Personal Information
Full Name | Roderick George Toombs |
Date of Birth | April 17, 1954 |
Height | 6'2'' |
Rowdy Roddy Piper: A Brief Biography
Roderick George Toombs was a Canadian professional wrestler signed with WWE. He was best known for his work with NWA territories, WCW, and WWE as Roddy Piper. He has been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Professional Wrestling Career
NWA Territories (1975-1983)
Piper held several athletic achievements in his career before he became a professional wrestler. He began training and wrestling at AWA before moving to various NWA territories.
Piper wrestled in California and Portland for over five years and won the world championship. In the late 70s, Piper went to the Mid-Atlantic territory. He faced the likes of Ric Flair, Bob Anderson, and Sargent Slaughter in GWC before going to WWF.
WWF (1984-1996)
After signing with WWF, Piper began as a TV host for Piper's Pit. Piper was unable to compete due to his injuries at Starrcade, which led to the birth of Piper's Pit. The Piper's Pit was used to speed up various feuds heading into shows or significant events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble.
At WrestleMania, Piper and Paul Orndorff lost to Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. At WrestleMania II, Piper lost to Mr. T due to disqualification. At WrestleMania III, Piper defeated Adrian Adonis in a hair vs hair match. Piper took a brief hiatus from the company.
In 1989, Piper returned and began his feud with Rick Rude. Piper won most of the matches during their feud. At WrestleMania VI, Piper and Bad News Brown ended in a draw. At Royal Rumble in 1992, Piper defeated The Mountie to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. At WrestleMania VIII, he lost the title to Bret Hart.
At WrestleMania X and XI, he appeared as a special guest referee. In 1996, Piper returned to WWF and became the on-screen president of the company. At WrestleMania XII, he defeated Goldust in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl.
WCW (1996-2000)
Piper made his debut at Halloween Havoc and began feuding with the NWO. He defeated Hogan at Starrcade, but failed to win the championship at SuperBrawl VII. After a hiatus, Piper was appointed the new on-air Commissioner of WCW, which reduced his in-ring work.
In 1999, Piper defeated Bret Hart to win the WCW United States Championship. After losing the title, Piper made fewer appearances as an in-ring performer and more than a special guest referee.
Various Independent Circuits (2000-2005)
After leaving WCW, Piper worked for various promotions, such as WXF, TNA, and other live events as a guest referee or wrestled in tag team matches.
WWE (2005-2015)
In 2005, Piper was announced into the WWE Hall of Fame. Piper made several sporadic appearances over the years by hosting Piper's Pit and participating in matches on RAW, SmackDown, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble. At WrestleMania 25, he teamed up with Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka to face Chris Jericho and lost.
Championships and Accomplishments
Championship | Number of Times |
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship | 1 |
NWA World Tag Team Championship | 1 |
NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship | 1 |
NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship | 2 |
NWA Television Championship | 2 |
NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship | 3 |
NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship | 5 |
NWA Americas Tag Team Championship | 5 |
NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship | 1 |
NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship | 2 |
NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship | 5 |
WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship | 1 |
World Tag Team Championship | 1 |
WWE Hall of Fame | 1 |