The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is no longer recognized or sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance.
Lucha de Apuesta record
| Wager | Winner | Loser | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair | Roddy Piper | Adrian Adonis Adrian Adonis Keith A. Franke was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.-Career:Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling under his own name... |
Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County... |
||
| $5,000 | Roddy Piper | The Miz | Long Island, New York | Special Referee: Alex Riley Alex Riley Alex Riley is a TV and radio presenter.Born and brought up in Sheffield, Riley started performing with the city's Crucible Youth Theatre during which time he originated, and appeared in, dozens of sketches and devised pieces, as well as appearing in a number of plays and farces at the Library... |
Filmography
- Clear Lake (2010)
- Cold Case (2010)
- Opponent (2010)
- FancypantsFancypantsFancypants is a 2011 film directed by Joshua Russell and starring Patrick Gleason, Roddy Piper, and Robert Carradine. Featuring Nick Turturro, Richard Kind, and introducing Jackson Dunn....
(2010) - It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
(2009) - Gothic Tale (2009)
- The Mystical Adventures of Billy OwensThe Mystical Adventures of Billy OwensThe Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens is a 2008 Canadian fantasy film which takes place in Spirit River, Alberta Canada about a boy who discovers on his 11th birthday that he is capable of using magic and must save his town from destruction...
(2008) - Bloodstained MemoirsBloodstained MemoirsBloodstained Memoirs is a professional wrestling documentary released online via an official stream in 2009. It is compiled by interviews featuring wrestlers synonymous with different eras in wrestling and different wrestling regions . Production was filmed in the UK, USA, France, Japan, and Italy...
(2008) - Super Sweet 16: The MovieSuper Sweet 16: The MovieSuper Sweet 16: The Movie is an MTV television film, based on the series My Super Sweet 16. It stars teen pop stars Aly & AJ and features performances by Hellogoodbye and Pretty Ricky...
(2007) - Ghosts of Goldfield (2007)
- Honor (2006)
- Blind Eye (2006)
- Night TravelerNight TravelerNight Traveler is a multimedia adventure series produced in the United States by Lunar Moth Entertainment. Originally intended as a single issue comic book, the series began to take shape in a larger more in depth format...
(voice) (2006) - Three Wise GuysThree Wise GuysThe Three Wise Guys is a 2005 USA movie, directed by Robert Iscove and starring Eddie McClintock, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Judd Nelson, Nicholas Turturro, Roddy Piper, Tom Arnold and Katey Sagal. This Christmas movie is a comedy about a the mistress of the owner of Royal Crown casino in Las Vegas, and her...
(2005) - Cyber Meltdown (2005)
- Code Black (2005)
- Shut Up and Shoot! (2005)
- Jack of Hearts (2000)
- Legless Larry and the Lipstick Lady (1999)
- Shepherd (1999)
- Hard Time (1998)
- The Bad Pack (1998)
- Last to Surrender (1998)
- Dead Tides (1997)
- First Encounter (1997)
- Sci-FightersSci-fightersSci-Fighters is a 1996 action film starring Roddy Piper. It was directed by Peter Svatek.-Plot summary:The film takes place in the city of Boston, in the year 2009. Detective Cameron Grayson is on the trail of Adrian Dunn , his ex-partner and his wife's murderer. Dunn has escaped from prison on the...
(1996) - Jungleground (1995)
- Marked Man (1995)
- Terminal Rush (1995)
- Tough and Deadly (1995)
- Back in Action (1994)
- Immortal CombatImmortal CombatImmortal Combat is a 1994 buddy action film. The plot involves an East-meets-West buddy scenario similar to what the Rush Hour franchise became, starring martial artist Sonny Chiba, wrestler Roddy Piper, Meg Foster and Tiny Lister....
(1994)
- No Contest (1994)
- Highlander: The SeriesHighlander: The SeriesHighlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
"Epitaph for Tommy" (1993) - Tag Team (1991)
- Zorro (New World Zorro)Zorro (1990 TV series)Zorro, also known as The New Zorro, New World Zorro, and Zorro 1990, is an American action-adventure drama series featuring Duncan Regehr as the character of Zorro. Regehr portrayed the fearless Latino hero and fencer on The Family Channel from 1990 to 1993...
: The Man Who Cried Wolf (1991)Season 3, Episode 4 - The Love Boat: A Valentine Voyage (1990)
- Zorro (New World Zorro)Zorro (1990 TV series)Zorro, also known as The New Zorro, New World Zorro, and Zorro 1990, is an American action-adventure drama series featuring Duncan Regehr as the character of Zorro. Regehr portrayed the fearless Latino hero and fencer on The Family Channel from 1990 to 1993...
: Broken Heart, Broken Mask (1990)Season 2, Episode 9 - Buy & CellBuy & CellBuy & Cell is a 1987 comedy film directed by Robert Boris. The original music score was composed by Mark Shreeve.-Plot:Herbie Altman is framed by his business partner and sent to jail where he sets up "Con Inc." an investment company with the help of those around him.-Principal...
(1989) - They LiveThey LiveThey Live is a 1988 science fiction/horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Frank Armitage ....
(1988) - The Highwayman (1987)
- Hell Comes to FrogtownHell Comes to FrogtownHell Comes to Frogtown is a 1988 cult film that was created by Donald G. Jackson. The screenplay for this film was written by Jackson and Randall Frakes. The film was directed by Jackson and R. J...
(1987) - Body SlamBody Slam (film)Body Slam is a 1987 American comedy film directed by Hal Needham, starring Dirk Benedict, Roddy Piper, Tanya Roberts, Sam Fatu and Captain Lou Albano. The film revolves around a down-and-out music promoter who inadvertently becomes a successful professional wrestling manager...
(1987) - The One and Only (1978)
Voice acting
In 2006, Roddy Piper ventured into the realm of voice acting, appearing on Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's animated series Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
(as himself), as well as providing the voice of The Pyro Messiah in the Night Traveler
Night Traveler
Night Traveler is a multimedia adventure series produced in the United States by Lunar Moth Entertainment. Originally intended as a single issue comic book, the series began to take shape in a larger more in depth format...
multimedia adventure series produced by Lunar Moth Entertainment. He will also be doing voice for Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, is an animated film that tells various stories featuring members of Green Lantern Corps, including Abin Sur, Laira, Kilowog, and Mogo It was released on June 7, 2011...