Roddy Piper (1954-2015)

Piper's Pit has been closed forever.

News has come across the wires of the passing of WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper at 61 from natural causes.

Billed as being from Scotland, Piper (real name: Roderick Toombs) was really from Canada, and regardless of which side of the moral fence he was on, Piper's rapid fire gift of gab charmed viewers, be it on a regional level (he lived in the Portland area most of his life) or national (NWA, WWF/E, TNA, WCW).

I first saw Piper on TV when he was in the NWA, working out of the Georgia & Mid-Atlantic areas, and appearing on WTBS (now simply TBS) on their Saturday night wrestling show. In 1984, he made the move to the north and signed with the then-World Wrestling Federation, touching off a long run that was interrupted only for movie roles in "Hell Comes to Frogtown" & "They Live". Unfortunately, after the John Carpenter classic, which co-starred Keith David & Meg Foster, Piper's film career was consigned to the direct-to-video file. He moved back to television, and co-starred with long time pal Jesse Ventura in a failed pilot, Tag Team, which was previously discussed. He made guest appearances on The Outer Limits, Walker, Texas Ranger, & The Mullets, among others, and often returned to WWE, if he wasn't committed elsewhere, to revive his legendary interview segment, Piper's Pit. He also appeared on the WWE Network series, Legends House.

Following is Piper at his brawling best, against former tag team partner and fellow Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff from Saturday Night's Main Event.




I would expect a 10 bell salute to "Hot Rod" on Monday. WWE owes Roddy that and so much more, for all he did for them.

Rest in peace, Roddy. The HWF (Heavenly Wrestling Federation) awaits.