This week on BoredWrestlingFan Radio, we pay tribute to the late, great “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. We talk about what Hot Rod meant to us and his influence on the world of professional wrestling. We’re then joined by ten time WCW Tag Team Champion Stevie Ray. We get Stevie’s thoughts on Roddy Piper and Dusty Rhodes, and turn the conversation to the Hulk Hogan controversy, and racism in the United States in general. We talk about his induction speech for his brother Booker T at the 2013 Hall of Fame. We find out more about his WWE Legends deal and his upcoming projects. It’s truly a must-hear interview. Thanks to Cheap-Heat for setting this interview up for us.
In the news, Kamala sticks up for Hulk Hogan, who is in the process of being removed from several projects for WWE. Mick Foley praises John Cena for finishing his match this past Monday with a broken nose. Daniel Bryan talks concussions. Adam Rose hints at Leo Krueger. Reddit makes a gift for Tyson Kidd. Sunny adds to her wrap sheet. Stephen Amell cancels an appearance scheduled for the day of SummerSlam, most likely to have a match with Stardust. All this and A LOT more! Tune in!
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015
It’s a very tough thing to be a wrestling fan who has been watching since the 1980s. Year after year, these men who were like superheroes to me when I was growing up pass away way too young. Just over a month ago, I had the unfortunate task of sitting at this very computer and writing a tribute to Dusty Rhodes as he passed at age 69. Yesterday, we lost another legendary figure, one who transcended from our pro wrestling bubble into the world of pop culture, the one and only “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
It can be argued that Roderick Toombs was the catalyst for the mainstream success that the World Wrestling Federation enjoyed in the 1980s. After all, Hulk Hogan’s rise to superstardom didn’t happen just by tearing t-shirts and saying “brother.” No, the mighty hero Hulk Hogan needed a villain, and that villain came in the form of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Piper’s crusade against MTV and rock and roll during 1984 and 1985 was the antithesis of the Rock and Wrestling movement that the WWF was building upon to launch itself into mainstream pop culture. The main event at MTV’s “The War To Settle The Score” was Piper vs. Hogan, and led to the birth of professional wrestling’s biggest event, WrestleMania, which was also headlined by Piper, who teamed with “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff to take on Hogan and “A-Team” star Mr. T.
Piper retired from professional wrestling in 1987 following a victory at WrestleMania III against “Adorable” Adrian Adonis and went on to try his hand at acting, and in 1988, “Hell Comes To Frogtown” and “They Live” were released. “They Live” produced perhaps one of Piper’s most famous quotes, “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass – and I’m all out of bubblegum.”
Piper returned to the world of professional wrestling in 1989, and has been entertaining fans ever since. Highlights include winning the WWF Intercontinental Championship in 1992, battling the nWo in 1996, winning the WCW United States Championship and becoming WCW commissioner in 1998, and feuding with Hulk Hogan and Zach Gowen in 2003.
In 2014, Piper was one of 8 WWE legends who were part of the inaugural season of WWE Legend’s House on the WWE Network. He continued to make sporadic appearances for the company up until late last year when he hosted a special edition of “Piper’s Pit” with guests Rusev and Lana.
We here at BoredWrestlingFan will always be huge fans of Roddy Piper, and we are very saddened by his passing yesterday afternoon. We would like to extend our condolenses to his family, friends, and all of our fellow Roddy Piper fans. We’ll miss you, Hot Rod.
This week, despite the absence of G, BoredWrestlingFan Radio started normally enough. Joe, JT (via phone on vacation), and Noyce discussed the week in pro wrestling as usual, including all the happenings from Battleground, RAW, Lucha Underground and NXT. We even talked a little bit about the Hulk Hogan scandal. But after the break song, things got a little strange.
In the second half while reading the news, Joe became possessed by Stone Cold Steve Austin, shouting about Alpha Brain and Pro Flowers, adding in the word “what” at random times, and doing the show with a raspy southern drawl. News stories include the fallout from the Hulk Hogan racism scandal, when the decision was made to bring back The Undertaker, and where Sting fits in with The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family at SummerSlam. Daniel Bryan is optimistic about a return, and so is his neurologist. WWE is intentionally screwing with Ring of Honor, who are moving time slots to 11PM Wednesdays. All this and much, much more (what?). Tune in!
This week’s break song was “Everything in Moderation (Especially Moderation) by NOFX. Buy it here!
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This week on BoredWrestlingFan Radio, we get our fuck money on! Virgil tries to raise a million dollars on GoFundMe. We discuss WWE Battleground and potential outcomes that could lead to a rumored SummerSlam match. We talk about Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Sasha Banks appearing on RAW this past Monday Night. And we lament the fact that there are only three episodes left in the first season of Lucha Underground.
In the news, Ryback is injured and out of tonight’s triple threat Intercontinental Championship match at Battleground. The Undertaker, meanwhile, has arrived in St. Louis. Jushin Thunder Liger is announced for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in August. Tough Enough loses viewers. Lucha Underground may or may not be preparing to tape a second season. Meanwhile, Hernandez is pulled from TNA broadcasts because he’s still under contract to LU. CHIKARA jumps in the Wednesday Night Wars. We preview “Total Divas.” All this, and much, much more! Tune in!
This week on BoredWrestlingFan Radio, G returns to the live broadcast, and Joe accidentally causes a fight between G and JT. We praise exactly three segments on RAW, talk Lucha Underground, NXT, Impact, and ROH, including praising Dalton Castle’s work and the production team’s work in presenting his character.
In the news, Brock Lesnar nearly killed a kid when he flung the car door on RAW – and Jamie Noble tries to sell the car as a “slightly used” Cadillac on Craigslist. We find out we have John Laurinaitis to thank for the great “Beast In The East” show last weekend. WWE announcer notes from 2008 leak to the internet as Jim Ross wonders why we’re facinated by them. Danny Davis is leaving the wrestling industry after 30+ years. Roddy Piper says Steve Austin got him kicked off of PodcastOne. Austin says he didn’t. Ric Flair says Piper lost his WWE Legends contract because of Stone Cold. Tigre Uno wants to wrestle Donald Trump. Sabu refuses to retire, and Maven returns to the ring! All this and much, much more on BoredWrestlingFan Radio! Tune in!
This week on BoredWrestlingFan Radio, Joe is severely sunburnt, and G is house hunting. We actually talk about wrestling in the first half of the show for once, because some helpful bastard put the card for each show in the notes! Then we spend time reading listicles from an unafilliated website because Kayfabe News made fun of websites that do terrible listicles.
In the news, now former NXT Champion Kevin Owens is named “Wrestler of the Year” by Rolling Stone. WWE sues former talent for getting concussions. Bill Goldberg talks about his foreskin. Dolph Ziggler may or may not have signed a contract. Nobody watches Tough Enough, no matter how many women in bikinis they try to fit in an episode. GFW is doing an invasion angle with TNA because nobody else wanted to. Dixie Carter and Bob Ryder barely have any actual Twitter followers. And Total Divas is coming back tonight, we give our usual amazing preview of the show. All this and much more on BoredWrestlingFan Radio! Tune in!
This week on BoredWrestlingFan Radio, the guys find pretty much nothing interesting to talk about with regards to the past week in wrestling television, and in fact spend the majority of the first half of the show talking about tentacle porn. OK, maybe not the majority, but they talk about it. We at least get around to talking about some wrestling before we get to the break songs.
In the news, we pay our respects to “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel. Jamie Noble leaves RAW with three broken ribs courtesy of The Beast, Brock Lesnar. Hulk Hogan dumbfounds us with his tweets. Dolph Ziggler isn’t leaving WWE, but several top talents may or may not be leaving TNA, depending on who you ask. We give our synopsis of the first episode of the new Total Divas season. All this and much, much more!
This week on BoredWrestlingFan Radio, we talk about Bellator MMA. Oh, yeah, and the week in pro wrestling including Sheamus capturing Money In The Bank, MGK no-selling a Kevin Owens powerbomb off the stage, and Owens just having a kick ass week in general. Plus, your NEW ROH Heavyweight Champion is Jay Lethal – Ooooh Yeah!
In the news, Mick Foley hangs out with Chyna. Brad Maddox returns. Xavier Woods gets his own YouTube channel. News on the health of Blackjack Mulligan. News on the funeral of Dusty Rhodes. The Young Bucks talk WWE. Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker goes forward. Jerry Lawler talks about ECW, Lucha Underground is nominated for a freakin’ Emmy, and much, much more! Tune in!
This week on BWF Radio, Facebook loses our show notes, but we still manage to kill the entire first hour without even needing them. We talk about the week in pro wrestling, including Lucha Underground, NXT, and RAW, with a little of SmackDown thrown in as well. We pay tribute to the late, great Dusty Rhodes. We then skew off in a different direction talking about other television shows and video games, bringing it full circle to talk about WWE video games before the end of the first half.
We kick off the second half with Money In The Bank predictions. In the news, we read some tributes to Dusty Rhodes from those who knew him. Kevin Owens defends John Cena’s in-ring abilities. Jessicka Havok may have tweeted herself out of a job. The Big O doesn’t make Tough Enough. Steve Austin is NOT facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32, but he IS using P.E.D.s – in the bedroom. WWE is trying to work with WWN since ROH is producing a Kevin Steen action figure. Chyna is trying to crowdsource money for a documentary, while she argues with Sean Waltman about drugs. What former WWE star says medical marijuana saved his life? And what kind of ghosts would Vampiro be chasing if he gets his “Ghost Hunters” style show on the El Rey Network? All this and much more, tune in!
“I’ve wined and dined with Kings and Queens, and slept in an alley eatin’ pork an’ beans.”
Virgil Runnels wasn’t exactly what you would call the prototypical professional wrestler of his era, but you don’t become a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion based on looks alone. While a solid worker in the ring, nobody could deliver a promo like Dusty Rhodes.
In front of the camera, Dusty was The American Dream. He looked like the average American, he stood up for the working man, and he got in the ring every night and beat up the jerks who thought they were better than us, what with their chiseled physiques and star-driven wealth.
But behind the scenes, Dusty Rhodes was one of the most brilliant minds there ever was in professional wrestling. Starrcade? Dusty. War Games? Dusty. Great American Bash? Dusty. You know that thing where the good guy seems to win the title and vanquish the evil bad guy, only to have the decision reversed and the bad guy walk out still champion? To this day, we call that a “Dusty finish,” because it was something Dusty came up with.
Even when he came to WWF in the early ’90s and was stuck in polka dots in an attempt to bury him, Dusty’s personality shined through and he won the hearts of the WWF fans who may not have been familiar with his work in the NWA.
Dusty Rhodes’ legacy will live on, as his sons Dustin and Cody continue to ply their trade in WWE as Goldust and Stardust, respectively.
Wrestling has lost a brilliant mind and one of it’s most iconic figures today, and we’re truly sad to see him go. We here at BoredWrestlingFan send our deepest condolenses to Dusty’s family, friends, and our fellow fans. Thank you, Dusty.
