Roderick George Toombs, better known as Rowdy Roddy Piper,
passed away on the 31st July. He was 61. Piper was trained by Gene
LeBell, Leo Garibaldi, Tony Condello and Joe Fiorino and made his debut in 1969
against Larry Henning, the grandfather of Curtis Axel. After spending time in
the NWA and Georgia Championship Wrestling, he joined the WWF in 1984. He is
best known during this time for being in a rivalry with Hulk Hogan and main
eventing the first ever Wrestlemania with Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff as they
faced Hulk Hogan and Mr T. He went on to win the Intercontinental Championship
in 1992 and be the special guest referee for the main event of Wrestlemania X.
Piper left the WWF for WCW in 1996 and was there for 4 years. He then made
occasional appearances from 2003 to 2015 in the WWE, with him being inducted
into the Hall of Fame in 2005.
My first memory of Piper is also one of my favourite ever
matches. Piper was facing the challenge of Bret Hart for the Intercontinental
Championship at Wrestlemania VIII and the match is absolutely amazing. There
was also the added element of Piper being friends with the Hart family. I also
liked the fact that Piper was from my home country of Scotland. I know that
that's not true (Piper was born in Saskatoon, Canada) but by the time I found
out, I didn't care.
Piper was also known as an actor with his most famous role
being in They Live, where he spawned the catchphrase “I have come here to chew
bubble gum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubble gum”. Piper also appeared in
various movies and TV shows such as Walker, Texas Ranger, The Outer Limits and
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Piper's legacy is one of the best villains and talkers in
professional wrestling history. His segment, Piper's Pit was innovate as it was
in an atmosphere where only the people like the World Champion got to talk. Dave
Meltzer described Piper as “one of the key figures in the growth of WWF. In
particular, he helped power the success of the first Wrestlemania”. Piper is a
wrestler that has been loved by many generations of wrestling fans and he will
be sorely missed by everyone.
Piper leaves behind a wife, five children and a grandchild.
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