AshC Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Absolute one of a kind. Terrific experience meeting him last year. Really sad news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Thesz Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 The crowd reaction when it was announced ",,,and new Intercontinental Champion" is one of my favourite moments in over 35 years of watching wresting. Â So soon after big Dusty too. Â I will also always remember the shoot interview Jim Cornette did when talking about working Wrestlemania (ten I think) and the clear pride in his face when declaring how he finally worked with Piper. Â RIP Hot Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JNLister Posted July 31, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted July 31, 2015 I had the pleasure of interviewing Piper last year. I don't know if I just got him on a lucky day or the batshit crazy stuff was just an act, but he was totally lucid and happy to talk in depth and intelligently about wrestling psychology.  Here's his take on the Bret Hart match (along with what may well be a bit of a porky at the end!)    I don't think I talked to Bret for 10 minutes before the match! I was normally, in a program, mad at somebody and that dictates what you do in the ring, coming to the ring, etc. When you hold a belt, that's a whole different ball game, that's a whole different presentation of yourself. I legitimately had been to Bret's house and his mother did make me a grilled sandwich and I legitimately did send her a dozen roses: I thought she was the nicest lady I ever met. The promo leading up to it was "I don't want to fight you. I like you, I like your mom, I like your family. And if I fight you, I'm going to have to hurt you."  It was built on truth: I love Bret, I love his family, but you know what, I love my family more and we gotta eat. When it came to the ring it was great, because instead of just having the programmed booing and yelling, [the audience] didn't know what to do, and that's where the masters come out. We hadn't talked anything about the match because I don't know what I'm going to do till I get out there.  I'll tell you where it paid off, all the promos... Bret was down, and the referee was down, and I grabbed the bell and went to hit him... Holy cow! That crowd with every earnest point in their body was screaming "Don't do it, Roddy, please." Not "Look out, Bret," but "No, don't let us down Roddy, you don't need to do it." That kind of emotion. That's a hard emotion to get from a crowd that big. When I put the bell down, they cheered. You've got whatever number of fans cheering, just because I put the belt down. How many matches do you see that in?!  Then the ending of the match... (laughs.) I put Bret in the sleeper, the referee was down, Bret kicked the turnbuckle, over we went and the ref counted my shoulders to three. I didn't know where I was going from then [in storyline terms] so I'd built in a safety net: It was the wrong call on the referee's part.  The sleeper is an offensive move so the first thing he should have done is raise Bret's arm and if it falls three times I'm the winner, but he didn't, he counted my shoulders. I wanted to [lose] for Bret because he was worth it. But I always thought to myself, just in case somebody's jerking around with me, I can play this card and get back in [the storylines]! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 such a sad loss, RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 31, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted July 31, 2015 He wasn't ever really one of my favourites but he was still such a fixture in the WWF during my childhood, he was part of the furniture whether he was wrestling, commentating, being the commissioner, whatever. He always seemed to be around and it was usually fun to watch. Â It really is depressing how many of those big stars from the 80s are gone now. Warrior, Savage and Piper were absolute household names. Almost every kid at school had the hasbros or one of those guys on something they owned growing up. Â I didn't follow him so much in recent years but I caught bits and pieces recently about the podcast thing with Steve Austin and the weird stuff about Pat Patterson in that shoot interview. He was always a bit nuts but he really didn't seem with it in recent years to me. Anytime I tried to listen to an interview with him it was almost incoherent babbling. Â But when I think of Piper the first things that spring to mind are the brilliant match with Bret Hart at WrestleMania, the mental interview with Mean Gene at SummerSlam 89 and him playing the bagpipes at SummerSlam 92. Â RIP Hot Rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 So glad I went to see him in edinburgh last year. First wrestling shirt I owned was the one he wore when he beat the Mountie fir the ic belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SiMania Posted July 31, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted July 31, 2015 We always loved Piper growing up, mainly because of the Scottish thing. He had so much charisma and the craziness we saw was just an extension of his character. I can't get shocked by a wrestler dying these days which makes it all that much sadder as it's almost expected that none of my childhood heroes will be old men. RIP Hot Rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullyRayStoleMyKitKat Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Tonight, we are all out of Bubblegum. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Elliott Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I hope people enjoy this long interview with Roddy as much as I enjoyed asking the wide-ranging questions. Re-published from Issue 84/85 of Fighting Spirit Magazine:http://www.fightingspiritmagazine.co.uk/art/interviews/276/rip-roddy-piper-interview-with-the-hot-rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted August 1, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 1, 2015 Just in from my cousins wedding and my phone went mental with friends telling me this news. Proper gutted. Â The reason my mates got in touch was due to me spending so long posting videos and pictures of 80s Piper. For me 80s Piper was about as good as a heel will ever talk. Super entertaining/funny without diminishing his heel heat - quite the trick. He's the only WWE wrestler I've bothered buying their t-shirt too. Â Also, if you're after Piper without the schtick, check out his interview with Ariel Helwani. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Brooker Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Heartbroken. Was only talking to Billy last week about some of our adventures with him over the course of the insane fortnight we spent in his company last year. He was a promoter's nightmare and a blessing to the fans because he insisted on taking his time with absolutely everyone. "Fuck's sake Rod..." I said frequently "You don't need everyone's life story!" He did though. He was genuinely 100% interested and humbled by the respect and admiration he received. An amazing performer. A deeply troubled man that could have been forgiven for turning out to be a completely vile human being given the path he'd traveled. Instead he was a gracious, kind and generous human being that took more pride in fatherhood than anything he achieved in wrestling or acting. So many incredible stories and so many that will remain untold. I hope he found peace in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickin it wit the kliq Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I know he had his health problems but this one is a real shock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted August 1, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 1, 2015 The breaking news audio on the Observer about this was something. Alvarez telling a story about how Piper saw him at an indy show years ago took him in the bogs, turned the lights off and with a lighter under his chin said "tell Dave Meltzer I'm going to burn his house down." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Showtime Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 https://youtu.be/c_ZW8vExvdw?t=2m35s  Not about him, this, but one of my favourite calls ever - the debut of The Undertaker. Roddy Piper was right there.  Not the greatest of commentators...but Undertaker gets to the ring, gets his coat off ready to destroy, and Piper pauses (for once).  "...Urgh. He doesn't look friendly at all!" That did it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bettencourt Posted August 1, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 1, 2015 Genuinely saddened by Rowdy Roddy Piper's passing. He was the centre of the earliest memory I have of watching wrestling. Â My first memory of watching is his vignette from Alcatraz. Just shows you what a mark he can leave on you with a promo. Â Considering I was a youngster in single digits when this first aired and I have not watched it back since, it's amazing that I can solely remember this promo from memory only. Â Himself, Ric Flair and Norman Smiley are the characters that got me into wrestling. And for that I am forever grateful. Â RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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