"Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Wrestling and Gaming Star, Dead at 61

The wrestling icon, videogame character, actor, and all-round bad-ass is dead of cardiac arrest

[nowitzki2004]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

RIP Legend

[morganfell]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

RIP Rowdy.

[DerekFlint007]

I have added this for the younger whippersnappers who may not have seen this film.

Here is Roddy Piper in the John carpenter directed-- They Live

This is the full film - also a certain sequence is uncut -
enjoy.

God speed Mr Piper.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[xer0]

One of my golden favourites... :)

[Digital_Anomaly]

WOW, an absolute legend of my childhood! One of my go to's in every game he appeared in. Such a sad day.

[Pogmathoin]

Pipers corner was great, but loved that movie were you saw the aliens with sunglasses.....

[Deadpool616]

How could you NOT pick the Piper?! https://youtu.be/nuiYkL7DcD...

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

Another great wrestling legend lost. :(

[Anorexorcist]

True. Last month it was Dusty Rhodes, and now it's Hot Rod. All the legendary wrestlers from the golden era of Professional Wrestling are steadily disappearing. Speaking of which...

Why is Hulk Hogan, one of the most egoistical and selfish bastards in the history of wrestling according to many people, STILL alive? I don't know, maybe God has a sense of humor.

Mind you, that question has nothing to do with the recent controversy surrounding Hulk Hogan. I've always thought of Hulk Hogan as one of the most overrated wrestlers in history.

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

I like hulk hogan, but you right! he is overrated.

[SuicidalTendencies]

WOW! You must be some young punk. Hogan was the biggest star of the 80's. If it wasn't for Hogan wrestling would still be a joke to the average person. All these wrestlers owe Hogan big time.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

Hulk Hogan was just a universally more likable wrestler when wrestling was in its growth days. Also your worth as human or wrestler does not determine how old you will live to.

[Anorexorcist]

@ SuicidalTendencies

Actually if it wasn't for The Iron Sheik, "Hulkamania" would have never taken off the way it did - the greatest underlying factor for Hulkamania's popularity was American patriotism - and therefore Hulk Hogan would have never risen to high fame in the 80's. Hulk Hogan himself owes a lot of his fame to other people as well...

...There is your answer to whether I'm just some "young punk" that doesn't know anything.

[SuicidalTendencies]

What? You mean Hogan didn't do it all himself? Talk about a stupid reply. Hogan was already becoming popular before he even wrestled the Iron Sheik. It was because of Rocky 3. He was getting big pops even in the AWA before Vince brought him back. Hogan would be the first one to tell you that guys like Piper, Iron Sheik, Andre are a big part of his rise to stardom.

[snoopgg]

Yeah overrated my arse. Son your just talking out of your ss! I wish you luck in trying to do this guys job all these years in wrestling. Your body would be broke in half.

[Pogmathoin]

Hogan was nothing without a heel..... End off....

[Anorexorcist]

@snoopgg

Yeah you're totally right. Doing some random punches, some body slams, a big boot, and a leg drop would snap me totally in half! /s

Hogan is one of the most bland wrestlers (in the actual sense of the word) ever. He is basically an old-school John Cena. I don't mean to hurt your feelings now.

[DragonKnight]

No wrestler makes themselves, none of them. All of them require another to put them over, to make them look good. The best wrestlers in the pro scene are those wrestlers who can put over when they have to, and take the reigns when it's time for themselves to be put over. Hogan had the charisma to carry WWF in the late 70s through most of the 80s, but he worked well with a lot of people. During this whole controversy over him allegedly being racist, black superstars have come forward in his defense talking about how before matches Hogan would approach them, ask them what they'd want to do for the match, and then go out and do just that.

A lot of people who have beef with Hogan have it because they're jealous of him. That's why you don't typically see someone like Bret Hart, another guy that carried WWF by himself, or Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock, who were responsible for carrying WWF when it was transitioning the brand to WWE, acting all spiteful and vindictive towards someone like Hogan. When you carry a company, and Hogan has carried 2 of the biggest ones, you can't do it alone and you can't do it with everyone hating you.

Most of the people who hate Hogan just didn't have what it takes to take his place.

@Anorexorcist: You've clearly never watched Hogan's Japanese matches. Hogan could wrestle, but his character necessitated the brawler style and the accentuation of personality over technique.

[Deadpool616]

@DragonKnight

Hogan's Japanese matches were great, but short lived due to the extreme nature of the matches. The rough Japanese style of wrestling was too much for him to handle and Hogan had to retire wrestling in Japan very quickly. Hogan said "Yeah, no more of this." went back to America and slowed down afterwards. Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) is suffering from the accumulative damage just from adopting the Japanese rough style (Which he throughout the years fused with a Regal-type technical style). Not only just using the style, but going against it had repercussions on his body.

But enough about that. Let's talk Piper! He was so freakin' awesome on the mic! He was a guy this Merc with a Mouth could appreciate! Just when you think you have all the answers, Piper would change the questions! The guy didn't even need to wrestle! He could just talk all night and people would leave satisfied customers. He's the guy that made people want to be wrestlers growing up....not me though. I've got full body psoriasis playing on the Weapon X jungle gym.

Remember that time when Piper slapped John Cena in the middle of the ring and yelled "FEEL THE ENERGY!" Then Cena went to the back and starting crying off camera? I do. ^_- https://youtu.be/1ib5zMOdCE...

[showtimefolks]

anorex

brother that's wrong wishing death upon someone or asking why someone hasn't died already. been watching wrestling for 27 plus years and as much as I hate to admit it, hogan is wrestling. if it wasn't for him there would be no boom in 80's or Mayne not as big

if it wasn't for him there would be no attitude era, I hope you do realize it. it wasn't until hogan got to wcw that they became serious threat to wwf. they came so so close to shutting down the wwf.

go watch when hogan turned heal how the people were so pissed off, the ring was filled so much trash

hogan the biggest name in wrestling as much as I hate to admit it

stone cold Steve Austin made the biggest impact in wrestling history, look at how short Austin's career was and still how big of a impact he made

hogan
Austin
rock
flair

impact wise and being the biggest house hold names. IMO

like in sports there is a tier 1 and tier 2. wretlers like hhh,y2j etc, are in tier 2 impact wise

also another name that will be in tier 1 or already is there is John cena. wrestling is about money, the wrestler who makes the most money by selling merchandise is the one who will get the push

cena again as much I hate is an impact player in wwe. people wonder why Vince and hhh like him so much. wouldn't you promote a worker who makes you 100 plus million each year?

[gangsta_red]

Damn...he was one of the best heels in the industry.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

That is all..

[Majin-vegeta]

Always the good people may he R.I.P :(

[Ashlen]

I'm not trying to be a dick even if it comes across that way, but I mean c'mon the guy was a steroid using wrestler.

I mean, get back to me when a Nobel Peace Prize winner or someone who created medical cures that help millions of people dies... How come no one cares when people who actually improve the world die... UGH

That said he was one of my favorite wrestlers when I was like 12.

[ShaunCameron]

Rest in peace. I'll never forget his cameo appearance in the last Saints Row game. Hilarious!

[ratrace]

FUCK YOU I BREAK BACK MAKE YOU HUMBLE BUBBA

[-Foxtrot]

I wish someone would do that They Live NES styled side scrolling game....would be amazing

[FoxyGotGame]

Wasn't Roddy Piper the star of that awesome movie 'They Live'?

RIP Mr. Piper ...you made your Mark )

[Lon3wolf]

Yes he was and I thought it was a great film for the time.

[Stringerbell]

Carpenter as cliche as it may sound was ahead of his time with that film. The fight scene with Piper and Keith David is the quintessential bare knuckle brawl of the 80's.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Perjoss]

Really good wrestling style fight scene in the alleyway. Great film, going to have to give this another watch, best way I can think of to pay my respects to the legend.

[Relientk77]

Wow and we just lost Dusty Rhodes too, just wow

[snoopgg]

Yeah Randy Savage was a huge lost too!

[Vandamme21]

Rest in peace

[InTheLab]

Also in one of the greatest cult classics They Live.

R.I.P. Hot Rod

[leemo19]

Pioneer of how to be a heel in wrestling. Very sad day for the wrestling world, RIP.

[FoxyGotGame]

@Anorexorist

'Why is Hulk Hogan ....one of the most egoistical and selfish bastards in the history of wrestling according to many people, STILL alive?'

...Huh?

Hulk Hogan has been exposed as a closet Racist, and yes the man is STILL alive and will go when his time comes, just like anybody else. Do you wish him deceased now or what? Anyway, what the hell kind of inhumane question is that on a page showing respect to Roddy Piper???

Jeez! ...have you No Decency Man?!?

R.I.P Roddy Piper

[Anorexorcist]

I have decency, but do you have reading comprehension?

I didn't suggest that Hulk Hogan should die, I essentionally asked why is it that bad people like Hogan continue to live while other people die off sooner? You know, I wonder if there is any existential logic to any of this.

Edit: Why did you modify your original comment?

[FoxyGotGame]

I'll accept you have Decency, and yes I have Reading Comprehension Skills.

I modified my comment because in retrospect, parts could be easily misconstrued. I kinda know you don't want Hulk Hogan dead, that would be insane.

It just annoyed me (momentarily) that you showed a little insensitivity. I apologize if what I typed seemed over reactive, hasty and judgmental ...it's just, Roddy Piper was an (indirect) part of my childhood/youth.

Edit: Thanks for replying with Maturity...Out of Bubbles, see you around )

[snoopgg]

Because living long has nothing to do with how good a person you are!

[Super_Ninja]

No matter how healthy you are later in life, drug abuse and alcoholism earlier in life will always come back to haunt you.

R.I.P, Roddy.

[generalwinter]

Damn part of my childhood just died today! Seriously, and he was so amazing in They Live, a really underrated movie!

[tulholdren]

R.I.P. man you were part of my childhood. Loved booing him in the ring.

[MzDino]

Many great people that impacted the gaming industry have passed recently...just time to relive and appreaciate what they've done for us during their life!

[MasterofMagnetism]

A true legend. So many memories watching him back in the old WWF days.
RIP Hot Rod. You will be missed.

[QuePasa87]

I'm not a wrestling fan, but I remember him being on the Super Mario Bros Super Show very fondly.

https://youtu.be/7zT5sg6xa6...

[jmc8888]

Damn, that sucks.

Well, those memories, 'They Live' in my heart.

[Revolver_X_]

Just got off work and saw the news. Sad day for me. Rip Hot-Rod

[SilentNegotiator]

This is gaming news? Why, because he played himself in one video game and was playable in a few WWE games?

[MultiConsoleGamer]

One of our writers met him a few times. He's got a great story about meeting him at E3. I'm trying to get him to share it.

I'm totally heart broken by this news.

[apostolis81]

Rest in Peace Roddy Piper

[Ch1d0r1]

Sad to hear him pass away, he was a great entertainer, got to see more of him in the WWE house tv show with Hacksaw Jim and the other wrestlers and 2 announcers. From watching the show you could tell he had a lot of demons haunting him. Sad sad to see him go away.

[XanderZane]

Man, this is very sad news. Was a big Piper fan back in the early WWF days. He had the gift of gab and was just a wonderful wrestler. It's very sad to see him go so soon. He was 59 and had cardiac arrest in his sleep. At least he didn't suffer. He will be missed by millions.

[kupomogli]

I have come here to chew bubble gum and mourn over Piper's death, and I'm all out of bubble gum. Whether it was wrestling or movies, I always enjoyed your acting.