Across the decades, there are few Superstars who made as big, or controversial, mark on the wrestling scene as ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper.
The often eccentric Canadian became famed for his intense verbal skills, wildly entertaining demeanour and his ability to have the fans either love or hate him depending upon his persona at the time.
Alongside his in-ring talent, Piper occasionally ran in to trouble on the road including some legendary tales of travels with close friend ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair, something mentioned in his 2005 WWE Hall Of Fame speech.
Another legendary WWE figure has been talking of his time spent with the former WWE Tag Team Champion and had kind words for the popular bag piper player.
WWE Hall Of Famer Fondly Recalls Memories With Roddy Piper
WWE Hall Of Famer ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton was an ally of Piper during the mid 80’s wrestling boom and even accompanied the team of ‘Hot Rod’ and ‘Mr Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff for their WrestleMania 1 main event against the team of Mr T and ‘The Immortal’ Hulk Hogan.
Speaking in a recent interview with legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter, Orton fondly recalled travelling with Piper during their prime:
“Ohh, it was just a blast. I never had to say a word, Roddy just talked all the way through the town while coming back from the town or when we were there in the dressing room.”
The late ‘Hot Rod’ is a largely popular figure in the wrestling world, with Hollywood Superstar and former WWE Champion Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson heaping praise upon the former WWE Intercontinental Champion upon the release of a documentary in 2021. Posting on Instagram The Rock paid tribute to one of his early idols:
“Great new A&E doc on one of my squared circle heroes. I first met Roddy when I was 8yrs old in the Carolinas where he and my old man were wrestling up and down the roads together.
Many moons later he would have a strong influence on my career when I wrestled as a “heel” getting “real heat” as we say in wrestling parlance. No greater heel than Hot Rod”.
With thanks to Sportskeeda for the Bob Orton interview transcription