Flashback: Roddy Piper in WCW

[justtxyank]

Roddy Piper debuted in WCW at the end of 1996 as the foil for Hollywood Hogan during the early stages of the nWo, famously quipping that the audience would never have loved Hogan if they hadn't hated Piper.

Piper's time in WCW included a high profile (and highly confusing) cage match with Hogan at Starrcade 1996 and then further matches with Hogan, tag teaming with Flair against the Outsiders, feuding with Flair, feuding with Randy Savage in a program that included some epic promos, etc.

WCW was criticized for putting Piper in high profile positions throughout his tenure, pointing out his age and lack of ability. Yet he was always drawing great reactions from the crowd, often among the 3-5 biggest pops on any card he appeared.

So my question is quite simply this: Did you enjoy Roddy Piper in WCW or was bringing him in a mistake?

You can expand on the simple question with how you would have changed his WCW run (96-00), what you liked about it, what you hated, etc.

 

[relentless1]

no, i dont think roddy was good for wcw, maybe as commisioner he was but not as a wrestler and certainly not headlining starrcade, it shouldve been the giant vs hogan at starrcade 96 for sure

 

[dadubay]

Piper was used perfectly in WCW. He was the perfect commissioner; not showing up too much but not too infrequently. He didn't get saturated with too many title reigns like the other big names. In fact, that is my only complaint. He was in WCW at a time when the World Title was given to anyone who smiled at the booking committee, yet never received it. WCW may have used him right but they did a huge injustice to his legacy by not giving him the World title for a few seconds.

 

[RicSpade]

I always say Piper was one of the top 5 guys to never hold the world title in what was considered the big 3 and still be great... I know his skill was never perfect but I say his builds for matches were flawless, I remember as a kid watching intently as he sat in Alcatraz waiting for his match with Hogan it was brilliant. I personally think Piper winning over Hogan without a belt on the line to me just showed how much the wrestling world considered Piper as main event talent, unlike WWE who had seemed to put Piper in Mid-card status much like other NWA guys who had come over in the past such as Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, etc. etc.

 

[d3thRoW]

I thought he was great...loved his promos during this time, very few are on his level on the mic ever.He played a great face and got huge reactions from the live crowds, which very few were able to do that didn't have an nWo t-shirt on during that time. I agree too that he should have got the title from hogan. I mean, they had him beat hogan clean with the sleeper on ppv, but the title wasn't on the line? Never made sense to me...I know he was one of those guys who never needed the belt to make him, but in my opinion he deserved to have at least a short run.

 

[Foshinzo]

I think that, with deathly seriousness, Rowdy Roddy Piper is the greatest heel in wrestling history. When Piper said that Hogan owed all of his popularity on Piper's lack of, I firmly believe truer words have never been spoken about professional wrestling. Hogan fit the bill well, because he was so marketable, but I could have walked into that match at Wrestlemania 1 and been the biggest babyface in the building. WWF had put everyone behind Hogan, and that was because everyone was against Piper. That's the reason Hogan never pinned Piper in WWF: you can't kill that heat. The second Piper is put down, people are satisfied. Doesn't it say enough that their entire satisfaction was based around Piper getting pinned, not whether or not Hogan won? Piper drew more heat than anyone in the history of the business. Period. If Piper could have made Hogan a bigger babyface, Hogan might have been elected President. I don't mean to give Hogan any credit, because he did his job so perfectly during that time too, but Piper set him up so high that there was no way he could mess it up. It was a magic time, and Piper was the best in the WWF. He was the human heat machine if there's ever been one.

Now, clearly I love Piper. I'll admit my bias and announce to anyone who doesn't know that he's my favorite ever. But, was he good in WCW? Absolutely not. The only good that came from his feud with Hogan was that it delayed the Sting feud for another year. I liked that he got the clean win over Hogan, because he had earned that after all the years and it was amazing just to see Hogan do a job. But, it was sad to watch Piper try and lull around with that artificial hip, and it was all just a poor attempt by WCW to steal WWF's magic from 12 years before it. They could have pushed someone else, they could have given the time to a younger star, but they gave it to a man who, though I will always love and appreciate for enriching my childhood, should not have been performing, at that time. The WCW days were a waste, and I feel bad just looking back on it.

 

[x24hrs2livex]

I think that, with deathly seriousness, Rowdy Roddy Piper is the greatest heel in wrestling history. When Piper said that Hogan owed all of his popularity on Piper's lack of, I firmly believe truer words have never been spoken about professional wrestling. Hogan fit the bill well, because he was so marketable, but I could have walked into that match at Wrestlemania 1 and been the biggest babyface in the building. WWF had put everyone behind Hogan, and that was because everyone was against Piper. That's the reason Hogan never pinned Piper in WWF: you can't kill that heat. The second Piper is put down, people are satisfied. Doesn't it say enough that their entire satisfaction was based around Piper getting pinned, not whether or not Hogan won? Piper drew more heat than anyone in the history of the business. Period. If Piper could have made Hogan a bigger babyface, Hogan might have been elected President. I don't mean to give Hogan any credit, because he did his job so perfectly during that time too, but Piper set him up so high that there was no way he could mess it up. It was a magic time, and Piper was the best in the WWF. He was the human heat machine if there's ever been one.

Now, clearly I love Piper. I'll admit my bias and announce to anyone who doesn't know that he's my favorite ever. But, was he good in WCW? Absolutely not. The only good that came from his feud with Hogan was that it delayed the Sting feud for another year. I liked that he got the clean win over Hogan, because he had earned that after all the years and it was amazing just to see Hogan do a job. But, it was sad to watch Piper try and lull around with that artificial hip, and it was all just a poor attempt by WCW to steal WWF's magic from 12 years before it. They could have pushed someone else, they could have given the time to a younger star, but they gave it to a man who, though I will always love and appreciate for enriching my childhood, should not have been performing, at that time. The WCW days were a waste, and I feel bad just looking back on it.

This is quite possibly the best response to any question I've ever seen posted on these here forums. Piper not being pinned by Hogan at all in his career is the best thing to ever happen in Piper's career.

Ive always thought it was a travesty that Piper never beat Hogan back in the mid 80s for the WWF strap, even if it were just for a month or two. Him putting Hogan to sleep in the mid 90s for nothing was even worse for WCW. If you are going to try and reclaim the magic of the 80s at least re-write history a little. I loved when Roddy showed up in WCW, he at the time seemed like the only person who could thwart Hogans evil regime.

 

[daddyJ_t]

I always say Piper was one of the top 5 guys to never hold the world title in what was considered the big 3 and still be great... I know his skill was never perfect but I say his builds for matches were flawless, I remember as a kid watching intently as he sat in Alcatraz waiting for his match with Hogan it was brilliant. I personally think Piper winning over Hogan without a belt on the line to me just showed how much the wrestling world considered Piper as main event talent, unlike WWE who had seemed to put Piper in Mid-card status much like other NWA guys who had come over in the past such as Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, etc. etc.

dude, are u high or jus young? piper stuck in midcard by the e or f whatever ya call it? what the hell do u call the mainevent at wm 1 or the brawl to end it all? midcard? the world considered him me talent because he was. him and hogan started the roll n wrestling era. as for wcw, i didnt see him much so i cant give a good opinion. but id say wcw was looking to bank on the past and older fans by having him and it didnt work. for the older fans, it was good, but for wcw itself, failure. by the time he showed up, he was fresh off a fued with golddust and hot and thats what wcw wanted. as for the comment of piper never being pinned by hogan, technically false. he was pinned by mr.(hulk hogan) america. but to contradict myself, that was after both had the wcw run

 

[KoC417]

I loved Piper being in WCW. I was only a kid when he came in but I was aware of who he was. Piper was a big plus for WCW because they utilized him the proper way, he didn't get hurt, his promos were awesome, and he genuinely pleased a lot of the older fans who remembered him from WWF. Piper came in, he didn't curse but his words had a major impact. That was one of the things I really enjoyed about him; he never had to use foul language to get a rise out of everyone. Piper freakin called Giant "sprout" for crying out loud! How much more hilarious can things get!!
" I'm not here representing the WCW, the NWA, the SPC, the NRA, the SOB" another awesome quote from Piper.

Then he gets named temporary Chairman of the board. That was the PERFECT role for him because he really did "make things happen" even though they were all storylined it was something that people could actually see Piper doing. He had "authority" and he didn't abuse it he called people out on whatever they were spewing (Hogan saying he wanted Sting) and made people step up to the plate.
The other HUGE part of Piper's WCW tenure that was fantastic was the man didn't have one of those "I need to be at the center of the spotlight at all times" egos. He had his moments with Hogan, but wasn't over used to the point where it was like "oh great Piper AGAIN". He didn't demand massive title reigns as another poster said. Although he should have had at least 2 WCW title runs IMO.
Plus the way he didn't have an issue about people exposing his injuries and such. Piper was/is an all around talent. My only regret/disappointment was that Piper didn't come to WCW 100%. If my memory serves me he had a hip replaced or something along those lines and such. I sincerely believe that if he had come to WCW in 1 piece and able to go 100% he would have been given the strap. But Piper was so unselfish and he didn't let an ego get in the way. He thought in a business sense which was what WCW needed at that time. Can you imagine if it were Hogan vs HBK at that time? I mean both having backstage influence about match finishes and such. Would have been TERRIBLE.

All in all Piper was an absolute success for WCW. He brought in some old WWF viewers because it was Hogan and Piper again and not to mention kept many tuned in. I remember I would flip back from WWF/WCW but once WCW started booming WWF was dead to me. Piper= Great for WCW. No if's and's or but's about it.

 

[x24hrs2livex]

dude, are u high or jus young? piper stuck in midcard by the e or f whatever ya call it? what the hell do u call the mainevent at wm 1 or the brawl to end it all? midcard? the world considered him me talent because he was. him and hogan started the roll n wrestling era. as for wcw, i didnt see him much so i cant give a good opinion. but id say wcw was looking to bank on the past and older fans by having him and it didnt work. for the older fans, it was good, but for wcw itself, failure. by the time he showed up, he was fresh off a fued with golddust and hot and thats what wcw wanted. as for the comment of piper never being pinned by hogan, technically false. he was pinned by mr.(hulk hogan) america. but to contradict myself, that was after both had the wcw run

True Piper did headline WM1 in a tag bout(why not a singles match against Hogan?) and I guess he was a co-headliner of WM2 with his boxing match against Mr. T but after that where was he?

 

[Azane]

Roddy Piper was more positive than negative.

WCW thrived off name recognition, Roddy Piper was just 1 more name a WWF fan saw that made him tune into WCW.

 

[Dynamitekid2012]

The angle and even the match with Hogan was pretty good. I was more of a WWE guy but this was one of those angles that had me tuned into WCW each week. It was well built and well-done playing off their past, and the promos building up to the match were incredible. Does it rival their 80's fued? Well no. But as a filler storyline for a few months, I thought they did a goodjob with it.

My main thing was that constantly WCW was bringing in old "names" to draw but most of the time, I couldn't care less. This was one of the few times where it actually worked and I attribute that to Piper's amazing promo skills to sell the story and Hogan's amazing job of selling how big of a star Piper was.

 

[FlairFan2003]

I always say Piper was one of the top 5 guys to never hold the world title in what was considered the big 3 and still be great... I know his skill was never perfect but I say his builds for matches were flawless, I remember as a kid watching intently as he sat in Alcatraz waiting for his match with Hogan it was brilliant. I personally think Piper winning over Hogan without a belt on the line to me just showed how much the wrestling world considered Piper as main event talent, unlike WWE who had seemed to put Piper in Mid-card status much like other NWA guys who had come over in the past such as Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, etc. etc.

Harley Race was not used as a mid carder by WWE, he not only won the first King Of The Ring tournament, cleanly pinned Junkyard Dog at WM, but he had a lengthy program vs Hulk Hogan throughout the spring and summer of 87. Race probably would have done quite well as one of the company's top heels had injuries and age not caught up with him.

WWE used Piper as a main vent star, their top heel, during the initial HulkaMania days, it was Piper who wanted time off and to be a part time attraction (hence his face turn and subsequent Retirement Match at WM 3 in 87 vs Adrian Adonis). McMahon may not have gotten the best out of Dusty Rhodes but he certainly pushed Rick Rude, Road Warriors, Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson, Greg Valentine, and Ted DiBiase, Curt Henning, all guys he stole from NWA or AWA. Also remember back thgen with two singles titles and Hogan basically owning one of them, you could be a major player and not get a World Title run, ala Henning, Rude, & DiBiase.

Piper in WCW was good - he was not a full timer, no, but his apearances were always entertaining and he helped draw money and ratings. He definately played a big part in establishing the power of the evil NWO, the onscreen character that revealed Eric Bischoff as the behind the scenes brains of the outfit, ushering in a new level of evil villainry from the group. Main eventing Starrcade was the perfect use for him since Sting had just gone into exile, Flair was injured, and Giant was now in the NWO and wouldn't be facing Hollywood Hogan. Piper represented someone who knew "the real Hulk Hogan" like Flair and was a legitimate superstar. Even though the belt wasn't on the line it was a good move by WCW.

His other sporadic moments, particularly vs NWO in 97 were all good for the most part although by then he was really just a part time entity, hot shotting certain angles and leaving, but at least he got in the ring.