RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

This forum is for talking about non-music-related stuff that the DBT fanbase might be interested in. This is not the place for inside jokes and BS. Take that crap to some other board.

Moderators: Jonicont, mark lynn, Maluca3, Tequila Cowboy, BigTom, CooleyGirl, olwiggum

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

brett27295 wrote:
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:
Agree 100%. Showing my age here, but I was into Mid-Atlantic Championship rasslin' already when he showed up in, I wanna say, 1974. It took a while for him to become the superstar but me and my friends were into him from the start. It was mostly him and his, pardon the pun, flair, but a chunk of it was that he totally pissed off our parents and most other people, and we were like moths to a flame on that tip. Though at the time I had no idea what punk rock was, in retrospect I see that he was totally punk. He drove our parents crazy and we loved it!

I said this before here but worth repeating: we were all into rasslin' before we got neck deep in rock and roll, and other than Elvis, Nature Boy was THE rock star to us. For better or worse, Flair was a formative part of our pre-teen years.

I won't/can't lie, this one hurts :(

all that said...........assuming the worst, if I understand the logic of the Nature Boy, then alcoholic cardiomyopathy becomes the man. ;)
I moved to the Triangle in NC way too late. I wish I lived here in the early 80's. Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling is my favorite promotion of all-time. Back when I was collecting VHS (and later dvd-r) of wrestling footage I had a huge collection of tv shows and quite a bit of arena footage. There was a great 10 dvd set of MACW arena footage from the late 1970's that circulated 15 years ago or so. Lots of Blackjack, Flair, Wahoo, Paul Jones etc. Great stuff.

I don't care a bit about modern wrestling but I subscribe to the WWE Network just because they have so much awesome stuff from MACW, Mid-South, World Class etc. As a matter of fact last year they actually found the Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer "Last Battle of Atlanta" cage match that was thought to be long lost. For years that was the holy grail for wrestling fans, especially those of us that came of age in the 1980's.
Blackjack, Flair, Wahoo, Paul Jones..... I cut my grapplin' teeth with those legends

Buzz Sawyer: a guy 3 years ahead of my in high school tried for years to get a rasslin' gig. He finally made it to the Saturday night TBS show in 80s and drew Sawyer, who went rogue and broke high school dude's arm and jaw. He decided at that point to never rassle again
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

speaking of # Paul Jones.... I saw him take on Jack Brisco for Brisco's NWA champion ship belt, the legendary 10 Pounds of Gold, in Asheville the night before Thanksgiving in Asheville, and the truly legendary Joe Louis was the referee! Had to be 74 or 75, if my memory serves me well. My dad told me to get Louis' autograph, saying that even though I didn't know who he was then I would thank myself later! Good call dad. Sadly, I have no idea where the autograph is now
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

just in case anyone hasn't already seen this

Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

damn, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan has died :( :( :(
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
Sterling Bigmouth
Posts: 656
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2017 7:10 pm
Location: Tennessee

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by Sterling Bigmouth »

RIP Weasel. Too young to have gotten to see him in his prime, but I grew up with old WWF tapes. He had me in stitches the way he picked on guys like Virgil before he had to retire.
Turn it up to 10 and rip off the knob

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

the long-awaited ESPN 30 for 30 on the stylin', profilin', limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' son of a gun! known as the Nature Boy premieres on November 7

Image
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

Cole Younger
Posts: 3989
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:34 pm

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by Cole Younger »

Looking forward to watching it. Probably just going to dvr it and watch later but it should be interesting.
A single shot rifle and a one eyed dog.

User avatar
Sterling Bigmouth
Posts: 656
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2017 7:10 pm
Location: Tennessee

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by Sterling Bigmouth »

Wouldn’t put it among the top tier 30 for 30s, but I had a great time watching it. I only got to see the tail end of Flair's career, but had read a bunch on his heyday so it was interesting getting to see it all on TV.
Turn it up to 10 and rip off the knob

chuckrh
Posts: 2999
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:16 pm

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by chuckrh »

I thought Nature Boy was quite good. Ric definitely has had a fascinating life. The part where he was talking about his son who died was very moving.

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Is it possible to change the name of this thread? At this point it should be something akin to "The old school rasslin' thread" or "The squared-circle".

All due respect to the late, great Hot Rod, that goes without saying :( :( :(
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Sterling Bigmouth wrote:Wouldn’t put it among the top tier 30 for 30s, but I had a great time watching it. I only got to see the tail end of Flair's career, but had read a bunch on his heyday so it was interesting getting to see it all on TV.
I was the opposite: I was really into rasslin' when he first appeared in Mid-Atlantic- remember the plane crash vividly, I was 9 when that happened- and my glory days ran up to 82-83. I turned 16 in 82 and was already way into music, and once I was able to drive rasslin' faded quickly, especially when I discovered the Grateful Dead in summer of 82.

So, other than a brief time in early 90s when I watched WCW, I had little/no exposure to Naitch's career for most of the 80s-present. Of course I heard stuff, but I knew virtually nothing of his time in WWF/WWE. That section of the movie was all pretty new to me
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

John A Arkansawyer
Posts: 7894
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 9:51 am
Location: Little Rock, Arkansaw
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by John A Arkansawyer »

The Rehabilitation of Kurt Angle

World Wrestling Entertainment is selling its star’s return from opioid addiction. But what does his officially sanctioned redemption story leave out?

Evan McGarvey wrote:As a pro wrestling rookie, Angle was marketed as the toughest of tough guys. His catchphrase: “I won a gold medal with a broken freakin’ neck!” As a character, he was half Phil Dunphy and half the Terminator. On Monday Night RAW, he would run down whatever town he was competing in that evening—a heel move as old as salt—with a series of dad jokes and digs at local sport teams. He’d then demolish all comers with painful holds and celebrate with an insufferable “you really like me!” glee. He was a natural.

Within a year, Angle was anointed a world champion. At the peak of WWE’s Attitude Era, the most profitable in the company’s history, Angle shared space at wrestling’s summit with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson.

In 2006, seven years later, he left the WWE. By the time he left, he’d repeatedly injured his neck, torn muscles in every limb, performed in the main event at Wrestlemania a handful of times, and won every title there was to win. He was also, according to a 2016 interview, “taking about 65 extra-strength Vicodin a day.”
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Strongly recommend the HBO Andre the Giant documentary that just premiered this week. It is really good. Hell, the scene where they discuss his farting skills alone is worth the price of admission :lol: :lol: :lol: His drinking skills are legendary, but his farting abilities was a new thing to me, though it makes total sense were one to think about it (big man, big fart...... truer words have never been spoken. Thanks Mean Gene!)



big man, big fart...... truer words have never been spoken. Thanks Mean Gene!
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

RIP Bruno Sammartino :cry:

In the early 70s he was by far the biggest name in all of rasslin'. This was back in the territorial era, before cable, so if you lived outside of the WWWF (yep, it was once called that) you never got to see him perform. This was my case, so I only knew of him via the rasslin' magazines that were huge back then. Knowing of him only through the mags made him more of a legend, a myth, than a real live person. No one held a major title as long as he did, pretty sure he had the belt for over 8 years before losing to Ivan Koloff
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

beantownbubba
Posts: 21745
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:52 am
Location: Trying to stay focused on the righteous path

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by beantownbubba »

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:RIP Bruno Sammartino :cry:

In the early 70s he was by far the biggest name in all of rasslin'. This was back in the territorial era, before cable, so if you lived outside of the WWWF (yep, it was once called that) you never got to see him perform. This was my case, so I only knew of him via the rasslin' magazines that were huge back then. Knowing of him only through the mags made him more of a legend, a myth, than a real live person. No one held a major title as long as he did, pretty sure he had the belt for over 8 years before losing to Ivan Koloff
All I can say is that my grandmother loved the guy.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/m ... 62bab.html

RIP #1 Paul Jones. A fixture from my childhood, he was prominent in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling for ages. In 1975 saw him rassle Jack Brisco for Brisco's NWA belt at the Asheville Civic Center, with the legendary Joe Louis as referee. My dad prompted me to get Louis' autograph, telling me that one day I would treasure it. And he was right***

From the above link:

Jones was a native of Port Arthur, Texas, where he attended high school with future rock legend Janis Joplin and played football with future college and NFL coach Jimmy Johnson.

Jones was the classic babyface ("good guy") but later performed one of the greatest heel turns ever by going to the dark side and teaming up with the dreaded Baron Von Raschke

Interesting tidbit re: Jones- the first time I ever heard (at least first time I remember) of Springsteen was in a magazine article about Jones. The article was about the grueling, solitary life of a travelin' rassler, and prominent in the article was Jones constantly listening to a new album called Born to Run as he worked the circuit. For the life of me, I have no idea why I remember that some 43 years later

***=forgot that I posted about that a bit earlier in the thread
Last edited by whatwouldcooleydo? on Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

beantownbubba wrote:
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:RIP Bruno Sammartino :cry:

In the early 70s he was by far the biggest name in all of rasslin'. This was back in the territorial era, before cable, so if you lived outside of the WWWF (yep, it was once called that) you never got to see him perform. This was my case, so I only knew of him via the rasslin' magazines that were huge back then. Knowing of him only through the mags made him more of a legend, a myth, than a real live person. No one held a major title as long as he did, pretty sure he had the belt for over 8 years before losing to Ivan Koloff
All I can say is that my grandmother loved the guy.
His death got a pretty lengthy segment on PTI yesterday. Wilbon is a huge old school grapplin' fan
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

RIP Mean Gene Okerlund :(
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:RIP Mean Gene Okerlund :(
voice sound familiar?

Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

Zip City
Posts: 17313
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 5:59 pm

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by Zip City »

RIP King Kong Bundy
And I knew when I woke up Rock N Roll would be here forever

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Zip City wrote:RIP King Kong Bundy
Until today I didn’t know that the Bundy family on Married with Children were named for the rassler. Apparently show creators were big fans and he actually appeared on the show
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

RIP Harley Race :(

in my formative years as a young rasslin' fan Harley Race and Dory Funk Jr. had a firm grip on the coveted NWA World Championship belt (AKA the Ten Pounds of Gold) for a long, long time. A true legend
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

Cole Younger
Posts: 3989
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:34 pm

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by Cole Younger »

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:RIP Harley Race :(

in my formative years as a young rasslin' fan Harley Race and Dory Funk Jr. had a firm grip on the coveted NWA World Championship belt (AKA the Ten Pounds of Gold) for a long, long time. A true legend
Harley Race was also a real life, legitimate tough guy. It wasn't unusual for these guys to be approached in bars by local tough guys or drunk wannbes who would get in their face about wrestling being fake. Harley Race was always happy to oblige them if they wanted to fight and he won. I listened to an interview with him a couple of years ago where he described a match with him and Stan Hanson, another real life badass, in a tag team match against the Road Warriors. He said, "Those boys were young and they were strong so they had had been beating up on just about everybody. They found out quick that trying that shit with me and Hanson wasn't going to be any fun for them.". He was a legend for sure.
A single shot rifle and a one eyed dog.

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Cole Younger wrote:
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:RIP Harley Race :(

in my formative years as a young rasslin' fan Harley Race and Dory Funk Jr. had a firm grip on the coveted NWA World Championship belt (AKA the Ten Pounds of Gold) for a long, long time. A true legend
Harley Race was also a real life, legitimate tough guy. It wasn't unusual for these guys to be approached in bars by local tough guys or drunk wannbes who would get in their face about wrestling being fake. Harley Race was always happy to oblige them if they wanted to fight and he won. I listened to an interview with him a couple of years ago where he described a match with him and Stan Hanson, another real life badass, in a tag team match against the Road Warriors. He said, "Those boys were young and they were strong so they had had been beating up on just about everybody. They found out quick that trying that shit with me and Hanson wasn't going to be any fun for them.". He was a legend for sure.
You nailed it, Cole! Harley Race is the definition of a tough ol' SOB! And I loved Stan Hansen, the lariat was an awesome finishing move (plus Hanson was great on the mic!). Nobody- and I do mean NOBODY- could drool tobacco juice like Stan Hansen!



It makes me feel so old to think back to a time in which a guy of Race's size (I am pretty sure he was 6'1" and around 235-240 at his prime) was a normal-sized rassler. In the Hulked up steroid era he's downright tiny (same with Flair). Also, Harley Race was one of the few (maybe the first?) to bodyslam Andre the Giant..... long before that punk Terry Bollea (AKA Hulk Hogan) did it

Here's a really good read, well worth your time

https://www.theringer.com/2019/8/2/2075 ... ry-nwa-wwf
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:RIP Harley Race :(

in my formative years as a young rasslin' fan Harley Race and Dory Funk Jr. had a firm grip on the coveted NWA World Championship belt (AKA the Ten Pounds of Gold) for a long, long time. A true legend
Just watched the premiere of Danny McBride's new HBO series The Righteous Gemstones- McBride's character looks so much like Harley Race!
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

John A Arkansawyer
Posts: 7894
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 9:51 am
Location: Little Rock, Arkansaw
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by John A Arkansawyer »

Six Brothers
And now there is only one. To live through the horrific cycle of suicide and tragedy that wiped out the other five, Kevin Von Erich has relied on the strange code of the professional wrestling world his family once ruled: What’s real is never certain, and what’s fake is never, ever talked about.

There were two doors into the arena from the dressing room, so that opponents appeared to enter the ring from different rooms. When Lynyrd Skynyrd started blaring, the Freebirds came first, strutting through a shower of beer cups, spare change, small batteries, and boos.

Then the razor-sharp guitar of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” would blast overhead, and the room would erupt. When drums threw the song into gear half a minute later, a Von Erich kicked open the good guys’ door and began the procession to the ring. Fans poured from the stands as if someone had yelled “Fire!” Circled by bodyguards, the boys still needed five solid minutes to negotiate the fifteen yards to the ring. Little kids screamed for their autographs, grown men slapped their backs, and women would hand them flowers and kiss them on the mouth, pat their rears and grasp at their fronts.

When they’d reach the ring, Kevin would grab the top rope and throw himself over, then run to a corner, jump flat-footed to the top turnbuckle, and balance there, soaking in the crowd. Kerry would climb through the ropes and stand in the middle of the ring, staring down the Freebirds and waiting for direction from David, who, at six seven, stepped over the ropes, barking instructions. As loud as Nugent was playing, by the time the lights were back up, you couldn’t hear the music over the shrieking girls. The Von Erichs looked as if they owned not just Dallas but the world.

But of course, if you know anything of the Von Erichs, you know they owned nothing for long.
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be

User avatar
whatwouldcooleydo?
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
Location: Desolation Row
Contact:

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

User avatar
Beaverdam
Posts: 922
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:33 pm
Location: Appomattox, VA-Covington, TN

Re: RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper

Post by Beaverdam »

http://bruiserprowrestling.com/images/1 ... 4671_n.jpg

Since this may become the “wrestling thread,” I wanted to share. The link is to my buddy who was a professional wrestler for years. Beef and I attended lots of DBT shows together when I lived in Virginia. In fact we went together to our first show in Charlottesville. Prior to kids, I used to go to many wrestling shows with Beef, and he’s who originally sent me the Rick Flair/wsp video this morning!

Post Reply