Better Good Or Bad: Rowdy Roddy Piper

[The Brain]

We all know wrestling has good guys and bad guys. Just about any wrestler that spent more than a few years in the business has worked as both. Some excel at playing the hero while others seem more comfortable as the villain. There are many who seem to perform well in both roles. One of those is the legendary Rowdy Roddy Piper. In which role did you prefer Hot Rod?

Many people consider Roddy Piper to be one of the greatest heels of all time. He was the main antagonist to Hulk Hogan during the rock and wrestling boom of the 80s. His attacks on celebrities Mr. T and Cindy Lauper made him the man fans loved to hate. His exploits on Piper’s Pit are now part of wrestling legend. Piper’s mouth would often get him in trouble but he had the ability to back up his words. For years Piper has claimed that fans paid to boo him even more than to cheer their heroes. There’s no doubt he is one of wrestling’s best bad guys.

On the other hand, when Piper changed his ways and became a good guy in 1986 he became extremely popular. You could argue his popularity even rivaled that of Hulk Hogan. Piper always had a quick wit and when he started using that to embarrass the bad guys the fans found new respect for Hot Rod. While people loved the super hero that was Hulk Hogan, Piper seemed to be more of a real man’s man and was the more edgy and cool face to cheer.

This is really a toss up for me. Piper played both roles so well it’s hard to pick at which he was better. I’m leaning toward saying he was better as a heel. He just had a way at getting under your skin while making your favorites look foolish. I know that a high percentage of fans that post on wrestling forums tend to prefer heels so I wouldn’t be surprised if the poll becomes lopsided. Take a minute to think about it because I don’t think the answer is as obvious as you may think.

 

[GameOver]

I chose Face but only cause he was more personable and funnier, wheras as a heel i was only a kid back in the early 80's and i didn't like heels back then with the exception of Macho Man Randy Savage who was cool.

I prefered Piper as a face when it came to his commentry, whit and doing Piper's Pit, but as far as ring work/promo's goes, he was better as a heel IMO. So damn annoying and hateable. Which is exactly what a heel should be.

Really he's a 50/50 guy, he's succeeded at both which puts him in a select group of people that have exceled at being both the biggest Heels and very over Faces.

 

[boomhauer20055]

He was better as a heel but had to turn face because he was so well liked.

 

[#hamler]

I would say heel. I didn't grow up during the height of his career, but I definitely know from DVDs, videotapes, and Youtube footage that Roddy Piper was one of the greatest heels not only in WWE but wrestling history. In my opinion, Piper should have never really turned face. In the mid '80s he created a phenomenal amount of heat and is arguably responsible for making Hulk Hogan as big as he was. Roddy Piper as a heel was original and did things way before his time. You had no choice but to hate what the prick did. The way he acted, demanded you hate him inside the ring or even during a promo. If you ask me, he'll be remembered for being a heel because of how innovative he was.

 

[closet_fan]

heel heel heel. when i was young, he was the heel everyone else emulated. you hated him. i hated him. even when i watched the cartoon, i hated him. he was perfect at his craft because he was that heel/coward combo and he pulled it off really well.

once he because an initial face, he was still fun to watch. but i will always remember him as the heel i hated the most.

 

[rokuma]

I'll take him as a face. Have you watched the 1990 Royal Rumble? The place EXPLODED when he came out to help Jake the Snake against Dibiase and Savage. When they started cleaning house (I'm channeling my inner Gorilla Monsoon) the place went bananas! Remember the Hollywood Back Lot Brawl in 1996 with Goldust? Or the angle with Hogan in WCW later that year? Piper could do either, but he was enormously popular as a face.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Heel - Way more funny and entertaining as a heel, a lot of his off the wall creativity was stiffled as a fan favorite - I will say he had some very good moments as a fan favorite, his "Retirement" match vs Adrian Adonis, right around the time he actually became a god guy, was very good. His fan favorite matches vs Ric Flair and Brett Hart in WWE were also very entertaining, as was his promos.

He was mostly a fan favorite in WCW, although he did some very good work vs Hollywood Hogan and the NWO.

His in ring style changed very little between the two, only minor changes in his performances. Fact is, his promo style changed little as well, he was just allowed to be funnier as a heel. The truly entertaining wrestlers, HBK, Flair, HHH, etc, make only subtle changes to their persona to be effective as a heel or face. Some guys have good runs as both bt they need to make dramatic changes to who they are in order to sell people, like Hogan and Lex Luger. Piper was so good he worked the crowds expertly with the most subtle of changes in his interviews and in ring performances. Still, better as a heel

 

[Dagger Dias]

I definitely think his heel run was better. Although Piper is a legend and did great in both sides of the spectrum, he was better in the heel role and that is a more important part of his legacy because of being one of the main rivals for Hogan during a time when wrestling was extremely popular. Fans loved to hate him and he did an amazing job at getting heel heat during this time. There is a reason he is looked back on as one of the best heels ever. I do not hear nearly as many arguments in his favor as being one of the best faces ever. I give Piper credit for having successful runs in both roles, but there is no question about it that he was a better heel than face.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Piper could play both sides of the fence really well but for my taste its heel.

Personally, I think Piper is the greatest heel of all time no one could get the amount of heat Piper could past, present or future, he was THE BEST.

Whether it was his early days playing "La Cuca Raca" to a spanish audience when he's supposed to be playing the Mexico national anthem, whether its making fun of Mr. T (which was honestly some of the funniest TV moments I've ever seen in my life) or kicking Cindy Lauper and slamming Dave Wolfe it was all incredible. Piper was one of the few guys that would get legitimately attacked after events by angry fans, if you can pull that off then you know you are doing something right.

When Piper was heel his job was to make people hate him and people legitimately hated Piper with a passion, that takes a special kind of asshole to pull that off.

 

[RicoLen]

Honestly, I know he made his reputation as a heel, but with Piper, I always liked him better as a face. For me, there's really not many that I'd say that was the case with either. I am one of those fans that prefer the heels, The Miz, & R-Truth are two current examples of guys I like better as heels than as faces, but I think it's a whole lot harder to be liked as a face by guys like me, and when you can get over as a face with me, you're golden.

My favorite memory of Piper as a face was when he was challenged for the Intercontinental Title by Bret hart. Just some of those lines how he'd talk about how he'd known Bret since he was in diapers, and then qualify that "of course you weren't potty trained until you were 12, but that's ok."

The fact of the matter is that it's really easy to make people hate you. Michael Cole and Vicky Guerrero are good examples of that. To make people love to hate you is far more difficult. It's harder still to make people love you because you've earned their respect and think you're still the badass you were when you were a heel. Piper achieved that, and that's how I choose to remember him.

 

[boozinjedi]

He made his mark as a heel,but to be truthful...there really wasn't much difference between the two, face & heel in his case.

He was a plain flat out crazy mother fucker no matter which one he was!!

 

[mrhexum]

I gotta say that I liked "Hot Rod" no matter how he was booked. He is just one of the greats, hands down. I voted heel though, just because his heel work sticks out to me so much more. He could honestly do it all though and I believe he was one of, if not the first heel that got so over he had to be turned face.

 

[Tree Of Woe]

Heel, for sure. He was a heel for most of his WWF days at least from what I remember. When he was a face in WCW I couldnt stand him because I was rooting for the nWo.