“Rowdy” Roddy Piper is considered by many pro wrestling fans and analysts alike to be not only one of the greatest heels (or bad guys) in the industry’s history, but also one of the greatest pro wrestling personalities of all time.
Chris Jericho, arguably one of the biggest names in the current pro wrestling scene, and a 30-year-veteran of the sport, recently sat down on “The Adam Carolla Show” where he shared his thoughts on Piper’s impact on pro wrestling and how the legend’s talents helped him transition into a successful 80s/90s action star on the big screen as well.
“He’s still kind of a gold standard for what you want to be in the business because he had such a great character,” Jericho said of Roddy Piper’s impact on pro wrestling.
“If you’re a great character in wrestling, it really lends itself to movies and TV and film, because that’s the basis of what wrestling is,” Jericho added, noting that though Piper might not be weighed as one of the best in-ring technicians by today’s standards, it was his legendary persona that made him heads-and-shoulders above the rest.
“He was the type of guy that could sell tickets by the promos,” Jericho continued. “The personality and charisma and all those sort of things is what really matters in wrestling; Roddy was one of the best at it.”
Later on in the interview, Jericho shared an amusing anecdote about an acting experience he had with Piper, on the set of a film called Immortal Combat which filmed a few years after Piper’s starring role in John Carpenter’s They Live.
“I was wrestling in Mexico and he happened to be down there shooting a movie,” Jericho said. “I remember him just like standing in the corner with his eyes closed, just getting ready for this scene, and emerging and becoming this guy.”
Jericho explained that one of the co-stars in Immortal Combat was a renowned martial artist/actor named Sonny Chiba, who Jericho had a fight scene with in the film.
“He was probably β I don’t know 60 at the time, and he would throw these kicks that came right across my jaw, like I barely felt them, right?” Jericho said of Chiba, noting that Piper took very close interest in the fight scene, especially as the fight scene takes would progressively become more and more dangerous, and Chiba began actually kicking Jericho in the face instead of barely making contact.
A segment between Jericho and Piper on WWE Raw, February 23rd, 2009
“So, yeah, that was Roddy’s big rib and booking me in a fight scene with Sonny Chiba, to get kicked in the face multiple times,” Jericho added, laughing, adding that Piper purposely set up the extensive fight scene rehearsal between Chiba and Jericho so that he could scout and make sure he didn’t actually get kicked in the face as well.
Jericho, who recently won the Ring of Honor championship belt in a ladder match with previous champ Mark Briscoe, has also appeared in the recently released Terrifier 3, the third installment in the gruesome, psycho-slasher Terrifier series.
What do you think of the thoughts shared by Chris Jericho on Roddy Piper’s impact on pro wrestling and beyond? Let us know in the comments.
