History Wrestling / RoddyPiper

* CanadaEh: From Saskatchewan in RealLife. Was known early in his career as the Masked Canadian.

* {{Catchphrase}}: A veritable fountain of them:

* GutturalGrowler: A wrestler from TheEighties with a speech impediment? It would be ''more'' shocking if he spoke normally.

** Also [[Wrestling/EddieGuerrero La Familia]] [[Wrestling/ChavoGuerreroJr Guerrero]], Wrestling/GregValentine, Wrestling/JimmySnuka, [[Wrestling/AllenCoage Bad News Brown]], Wrestling/RicFlair and Wrestling/RickRude. He'd have other feuds over his career, but these were the most famous.

* AxCrazy[=/=]HotBlooded: The nut of his gimmick. He went from zero to "whirlwind of fists and kicks" in a nanosecond, for any reason or no reason at all.

* IHateSong[=/=]VillainSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIRNKkrVW5M "For Everybody"]], dedicated to your feelings in the eventuallity you may not like him.

** (in NWA Pacific Northwest) Wrestling/PlayboyBuddyRose's Army.
** (in WWF) His off and on again VillainTeamUp with Cowboy Bob and [[Wrestling/PaulOrndorff "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff]], replaced later for [[Wrestling/DonMuraco "Magnificent" Don Muraco]]. Incidentally, Paul and Don's monikers were of [[TheNicknamer Roddy's own inspiration]].

** Subverted in WrestleMania I in which Hogan and Mr. T beat Piper and Orndorff, but Orndorff took the pinfall loss, not Piper.

** Back in the California territory, he wanted to apologize for the way he treated La Familia Guerrero one week earlier, so he played the "Mexican national anthem" on his bagpipes (The theme he was playing was the world-famous "La Cucaracha") in front of an almost all-mexican audience. It's a miracle he could left that venue on his own feet!

* CantUnhearIt: As "Bolphunga, the Unrelenting" on ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternEmeraldKnights'' and as "Don John" in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''.

** "Just when they think they've got the answers, I CHANGE THE QUESTIONS."

** In storyline, Hot Rod always felt disrespected at how Hogan seems to get all of the credit for the Rock n' Wrestling era while Piper seemed to be treated as nothing more than a footnote-- an also-ran who dressed in a kilt and cracked corny jokes, like he wasn't getting the recognition he deserved. (Ironically, Hogan's scandals along with Piper's passing could change the public perception of their legacies.)
** This also extended to real life. In his autobiography, Piper said that Hulk Hogan and the other face headliners of the inaugural ''[=WrestleMania=]'' went to a swanky afterparty after the event. Meanwhile, Piper and "Cowboy" Bob Orton were not invited, nor even given a ride back to the hotel. Also, Rowdy had to pay his dues the hard way, and he openly resented bodybuilders and celebrities [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections taking the spots]] of hard workers. See "Sitcom Archnemesis" below.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: For as legendary and groundbreaking as ''Piper's Pit'' was, the first few segments from early 1984 showed the segment was still finding its footing. Although main-event stars Wrestling/PaulOrndorff, Wrestling/TitoSantana, Wrestling/TheIronSheik, and The Masked Superstar were guests, these were largely forgettable segments, as were many others featuring low- to mid-card faces, guests whom Piper simply mocked and wouldn't let get in a word edgewise. The first really remarkable ''Piper's Pit'', then, aired March 17, 1984, nearly two months after its debut, and featured Wrestling/AndreTheGiant picking Piper up by his shirt (after having enough of Piper insulting him) and an angry Piper screaming afterwards "You do NOT throw rocks at a man who's got a machine gun!" But it wasn't until later in 1984, with the infamous ''Pit'' where Piper smacked Jimmy Snuka over the head with a coconut (after making racist remarks about his heritage), another segment where Piper famously attacked a jobber (before declaring, "Just when they think they have all the answers, I change the questions!"), and the series of ''Pit'' segments with Cyndi Lauper, that ''Piper's Pit'' finally found solid footing.

** Piper and Flair on ''Celebrity Wife Swap''. Wendi keeps maxing out Ric's credit cards, Kitty is completely at sea, and at the center of it all is Rod-- the only person in the house who really 'gets' Naitch.

** In 1984, Roddy went to Larry Holmes' gym as a promotional skit. He was assured that Larry wouldn't actually be there, so when he stepped in the gym, he yelled that he was Rowdy Roddy Piper and he was there to kick Larry Holmes' ass. [[RightBehindMe Guess who]] walks out of the office in response?

-->'''Roddy''': Did you kill [[Wrestling/OwenHart Owen Hart]]?

** Easily his biggest foe was Wrestling/HulkHogan. Piper was the Joker to Hulkamania's Batman; when you're [[TheRival THE RIVAL]] to the biggest name in wrestling history, and can boast that he (technically) never pinned you cleanly, you're definitely in slim company. He once managed to get off Alcatraz Island just to fight Hollywood Hogan in WCW, claiming, "...Think they would have loved "YOU" so much if they hadn't hated "ME"?" Piper passed away the same week a scandal broke over Hogan's racist rants. In true Hot Rod fashion, he once again stole the spotlight away from Hogan (but not before actually coming to Hulk's defense).

** In 1984-1985, when the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" era was in full swing and he was wrestling's most hated man, Piper (in {{kayfabe}}) hated rock music diva Music/CyndiLauper so much that he tried to attack her, without provocation, many times. He actually did assault her and her then-boyfriend David Wolfe during an infamous in-ring promo at New York City's Madison Square Garden (the setup being ''Series/AmericanBandstand'''s Dick Clark presenting an award to Lauper and "Captain" Lou Albano for their (real life) work with the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation). The incident brought Piper's feud with Wrestling/HulkHogan (an avowed friend of Lauper's) to a new level, and set up "The War to Settle the Score," aired nationally via MTV, where Piper's allies -- "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and "Cowboy" Bob Orton -- threatened to seriously hurt Lauper, if not worse. Wrestling/MisterT was in the front row and came to Hogan's aide during the match, thus setting up the first Wrestling/WrestleMania.

** In 1984-1985, when the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" era was in full swing and he was wrestling's most hated man, Piper (in {{kayfabe}}) hated rock music diva Music/CyndiLauper so much that he tried to attack her, without provocation, many times. He actually did assault her and her then-boyfriend David Wolfe during an infamous in-ring promo at New York City's Madison Square Garden (the setup being ''Series/AmericanBandstand'''s Dick Clark presenting an award to Lauper and "Captain" Lou Albano for their (real life) work with the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation). The incident brought Piper's feud with Wrestling/HulkHogan (an avowed friend of Lauper's) to a new level, and set up "The War to Settle the Score," aired nationally via MTV, where Piper's allies -- "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and "Cowboy" Bob Orton -- threatened to seriously hurt Lauper, if not worse. Wrestling/MrT was in the front row and came to Hogan's aide during the match, thus setting up the first Wrestling/WrestleMania.

** In 1984-1985, when the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" era was in full swing and he was wrestling's most hated man, Piper (in {{kayfabe}}) hated rock music diva Music/CyndiLauper so much that he tried to attack her, without provocation, many times. He actually did assault her and her then-boyfriend David Wolfe during an infamous in-ring promo at New York City's Madison Square Garden (the setup being ''Series/AmericanBandstand'''s Dick Clark presenting an award to Lauper and "Captain" Lou Albano for their (real life) work with the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation). The incident brought Piper's feud with Wrestling/HulkHogan (an avowed friend of Lauper's) to a new level, and set up "The War to Settle the Score," aired nationally via MTV, where Piper's allies -- "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and "Cowboy" Bob Orton -- threatened to seriously hurt Lauper, if not worse.

* FinishingMove: The good old-fashioned ''Sleeper Hold'', was Piper's finisher of choice... unless [[EasilyDistractedReferee the referee was distracted]], in which case he would deliver [[GroinAttack a devastating uppercut to his opponent's groin]].

* AwesomeMcCoolName: "Roderick Toombs" sounds even tougher than Rowdy Roddy Piper.

** Easily his biggest foe was Wrestling/HulkHogan. Piper was the Joker to Hulkamania's Batman; when you're [[TheRival THE RIVAL]] to the biggest name in wrestling history, and can boast that he (technically) never pinned you cleanly, you're definitely in slim company. He once managed to get off Alcatraz Island just to fight Hollywood Hogan in WCW, claiming, "...if they hadn't hated ''ME'' so much, you think they would have been cheering ''YOU'' so much?" Piper passed away the same week a scandal broke over Hogan's racist rants. In true Hot Rod fashion, he once again stole the spotlight away from Hogan (but not before actually coming to Hulk's defense).

* YouWouldntHitAGuyWithGlasses: Uh ... look at the name at the top of this page. Ask Brother Love and Jimmy Hart (during his face years) ... or, during his heel run, Billy Red Lyons and (at least once) Gorilla Monsoon if wearing glasses spared them.

* BashBrothers: [[Wrestling/BobOrtonJr "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Jr.]], Ric Flair, Rick Martel, and Greg Valentine.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: After Vince Russo enters the ring during Piper's rant about Russo, he asks him a very... personal question.
-->'''Roddy''': Did you kill [[Wrestling/OwenHart Owen Hart]]?

** Easily his biggest foe was Wrestling/HulkHogan. Piper was the Joker to Hulkamania's Batman; when you're THE RIVAL to the biggest name in wrestling history, and can boast that he (technically) never pinned you cleanly, you're definitely in slim company. He once managed to get off Alcatraz Island just to fight Hollywood Hogan in WCW, claiming, "...if they hadn't hated ''ME'' so much, you think they would have been cheering ''YOU'' so much?" Piper passed away the same week a scandal broke over Hogan's racist rants. In true Hot Rod fashion, he once again stole the spotlight away from Hogan (but not before actually coming to Hulk's defense).
** Also [[Wrestling/EddieGuerrero La Familia]] [[Wrestling/ChavoGuerreroJr Guerrero]], Wrestling/GregValentine, Wrestling/RicFlair, Wrestling/JimmySnuka, and Wrestling/RickRude. He'd have other feuds over his career, but these were the most famous.

* ChewBubblegum: [[TropeNamer He's the one]] [[TropeMaker who said the immortal line]] in ''Film/TheyLive.'' The kicker? [[ThrowItIn He actually ad-libbed it]].

* WouldHitAGirl: By his last years, it was very much averted. He'd gone onto the WWE's programs to host special Piper's Pits specifically to scold heel wrestlers who hurt women the previous week. But this was not always the case, of course. In 1984-1985, during the height of his highly volatile, crazy heel persona, and when the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" era was in full swing, Piper (in {{kayfabe}}) hated rock music diva Music/CyndiLauper so much that he tried to attack her, without provocation, many times. He actually did assault her and her then-boyfriend David Wolfe during an infamous in-ring promo at New York City's Madison Square Garden (the setup being ''Series/AmericanBandstand'''s Dick Clark presenting an award to Lauper and "Captain" Lou Albano for their (real life) work with the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation). The incident brought Piper's feud with Wrestling/HulkHogan (an avowed friend of Lauper's) to a new level, and set up "The War to Settle the Score," aired nationally via MTV, where Piper's allies -- "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and "Cowboy" Bob Orton -- threatened to seriously hurt Lauper, if not worse.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roddy_Piper The Other Wiki]] has the basics about his career.