In 2015, the world of sports and entertainment lost a legend who passed away too young. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper died of a heart attack at the age of 61. Born Roderick George Toombs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1954, Piper was a professional wrestling superstar whose interviews on “Piper’s Pit” were as legendary as his antics in and out of the ring. He was able to transform his career in many areas of entertainment, including acting. Appearing in a number of on-screen roles and doing cartoon voices, Roddy is probably best known for playing John Nada in They Live, John Carpenter’s sci-fi classic that has developed a cult following over the years. . Never staying in one person for very long, Roddy started out as a villainous fighter but often transitioned into a hero or some kind of good guy. He also acted as a comedian in 2014 and had an impressive following as a podcast show host.
Roddy was primarily of Scottish descent and was proud of it, as evidenced by the attire he wore in the ring. Although he became adept at playing the bagpipes at a young age, Piper says she can’t remember how that happened. Roddy remembers how he got the wrestler name from him. Early in his professional career, he entered the ring wearing a kilt and playing bagpipes. When the announcer forgot the last name he was using, he simply introduced the wrestler as “Roddy the Piper” and the name stuck. Piper’s life was always filled with controversy that began when he was unceremoniously kicked out of high school. He later left home when he was a teenager after a series of arguments with his father. His father was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and always cared about the family’s reputation. A natural athlete who worked out regularly, Piper managed to find work at various gyms that gave her the money to live in shelters.
Roddy had a very competitive spirit and began his athletic career as an amateur wrestler, boxer, and judo competitor. He eventually won the prestigious Golden Gloves Championship and received a black belt in Judo from American professional wrestler, judo expert and champion Gene LeBell. When Piper was just 15 years old, he was ready to turn professional and joined the American Wrestling Association, where he earned a reputation as a “bad boy” wrestler. He moved on to the more prosperous National Wrestling Alliance in 1975. This organization was huge at the time and produced a host of superstars including Buddy Rogers, Killer Kowalski, Bobo Brazil, Gene Kiniski, Dory Funk, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race , Jack Brisco, Dusty Rhodes, Great Malenko, Buddy Colt, Eddie Graham, Sting, and Bobby Shane to name just a few.
From the late 1970s to 1983, Piper moved through various professional wrestling territories, facing big stars like Ric Flair, Jack Brisco, Chavo Guerrero, and many others. He was often compared to Freddie Blassie and the two met at Madison Square Garden when Vince McMahon gave Piper a match in the WWF. Blassie stuffed toilet paper into Roddy’s bagpipes so he couldn’t play them for the crowd. In 1984, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper moved to McMahon’s Worldwide Wrestling Federal and instantly became a professional wrestling superstar due to all the television coverage the WWF got. You’d think he was at the top of his career, but this was just the beginning. Piper became so popular and interview-savvy that he was given his own television segment called “Piper’s Pit”, which became a WWF fan favorite.
Piper was involved in all kinds of orchestrated mayhem that included feuds involving WWF stars Captain Lou Albano, Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, Greg Valentine, and even Cyndi Lauper. Lauper was allegedly kicked in the head by Piper during an interview and that led to a major feud with Hulk Hogan and Lou Albano (who appeared in Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” music video). That exploded into a huge grudge match at WrestleMania. Piper also somehow managed to get into a dispute with Mr. T (from the TV show “A Team” and the movie “Rocky 3”). The two eventually settled their differences by facing off at WrestleMania II. Piper lost after being disqualified for an illegal move. Like many professional wrestling superstars, Roddy Piper was starting to feel the pain from too many injuries and took a year off from the WWF. He returned in 1986 with a vengeance when he discovered that his “Piper’s Pit” had been replaced by a show hosted by Adrian Adonis called “The Flower Shop.” Piper appeared on the show, destroyed the set, and all of this led to several very popular grudge matches that WWF fans really enjoyed.
In 1989, Roddy was more popular than ever and even hosted a live “Piper’s Pit” during WrestleMania V. An appearance on the show by once-popular TV host Morton Downey Jr. turned into a huge mess when Piper pointed a fire extinguisher at him. fire at the ever-smoky Downey and sprayed him down. As Piper’s popularity continued to grow, he began co-hosting Prime Time Wrestling alongside professional wrestling legend Gorilla Monsoon. After replacing Bobby Heenan as co-host of the Prime Time show, Roddy and Heenan became fast enemies. Heenan recruited “Ravishing” Rick Rude and Brother Love for revenge and several entertaining encounters between the four followed. Brother Love (professional wrestler Bruce Pritchard, manager of The Undertake). Love wore a white suit and had a wrestling character based on some of the most outrageous televangelists of the day. Love took over the television spot once held by “Piper’s Pit,” which infuriated Roddy so much that when he appeared on the show he told brother Love that he smelled bad and had bad breath. Piper squirted mouthwash and toothpaste in his face.
Although he began to scale back his professional wrestling matches, Roddy Piper managed to stay in the thick of things by getting involved in more feuds with competitors like Ted DiBiase (the million dollar man), Jerry “The King” Lawler, and Brett Hart. Piper was a regular at WrestleMania events from 1989 to 1996 and even served as a celebrity referee. Roddy moved to the World Championship Wrestling organization in 1996 and joined the highly watched “Halloween Havoc” and “Starrcade” shows with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Brett Hart. Roddy then briefly served as a commissioner for WCW. During that reign he had major feuds with Rick Flair, Sid Vicious, and Scott Hall. After reaching his peak with WCW in decline, Piper found himself back with the WWF, which in 2003 became Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment. That season included a popular feud with Hulk Hogan who, even after Roddy attacked him with a steel pipe, won the event.
During an extremely controversial appearance on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” Piper admitted that he had taken drugs to stay in the ring for the last twenty years of his career. He also hinted that all or most of the other stars in pro wrestling did the same in order to continue competing given the injuries they suffered and the pain they were in. This got Roddy fired from Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment. The TAW (Total Action Wrestling) group which included NWA stars, got him in 2003 despite all the controversy. The move quickly turned out to be a good deal for both Piper and the TAW. So much so that Vince McMahon couldn’t ignore Roddy’s newfound popularity and soon brought him back to the now huge and still growing Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment in 2005. During that time, Piper hosted another “Piper’s Pit” live show at WrestleMania. 21. That same year he was also inducted into the World Entertainment Wrestling Hall of Fame. Piper often appeared on the highly watched “RAW!” and “SMACKDOWN,” television shows from Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment that brought his talent and madness to the attention of a whole new generation of professional wrestling fans.
From 2003 to 2014, Piper continued to rise in popularity with more “Piper’s Pit” shows and various matches and feuds with Ricky Steamboat, Zac Rider, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler and many others. Roddy had some tough times during this time, including some injuries he sustained in a car accident in 2005 and a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2007. He recovered from his injuries from the accident and was said to have been in remission from the lymphoma in 2008. after receiving treatment for almost a year. As his appearances on major professional wrestling television shows dwindled, Piper continued to appear on a number of popular independent professional wrestling events such as WrestleReunion, joining other famous veterans such as Bob Orton Jr. and Terry Funk. Popular star female MMA and UFC competitor Rhonda “Rowdy” Rousey (12 wins, 0 losses as of this writing) met Piper and told her that she was a huge fan of hers. She asked him if she could use his nickname “Rowdy” and he happily gave her blessing. She recently dedicated her match against Bethe Correia at UFC 190 to Piper after learning of her death. She won the match in 34 seconds.
Piper’s later years were spent appearing on various television shows, including “Celebrity Wife Swap,” while doing voice-overs for popular cartoons, making comedy club appearances, and taking on a few more acting jobs alongside her professional wrestling duties. . She never disappeared from the public eye and even appeared on “Celebrity Ghost Stories”. During that episode, she admitted to seeing the ghost of friend and fellow professional competitor Adrian Adonis in 2013. Roddy recently lived in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Kitty. He had four children: three daughters and a son. Piper became a grandfather after his daughter Anastacia recently gave birth. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper passed away as a result of a heart attack on July 31, 2015. This is a common cause of death among former professional wrestling stars. After a lifetime of pushing their bodies to the limit, I guess their hearts finally give out. Regardless of his cause of death, Piper will be sorely missed by the millions of fans who thoroughly enjoyed his skills and rampage in and out of the ring.