The Piper’s Pit will be dearly missedToday, one of the greatest wrestling personalities passed away. Rowdy Roddy Piper is undisputably a legend in this industry and he died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 61. The man was a trailblazer when it came to the art of a promo.He wasn’t your typical hyped up, protocol looking, beefy bod performer. He wasn’t that tall and his kilt never gave him the hypermasculine look that WWE thrived in. Instead he became the most feared, the rowdiest wrestling persona ever with his Piper’s Pit segments.That talk show inspired a plethora of other talk shows, none have yet equalled, forget surpassed, the greatness of those segments.Here are the 5 best Piper’s Pit segments of all time:
#5 Verbal, not physical
This segment with Frankie Williams shows how tensions can flare and the aggression escalate in a matter of a few minutes. Rowdy Roddy Piper is unimpressed throughout the duration of the video. Any moment, you feel, these two will get into a fight. The build up to it is flawless. The first flare sees Piper mention that this is a verbal fight not a physical one, but he minces no words in calling Frankie Williams a lousy wrestler.
Moments after that Piper shows off his trademark rowdiness and shoves away Williams and then he staggers toward the camera and speaks teh defining, most famous lines that have ever been associated with Piper- “Just when they think they got the answers, I change the questions”
#4 Fearless.
“You do not throw rocks at a man who’s got a machine gun”
Looking back at all the interviews, one has to agree with Jim Ross when he termed Piper’s gimmick as fearless. The man was always fearless. This quality can be best seen when he’s interviewing Andre the Giant in 1984. Andre comes across as a man with a few words whose actions speak louder.
Piper not only claims that Andre was slammed by John Studd, he says that if given the opportunity even he can lift and slam a giant like Andre. And even when The Giant looks like he’ll trample Piper, Hot Rod is ever so hot headed, ending the segment with the aforementioned quote.
#3 The Past and The Future
This interview legendary for the fact that it has Bruno Sammartino.
Piper interviewed the Sammartino when the Italian was already a legend and Piper was at the peak of his career.
When push came to shove, Piper leaped with his chair and with Sammartino’s back turned, Piper attacked him with a chair in a sold out Madison Square Garden arena in front of the Italians’ many
Sammartino made a
#2 Badassery Galore.
So what happens when two rebels meet at Wrestlemania? Carlito gets squashed!
Well, this was perfect. Stone Cold Steve Austin and Rowdy Roddy Piper met at Wrestlemania to give the audience a bit of nostalgia and every bit of entertainment.While Piper talked about how he’s been rebelling against McMahon way before rebelling against him became mainstream.
Austin, as is his usual flair, wasn’t intimidated, wasn’t scared. Both of them played out well when the crowd chanted ‘What’. Also, a slap to each others faces was a nice touch. This was a feel good moment at the expense of Carlito.
In retrospect, it is also a moment to be happy about after all the controversy that happened between Piper and Austin just a while ago.
#1 THAT EUREKA MOMENT
Well, every wrestler who ever became relevant has that one moment that remains indelible.
This segment of Piper’s Pit is the most memorable and the best one till date. Nothing seemed to have surpassed this. Jimmy Snuka came for an interview and merely spoke a few words.Piper was on a verbal barrage. He made fun of Snuka and went on to disrespect him without even a pause.
He introduced the pineapple, the bananas and the coconuts and Snuka still had a calm demeanour. Piper was just getting red hot.
Everything said and done, the coconut was smashed on Snuka’s head and thus began the assault.
That’s the best of the Pit for you.
