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Rowdy Roddy Piper: "The Tour To Settle The Score"; Glee Club, Cardiff, 27/07/2014, Quick Review

Posted: Jul 30th 2014 By: Matt Evans

The Glee Club was filled close to capacity and all the wrestling fans in attendance were sweating like they were in a sauna trapped under the girth of Yokozuna.

However, the sometimes stifling heat was worth enduring for one "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, who was making his first visit to Wales as part of his "Tour To Settle The Score" one-man show.

In a change from the usual Eros Comedy set-up, the "Meet & Greet" portion took place before the show. This allowed VIP ticket holders to meet Roddy, get some merchandise autographed and also get a photo taken by Eros Comedy main man, Chris Brooker (who, as per usual, ran a tight and very reliable ship all evening). Roddy was great, very down-to-earth and personable and very appreciative of everyone that made the effort to come to show and see and support him.

The show itself was less structured than say, Diamond Dallas Page's "BANG!" Q&A in March 2014, however, once Piper got into his flow, there was no stopping him. He praised us for our knowledge of wrestling history and for being dedicated for following the shows even when they were on early in the morning.

"Hot Rod" then recounted some unbelievable, sometimes shocking stories about breaking into the business, riding down the highways with legends like Butcher Vachon, wrestling a real bear and more.

Roddy also talked about WrestleMania 1, Hogan, Mr T and why he always wanted to protect the other wrestlers as well as the integrity of the business.

Movingly, when asked about his greatest achievement in the Q&A session, Piper cited his family as being the most important thing of all, way above any titles or in-ring accomplishments, of which he admitted he doesn't hang his hat on anyway. There was also time for reflection when Roddy paused and touched upon the tragic early losses of guys like Mr Perfect, Ravishing Rick Rude and others.

Always humble, Piper spoke from the heart, shot from the hip and had the audience gripped (or at times, in stitches) and in the palm of his hand.

Although the show ran for around 2 and half hours, Piper had only scratched the service of his long and illustrious career. But by no means was this a bad thing. It was very interesting to hear about the earlier parts of his life and career, book-marked by his better-known exploits in between. You got the feeling that there were enough stories to fill 5 more shows.