"Rowdy" Roddy Piper Height, Name, Weight, Age, Wife, Children, Films, Profile

Ric Flair inducted Piper into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, calling him "the most gifted entertainer in the history of professional wrestling."

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper in a file photo [Image-WWE.com]
By Blesson Daniel | May 21, 2022 | 7 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Roderick George Toombs, a.k.a. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, was born on April 17, 1954. He was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. Between 1984 and 2000, Piper was most recognized by worldwide audiences for his work with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Despite being Canadian, he was advertised as hailing from Glasgow due to his Scottish origins, and he was noted for his characteristic kilt and bagpipe entrance music. Piper’s distinctive “Scottish” short temper, spontaneity, and quick wit earned him the nicknames “Rowdy” and “Hot Rod.” He is “considered by many to be the best ‘heel’ (or evil) wrestler ever,” according to The Daily Telegraph.

The most gifted entertainer

Piper, one of wrestling’s most famous figures, headlined several pay-per-view events, including the WWF and WCW’s major yearly events, WrestleMania and Starrcade. He won 34 titles and hosted the iconic WWF/E interview segment “Piper’s Pit,” which allowed countless kayfabe feuds. Ric Flair inducted Piper into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, calling him “the most gifted entertainer in the history of professional wrestling.”

Film Star

Outside of wrestling, Piper appeared in scores of films and TV shows, most notably as John Nada in the 1988 cult movie They Live and as Da’ Maniac, a demented professional wrestler on the FX comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He is also well-known for his portrayal of Sam Hell in Hell Comes to Frogtown. Piper is widely considered one of history’s most prominent professional wrestlers.

Early Life

Piper was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and went to Windsor Park Collegiate. While they resided in The Pas, Manitoba, his father worked for the CN Rail Police (Canadian National Railway). Toombs fled home and slept in youth hostels after being expelled from junior high for carrying a switchblade in class and having a falling out with his father. He began working odd jobs at local gyms, such as running errands for numerous professional wrestlers. He learned to play the bagpipes as a young guy, however, he constantly asserted that he had no idea where he learned.

NameRoderick George Toombs
DOB17 April 1954 – 31 July 2015, 61 years
Height188 cm
Weight104 kg
OccupationProfessional wrestler, Actor
Professional Debut1969
WifeKitty Jo Dittrich ​(m. 1982)
Professional NameRoddy Piper

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“Rowdy” Roddy Piper in WWE

Piper performed five matches for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979 at Madison Square Garden before joining the WWF full-time in 1984. On January 22, he defeated jobber Frankie Williams in his debut WWF encounter. Piper performed five matches for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under Vince McMahon Sr. in 1979 at Madison Square Garden before joining the WWF full-time in 1984. On January 22, he defeated jobber Frankie Williams in his debut WWF encounter.

Full time in WWE

Piper was contacted by WWF owner Vince McMahon in 1983, but he insisted on finishing his contract with Jim Crockett before beginning his WWF career in 1984. Piper arrived in the WWF as a manager, working with “Dr. D” David Schultz and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, but his tenure as a manager came to an end discreetly, and he began wrestling full-time. Using one of his wrestling talents, the microphone, he was given his interview segment dubbed Piper’s Pit on Championship Wrestling and Wrestling at the Chase in 1984, beginning a run that lasted until 1987.

Feud with Hogan

Piper’s next major plot involves Hulk Hogan as well as pop artist Cyndi Lauper. The War to Settle the Score was shown on MTV in 1985, and it included a main-event bout between Piper and Hogan, who was followed to the ring by Lauper, Captain Lou Albano, and Mr. T. This event paved the way for the inaugural WrestleMania, which featured Paul Orndorff and his old boss Piper against Hogan, and Mr. T. Orndorff was pinned by Hogan when Piper’s bodyguard “Cowboy” Bob Orton intervened and hit Orndorff instead of Hogan.

Returning as a Face

Taking a sabbatical from the WWF, Piper returned as a face against A.J. Petrucci on August 23, 1986, at a TV taping of Championship Wrestling. As part of the plot, the returning Piper was upset to see that his Piper’s Pit portion had been replaced with The Flower Shop. Piper spent weeks interrupting Adonis’ program and swapping insults, resulting in a “showdown” between the two parts that culminated with Adonis, Orton, and Don Muraco assaulting and humiliating Piper. Piper invaded the set of Adonis’ program and damaged it with a baseball bat in response. This resulted in their Hair vs. Hair bout at WrestleMania III, which was touted as Piper’s final wrestling match before leaving to become an actor. Piper was victorious.

Returning after 2 years

Piper returned following a two-year break in 1989. He did make his formal comeback two weeks later at WrestleMania V, with another live Piper’s Pit, when he hosed down a smoldering Morton Downey Jr. with a fire extinguisher. On May 12, he returned to the ring, replacing Jake Roberts and pinning Ted DiBiase in a house event in Los Angeles. Piper would go on to win many more matches against DiBiase that month, as well as against Randy Savage in June.

Piper was later injured in a motorbike accident in 1991 but was nonetheless present during both WrestleMania VII and SummerSlam contests He rekindled his feud with Ric Flair, defeating The Mountie at the 1992 Royal Rumble for his first and only Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. He was defeated by Bret Hart shortly after at WrestleMania VIII. Following his championship loss to Hart, Piper made a few appearances at Wrestling Challenge and WWF Superstars tapings. Two portions of Piper’s Pit were taped with Steve Lombardi and two with Shawn Michaels. None aired, and Piper was dropped by the WWF. He made a triumphant comeback to the bagpipes at SummerSlam.

WWF President

Piper returned for another regular role on Monday Night RAW on January 29, 1996, when he was designated temporary WWF President after Gorilla Monsoon was forced to take a leave of absence due to a Darth Vader attack. On February 24, he wrestled for the first time in over two years at a home event in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Piper beat The 1-2-3 Kid with a ring bell as a replacement for Razor Ramon. One of Piper’s first moves as president was to reintroduce The Ultimate Warrior into the WWF following a fan-written letter campaign. Piper quit the organisation again as Gorilla Monsoon regained control of the WWF by the conclusion of the night. His final appearance was on Monday Night RAW on September 6, 1996, when footage of him competing with other WWF wrestlers at the CNE “Experience” in Toronto was displayed.

First Surprise return in WWE in 2003

Piper made a surprise entrance during the Hulk Hogan-Vince McMahon bout at WrestleMania XIX in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 2003, and attacked Hogan with a steel pipe to establish his villain position; Hogan subsequently won the match. Piper later joined forces with Sean O’Haire; at Backlash in April, Rikishi hit Piper with Piper’s own coconut, but O’Haire defeated Rikishi.

Hall of Fame

On February 21, 2005, it was announced that Piper was to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Piper held an episode of Piper’s Pit at WrestleMania 21 where he interviewed Stone Cold Steve Austin. On the July 11, 2005, episode of Raw, Piper received a superkick from Shawn Michaels, the guest for Piper’s Pit. In October and November 2005, Piper feuded with Cowboy Bob Orton and Randy Orton, after they attacked him during a session of Piper’s Pit with Mick Foley. While Piper defeated both Ortons in a handicap match.

Brief Stints

The Shield appeared as guests on Piper’s Pit on Raw on January 6, 2014. The four guys that battled in the main event of WrestleMania I—Piper, Paul Orndorff, Hulk Hogan, and Mr. T—buried the hatchet in a backstage segment at WrestleMania XXX. Rusev and Lana appeared on the last Piper’s Pit episode of Raw on December 22, 2014. Piper and other superstars came in a backstage segment after Daniel Bryan won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 31. Ric Flair stated in early July 2015 that Piper had lost his WWE Legends contract due to a public rivalry with Steve Austin. As a result, Piper left PodcastOne. Piper later apologised to Austin three weeks before his death, on July 13.

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper WWE achievements

WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ric Flair

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)

Slammy Award for Best Personality in “Land of a Thousand Dances” (1986)

WWE Bronze Statue (2019)

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper Movies

Movie NameRelease Year
The One and Only1978
Body Slam1986
Hell Comes to Frogtown1988
They Live1988
Buy & Cell1989
Tagteam1991
Immortal Combat1992
Back In Action1993
No Contest1994
Tough and Deadly1994
Jungleground1995
Terminal Rush1996
Marked Man1996
Sci-Fighters1996
First Encounter1997
Dead Tides1997
The Bad Pack1997
Hard Time1998
Last To Surrender1998
Legless Larry & the Lipstick Lady1999
The Shepherd1999
Jack of Hearts2000
Honor2005
Domestic Import2006
Costa Chica: Confession of an Exorcist2006
Shut Up and Shoot!2006
Night Traveler2006
Blind Eye2006
Ghosts of Goldfield2007
Super Sweet 16: The Movie2007
Legion: The Final Exorcism2008
The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens2009
A Gothic Tale2009
The Portal2010
Lights Out2010
Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes2010
Alien Opponent2010
Clear Lake2011
Pizza Man2011
Fancypants2011
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights2011
Black Dynamite Teaches a Hard Way!2013
Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies2013
Don’t Look Back2014
Portal to Hell2015
The Masked Saint2015
The Bet2016
The Chair2016

Who is “Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s wife ?

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s wife is Kitty Jo Dittrich. They got married in 1982 and now Kitty is the widow of Piper. They had four kids. Teal Piper made her professional wrestling debut in August 2019 for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) at the All Out pay-per-view. Soon later, it was confirmed that she had signed a deal with Women of Wrestling (WOW).

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s death

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper appears as a guest on The Rich Eisen Show on July 24, 2015. He struggled to gather his thoughts and stay focused, frequently meandering and failing to answer Eisen’s queries. Piper died in his sleep seven days later, on July 31, at the age of 61, at his vacation home in Hollywood, California. His death certificate states that he died of a cardiopulmonary arrest caused by hypertension, with a pulmonary embolism as a contributing factor; TMZ claimed that he died of a heart attack induced by the embolism.