TSC Evaluation #6: Roddy Piper

[mrken12]

For the last evaluation, Tazz got 5.84

http://www.thecoli.com/threads/tsc-evaluation-5-tazz.453277/

Scott Steiner: 8.67 http://www.thecoli.com/threads/tsc-evaluation-2-scott-steiner.452397/
Goldberg: 7.47 http://www.thecoli.com/threads/tsc-evaluation-3-goldberg.452621/
Sycho Sid: 6.77 http://www.thecoli.com/threads/tsc-evaluation-4-sycho-sid-sid-vicious.452922/
Jeff Jarrett: 4.55 http://www.thecoli.com/threads/tsc-evaluation-jeff-jarrett.452253/

If people have any requests for future wrestlers you want to see evaluated, let me know.

Pending requests: Sting, Lex Luger, Tommy Dreamer, Edge, Terry Funk, CM Punk

------------------------------------------------------------------

Major accomplishments:

Cauliflower Alley Club
Reel Member Inductee (2001)

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling/World Championship Wrestling
NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (3x)
NWA Television Championship (2x)
NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (3x)


NWA Hollywood Wrestling
NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (5x)
NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (5x)
NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (1x)

NWA San Francisco
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1x)
NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (1x)

Pacific Northwest Wrestling
NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (2x)
NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (4x)


Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Match of the Year (1985) with Paul Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan and Mr. T at WrestleMania I
Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1984, 1985)
Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1982)
Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1986)
Stanley Weston Award (2015)
PWI ranked him No. 17 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Class of 2007

World Class Championship Wrestling
NWA American Tag Team Championship (1x)

World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment
World Tag Team Championship (1x)
WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1x)
WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)
Slammy Award (1x)
Best Personality in Land of a Thousand Dances (1986)
The creation of the Piper's Pit talk show

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Best Heel (1984, 1985)
Best on Interviews (1981) tied with Lou Albano
Best on Interviews (1982, 1983)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)



With a scale of 1-10 how would you rate Roddy Piper in these categories:

-Mic work/promos

-Personality/gimmicks

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds)

-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores)

 

[WaveMolecules]

What stands out is his promo obviously but his personality and presentation were also A1.

His ring work wasn't special but he could deliver when needed.

Wm8 vs bret comes to mind.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

-Mic work/promos - Strong 10. One of the GOAT on the mic ever

-Personality/gimmicks - 9. He was very unique, a true a$$hole and troll and you WANTED to see him LOSE. Also came across as a little crazy and badass without being corny....until 97

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds) - 7 he has no real memorable moves or matches BECAUSE of his moves, but he didnt need it. Obviously vs. Hogan is beyond memorable, as a LIFE LONG fued. I thought the hollywood brawl vs. Goldust WAS REALLY good though, hard as fukk and entertaining even with the fake oj chase lol....i loved that match. Vs. Bret was a classic too.

-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores) - 8

 

[Here Comes the Pain]

7. I never thought much about piper in ring wise, but his mic skills was one of the best.

 

[Buggsy Mogues]

Promos: 8 -- For me he's a little overrated on the mic. That doesn't mean he's bad, he was GREAT, but I don't put him on the GOAT tier. I think he was ahead of his time, and inspired a lot of modern day wrestlers, guys who have come to surpass him on the mic. Looking back at Piper's promos, I can see why it was viewed as so great at the time but I don't think some of it holds up.

In Ring: 4 -- I can't really think of any TRULY memorable matches that I would go back to watch over and over again besides Bret, who is obviously GAWD tier. He could hold his own in the ring though.

Personality: 9 -- Obviously tons of charisma, one of the great personalities in wrestling history.

Overall: 7/10

 

[patscorpio]

promos - gotta give him the full monty..he was an originator
personality - a gimmick based on his heritage..got away with wearing kilts yet i never thought of him as NOT being tough...could actually play the bagpipes..charismatic and borderline reckless/psychotic - full monty here
ring work - piper's feuds/angles i think carried his more memorable matches than his ring work...like example piper vs mountie at RR 92...match was nothing spectacular but you'll never hear a louder more audible pop when finkel announces him as the new IC champion..but he was solid enough in his prime..give him a 5

plus has a cult classic movie in They Live which is in running for being possibly the best mainstream movie ever starring a wrestler thats not Rock lol

overall I'd give him an 8.5..he is worthy of his legend status

 

[Cartier Murphy]

Promos - 7. Always felt he was a tad overrated, in the sense that his mic work was very strong in his early Fed early years and some of the Piper's Pits are legendary. He wouldn't have had a talk show segment if he could've talk. But of course, with age his skills deteriorated. Some of his appearances on tv prior to his passing over the last few years were not good, with one Highlight Reel segment being memorably bad involving Jericho and Ziggler a few summers ago. Not bad enough to really knock him down or hurt his old work, but enough for me to remember.

Personality - 8. I grew up on old man I.C.O.N era Roddy which was pretty eh what with all the Alcatraz stuff and whatnot, but in his younger years he was a great heat magnet and an entertaining personality. Definitive heel you loved to hate.

Matches - 6. His weakest area was always in-ring. He was apart of that crop of dudes in the 80's who just never really did jobs, which I think hurt his body of work because there's only so much you can do with DQ and count out finishes. His best match obviously is Mania 8 with Bret, I think in part because it had a definitive, clean finish. For other memorable feuds and matches, obviously the Hogan feud, with Bret as mentioned. Him and Flair had good chemistry. I really enjoyed his dog collar match with Greg Valentine, and even the Goldust brawl was an entertaining spectacle.

Overall - 8. While I've truthfully never really been a big fan of his and honestly, he was a legend who IMO I got tired of seeing on TV just because he was seemingly always around (no disrespect though). But I can't deny his impact and influence. One of the best heels of the last 30 years and a key to the WWF's success in Vince's early years, as he was the heel Hogan needed to bounce off of, with the first Wrestlemania being the obvious example. Worthy of his legendary status.

 

[TRIPLE M]

84-86, i truly believe he was the best heel in history
the smug entrance with the bagpipes,the dastardly deeds, the popping off of the mouth and the fukkery he would do in pipers pit
the shyt he did is still being immitated today and nobody has come close

and he was over
so over he won most popular wrestler in pro wrestlling illustrated in 86 ...as a heel
this was before smart marks

 

[TheAlbionist]

His 10+ promo meant he didn't have to be more than a 5 in the ring to stay more over than almost anyone else. His heel runs were legendary. He innovated the interview game with Piper's Pit into a format that's still the go-to for mid-show promos today.

Oh, and he actually howled at the moon in Legends House.

Solid 8 overall.

Legend.

 

[Riley Escobar]

8

Dope on the mic, fairly unmemorable in the ring. His IC match with Bret at Mania 8 was probably his best, along with the Backlot Brawl at Mania 12 vs Goldust

 

[TheWhackMamba]

Dude was awesome in the day but I gave him a 7 for staying around way too long, like most of them do

 

[stro]

Terrible. As a promo guy, anything after his return in 1993 was garbage, all following a fairly strict format of "Aw shucks for me?/cheap hometown pop/sex reference (usually calling his opponent a homo in some way)/insider shooty shyt (often saying he's going to shoot)" while squealing. Now before that, amazing coked up heel promos that drew REAL heat. After that, particularly in WCW, some of the worst and most pandering bullshyt there is.

As a wrestler, he was always garbage. If you can believe him (which you can't), he was never even actually trained, which showed in that he had no idea how to even take a normal bump. Out of a nearly 30 year career, he has all of two matches to his name: the chain match with Greg Valentine and the WM match with Bret Hart.

I've seen his work nearly everywhere (his early stuff in California is fairly hard to find, but beyond that) and end up with the same feeling: Could talk his ass off, shyt the bed in the ring, and the seams around his promos become very evident to the point where it hurts his loud mouthed, off the cuff gift of gab crazy guy persona. His WCW run is possibly the worst major run by a major star ever.

 

[Playaz Eyez]

I mostly caught the back-end of his career, but I can say his promos/personality was definitely an undeniable 10. In-ring skill from what I saw from 93 and on....maybe a 5.5 or 6. He was pretty basic. I guess he was great at psychology and emotion, but I'm only assuming since it's been years since I've seen Piper matches. My last image of him being in the ring was being pasty and bloated, and teaming with Sean O'Haire, taking a Frog Splash from Eddie Guerrero. I'll give him a 5 because even though he's a legend, apart of the very 1st WM, and had great passion and energy in his promos, he hung around a hell of a long time and was washed most of that time, and I've really just never cared for him much.

 

[Yayo Toure]

He's Y2J minus the in ring skills. I'd give him a 6.

 

[ZEB WALTON]

Solid 8. People saying he couodnt work never watched his matches. If he coulda worked more into the 90s i wojlda gave him a 9.

Influenced ya favorite heel

Underrated. One of the goats.