Roddy Piper

Roddy Piper
Born(1954-04-17)April 17, 1954
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
DiedJuly 31, 2015(2015-07-31) (aged 61)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Cause of deathCardiopulmonary arrest caused by pulmonary embolism and hypertension
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Roddy Piper
The Masked Canadian
Piper Machine
Roddy the Piper
Roderick Piper
Piper
Billed fromGlasgow, Scotland
Trained byTony Condello
Stu Hart
Alfred Eloquin
Debut1969
RetiredApril 18, 2008

Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015) 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.

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 and hypertension on July 31, 2015 in Hollywood, California. A ten-bell salute for Piper was held at the beginning of the August 3, 2015 episode of WWE Raw.

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

Video games

Championships and accomplishments

Notes

  1. ↑ The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is no longer recognized or sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance.
  2. ↑ Martel vacated the title after losing a loser-leaves-town match, and Piper chose Popovich as a replacement partner.
  3. ↑ 1981 award shared with Lou Albano.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Roddy Piper Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  2. 1 2 3 "Roddy Piper WWE Hall of Fame Profile". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  3. ↑ "'Rowdy' Roddy Piper dies at 61 from cardiac arrest". TMZ. Time Warner. July 31, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  4. ↑ "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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dick Bourne & David Chappell (ed.). ""Rowdy" Roddy Piper Match Results". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ Milner, John. "Rowdy Roddy Piper". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  7. ↑ "2022 Class". Canadian Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  8. ↑ "List of CAC Award Winners". Cauliflower Alley Club. Retrieved July 31, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ "United States Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 "Roddy Piper". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "PWG Kurt Russellreunion 2: The Reunioning « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Archived from the original on 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1992". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  16. ↑ "PWI 500 of the PWI Years". Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  17. ↑ Pantazzi, Michael. "Roddy Piper". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "N.W.A. American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Intercontinental Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  21. ↑ "World Tag Team Championships". WWE. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  22. ↑ ""Rowdy" Roddy Piper statue revealed at WrestleMania Axxess". WWE. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Slammy Awards: A Look Back". WWE. November 26, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  24. 1 2 3 4 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.
  25. ↑ "Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-04.

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