In The Pit With Piper

I've had the chance to work with WWE Hall of Famer and pro wrestling iconic legend Rowdy Roddy PIper on numerous occasions. As much as I like Roddy as a person, he's not that far off from who portrays in the gimmick. Basically, he's pretty fucked up!

Working with Roddy brings you an instant rush and when the camera is rolling, Hot Rod is in a comfort zone like no other. Ironically, he's more "normal" in front of the camera than he is when he's off it. Back in 2003, I was doing some independent work with Roddy and thought a few friends might like to meet him. At the time, Roddy traveled with an assistant, who did every thing from dial his cell phone to cut and butter his bagels. It kinda took the heroic perception out of the meeting experience for my friends. Now I don't know if this was personally a rough time Roddy was going through, not to mention that the following day, I was sitting with him when he got called by Vince McMahon and told that he was fired from the WWE for some comments he made on HBO's Real Sports regarding the recent and excessive deaths in the business.

Maybe I was with Roddy during a down time - so I try not to judge or keep that image of him in memory. But I keep going back to fire in his eyes and the passion he exuded when I would yell "ACTION" during the video shoots. Deep down that broken down body, he still had it.

Almost a decade later, Hot Rod still makes the occasional cameo for the old school fans. But recently, it appears that some television producers found a new way to exploit the psychotic nature of the rowdy one. In an era where television is plagued by the consumption of mindless reality shows and air head bimbos like the Kardashians are building empires - why the fuck can't Roddy Piper make some coin showing people how looney he is?

Wouldn't that be great? Tune in on Sunday night's and watch this old man go banana flavored ape shit on a bunch of young ass-heads. Well, if you're Canadian, then your praywers have been answered. A pilot episode of World of Hurt has been ordered up and Roddy Piper is definitely in a rare form. I wish I knew exactly what this show is about - but from the looks of it, it looks like Roddy is just abusing the shit out of some wrestling marks. Good enough for me! I bet the American producers are kicking themselves in the ass because they didn't score this gem and decided to go with a another season of Ice Loves Coco!