Just broke on TMZ
RIP Hot Rod. One of the greatest heels ever
Just broke on TMZ
RIP Hot Rod. One of the greatest heels ever
Last edited by Hero!; July 31st, 2015 at 6:12 PM.
Just reading, no way shocked.
Gutted... absolutely gutted. RIP, Hot Rod.
Holy shit, no fucking way!
This sucks. One of my favorites.
Any word on cause of death?
No way!! Shit. RIP
Apparently cardiac arrest.Originally Posted by Jimmy Zero
Devastation news, my all time favourite.
This hurts. R.I.P. bro.
It was on the cards, but still as sad nonetheless. He gave the best fight he could.
RIP Hot Rod.
No. Just no.
Sad, but not surprised.
He really was rowdy before rowdy was cool.
RIP
Fuck me. This is going to be a rough next few years.
Wow. Insane. RiP.
First dusty now roddy
Damn.
61 is too early, but Piper sure packed a whole lot into his 61.
RIP Hot Rod ...
can someone ask badger why his death was on the cards?
its been reported it was a cardiac arrest.
total pish, one of the best ever. hope they give him a good send off on raw. a nice network special too please.
TAPS AFF!
Death of a 61 year old wrestling and cancer survivor shouldn't be a shock, but that still hit me hard.
Just to clarify any backlash that may come my way, suffering from cancer he was on the way out at some point but I realise cardiac arrest is not the same way. He was ill, but wasn't expecting it to be like this.
61 is very young to die.
TAPS AFF!
Roddy was sounding rough lately
No. Just no.
Sad news. Even worse is that we're reached a time when an awful lot of our childhood heroes are heading the same way. Just sad.
He was cancer free when he died.Just to clarify any backlash that may come my way, suffering from cancer he was on the way out at some point but I realise cardiac arrest is not the same way. He was ill, but wasn't expecting it to be like this.
I have been through a similar experience. My father died at a similar age and he was given a life expectancy from cancer. I had hope and it looked like there was hope but one day that was it. Brain haerrmorhage rather than cardiac arrest in this case, so to be honest it honest not sure how strong the cancer link was strong in either case but it brings back memories.
Anyway, about Hot Rod not me. Thoughts and prayers with his family.
Last edited by Badger; July 31st, 2015 at 6:38 PM.
Piper had been Cancer free for almost 10 yearsI have been through a similar experience. My father died at a similar age and he was given a life expectancy from cancer. I had hope and it looked like there was hope but one day that was it. Brain haerrmorhage rather than cardiac arrest in this case, so to be honest it honest not sure how strong the cancer link was strong in either case but it brings back memories.
Anyway, about Hot Rod not me. Thoughts and prayers with his family.
Such a great performer. Probably the best wrestler to never be world champion. Amazing talker. One of the best ever. Great brawler. Huge star. Sure, Hogan built the WWF empire, but Piper made it possible too. As Piper once said, "would they really have loved you so much if they hadn't hated me?" Main event of Wrestlemania I. Main event of War to Settle the Score. Two of the most important matches in wrestling history.
If we made a list of the most important people in wrestling history, he'd have to be in the top 25. He could still light the mic up to the end. Going to miss the guy. Another friend gone too soon.
One of my favorite Hot Rod moments was when he defended the Intercontinental title against the Mountie and had a shock proof vest on.
RIP Hot Rod
I wouldn't be a fan, let alone be involved in pro wrestling if it wasn't for Roddy Piper.
Doesn't seem real. One of the genuine best ever.
Been that long? Thought it was more recent than that. In that case, yeah it may be totally unrelated so I will say sorry if that is the case, but then again what did cause the arrest if he wasn't cancer free? Still very young.
Last edited by Badger; July 31st, 2015 at 6:47 PM.
Fuck this life bullshit.
And Hogan lives on. RIP Piper
Piper is easily one of the all time greats. He's a wrestler who even none wrestling fans have heard of.
My main memories of Piper will be around 1984 with Pipers Pit and just his general demeanour at that time. He was so ahead of his time in that regard.
Oh and They Live rules.
He was one of the coolest villains that you just loved or loved to hate. There will never be another like him in the industry.
RIP Hot Rod!
RIP HOT ROD
Damn, pretty gutting, RIP
This fucking year....
RIP Hot Rod
Could be anythng. It seems like the most common way for wrestlers to go, well from around this generation. Huge party lifestyle, roids (not sure if Piper took them), huge strains on their bodys wrestling all the time, often injured. Just a real hectic lifestyle and Piper wasnt known for his calmness so Im gonna hazard a guess his younger years in the business may have been care free.
Also didnt he live on the streets for years when he was a teen too? (Could be folklore - hard to tell with that era).
One of the best and an absolute legend. Sad to hear he's passed and it's a damn shame it was only at 61. He's left a hell of a legacy and inspired many.
Just when we know the answer, I wish He 'd change this question. :-(
rip Hotrod...
best heel ever on the mic, they shoulda never turned him face...
but gotta sell that mercandise.
He was an awesome face too though...
Dusty and Piper, 2 of the best ever talkers gone within a month of each other. Damn shame.
Looked it up and Piper did admit to taking steroids so it may be a factor but of course we can't tell at this stage.
He was the first cool heel, I cheered for. He gave me one of my first mark out moments when he trashed the florist shop to bring back the Pit. When he came to WCW as a face, I marked out hard. I got to see him live during the Nexus angle where he cut this amazing promo about how a belt that alluded him all of his life was the most important thing in the world to him, to the wrestlers to the fans. The only interaction I had him with him was he Favorited at tweet I sent him. This man was my wrestling experience.
Gutted by this, I wasn't watching when he was in his hey day but he still left a big impression and I loved his passion and heart. Great sense of humour too.
Piper, Dusty & Gagne dead in a few months and Hogan exposed as a bigited tosser. Bad year for wrestling.
Awful news. RIP Roddy.
This is a real shame, Piper was just always entertaining and had an edge to him that kept him fresher and more welcome than a lot of the older guys who kept coming back.
I wonder how Austin feels after that whole big spat over nothing earlier this year.
Were they known to have been close in any way at all before that nonsense?
Jesus, saw it initially on Facebook, and it hurts like hell to see it confirmed.
R.I.P Piper, and I really hope you get the send-off you deserve this Monday.
There goes another icon from my childhood.
It's upsetting what's been happening to our childhood icons. Piper, Savage and Warrior all gone. Hogan a different case as obviously still alive but couldn't keep his opinions to himself. Considered those the big four in my childhood.
Awful news RIP Hot Rod
Will watch They Live and Hell Comes To Frogtown this weekend as a tribute because those movies are fucking awesome.
Brilliant
Guy could talk, wrestle, brawl, commentate.
He had it all.
If you call yourself a wrestling fan, this loss had to hurt. Roddy Piper was a favorite of mine sure. After all it was the MTV special The War to Settle the Score that got me into wrestling in a serious way, at age five. This was the event that basically kicked off the whole Hogan Vs Piper feud for the first WM.
But this loss pains me not just as a fan of Roddy Piper. But as a fan of wrestling. Roddy was a fucking innovator In terms of character. Before he surfaced in WWE he played both heel and face all over the country, from Canada to Puerto Rico. A damaged kid with a scarred mind he found release in sports. His father was a mountie in Canada but also a drinker and according to Roddy, a full blown lunatic who intentionally lived out of doors and did little to earn his sons love. Roddy found happiness elsewhere.
He was a great young athlete. He was a golden gloves trained boxer, amateur wrestler and later in life actually attained a black belt in Judo though this may have been because he was good friends with his trainer Gene Lebell. Roddy doesn't talk much about his childhood. In his autobiography he maintains he honestly doesn't remember much of it. Saying most of his first memories begin at 15 when he trained to become a pro wrestler. He also has maintained he can't remember who taught him to play the bagpipes. But once it was discovered he knew how to play them, it instantly became his gimmick. He was famously introduced in his first match, against Larry Hennig, as Roddy "The Piper". The name was misheard and he was referred to as Roddy Piper after that.
He had a tryout for Vince Sr. in the mid 70s which went badly for him as he was supposed to play his bagpipes before the match but unbeknownst to him Freddie Blassie had stuffed paper into the holes of his bagpipes which prevented them from working. He was booed out of the building and wouldn't come to New York again for 10 years.
Once he did though...HOLY SHIT.
We accept the role of the cool heel so easily now. But its modern form was sculpted into existence by Roddy. He was a fast talking, half crazy, ingrate. He insulted any and everyone who he crossed paths with. Often in such clever fashion as to enthrall the audience, me a five year old boy, to the point of loving him. He managed to stay heel while coming dangerously close to being too funny to get boos. In the current era this would never work.
He famously smashed Jimmy Snuka over the head with a coconut so hard it legitimately rung his bell. Good thing too as when Snuka regained his senses he wanted Piper's ass for going too far. You see going too far was what Roddy did. Its what made him who he was.
You could watch him during his Piper's Pit segments, playfull as a child, toying with his guest. Poking them and prodding them. Trying to sense exactly where the line was. So he could cross it. He did the same thing to the live audience. Just in case they started to like him too much he'd be sure to put them in their place.
But the danger, the sense of DANGER that oozed out of this man is simply unparalleled. You literally had the sensation while watching him work that he could possibly say or do anything, go just a little too far. And he often did. He was one of the guys that made even a cynic think to himself "Holy shit I think this guy is for real!"
But even though this was the 80s eventually he was too cool and too unique to keep heel. So they turned him face. And while my friends all championed Ho Kogan at school, I maintained Roddy Piper was the greatest. Because he was crazy. And you never know what crazy is going to do next.
I'm going to miss him. I'm going to miss his "crazy". I'm going to miss never knowing what he might say next.
But his legend is firmly entrenched. He started the snowball rolling down the hill. And it only got bigger. The modern world of WWE wouldn't have developed the exact way it did without him. He was a new template and a game changer. There will never ever be another Hot Rod.
But he's up in heaven now. Playing bagpipes instead of a harp. He sits in a wrestling ring instead of on a cloud. And if the other angels don't like it then they'd better steer clear. They may find themselves on the business end of a coconut sooner rather than later.
RIP Roddy. You taught us to expect more, something different than the norm. And we won't ever forget.
Now play those bagpipes. I'm getting drunk tonight.
Perfectly said, Rancy ...
...
Chewing gum and kicking ass to the bitter end. RIP Hot Rod.
Christ. So sad. Always one of my favorites.
I read the title as Rousey, which somehow made it worse. The shock of that and then realizing it was Piper. Man made the WWE. Redacted tends to get the credit, but without Roddy as a foil for him, I don't see anyway the WWE would be what it is today.
RIP Roddy, now I'm gonna go watch Roddy vs Bret Hart.
Piper epitomized "I can't make them believe wrestling is real, but I can make them believe I'm real." Just perfect as the lunatic hothead who could go off at any second. And hey, it wasn't really an act. He was probably the first heel commentator (he definitely pre-dates Jesse Ventura in the booth).
Favorite Piper matches/moments? Not a ton of matches jump out at me. He wasn't really around in the era where there would be a lot of TV matches from him. His match with Bret at Wrestlemania 8 is awesome, total classic. The Dog Collar match with Greg Valentine is great. The brutality really stands out watching it today. There's a MSG house show on the network where he wrestles Flair that's worth checking out.
Smashing the coconut on Snuka's head. His WCW debut promo (the internet would fucking break if that happened today, there was absolutely no hint it was coming). And for so bad it's good, check out the segment from WCW where he has tryouts for his team at Uncensored. It might actually be the worst thing I've ever seen in wrestling.
I am really really sad about this. A more appropriate remembrance may be forthcoming, but for now... ugh. RIP Hot Rod.
Love that match.
Probably the greatest wrestler to have never held the world championship. Sad to see him go so soon. Now, I hope the WWE has a tribute to him post-RAW, instead of the live podcast with Austin. Have Austin on next week rather than upcoming.
So sad. RIP Hot Rod!! One of the greats. I also dig his movies they live and hell comes to frog town. Dude was awesome in sci fi/b movie action flicks.
Some may see this as a stretch, but I believe he is the greatest heel never to become world champion. Of course it wss hard in the although Hogan never pinned Piper until the Mr America shit kicked in.
Last edited by Badger; August 1st, 2015 at 3:02 AM.
Remember this!
multiple people have already said he was the greatest wrestler to never win the world title, heel or not. pay attention. you're not spewing any crazy unique opinions here.
Last edited by Morrison; August 1st, 2015 at 3:03 AM.
I wasn't saying it was a completely unique opinion, just putting this opinion over more in case someone feels the likes of Dibiase or Perfect were a better heel never to win the title.
Last edited by Badger; August 1st, 2015 at 3:09 AM.
Absolutely gutted. Good bye Roddy, one of the true greats.
Well, for once, you jobbed clean here Roddy. Was that so hard to do?
Man, this sucks. He went too young, but it sounds like he went peacefully at least.
Another Scot's life claimed by heart disease.
Apparently Hodgkin's Lymphoma has some lasting effects on the heart. The man lived a hard life as well.
Until the post-mortem comes out, you can't poo-poo the cardiac arrest link.
*sigh* I find myself asking right now besides Hogan who are the biggest stars from the Rock N Roll era are left.
Maybe Jake Roberts and Ted Dibiase at this point.
Last 5 years have been rough with the big names from that era.
I'm still pissed he never won the world title.
That was a different time.
He deserved the belt, but his character was so good he didn't need it. Hell I'm not sure he even wanted the belt.
Yep, and who imagined Roberts would be one of the last left?
Going to be hard to put together a video package of his career and leave out Hogan.
Theres only one match from WrestleMania 1 where all participants of the match are still alive - David Sammartino (with Bruno) v Brutus Beefcake (v Johnny Valiant).
That bit in the 92 Rumble where Flair is alone in the ring and Piper comes out next is still one of my favourite ever wrestling moments. And a bit later on where Heenan starts thanking Piper for saving Flair before he turns on him and Heenan flips.
It could be a headache - I mean it was his biggest rivalry and then his other biggest moment was being a bigot to Superfly by offering him pineapples, bananas and then smashing a coconut over his head. They can't exactly run that after the Hogan pa-lava either.
they didn't really feature flair in dusty's so i dont see this being a massive issue.
TAPS AFF!
They have a pretty comprehensive tribute on WWE.com that has little-to-no Hogan in it.
but it had been mentioned a handful of times already, so who would see it 'as a stretch?' PAY ATTENTION AND DONT BE DUMB AND REDUNDANT.
Last edited by Morrison; August 1st, 2015 at 12:32 PM.
Flair too ya? Or do you not consider him in the rock n roll era
he wasnt in the wwf.
Although you may have a point its not that big of an issue. Chill out for gods sake!
I'm not sure if it matters or not but I made sure to download and backup every single piper podcast from ep 1 to 60.
Truly gutted by this. Between Piper and Dusty, we have lost two of the very best ever at captivating their audience. Such a unique specimen was Piper that he was the greatest heel this industry has ever witnessed (in my opinion, of course), but still one of the most inherently likeable and easy to cheer characters of all time.
I have high hopes that WWE give him the tribute on Raw that he so richly deserves, like they so graciously did with Dusty.
Of course they will.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/s21...sic-bouts.html
I know it's just one person's list, but how could you talk about 5 of his classic bouts and not mention the Bret match?
I consider him more tied to the NWA.
He didn't come to WWF until the 90's anyway.
You could probably put Steamboat and Orndorff on the list of Rock n Wrestling Era stars who are still alive.
How in the fuck are Piper, Dusty, Savage, Warrior, Perfect, Bulldog and Eddie dead but Jake "smoke a bag of Crack before you cut a promo on Impact" Roberts is still alive?
How the fuck is that possible?
He's ph balanced.
Jake, Randy, Warrior, Hulk and Piper are what completely hooked me and has kept me a wrestling fan since I was a wee lad. 3 of those guys are gone, Hogan isn't supposed to exist anymore, and Jake will always have a place in my heart because of his small association with Alice Cooper and because he was just entertaining as hell.
These would be my Mount Rushmore guys if there ever was a Mount Rushmore of wrestlers.
Then they could put little heads all around them of guys who came after or deserve a mention on there.
Could you imagine the WWE trying to fix that mess if they ever did do a Mount Rushmore somewhere?!
And to reply to you Rancy, I'm thankful he's still alive. A lot of my heroes from my childhood are dead and gone. And it just keeps getting worse the older I get. Cuz now, the few that I have left, are close to the curtain also.
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