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Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper (Disc 2)

by Scrooge McSuck

- In case you missed Disc 1, we got some matches from early 80's Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, a handful of Piper's Pit segments from the mid 80's, and a handful of WWF matches featuring the likes of Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect to try and give us some good wrestling on the set. Disc 2 begins in 1992 and carries us through his WCW run and his occasional appearances for WWE from 2003 and onward.

- From the March 15th, 1992 episode of Wrestling Challenge, "Mean" Gene Okerlund brings out the competitors for WrestleMania's Intercontinental Title Match, Bret Hart and Roddy Piper. Okerlund asks Piper why he's not wearing his kilt. Piper says he only wears it when he's ready to fight. He wants Bret to sit down for a heart-to-heart. He's known Bret since he was a small boy, and might have changed a diaper or two, he can't remember. He teases not competing at WrestleMania, then talks about Bret's mother making everyone sandwiches, and he can't find it in his heart to fight him. Bret says if he doesn't fight him, the belt becomes his property via forfeit. Piper says Bret doesn't understand what he's saying. Bret comes from a family of Legends and he knows how to fight, but he (Piper) fought his way out of a gutter, and he's not going to be able to shake hands at the Hoosier Dome. If Bret's that serious and wants to fight, then he better shake his hand now, because from now until Mania, he's going to hate Bret's guts. Bret offers the handshake and tells Piper he'll see him on April 5th. Piper teases attacking Bret from behind but hesitates. "I would've had you... come April 5th, I'm playing for keeps." Good segment to give some intrigue to their match, with Piper clearly going for a subtle heel. (1 for 1)

Roddy Piper vs. Sonny Beach:

From the March 29th, 1992 episode of Wrestling Challenge, and one of the last syndicated in-ring appearances of Piper, if not THE last. Sonny Beach, a.k.a. Sunny or Sandy Beach, has quite a Wikipedia page for a guy who wasn't a big success. I knew him mostly for his work in Herb Abrams' UWF and for being a job guy for the WWF in 1988-89. Beach snatches the IC belt from the referee and tries to ambush Piper with it, but that backfires. Piper survives a flurry of terrible strikes and takes Beach over with a sunset flip for two. Piper with a series of rights and lefts. He avoids a slam and puts Beach out with a sleeper at 1:05. It's cool that this was Piper's last match on TV for years, but it was awful, even in a short 65-second window. (1 for 2)

- From the April 29th, 1992 tapings in Syracuse, NY. OK, I lied. This is another unused segment. I originally had it in my mind they recycled something from the 1986-1995 Unreleased DVD, but nope, they taped TWO different Piper's Pit segments with the Brooklyn Brawler of all people, three weeks apart. WHY?! Piper has a special microphone with "RP" on it instead of the WWF logo. Brawler yells about having Madonna on hold and he doesn't have time to waste. Piper clowns around, asking if the Brawler is bathing once a month, and recommends milk-bone dog biscuits to freshen his breath. A fan calls Brawler a "scumbag" and asks if the Brawler "eats raw fish backwards". OK, not only is the audience participation stuff a lame concept, but they recycled mostly the same material. Piper says we're here for fun. Brawler pokes him around and teases hitting him with the timekeeper's bell, calling attention to Piper NOT using the bell at WrestleMania VIII. Piper has enough of Brawler's mouth, beats on him, and knocks him out of the ring with the bell. Meh. (1 for 3)

- From the February 3rd, 1997 episode of WCW Monday Nitro. You know, I wouldn't mind them digging out some old "Bottom Line" segments that were exclusive to All-American Wrestling in 1994, since no one remembers them and are a decent rarity to fill a 5-year gap. "Mean" Gene Okerlund is standing by for an interview with Roddy Piper, a.k.a. THE ICON. He's accompanied by his son, Colt, who can't be older than 5. They're in Memphis. Piper says he can never be Elvis Presley, and Hollywood Hogan could never be Roddy Piper. He says he's already beat Hogan and doesn't need the title shot and he has kids at home to raise. The familiar sound of the nWo music interrupts things as Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Ted Dibiase and Vincent come to ringside. Piper SHOOTS, calling Hogan "Terry". Hogan says Piper is weak, begging for mercy. Bischoff wants Piper to admit that Hollywood Hogan beat him like a drum. Piper obliges, disingenuously. Hogan says Piper doesn't deserve to be called a coward, he's hiding behind a kid, and now that he's admitted that Hogan's the greatest, he can get out of the ring. Hogan smacks Piper around as he tries to leave. Piper lets his son leave and takes off the leather jacket, comes up from behind and rams Hogan and Bischoff into each other. The belt comes off and he digs the buckle into the forehead of Hogan. Bischoff grabs a chair by Piper sends him running, swinging around Hogan's WCW Championship belt. Oh, and Piper's decided to accept the offer to challenge for the belt. Took a while to get there, but a fine angle. (2 for 4)

- From the February 17th, 1997 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, Roddy Piper is on location... in Alcatraz Prison. OH MY GOD. He yells into the toilet addressing Hogan. He's fought to get a family and came back from the streets at the age of 13. He's dead inside because of Hogan, a.k.a. Mr. Spandex. He calls Hogan the cheapest low-life snake there is. He's not doing a "wrestling promo" (OH GOD) to sell tickets. He calls out Hogan for preaching to kids to take their vitamins and say their prayers and for walking around in public in his spandex and with platinum blonde hair. Piper doesn't walk around airports in a kilt to draw attention. It's time to "get mean to the extreme" flipping over his bed and promises to stay for 7 days and 7 nights. He's not creating the world, he's destroying Hulk Hogan, because there's not room for them both. He's going to teach Hogan that pain is a four-letter word, and says "do-do-do, wha'cha gonna do when I'm through with you?!" What, you thought Piper left his whacked-out promos in the 80's? This was ALL OVER THE PLACE... and it was awesome. (3 for 5)

- From the September 22nd, 1997 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, and it's another interview conducted by Gene Okerlund. I guess we won't know the conclusion of the Piper/Hogan saga the last two segments have built up (Spoiler: Randy Savage turned heel by costing Piper the match and joined the nWo). They're teasing a huge announcement from Piper, possibly THE most important announcement in the history of Nitro. Yes, Tony Schiavone said it. Piper mentions Scott Hall whining that Larry Zbyszko cost him his match against Lex Luger at Fall Brawl (or as Piper says, "War Games"). It'll be Luger vs. Hall at Halloween Havoc, and he'll find a referee with the experience required, and that man is... Larry Zbyszko. Have I mentioned they're calling Piper "The Commish"? Well, they are. He says, because of what happened with Ric Flair and Curt Hennig, the WCW wants to ban cage matches for being barbaric... and that's why he's fighting Hogan inside a cage at Halloween Havoc. He says it's their first meeting in a cage and the last one, because he'll end Hogan's career once and for all. This is the definition of "fluff." (3 for 6)

Roddy Piper vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth):

From the March 23rd, 1998 episode of WCW Monday Nitro. I don't know if there's a backstory for this. Just seems like a decent match on paper to include for the sake of having Piper vs. Savage on here. Savage meets Piper trying to rush the ring and unloads with jabs in the corner while Elizabeth hooks his ankle from outside the ring. Piper shakes her off, thumbs the eyes of Savage, and lays into him with rights and lefts. Piper wallops Savage with his belt and throws him around with it wrapped around the neck. Savage pulls Piper to the floor and gets thrown into the front row for it. Piper removes the padding around ringside and teases a piledriver, but Elizabeth saves with a back rake. Looked better than Hogan's. Piper focuses his attention on her, allowing Savage to attack from behind. Back inside, Piper counters a slam with the sleeper. Savage rams Piper backwards into the ropes, knocking Elizabeth off the apron, then escapes with a jaw breaker. The crowd pops for something off-screen while the referee checks on Elizabeth. Here's Hollywood Hogan and Kevin Nash. They immediately argue over Nash's intentions with the baseball bat. Sting shows up, and here's Savage to nail Sting from behind. Nash and Hogan decide to work Piper over after all. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THEM ARGUING?! Here's the Giant to make the save, snagging the bats from everyone. The Disciple shows up to carry Hogan's luggage. I guess it's a Sports Entertainment Finish™ at 5:00. What a cluster finish to a decent match. (3 for 7)

Roddy Piper vs. Hollywood Hogan:

From the March 30th, 1998 episode of WCW Monday Nitro. Somehow, I doubt we'll get a finish to this one. We join a match between Kevin Nash and Lex Luger. The Disciple runs in and hits Luger with the Stunner, costing him the match. Roddy Piper shows up, working over Hogan with the belt until the Disciple comes from behind and make the save. Hogan uses Piper's belt on him and drags him up the ramp as we cut to black. We come back, and I guess NOW we're getting the actual match? Even the commentary team seems bewildered. Piper is pounding on Hogan as they make their way out from the entrance set. Here's more of The Disciple as Schiavone encourages Piper beating him up, too. They get in the ring and Nick Patrick signals for a bell that never rings. BECAUSE WCW. Hogan unloads with rights. Piper keeps daring him to throw punches until firing off rights of his own. Piper sends Hogan softly into the steps and throws him into the Disciple. Back inside, Piper with more fisticuffs. Hogan with a blatant low blow. Piper with an even more blatant shot to the grapefruits. They fight from their knees, selling this like an epic 20-minute battle. Hogan with choking, stomps, and more choking. Piper teases a comeback but hits the ropes at an awkward angle for Disciple to pull him out of the ring. Whip to the ropes, Piper ducks a clothesline and hooks a sleeper. The Disciple breaks it up for the DQ at 5:00 and hits The Apocalypse (Stunner) that Schiavone calls a jawbreaker. The audience litters the ring with trash as Kevin Nash comes to ringside. Hogan accidentally nails Nash, but before anything further develops, the Giant chases everyone away. That wraps up the content on Piper's WCW run, THANK GOD. (3 for 8)

Roddy Piper (w/ Sean O'Haire) vs. Rikishi:

We make another 5-year jump, to the April 24th, 2003 episode of WWE Smackdown. Piper made a surprise return at WrestleMania XIX and feuded with Hulk Hogan. Again. "Jason Roberts" is doing ring introductions, before they settled on the name Justin. I didn't think he did ring intros until the WWECW era. Rikishi is fighting on behalf of the legacy of Jimmy Snuka. This is Piper's 1st match on WWF TV/PPV since WrestleMania XII. O'Haire hops on the apron with a distraction, allowing Piper to hit Rikishi low. Piper has no shame taking his shirt off, but Rikishi works with his on. THAT'S F'N HILARIOUS. Rikishi fights back with rights and a headbutt. Whip to the corner and Rikishi charges in with an avalanche. Rikishi goes for the Stink Face, but O'Haire lays him out with a clothesline for the Disqualification at 1:40. O'Haire with a jumping spinning kick, followed by a reverse Death Valley Driver. Yes, this was to sell O'Haire vs. Rikishi at Backlash in a match that was worse than this. I get the point of including this, but yeesh. (3 for 9)

Roddy Piper vs. Randy Orton & Bob Orton Jr:

From the October 7th, 2005 episode of WWE Smackdown. Orton attacked Piper at WWE Homecoming earlier in the week, and they're selling the Generational Orton's teaming against the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell Match. The less said about that fiasco, the better. Piper comes out with a lead pipe. Randy tries to attack from behind, but Piper fights him off with right hands and biting. Randy tackles Piper into the corner and tags in his father. Ace and Piper exchange blows, with Piper getting the better of things. Randy with the blind tag, unloading on Piper with uppercuts. Whip to the corner and Orton with a dropkick. He tears the shirt off Piper and clubs him across the chest. He signals for the RKO, but Bob wants to tag in. He measure Piper for an elbow, but then the Undertaker's bell tolls. Randy freaks out on the outside as Piper cradles Bob for three at 3:15. I have no memory of this happening. (3 for 10)

Roddy Piper, Eddie Guerrero, and Batista vs. Mr. Kennedy, Randy Orton, and Bob Orton Jr:

From the October 28th, 2005 episode of WWE Smackdown, and less than two weeks before the untimely passing of Eddie. The mid 2000's were an odd time with the random appearances of legends. Anyone else remember Rob Conway fighting Greg Valentine and Koko B. Ware on Sunday Night Heat around this time? Kennedy and Guerrero trade blows to kick things off. Guerrero with a slam and slingshot senton. Batista in, and he wants Randy. Orton comes in and gets pounded on in the corner. Whip across the ring and Batista meets the boot. Whip is reversed and Batista recovers with a spear. He teases the Bomb, but Orton bails. We come back from commercial, with Orton catching Guerrero coming out of the corner with a powerslam. Whip and Guerrero with a spinning head-scissors. Piper tags in and pokes the eyes of Orton. Piper with a snap mare and knee drop across the chest for two. Whip to the ropes and Bob drives a knee into the back of Piper. Nice touch for Bob Jr. to wear wrestling boots with jeans and a dress shirt. Kennedy in with the 2005 version of ground n' pound. Orton cuts a tag attempt off, trapping Piper in a front face-lock. Bob Jr takes shots at Eddie and Batista that are completely no-sold. Batista comes in, lays him out with a clothesline, and we've got action all over the place. Eddie with the Three Amigos on Kennedy as Batista spikes Orton with a spine-buster. Spine-buster to Kennedy, and Eddie hits the Frog Splash. This leaves Bob Orton alone, and Piper puts him to sleep for the victory at 6:45 (shown). Harmless fun. (4 for 11)

- From April 28th, 2008 episode of... whatever. Probably Raw. Santino Marella flirts with Piper, mistaking him for a woman because of the kilt. Santino says it's funny that Piper went from being in the Goonies music video to being Chunk, then asks him to do the Truffle Shuffle. Piper does his best impression of Jim Cornette as he smacks Santino across the face and questions if he has a death wish or if he's special. OK. (4 for 12)

- From the June 13th, 2011 episode of WWE Raw. It's Piper's Pit with THE MIZ. Whoops, it's 2011 Miz, so I already hate this. Piper lets us know that right here, in this spot, 25 years ago, was WrestleMania 2, and he dropped Mr. T like a bad habit. It was a lot of fun, but not at the time. Oh God, MICHAEL COLE IS A HEEL HERE. Miz says his favorite moment of this building will be 4-years from now when it's torn down and replaced with nothing. Miz says he doesn't live in the past. People always tell him he's a modern-day Roddy Piper. Piper interrupts, saying there'll never be another Roddy Piper. Piper says the phrase Miz is looking for is a "Piper wannabe." Miz says unlike Piper, he's been the WWE Champion and won the Main Event at WrestleMania. Oh, and his season on Real World is better than anything from They Live, so chew some bubblegum on that. Piper asks about the future, specifically Sunday, when Miz faces Alex Riley at Capital Punishment. This brings A-Ry out, Miz's former protégé turned bitter rival. Riley found the light and accused Miz of using him the entire time. Miz calls Piper a hypocrite for using Bob Orton and calling him out for using Riley to his advantage. Riley is completely out of his league here when it comes to charisma. Miz says $1,000 of his own money says he can beat Piper right now, even in his suit. Piper says he's tired of getting his butt kicked... then asks for $5,000. Steve Austin pops up on the jumbo-screen asking if the fans want to see Miz vs. Piper, with both men putting up $5,000, and the special referee will be Alex Riley... and we get the match!

The bell rings, and Miz is working in his clothes. Piper attacks with Miz distracted by Riley. Miz quickly turns things around, unloading with rights. Piper pokes the eyes and hooks the sleeper, but Miz backs him into the corner to break the hold. Riley stops Miz from using blatant fists and shoves him across the ring. Miz decks Riley for being a geek. Riley hits him back, and Piper rolls him up for the slowest fast-count since Starrcade '97 at 1:06. This was surprisingly entertaining despite heel Cole. (5 for 13)

- From the November 28th, 2011 episode of Monday Night Raw. It's Piper's Pit with John Cena. I have a hard time thinking WWE was telling fans to use hashtags in 2011. Seems like a ship the company wouldn't jump on for a few more years. Piper puts himself over for being an Icon despite never being the biggest, the fastest, or the strongest, and credits the fans for giving him the energy to be that legend. Cena wants to know what Piper means when he accused Cena of not being energized by the WWE Universe™. Piper wants to play word association. Stone Cold Steve Austin (crowd cheers). Bret Hart (cheers). The Rock (cheers). John Cena (cheers). I was expecting a mixed reaction, but that wasn't the case here. Piper lets Cena know that the crowd comes unglued for the Rock. Cena says everyone knows what he's about and you can't please everyone. There are people that pay their money to come and tell him to go to hell, and that's what makes the WWE Universe so great. Cena talks about all the times where the fans "loved" him in hostile territory because it's about having fun. It's about putting smiles on the faces of children, giving a good experience to those who he meets in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and for the men in uniform that serve the country who are sitting in the front row. Piper hands Cena his Hall of Fame ring and lays into him with a slap, asking Cena if he feels the energy. Cena hands the ring back and walks off. Well, this was... something. (5 for 14)

- From the April 13th, 2012 episode of WWE Smackdown. The last time Piper's Pit was on Smackdown, a woman had a mole bitten off her face. Thanks for the tidbit, Michael Cole. We've got another edition of The Pit, this time with Daniel Bryan and A.J. Lee. Piper looks a little bit better here than he did for the segment with Cena. Piper reminds us that Bryan lost the World Title at WrestleMania 28 in 18-seconds and blamed his girlfriend for the loss. Last Friday, Bryan told A.J. that he hopes the kiss at WrestleMania was worth it, because it'll be the last kiss they ever share, then dismissed her. Bryan comes out smiling and says he gets a return match for the World Heavyweight Title. Sheamus won't be able to fluke his way to victory. Bryan doesn't want to pin him 1-2-3, he wants to make him tap out too, and that's why they're having a 2 out of 3 Falls Match. Piper turns the Pit into the Jerry Springer Show, bringing A.J. out next. A.J. says deep down that Daniel Bryan is a good person. Piper reminds her that he's called her deadweight and that she has the kiss of death. A.J. accepts the blame for Daniel's loss at WrestleMania. Piper is confused by her comments and tries reasoning with her until being interrupted by Bryan. He says if A.J. means it that she loves him, she would leave the ring right now. Piper being the well-intending older gentleman seems out of place. A.J. leaves, but Piper isn't finished with Bryan. He has four children, three of them daughters. He tells Bryan you don't tell a lady to shut up, you don't tell at a lady, and you don't use a lady as a human shield. That's what a coward does, and that's what Daniel Bryan is. He looks forward to seeing Sheamus kick Bryan's head off his shoulders twice at Extreme Rules. Bryan with a slap to the face before bailing out, obnoxiously chanting "Yes!". (6 for 15)

- From the January 6th, 2014 episode of Monday Night Raw. No, it's not just any episode of Monday Night Raw, it's OLD SCHOOL RAW. We've got Piper's Pit with The Shield, who have dominated WWE for over a year at this point. Dean Ambrose is the reigning US Champion, but Rollins and Reigns lost the Tag Team Titles to the Brothers Rhodes a couple of months earlier. Ambrose asks who gave the old man a live microphone. Had the Shield been around in his prime, Piper wouldn't have made it to be 112 years old. Piper says no one gave him a microphone, he took it, because this is Piper's Pit, not Ambrose's Alley. Piper says there's only one man in WWE who can match him on the microphone, and that's CM Punk. Rollins cuts Ambrose off to defuse the situation. He says this isn't 1985 anymore, and they're too smart for Piper's tactics. There's no cracks in the Shield, Piper's just jealous that Ambrose is a better U.S. Champion than Piper ever was. Piper knows Rollins can't beat Punk 1-on-1. Ambrose can't either. As for Roman Reigns, he gets to fight Punk later tonight. If he beats Punk tonight, does that make him better than Ambrose and Rollins? Roman says he's going to beat Punk tonight, and if he ever touches him again, he'll break Piper's old ass in half. Ambrose offers to leave a memorable impression on Piper, but before anything happens, he's saved by CM Punk and the New Age Outlaws. Yes, CM PUNK ON A DVD IN 2019, AND YES, CULT OF PERSONALITY INTACT. Probably the best of these latter year Pits. (7 for 16)

- From the December 22nd, 2014 episode of Monday Night Raw, it's our final segment, and it's another Piper's Pit, this time with Rusev and Lana. I guess we're limping to the finish line. If Rusev cuts a heel promo on Christmas, this gets two points. Rusev is the reigning U.S. Champion and HERO of the Russian Federation. Anyone else convinced Vince McMahon discovered Rocky IV sometime in 2012 and that's how he came up with Lana's character? I must say, Lana was much more committed to the Russian accent in 2014 than in recent years. She says Christmas is a joke where everyone pretends to love each other, and they believe in a bloated old man who gives gifts to their spoiled children. Piper cuts her off, preaching freedom of believing in whatever-the-hell-we-want. We see highlights from Tuesday where Rusev attacked Ryback. Jesus, this was FIVE YEARS AGO. Rusev asks Piper if he believes if he can "crush your Ryback?" Piper is too filled with joy for them to be a couple of communist Scrooge's. Piper went out and got them a Christmas gift, and he put a bow on it... Ryback, with a bow attached to his shirt. Rusev and Ryback brawl. IT'S CHRISTMAS CHAOS! Props to Lana, but the offer was only on the table if RUSEV cut the promo on Christmas. (7 for 17)

Final Thoughts: I've ignored all the "talking head" segments that's just Ronda Rousey reading cue-cards, so if that's the deciding factor of you buy this set, I apologize. If you're an older fan, you know what to expect with Roddy Piper. To my surprise, there's more decent segment included than I anticipated, including promos from WCW that I've never seen before. Disc 2 is very light on wrestling, and for good reason, since it spans the late 90's through the end of Piper's life, so less was more when it came to the in-ring content. I think they over-did it with the Piper's Pit segments, but you need to fill 6-hours somehow, I guess. I bought my copy for $12, a reasonable price for a 2-disc set, but if you're only a casual fan or aren't too familiar with Piper, I'd search for the original set that came out in 2006, which features his more famous matches and moments. Very, very mildly recommended for hardcore fans, and soft pass for casual fans.

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