For whom the bagpipes toll: with a new no-holds-barred book, the kilt-wearing bad boy takes on Vince McMahon and the wrestling establishment - Interview: Rowdy Roddy Piper

Wrestling Digest, Feb, 2003 by Keith Loria

HE WEARS A KILT, PLAYS THE bagpipes, and although he may not have the size of some of the mammoth wrestlers who he has faced in his 30-plus years in ring, there's no denying that Rowdy Roddy Piper is one of the biggest names in the history of wrestling.

Born Roderick Toombs on April 17, 1954, in Sakatoon, Saskatchewan, Piper took up wrestling when he was only 15 as a way to stay off the streets. Wrestling wasn't glamorous back then, but as a good-looking kid with a wild and rebellious attitude, it was easy for him to make a name for himself. And over the years, that name has become synonymous with wrestling.

In November, Piper released his autobiography, "In the Pit with Piper," which explores a wrestling world that few have ever seen. "When I started, it was 300 people in a garage, not the packed arenas it is today," Piper says. "There were no dressing rooms, maybe two restrooms where guys like Earthquake and Tugboat were doing their business, and sometimes you had to step over dead people to get to the ting. It wasn't pretty."

With his wisecracking tone and a presence the television cameras loved, Piper became a top draw in the U.S. and abroad.

He was brought to New York by Vince McMahon Sr. in the early '80s as one of 25 wrestlers chosen to lead the industry into the future. With WWE, his "Piper's Pit" interview segments were a huge hit, as he and Hulk Hogan developed one of the biggest rivalries of all time. Piper was a monumental player in the original Wrestlemania, taking on the heel role against the popular team of Hogan and Mr. T. "I wouldn't take a dive for Hogan or Mr. T, and I wouldn't let anyone tell me what to do," he says. "I would never conform, because I was taught not to."

In the late '80s, Piper, who has never had a good relationship with Vince McMahon Jr., became disenchanted with wrestling as the boss' antics became: too over the top. "In my day, the Vince McMahon kiss-my-ass club would have never happened, he would have been slapped," he says. "The stuff they have today isn't appropriate for the youth. They have some 350-pound Samoan sitting on your face with a thong. You couldn't pay me enough for that"

Piper lives in Portland, Ore., with his wife, Kitty, and his four children, who he calls the loves of his life. As for his future in the business, Piper offers this warning to McMahon: "Tb help the business, I am going to stand up, and I'm about to roar."

We caught up with Piper recently to discuss his book, his relationship with McMahon, and what it would take to lure him back to WWE.

WRESTLING DIGEST: Why did you decide that this was the right time for a book about your life?

RODDY PIPER: I did the book to let folks know, from my perspective, really how contemporary wrestling came about I had a chance to browse through some of the other guy's books, and they did a great job, and I have all the respect in the world for them, but they didn't have the history of what went down and where. I wrote the book from the heart I did it all from memory, and it was the hardest thing I think I've ever done. I put it out there for a few reasons. I'm not going to tease anyone--of course there's a monetary reason. But I want to make things better for the future. I am trying to come from a little different place, and I am trying to get my friends taken care of.

WD: Taken care of how?

RP: I thought, "What can I do for wrestling to say thank you?" and the best thing I could thin: k of was to leave a little bit of a legacy to help my friends. We've got 44 acres of land and we have the Healing Center ready to go. Any wrestler now, no matter what stage of his career he is in, can go there and get help, free of charge. The book will help with that.

WD: You mention that most of the book is done from memory. When people tell stories, as time goes by, the stories and memories get embellished sometimes. And you did have your share of blows to the head. Did you have a hard time accurately recalling events?

RP: I tried not to embellish them. It's very difficult to believe, but I even had to take out a lot of stuff that was even more unbelievable. The sickness was the most important chapter to me because that's where I buried all my frat brothers. I've been sicker than them all, and I wanted to explain what that really was.

WD: You've led as interesting a life as one can have. What would you say is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you?

RP: There's stupid and there's crazy, and I have lots of both. I was in a lot of riots. I did this thing once where I was to play the Mexican National Anthem on my bagpipes. For three weeks I told people I had been practicing, and I get to the ring and I played "La Cucaracha," and the night never even got started because they rioted.

Also, wrestling a bear was no fun. Victor the wrestling bear was a 650pound bear and he was killing me. That was a bit of both--crazy and stupid.

WD: You talk about how loyal and loving Kitty has always been. Tell me what she brings to your life?

RP: She's my life. I would have been dead if it wasn't for my wife. She calls me Roderick. There were times with McMahon Jr. when I would do things, and they would call Kitty and slide a phone to me, and I would hear her voice [tell me to stop] and I would, when my wife came along, she put up with so much baloney and she gave me my purpose for living. A lot of wrestlers don't have a purpose for living other than wrestling.