April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015
In an interview with HBO Sports, Roddy Piper said that he didn’t think he’d make 65 due to how he lived his life. He made it to 61. Roderick George “Roddy” Toombs was born in Saskatchewan, which is in Canada, not Scotland. But he was of Scottish ancestry so he was build as being from Scotland when he took on his wrestling persona, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Coming to the ring accompanied by bagpipe music, the Rowdy One would pound his opponent to the ground with both his hands and his voice. The man could talk, which is why the WWF would give him his own interview segment, Piper’s Pit. Other attempts were made to do interview shows when Piper left the WWF but none of them matched what Piper would do.
But many of you who don’t follow wrestling would best know him from They Live, as a man who finds a pair of sunglasses that filters out aliens’ attempt to hide among humans and manipulate their thoughts. I didn’t grow up with Dusty Rhodes if anyone asks why I didn’t do a tribute to him, because he came to the WWF from WCW later on in my time as a wrestling fan. Piper, however, was definitely part of my wrestling experience. Whether he was a heel or the rare times he was the hero, Piper maintained the same attitude and the same energy and like him or hate him, the fans loved him.
I could start on a normal match, and I did try to find the earliest match I could. Pressed for time the earliest I found was from Portland Wrestling, as Piper faced rival Playboy Buddy Rose (who proceeded him to the afterlife locker room) in a Lumberjack Match.
One of his biggest claims to fame is knocking out Mr. T in a boxing match. I’m not kidding.
I wouldn’t be able to do a tribute without mentioning rock n’ wrestling, where 80s rock, thanks in part to Cyndi Lauper having Captain Lou Albano in at least two of her videos and the CBS Saturday morning cartoon Hulk Hogan’s Rock N’ Wrestling, got on Hot Rod’s bad side. And I don’t mean the Autobot.
But Piper wasn’t just known for his wrestling skills, but his mouth. Piper’s Pit was his chance to mouth off at the other wrestlers. Probably his most famous one was with “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka. This clip comes from his appearance on Wrestling TNT, the WWF’s old wrestling talk show.
In what would turn out to be his final live Piper’s Pit (he did have his own podcast and was in talks of doing it for the WWE), Rowdy talked with a former wrestling writer during a Maryland Championship Wrestling event. Don’t expect a discussion about wrestling writing.
But what was like when HE was being interviewed? Ask Joan Rivers.
Like a lot of professional wrestlers, Piper tried his hand at acting. You probably know his big line in They Live but did you know he tried to do a TV series with fellow wrestler-turned-actor Jessie “The Body” Ventura called Tag Team. I came across the pilot.
And of course we end on the tribute by the WWE, Roddy’s on and off home for most of his wrestling career.
Piper is survived by wife Kitty, four kids, and four grandkids. Farewell, Roddy. May you find an angel who can play the bagpipes.
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