Following her fight against Bethe Correia last night at UFC 190, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey paid tribute to WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper who passed away this week at the age of 61.
As shown in the video above Ronda says: “We lost a really close friend, ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper, who gave me permission to use his name as a fighter. I hope he and my dad had a good time watching this today.”
Rousey retained her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship in the main event of UFC 190 after knocking out her opponent Bethe Correia in just 34 seconds.
Prior to the fight Ronda Rousey had taken to Instagram to dedicate the fight to the late Roddy Piper, you can see the post by clicking on this link.
Film director John Carpenter, who famously worked with Roddy Piper in Piper’s biggest film success, “They Live,” spoke with the A.P.’s Dan Gelston about the passing of the late WWE legend.
“He was a great wrestler,” Carpenter said. “He was an underrated actor and just a marvelous entertainer and I feel like I’ve just lost one of my close friends… Roddy will always be loved because of his wrestling career. He really became a legend in pro wrestling. He will not be forgotten.”
Jonny Fairplay, who worked as Piper’s personal assistant in 2001, also commented in the piece about Piper’s passing.
“I would wake him up in the morning and yell at him from the door of his bedroom,” Fairplay said. “I’d say, ‘Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, the guy who never beat Hulk Hogan.’ Rowdy Piper should be remembered as the greatest bad guy of all time.” Read the full story at Bigstory.ap.org.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross wrote a new blog for FOX Sports where he shares his memories of the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who was found dead in his home from cardiac arrest at age 61 on Friday.
“As I walked into a banquet hall in the Hilton hotel Friday to speak at the annual NWA Wrestling Legends Fan Fest, I received a message that my friend Rowdy Roddy Piper had unexpectedly died, apparently in his sleep the night before, at age 61,” Ross wrote.
“My speech was immediately erased from my memory. Every image in my mind was that of “Hot Rod.” The notes for my speech had been hastily jotted down but were hard to read through teary eyes.”
As shown in the video above shared by The Roman Show, wrestling legends Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, The Nasty Boys and more paid tribute to WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper who passed away this week aged 61.
The Miami Marlins hosted the Legends of Wrestling and just before they were due to speak with the press, they heard of the news that Roddy Piper had passed away.
Jerry Sags of The Nasty Boys mentioned Luke Bushwacker and said: “Luke and Bush were on the road with him since the early sixties and they are best friends with Roddy from Portland or wherever here and back around the country.”
WWE Hall Of Famer “Mean” Gene Okerlund spoke with WWE’s Scott Stanford about the passing of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper on PIX11 in New York City on Friday night.
Okerlund commented on his reaction when he got the news about Piper’s passing.
“Oh my god… totally devastated because Scott, this is the third in a row for me in the last six and a half weeks,” said Okerlund. “First of course Verne Gagne, secondly a few weeks back we lost “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. This one hits hard like the other two, and all of the guys we’ve lost in recent years.”
“Mean” Gene also spoke about something we will always remember about “The Hot Rod.”
“I think the one thing that’s going to be a big part of his legacy, he kind of sheltered his family from the business, at least until recently,” said Okerlund. “He was a very good father. He had a son Colt and three daughters, and a lovely young lady by the name of Kitty, his wife and only wife. We hear about a lot of relationships going south in a big hurry but Roddy was very tight and loved his family dearly.”
Following the tragic news that WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper had passed away this week, tributes from across the world have been continuing to flood in.
Last night at WWE’s Live Event in San Diego, California, before the show began WWE invited fans to join them as they paid their respects to Piper with a ten-bell salute.
Piper passed away at his Hollywood home aged 61 after going into cardiac arrest. The ten-bell salute, which can be shown above was posted on YouTube by user Gregg O’Connell.
UFC 190 takes place tonight with UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey taking on Bethe Correia and the rivalry between the two has become personal.
Following the passing of WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Ronda has taken to her Instagram page, posted a photo of Piper and dedicated the fight to him.
Ronda Rousey was given the nickname “Rowdy” – similar to what Roddy Piper used after her mentor Gene Lebell began calling her it. He also trained Piper when he was a teenager.
Out of respect Ronda called up Piper and asked for his permission to use the “Rowdy” nickname in the cage and he was more than happy to oblige.
Following the news last night that WWE Hall of Famer ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper had passed away at the age of 61 from natural causes, tributes have been flooding in.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Roddy Piper’s family.
I admired and respected him as a wrestler, but even more as a person.
Just hours later Foley took to Facebook once again and shared another photo and wrote:
MISSING RODDY
I was so proud to call Roddy Piper a friend. He was one of a kind. A true legend. Rest in peace, HotRod, rest in peace.
Fellow WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart took to Instagram and shared a photo of himself with Piper and wrote a lengthy tribute which can be read below:
I can’t find the words to describe the sorrow in my heart upon learning the news of my dear friend, Roddy Piper, passing away. He was my closest friend in the business, a man that schooled me and guided me throughout my career. In fact, if it wasn’t for Roddy Piper reaching out to help me, I’m sure I would’ve been a mere footnote in wrestling. He was always there for me. He was family to me, a brother who loved me and was there for me through my darkest days. He was the only wrestler to come visit me when I suffered a stroke in 2002. He totally made me at Wrestlemania 8 in our classic match. Passing a torch that many from that era couldn’t conceive of doing. We always called each other “cuz” because we were so close. I loved you Roddy, and I’ll miss you and your laugh for the rest of my days. I’m stunned and the hole in my heart will widen as it sinks in that I lost a brother of such great worth. What a tragic loss to all that knew him.
– The Thursday, July 30th edition of WWE SmackDown drew 2.443 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. This week’s SmackDown was up from last week’s show, which averaged 2.353 million viewers.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair issued the following statement on the passing of fellow WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper to celebrity-gossip website TMZ:
“We’ve shared the ring, traveled the world, maintained a friendship throughout the ups and downs of the wrestling world, and battled to see who was the better heel. It’s almost impossible to express my grief. My condolences to his children and to his wife Kitty. I’ll miss you Roddy. The world will never be as Rowdy without you.”
WWE paid homage to the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in the form of a video tribute on his life and career, which they posted on their official YouTube channel a couple of hours after the news of Piper’s passing broke online.
For those who missed it, Piper passed away on Thursday due to cardiac arrest.
Above is the video tribute WWE released to honor Piper on Friday evening.
MMA fighter and aspiring pro wrestler Colt Toombs took to social media on Friday evening to comment on the passing of his father, one of the biggest legends in the history of pro wrestling — “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
As reported earlier today, Piper passed away at age 61 from cardiac arrest on Thursday, and was body was found in his Hollywood home on Friday.
“My father Roddy Piper was a great man and my best friend,” wrote Toombs. “I will miss him forever and will alway try to be the man he raised me to be.”
My father @R_Roddy_Piper was a great man and my best friend I will miss him forever and will alway try to be the man he raised me to be
Now that the news has spread that WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has passed away at age 61 due to cardiac arrest, the reactions are starting to come in on social media.
Below are a number of reactions on the passing of Piper from pro wrestling personalities:
RIP Roddy Piper. THE most Rowdy of characters, of all time. He was very good to me… Condolences to his family. #RIPRoddy
Following the devastating news that WWE Hall of Famer ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper passed away at his home in Hollywood aged 61, WWE have issued the following statement:
WWE is deeply saddened that Roderick Toombs, aka “Rowdy” Roddy Piper — WWE Hall of Famer and Intercontinental Champion — passed away today at the age of 61.
WWE extends its sincerest condolences to Toombs’ family, friends and fans.
“Roddy Piper was one of the most entertaining, controversial and bombastic performers ever in WWE, beloved my millions of fans around the world,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “I extend my deepest condolences to his family.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross was one of the first wrestling legends to take to social media to comment on the passing of fellow WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper on Friday.
Word spreading like wildfire here in Charlotte of the sudden death of @R_Roddy_Piper of an apparent heart attack in California. #RIPHOTROD
WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan, who has been in the hot seat in the media regarding his leaked racist rants, took a break from that subject to talk about the passing of one of his biggest career rivals, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
Hulk Hogan told TMZ Sports that he is devastated over the news of his friend Roddy Piper — saying, “I will forever miss him,” and “He was my best friend. He is a legend.”
Hogan added, “God’s gain is our loss. May his family in this time of need, find peace. Much love forever, HH.”
An update has surfaced with more information regarding the untimely passing of one of WWE’s biggest legends, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
According to a new TMZ article, Piper died from cardiac arrest in his sleep on Thursday night. He was found on Friday.
Piper’s representative told TMZ:
“I am devastated at this news. Rod was a good friend as well as a client and one of the most generous, sincere and authentic people I have ever known. This is a true loss to us all.”
A family member issued this statement:
“Our family is saddened by the sudden passing of our father and beloved husband, Roderick Toombs aka Rowdy Roddy Piper.”
WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has passed away at the age of 61. He died of cardiac arrest at his home in Hollywood on Thursday night and was found on Friday. Piper’s representative told TMZ:
“I am devastated at this news. Rod was a good friend as well as a client and one of the most generous, sincere and authentic people I have ever known. This is a true loss to us all.”
A family member issued this statement:
“Our family is saddened by the sudden passing of our father and beloved husband, Roderick Toombs aka Rowdy Roddy Piper.”
Piper was one of the biggest wrestling stars back in the 1980s and in 2006 he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma but last year revealed he was cancer free.
From everyone at SEScoops, we would like to express our deepest condolences to Roddy Piper’s family, friends and fans around the world.
– There is a pre-sale going on right now for tickets to this year’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. You can access the pre-sale with the code word: LAVIP. WWE Hell In A Cell 2015 takes place on October 25th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
– As noted earlier this week, WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper spoke about the Hulk Hogan racism controversy during his appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. The show has released video footage of the appearance, which you can check out below.
WWE Hall Of Famer Roddy Piper, who is one of Hulk Hogan’s biggest career rivals, spoke with Rich Eisen about “The Hulkster’s” racism controversy on Friday.
After dancing around the question and talking about some of the racially-driven controversial moments throughout his own career, “Hot Rod” finally addressed the Hogan situation.
“With Hulkster, I don’t agree with all his choices, you know what, I don’t hear people saying all the great things he does,” said Piper. “When he was on the Wheaties’ Box, all those kids that said their prayers and took their vitamins. I don’t hear them saying that. They just want to nail this.”
Piper concluded, “I just think it is a little… I think everybody needs to get a life. I don’t think that anybody should just go to hurt your feelings for no reason.”
As promised, WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper addressed the controversy and rumors regarding issues between himself and fellow WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on the latest edition of his podcast.
The controversy began when Piper had comedian and actor Will Sasso on his show doing an impression of Austin. As a result, Austin had Podcast One pull down the episode, noting that they brought up some personal things that he didn’t want out on the internet.
“There was a lot of love in it [the podcast], but I guess not for you,” Piper said while addressing Austin. “That’s my mistake then. Come Monday, when the episode aired, the company had taken down not only the podcast, but all of my podcasts and took me off the air because Steve, you were upset and you went and talked to them. OK, got it.”
Piper went on to reveal the fact that he spoke to the head of Podcast One, who informed Piper that his podcasts were taken down and that “The Hot Rod” could not talk about Austin anymore. Piper said that he felt that under those conditions he was being censored, and as a result, he didn’t feel like he wanted to work with Podcast One any longer.
“I didn’t mean to offend you in any way, and I still don’t see it,” Piper said to Austin. “However, I don’t need to. If you got offended by it, then I am sorry for whatever… I didn’t get it I guess, so I got out. It’s that simple. So for you, I’ve got all the respect in the world for what you’ve done. I hope you do all the things that you want to, and Hershey the Wonder Dog [laughs]. I don’t want to deal with it anymore. So I’m done with it, I didn’t lie about anything, and my heart’s in the right place in my life, and I’ve got my family on my side.”
WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be addressing the rumors regarding himself and fellow WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on a new episode of his podcast that will be released on Monday.
Piper took to social media on Sunday to hype tomorrow’s podcast with the big Austin discussion. Below are Piper’s comments on tomorrow’s show.
On Monday the facts will be aired. There will be NO doubt! After that, i want Steve and myself to get on with life! https://t.co/BDCreOxRDH
As previously reported, WWE dropped Roddy Piper from his WWE Legends contract, according to Ric Flair, due to issues with Steve Austin over Podcast One.
The issues reportedly began when Piper claimed that Austin got Piper’s podcast booted off of Podcast One after satirical comments were made by comedian Will Sasso, who was impersonating Austin, on a Piper’s Pit podcast that took place earlier this year.
Austin noted earlier this week that at age 50, he has no time for “soap opera stuff.” Austin claimed he had nothing to do with Piper getting pulled from Podcast One. He said he contacted the President of Podcast One and was informed that Piper asked for a meeting with them to tell the company that he no longer wanted to do a podcast for them.
Austin said he is not to blame for Piper leaving and claimed Piper himself is the one who wanted to leave. Austin added that despite everything, he has no hard feelings towards Piper.
Piper plans to address the situation on his next podcast. “This will be cleared up and gone after my next Podcast,” said Piper. “I heard what Steve said! Respect! My Honor’s not for sale!”
WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair mentioned on the latest edition of his “Wooo! Nation” podcast that fellow WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has been dropped from his WWE Legends contract.
According to Flair, Piper was dropped from his WWE Legends deal as a result of his recent issues with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin over PodcastOne.com.
We don’t have a lot of specific details on this story yet, however stay tuned as we hope to have an update later today.
– WWE has announced that NXT Diva Becky Lynch will be returning to action on this week’s edition of NXT television on the WWE Network. Lynch last worked at the NXT Takeover: Unstoppable special, losing to NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks.
– Legendary pro wrestling personality Jim Cornette is the guest on the latest edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s Pit” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– As noted earlier today, WWE touted the fact that they have surpassed the half a billion follower mark on social media. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has commented on the milestone, as you can see in the following tweet he posted earlier today.