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WWE Superstar of the Week for August 1: Remembering Rowdy Roddy Piper

Posted: Aug 1st 2015 By: Chris Mueller - BleacherReport.com

Every week here on Bleacher Report, we take a look at the Superstar who stood out the most and a few others who made good impressions, but this week is different.

The world mourned the loss of another legend on Friday, when the news of Rowdy Roddy Piper's passing broke. Superstars, legends and fans all expressed their feelings for the Hot Rod on social media in an outpouring of love and respect.

To say Piper had a huge impact on the world of professional wrestling is a massive understatement. He was never the biggest dog in the fight, but he was the toughest. You could put him in the ring with anyone and were guaranteed to get an incredible performance.

It wasn't his technical ability, strength or agility that made him special. It was his understanding of the psychology of wrestling that made him unique.

It's easy for people who aren't wrestling fans to look at it and think it was just two people throwing punches and slamming each other, but it's so much more than that. A good match tells a story.

Every bout Piper was involved in had a beginning, middle and end, and you were lucky to be along for the ride. Whether he was a heel or a babyface, you couldn't help but be drawn in by his bigger-than-life personality and intense love for the business. And let's face it, it takes a real man to wear a kilt.

There are so many things about him that stood out and countless moments that helped shape his career as one of the greatest of all time.

One of the Best Talkers in the Biz

Roddy Piper was easily one the greatest talkers in the history of pro wrestling. He belongs right up there with Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair and Steve Austin as one of the most magnetic promo men in the business.

His talk show, Piper's Pit, gave him an outlet to use his voice to entertain millions of fans around the world. Who could forget that moment when he smashed the coconut over the head of Jimmy Snuka?

In fact, he was so good at cutting promos Hollywood came calling, and Piper starred in one of the biggest sci-fi cult classics of all time, They Live.

But his true love was wrestling. If you were in a feud with Piper, you had to step up your game to even come close to his level, and few ever could. Going against him in a promo was like staring down the barrel of a loaded gun. If you didn't come prepared, you were going to be embarrassed.

Every wrestler has a few memorable quotes, but Piper delivered more than most. Lines such as "never throw rocks at a man with a machine gun," "just when you think you know the answers, I change the questions" and "I came her to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum" are unforgettable.

Piper could cut a promo on dirt and make it interesting. He was so cool as a heel it was hard to dislike him, even when he was beating up your favorite babyface.

You can see his influence in the promos of many current Superstars, but there is and forever will be only one Rowdy Roddy Piper.

His WrestleMania Legacy

They might call Shawn Michaels Mr. WrestleMania, but nobody was more important to the success of the event than Rowdy Roddy Piper. Let's start at the beginning.

The original WrestleMania was a huge gamble for Vince McMahon. If it wasn't a major success, it probably would have been the end of the World Wrestling Federation as we know it.

The main event saw Hulk Hogan team up with Mr. T to take on Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper in a tag team match that made fans around the world realize how special those four men were.

One year later, Piper stepped back into the ring with Mr. T for a boxing match. Even though he lost both of those contests, Piper was a big part of why they were so entertaining.

WrestleMania III might be remembered for Hogan slamming Andre the Giant and Ricky Steamboat tearing the house down with Randy Savage, but Piper was there too.

He took on Adrian Adonis in a Hair versus Hair match that concluded what had been a violent and personal feud up to that point. It may as well have been a Strap match, considering how many times they used a leather belt to hurt each other.

At the end of the night, Piper won and got to keep his lustrous locks. Hogan's big slam and Steamboat's win may have overshadowed Piper versus Adonis, but the fans in attendance loved every second of this no-holds barred slobberknocker.

WrestleMania V might not have featured Piper in a match, but one of the most popular Piper's Pit segments happened that night. He was interviewing Morton Downey Jr., but things went south when Downey refused to stop blowing cigarette smoke in Piper's face.

Not one to be pushed around, Piper grabbed a fire extinguisher and blasted Downey and his cigarette out of the ring. This segment lasted longer than most of the matches on the card and was just as entertaining as any of them.

At WrestleMania VI, Piper fought Bad News Brown to a double count-out in a brutal encounter. The following year, he accompanied Virgil to the ring for his grudge match against Ted DiBiase.

At WrestleMania VIII, Piper defended the Intercontinental Championship, the only singles title he ever held in WWE, against Bret Hart. We will get into that more in a bit.

Piper turned in his trunks for a striped shirt at WrestleMania X and XI, serving as the special guest referee for two matches featuring his old rival, Bret Hart. The first was the WWF Championship bout against Yokozuna, and the second was an I Quit match against Bob Backlund, both of which Hart won.

Piper wouldn't lace up his boots for another WrestleMania match until the 12th edition of the biggest event in sports entertainment.

Goldust and Hot Rod had one of the most memorable and violent showdowns in the history of the event when they fought in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl. It was bloody, brutal and as entertaining as they come. From that moment on, nobody underestimated Goldust.

It wasn't until 2003 that we saw Piper at the show again. He came out during the battle between Hogan and Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania XIX, hitting the Hulkster with a pipe in an unsuccessful attempt to cost his old rival the match.

Another Piper's Pit segment took place at WrestleMania 21, which featured the Hot Rod and Steve Austin taking out Carlito before Stone Cold hit Rowdy with a Stunner.

Hot Rod had his final match at the event at WrestleMania XXV in a handicap bout, teaming up with fellow legends Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka to defeat Chris Jericho.

However, that would not be his final appearance. Two years later, he recreated the infamous coconut scene with Snuka by smashing Zack Ryder in the head with one of the tropical drupes.

The next appearance he would make at the Showcase of the Immortals took place at WrestleMania XXX in 2014. He appeared backstage with Mr. T, Hogan and Orndorff. The four men who headlined the first Mania created a memorable moment when they all shook hands and buried the hatchet.

His final appearance at the pay-per-view he helped launch was a backstage segment in which he appeared with other former IC champions to congratulate Daniel Bryan on his Intercontinental Championship victory at WrestleMania 31.

As you can see, Piper is as ingrained into the history of WrestleMania as anyone else in WWE history. His legacy of great performances spans four decades, from the very first main event all the way up to the most recent show.

My Favorite Roddy Piper Memory

As writers, we try not to talk in the first person, but it's necessary for this portion of the article. My favorite Roddy Piper memory was seeing him wrestle Bret Hart at WrestleMania VIII.

Most people will remember this event for the title match between Ric Flair and Randy Savage or the main event between Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice, but for me, Hart and Piper stole the show.

This bout was a clinic in both technical ability and ring psychology. Hart was busted open, the ref was knocked out, both men used every trick in their playbook and it ended with Piper turning babyface.

The pace of the match was a story in itself. They started off slow to feel each other out, but things got more intense as time went on.

When the ref was taken out, Piper grabbed the ring bell and looked like he was going to clean Hart's clock. When he looked out into the crowd and saw how they were reacting, the expression on his face said it all.

Despite his history as a bad guy, he threw the bell aside and tried to win the match like a true champion. He applied his patented sleeper hold, but Hart countered by pushing off the turnbuckle and rolling back onto Piper to pin him and win the IC title.

It appeared as though he was going to attack the Hitman after the match, but in a show of respect, he lifted him up, put the belt around his waist and embraced the new champion in a moment of sportsmanship.

As an eight-year old, this resonated with me. To see a bad guy change his ways and show respect to someone who had just defeated him made me realize that WWE, and life, was not as black and white as it seemed. That might seem like a big revelation to have because of a wrestling match, but it's true.

From that moment on, I idolized Piper. His incredible showmanship and over-the-top personality drew me in. Whenever I hear bagpipes, I think of him.

The Man Behind the Myth

WWE Legends' House wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining had Piper not been in the house with the rest of the guys.

While much of the show was filled with goofy moments and activities, one thing it did was show these are real people with real emotions, and that was especially clear when it came to Piper.

There were times that showed his sense of humor, the way he thought about life and that despite being surrounded by his friends, even he felt lonely sometimes.

The friendship he had with Jim Duggan was highlighted several times throughout the season, and it helped showcase the love and respect they had for each other after years of performing together.

Then there's his podcast, appropriately titled Piper's Pit. During his many interviews, we got to hear stories we may have never heard otherwise. We had an opportunity to hear him speak as himself, not the character we had grown to love over the years.

If you have never had a chance to listen to his show, do yourself a favor and download some episodes. You won't regret it.

His Legacy Will Live Forever

It's never easy when an idol passes away, but Piper's legacy will never die. You can listen to his podcast, watch his matches on the WWE Network and see how loved he was on social media.

The fact he was able to beat cancer made his death at the age of 61 even more shocking, but nobody ever really dies if we remember how they made us feel.

Let's not mourn his loss. Let's celebrate his life. Roddy Piper put smiles on the faces of millions of people throughout his career, and that is what's important in the end. If you can make a positive impact on the people that love you, then you have lived a good life.

Rest in peace, Hot Rod. We will never forget you.