Pro wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper dead at 61: report

[Fansome]

He was also great in "Hell Comes to Frogtown"

Pro wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper dead at 61: report
BY Nina Golgowski
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, July 31, 2015, 6:08 PM
Updated: Friday, July 31, 2015, 6:39 PM

Legendary wrestling champion "Rowdy" Roddy Piper has reportedly died at the age of 61.

The WWE Hall of Famer passed away in his Hollywood, Calif. home of natural causes, TMZ reported.

Piper had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2006 but last fall said that he was cancer free.

Piper, whose signature move was the "sleeper hold," was named Intercontinental Champion, World Tag Team Champion, World Championship Wrestling U.S. Champion and was one of six WWE Hall of Fame Inductees in 2005 during his powerful career which included acting.

His most successful film was the 1988 Sci-Fi film, "They Live," directed by John Carpenter.

His unexpected death comes only month after fellow former pro wrestler “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel died at the age of 53 at his home in Virginia.

The Iron Sheik, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with Piper in 2005, tweeted: “Roddy Piper. I love you forever. God bless you Bubba.”

Fellow Hall of Famer Kevin Nash also posted: "RIP to Roddy Piper. Prayers to his family and loved ones."

Academy Award-winning film maker John Carpenter also expressed his heartbreak, tweeting: “I'm devastated by the passing of my friend Roddy Piper. Great wrestler, underrated actor, dear friend. Rest in peace, Rod.”

[Zoidberg]

He's not dead. Put on the glasses. He's just chewing bubble gum and kicking ass in the next dimension.

[Nella F.]

                    

                      I remember seeing "They Live" for the first time! What a Hoot!            

       HA! My local library system has 8 copies! Soon so will I! Thanks for dredging up some memories.

[Pigmeat]

Roddy Piper? You'll post about the death of a heel like Piper, but not a peep out of you when Dusty Rhodes went to the Great Squared Circle In The Sky.

May Freddie Blassie have mercy on your soul, Al Fansome, you pencil necked geek!


One other thing,the sleeper hold was the signature move of The Infernos when Piper was in diapers. Sheesh!
And you dare to call yourself a rasslin' fan.

[Fansome]

Back when I was dating Cyndi, I would have slapped you down for your ignorance. Now I just pity you, you fool.

[Pigmeat]

Says a man who didn't know spit about rasslin' until Andy Kaufmann started wrestling women.

[Fansome]

I heard that he had Balls of Steel. One more thing we had in common.

He's not dead. Put on the glasses. He's just chewing bubble gum and kicking ass in the next dimension.

[Pigmeat]

I heard that he had Balls of Steel. One more thing we had in common.

He's not dead. Put on the glasses. He's just chewing bubble gum and kicking ass in the next dimension.

I knew it! Al sports neuticles!

No wonder Belinda left you. She was looking for a man with fully functioning parts.


Lex, only until Chuck Norris can figure out how to get a Bigfoot truck through a wormhole. Roddy will be trembling in his kilt when he hears Chuck's truck roll up.

[Zoidberg]

Rowdy Roddy and Andre the Giant can finally settle that grudge rematch.  Maybe this time Piper will manage that sleeper hold that worked so well for Dread Pirate Roberts against Andre.

[radiogaga]

One other thing,the sleeper hold was the signature move of The Infernos when Piper was in diapers. Sheesh!
And you dare to call yourself a rasslin' fan.

Verne Gagne (RIP) was kickin it with the Gagne sleeper in the early 1960's
AWA for life....

rgg

[ByteBORG]

One other thing,the sleeper hold was the signature move of The Infernos when Piper was in diapers. Sheesh!
And you dare to call yourself a rasslin' fan.

Verne Gagne (RIP) was kickin it with the Gagne sleeper in the early 1960's
AWA for life....

rgg

Speaking of AWA:
Of coarse Verne Gagne
Jean Luc Carpentier
Moose Cholak
Baron von Raschke
Bobo Brazil
Bruiser and Crusher (Rasslers that made Milwaukee famous, lol)
Mad Dog Vachon
Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey
to name a few...
Bobby Heenan
Nick Bockwinkel

[jFarley]

Black Jack Lanza and my fave Mitsu Arakawa

[Skipmuck]

How about Haystack Calhoun, Bruno Sammartino, and Professor Toro Tanaka
But nothing beats George "The Animal" Steele ripping up the turnbuckle with his teeth....

[Pigmeat]

A late friend's family owned a small hotel where touring pro wrestlers would stay when they were in town. Bobo Brazil always had time for the kids in the neighborhood, he was a very nice guy. Bobo's battles with the Sheik were the stuff of legend when I was a boy.

I remember watching the Von Brauner's, an evil Nazi tag team as a kid. I wondered why they looked so much like the Inferno's without the masks? My friend's dad clued me in. Kurt Von Brauner was one of the Inferno's. He would change tights between matches and don the mask.

I learned a lot of in-ring tells pestering those wrestlers. Taps, little wrist twists, and the like that signaled the beginning of a flurry of action or a spectacular looking move. The stuff is choreographed like a Broadway production, as it should be. Large human beings colliding with and flinging each other can be fatal if everyone isn't on the same page.

What was the finishing move of Haystacks Calhoun called? I want to say "The Hillbilly Twist". He'd get his opponents head between his thighs and start shaking. It was great.

Fansome still doesn't know spit about rasslin'.

[Nella F.]

How about Haystack Calhoun, Bruno Sammartino, and Professor Toro Tanaka
But nothing beats George "The Animal" Steele ripping up the turnbuckle with his teeth....

Wow! Haystack Calhoun brings back memories. Had to sit out the first half of summer in my growing up years due to seasonal hay fever. So like the lazy dysfunctional fool me be did watch any and all tv. Including soaps! Ugg! Watching All that emotional drama & head games paid off... no kids 'ceptin' the ones I left overseas! They're probably better off there than here.   Mitsu Arakawa rings a bell, too.