Episode 37: Piper’s Pit of Collectibles

So, here’s a spoiler warning. In this podcast, Rob spoils the ending to the 1988 movie, They Live. But let’s get real here for a minute. If you haven’t seen They Live yet, then what the hell are you doing listening to this podcast instead of watching it right the fuck now? Seriously, go watch the fucking movie, then come back and we can all make fun of Kyle for having not seen it yet.

In related news, this episode was recorded the day the news was released of Rowdy Roddy Piper’s death. Actually, it was recorded within a couple hours of us hearing about it. All of us on the show are wrestling fans to varying degrees, so this was actually a fairly big deal for us. I remember as a little kid just hating Piper’s guts because he was Hulk Hogan’s arch-enemy. And then when he (spoiler, Kyle!) came back to WrestleMania 3 after filming They Live to beat Adrian Adonis, it was like a returning hero, they man was just too cool. How did a man leave as the biggest villain in the history of evil and return as one of my favorite wrestlers? I have no fucking clue.

It wasn’t until I was older and a bit more savvy as to the reality of pro wrestling that I could fully appreciate Piper. He wasn’t the greatest technical wrestler ever, though he could definitely have some good matches. If you don’t believe me, check out his match at WrestleMania 8 against Bret Hart for the Intercontinental title. But what Piper was the best at, what he was really innovative at, was talking. Even 30 years later, he’s still the gold standard that everyone else is compared to when they grab a microphone and stand in a wrestling ring. He was so influential that he was copied by athletes in other sports. Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen built a huge fan base on his ability to run his mouth and build up fights, all skills that were clearly influenced by Roddy Piper. Conor Mcgregor is another guy that is in the same category. Not to take away from either guy’s fighting skill, but their skills in selling fights owe a debt to Piper. And of course there’s the most famous MMA fighter to be influenced by Piper, Rowdy Ronda Rousey, arguably the most famous MMA fighter on the planet right now.

So, what I’m getting at is, the dude was awesome and I’m honestly sad I’ll never get to hear run his mouth again. If you’re reading this and have an extra $9.99 do yourself a favor and check out the WWE Network for a month and just spend that whole time watching Roddy Piper work his magic.