Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015)[2] better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. During his career, Piper worked for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Wrestling Federation (WWF), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He played the role of a Scottish wrestler, most of a time he was a heel.
Roddy Piper | |
---|---|
Ring name(s) | Roddy Piper[1] The Masked Canadian[2] Piper Machine[2] Roddy the Piper Roderick Piper Piper |
Born | [2] Saskatoon, Saskatchewan[2] | April 17, 1954
Died | July 31, 2015 Hollywood, California, U.S. | (aged 61)
Billed from | Glasgow, Scotland[1] |
Trained by | Tony Condello[2] Stu Hart Alfred Eloquin |
Debut | 1969 |
Retired | April 18, 2008 |
Early life
Piper was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is of Scottish heritage.
Career
Piper hosted a popular interview segment in the WWF/E, called "Piper's Pit". The segment mainly aired during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It has been abandoned since Piper left the WWE, but was still done on special occasions when Piper made a special appearance. In 2005, Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Ric Flair.
Piper also acted in many movies and television shows. One of his most well known roles was as a drifter in the 1988 movie They Live.
Death
Piper died of cardiopulmonary arrest caused by a pulmonary embolism on July 31, 2015 in Hollywood, California.[3] A ten-bell salute for Piper was held at the beginning of the August 3, 2015 episode of WWE Raw.[4]
Acting
Movies
- That Obscure Object of Desire - Unknown (1977)
- The One and Only - Leatherneck Joe Grady (1978) (Uncredited)
- Body Slam - Quick Rick Roberts (1986)
- Hell Comes to Frogtown - Sam Hell (1988)
- They Live - John Nada (1988)
- Buy & Cell - Cowboy (1989)
- Tagteam - Rick McDonald (1991)
- Immortal Combat - John Keller (1992)
- Back In Action - Frank Rossi (1993)
- No Contest - Ice (1994)
- Tough & Deadly - Elmo Freech (1994)
- Jungleground - Lt. Jacob 'Jake' Cornell (1995)
- Terminal Rush - Bartel (1996)
- Marked Man - Frank Gibson (1996)
- Sci-Fighters - Det. Cameron Grayson (1996)
- First Encounter - Unknown (1997)
- Dead Tides - Mick Leddy (1997)
- The Bad Pack - Dash Simms (1998)
- Hard Time - Randy (1998)
- Last To Surrender - Nick Ford (1998)
- Legless Larry & the Lipstick Lady - Legless Larry (1999)
- Shepherd - Miles (1999)
- Jack of Hearts - Detective Deeks (2000)
- Three Wise Guys - Pastor Roberts (2005)
- Honor - LT Tyrell (2005)
- Domestic Import - Bronco Bill (2006)
- Costa Chica: Confession of an Exorcist - Lucas McMurter (2006)
- Shut Up and Shoot! - Yokum The Bartender (2006)
- Night Traveler - The Pyro Messiah (2006) (voice)
- Blind Eye - Fred Mears (2006)
- Urban Legends: The Ghosts of Goldfield - Jackson Smith (2007)
- Super Sweet 16: The Movie - Mitch (2007)
- Legion: The Final Exorcism - Unknown (2008)
- The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens - William Thurgood (2009)
- A Gothic Tale - Narrator (2009)
- The Portal - Homeless George (2010)
- Lights Out - Detective Callahan (2010)
- Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes - William Thurgood (2010)
- Alien Opponent - Father Melluzzo (2010)
- Clear Lake - Wayne (2011)
- Pizza Man - Roderick (2011)
- Fancypants - Smiley (2011)
- Black Dynamite Teaches a Hard Way! - Himself (2013)
- Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies - Himself (2013)
- Don't Look Back - Grandfather (2014)
Television
- The Highwayman - Preacher (1987)
- The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Himself (1989)
- The Love Boat: A Valentine Voyage - Maurice Steiger (1990)
- Zorro - Will Adams / Bishop (1990-1991)
- Silk Stalkings - Jimmy Snow (1992)
- Walker, Texas Ranger - Cody "The Crusader" Conway (1998)
- The Outer Limits - Marlon (1999)
- Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends - Himself (1999)
- Highlander - Immortal Anthony Gallen (1993)
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Da' Maniac (2009)
- Cold Case - "Sweet" Sil Tavern (2010)
- Breaking In - Mr. Weller (2012)
- Celebrity Wife Swap - Himself (2013)
- Storage Wars - Himself (2013)
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Da' Maniac (2013)
- Adventure Time - Don John (2014)
Video games
- Saints Row IV - Himself (2013)
Championships and accomplishments
- Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)
- Canadian Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022[7]
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2008[9]
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling/World Championship Wrestling
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[5]
- NWA Television Championship (2 times)[5]
- NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[10]
- NWA All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time) – with Rick Martel[5]
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- Legends Battle Royal (2011)[13]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1982)[14]
- Match of the Year (1985) with Paul Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan and Mr. T at WrestleMania I[14]
- Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1984, 1985)[14]
- Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1986)[14]
- Stanley Weston Award (2015)[14]
- Ranked No. 45 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992[15]
- Ranked No. 17 of the 500 singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003[16]
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Class of 2007[17]
- World Class Championship Wrestling
- World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
- WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[20]
- World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ric Flair[21]
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)[1]
- WWE Bronze Statue (2019)[22]
- Slammy Award (1 time)
- Best Personality in "Land of a Thousand Dances" (1986)[23]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Best Heel (1984, 1985)[24]
- Best on Interviews (1981–1983)[c][24]
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1986) vs. Mr. T in a boxing match at WrestleMania 2[24]
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1997) vs. Hollywood Hogan at SuperBrawl VII[24]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)[25]
Roddy Piper Media
Piper with Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka before their match with Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 25 in 2009
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Roddy Piper WWE Hall of Fame Profile". WWE.com. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Roddy Piper Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ↑ "'Rowdy' Roddy Piper dies at 61 from cardiac arrest". TMZ. Time Warner. July 31, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 8/3: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - WWE Title match, Brock Lesnar returns, Roddy Piper tribute, six-man tag, Summerslam". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Dick Bourne & David Chappell (ed.). ""Rowdy" Roddy Piper Match Results". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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tag; no text was provided for refs namedslambio
. - ↑ "2022 Class". Canadian Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ↑ "List of CAC Award Winners". Cauliflower Alley Club. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ↑ Klingman, Kyle (June 20, 2008). "Flood won't stop Tragos/Thesz HOF 'Super Weekend'". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ↑ "United States Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Cite error: Invalid
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. - ↑ Hoops, Brian (March 21, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling history (03/21): Flair vs. Fujinami at WCW/NJPW Supershow". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "PWG Kurt Russellreunion 2: The Reunioning « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
- ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1992". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ↑ "PWI 500 of the PWI Years". Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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. - ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Dallas) Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 978-0-9698161-5-7.
- ↑ "N.W.A. American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ↑ "Intercontinental Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
- ↑ "World Tag Team Championships". WWE. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
- ↑ ""Rowdy" Roddy Piper statue revealed at WrestleMania Axxess". WWE. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ↑ "Slammy Awards: A Look Back". WWE. November 26, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA: 1–40. ISSN 1083-9593.
- ↑ "Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
Other websites
- Official website
- Roddy Piper on IMDb
- Roddy Piper on WWE.com