With his signature “sleeper hold”, Piper became a popular champion and personality in the WWE, even though he was often cast as the villain.
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UFC boss Dana White faced criticism yesterday as he dismissed wrestling as “fake” in a Twitter exchange with a WWE fan, who was complaining that UFC pay-per-view content is more expensive than that on the WWE Network.
It’s a sad time for the wrestling world because of the death of Roddy Piper, which came as a major shock because he was such a lively and entertaining man. Monday’s Raw will likely feature a tribute to him at the start of the show as well as tributes throughout the rest of the evening.
Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Bret “The Hitman” Hart posted a photo of the pair on Facebook on Saturday, and wrote, “I can’t find the words to describe the sorrow in my heart upon learning the news of my dear friend, Roddy Piper, passing away”. He boxed actor Mr. T at WrestleMania 2.
RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper! However, when it comes down to actuality, I packaged myself in such a way that I just need to get on TV.
Every ardent WWE fan will have that one group of friends, acquaintances and family members who’ve given up on wrestling or are not really big fans of this particular pretense sport. Piper died Friday at the age of 61 from cardiac arrest. “God bless you Bubba”.
In addition to his celebrity in the ring, Piper appeared in John Carpenters 1988 cult classic They Live. In that film, he delivered the memorable line: I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass and Im all out of bubblegum.. Roddy had no issues “retreating” when the moment called for it and was always willing to cheat to gain an unfair advantage to win a match via unethical methods which are so lacking today by the majority of pro wrestling’s villains.
Roddy Piper was on the Rich Eisen show just the other day to comment on the recent Hulk Hogan controversy. Piper is survived by his wife Kitty and four children.
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Piper, born Roderick George Toombs, was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2006 but in 2014 he said he was cancer-free, as indicated by TMZ.
