- Now Piper, it’s your turn to feel what Hulkamania feels like
coming down heavy on you, brother.
- Hulk Hogan was the greatest protagonist you can have
and Roddy Piper was the greatest antagonist
you can possibly have.
- This Hulkamania is going wild all over the place.
- Piper was the opposite of Hulk Hogan.
He was the bad boy.
- Look out.
- I had no idea where it was going go
my when he was on screen.
- Roddy Piper’s just gone bananas.
- There was legitimate heat between me and Piper.
I think it was detrimental to us really moving forward.
Oh, my God, I was ready to have a nervous breakdown.
It was always a war.
- Oh, what a shootout, ladies and gentlemen.
- I’m not a bad guy, okay?
I’m the reason you got no hair.
- We haven’t had our last dance.
- I’m the only guy you have never been able to beat.
[crowd cheers]
- This rivalry has just escalated into a war.
- When two legends collide, their rivalry stays pinned
in our minds forever.
This is where we break down the legendary stories behind
the greatest rivalries of all time.
I’m Freddie Prinze Jr., and this is WWE Rivals.
- You do not throw rocks at a man who’s got a machine gun.
- We’re going way back in time on this one,
and we’re going to the early ’80s.
It was good guy and bad guy.
It was a simple story and it was the birth
of a beautiful rivalry.
It was with Hulk Hogan, who everyone believed in,
and it was one of the greatest heels of all time,
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
- Piper was an icon in the business.
Those two figures, just bigger than life.
- They’re so different, but both of them had
definitely crossed over into mainstream popularity.
- It was the birth of WrestleMania,
it was the birth of MTV, it was the birth of Pop Culture
sort of, as we know it.
Everything’s on the line.
- There was this unwritten sort of rule within the
wrestling industry that people owned certain territories,
and there was this gentleman sort of agreement I guess that
you didn’t go into the other guys territory.
- You could work six months in Florida,
six months in California, six months in Portland,
six months in Texas.
I wrestled in the AWA for like three years,
and I had the Hulkamania thing figured out.
I was selling t-shirts, merchandise, headbands.
Started to Hollywood it up a little bit.
Really just defining that character and really getting
it dialed in.
- Flying leg smash.
One, two, and three, and he got him.
[bell rings]
- When you’re on a roll and when you think positive,
sometimes overconfidence can work for you.
I know sooner or later, my time is going to come.
- In this timeframe, as cable TV is coming along,
Vince sees that cable TV coming and he realizes national
expansion in front of the world is happening.
- One day, we hope to be recognized as the premier source
of sports entertainment in the world today.
- He saw advertising.
He saw Hollywood.
He saw everything that WWE could be and more.
- Hello, everyone.
Welcome to All American Wrestling.
and indeed this week--
- As soon as Vince had that cable signal,
to infinity and beyond.
There was nowhere that Vince couldn’t go with his vision
and what he wanted to do.
He now had the vehicle to get there and do
what needed to be done.
- Because of their nationwide audience,
the World Wrestling -- has been able to create coast-to-coast,
heroes and villains.
- My dad recognized that America needed a hero they could believe
in, and he took one look at Hulk Hogan and knew that
that was the hero that that needed to be the beacon for fans
all over the world.
- And the next thing I knew, Vince McMahon came to my house
and he pretty much laid his vision out of the WWE becoming
an international phenomenon.
You know, taking over the whole world with the WWE.
- The recognized symbol of excellence in sports
entertainment.
- Took me about two seconds to say, "I’m in."
- Oh, you got to be kidding.
You have got to be kidding me.
The Incredible Hulk Hogan.
Look at that.
That’s 300 pounds of all muscle in there right now.
[crowd chanting: "Hogan"]
- When I came to work for the WWE and for the McMahons,
I had no idea what kind of momentum we were going to get.
Vince wanted Hulkamania to run wild, and the rest is history.
- Hulk Hogan, and he drops the big leg on him.
He’s down for the cover, hooked the leg.
One, two, he’s got him.
[crowd cheers]
- The fans are on their feet.
Hulkamania is here.
- I feel the energy.
Hulkamania is running worldwide.
I felt everyone standing behind me all the way,
and it felt great.
- Hulk Hogan, for me, was comic book come to life.
I couldn’t fully grasp it.
From my little kid brain, it was just everything awesome.
[laughing]
- I’ve been training and saying my prayers and eating
my vitamins.
Everywhere I go, man, the people are training
in the parking lots, posing in the gym.
Hulkamania’s running wild all over the world.
Every time I step in the ring, it’s like there’s a thousand
people stepping in there with me.
A thousand Hulkamaniacs.
- Have a nice -- day.
Go -- yourself.
Give me the microphone, get out of my way.
- From Glasgow, Scotland, weighing 232 pounds,
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
[bell rings]
- Roddy Piper first made a name for himself outside
of the WWE in the Mid-Atlantic and Portland territories.
Right around 1984, Vince McMahon realized that Roddy Piper was
the guy that he wanted to be his main antagonist.
- This week you have the opportunity to see someone
that’s a very, very special guest.
The most intelligent man that I have ever met my entire life.
A man who takes things into his own hands,
a man who gets things done.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce
to you at this time, myself.
- Piper was the opposite of Hulk Hogan.
He was the bad boy.
- Ladies-- No, we’re in New York aren’t we?
There ain’t none of those here.
Let me see if I can get this straight.
People, people-- That wasn’t bad, huh?
People of New York.
- To me, Roddy felt dangerous, and that’s why I couldn’t take
my eyes off him.
I had no idea where it was going to go when he was on my screen.
And there was something really, really exciting
and also scary about that.
- Hulk was red, white, and blue, and doing everything right.
Roddy Piper was just cynical, just really nasty, evil man
that despised everything that Hulk Hogan stood for.
- All of a sudden this Hulkamania is going wild
all over the place, and he’s becoming a legend.
- There was legitimate heat between me and Piper.
Well, you know something, Piper?
I didn’t know how low a man could go,
but you’ve hit the bottom, brother.
Piper wanted the Hulk Hogan spot.
That’s the nature of this business, is to be the number
one guy and to be the champ, and it was very verbal that
you know, Piper didn’t like me.
I mean, really didn’t like me.
Wrestling was approaching fever pitch at that time.
Piper and Hogan were the two hottest wrestlers in the WWE.
- Everywhere you go, everybody is talking about
Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper.
- That’s when MTV got in it.
- Hulk Hogan, Cyndi Lauper, David Wolff,
and Capt. Lou Albano
Woo-ha.
- In 1984, some of the WWE superstars started appearing
on MTV, while at the same time some of the heaviest hitters
in the music industry started appearing on WWE shows.
- I have gold and platinum record to give to the World
Wrestling -- and the fans.
- Cyndi Lauper showing her appreciation.
Presenting the gold and platinum
record to the World Wrestling --.
- Roddy Piper at the time, his character was very
anti-Rock ’n’ Roll, you know, anti-fun.
- I want to present you a gift.
- Oh, look out.
Capt. Lou Albano clobbered.
Look at Roddy Piper just going bananas.
David Wolff trying to come to the rescue, but he’s no match.
Oh, he piledrives him right down into the canvas.
Roddy Piper’s gotten crazy here.
- I had kicked the female vocalist of the year,
Cyndi Lauper, in the head.
I tortured Hogan.
- The future of professional wrestling is me.
The future of Rock ’n’ Roll is down the toilet.
- Vince was always looking for outside things
to help bring new eyes, and MTV was one of them.
We get the Rock ’n’ Wrestling, which will never be used again,
that term, but it was so perfect for the ’80s.
- The Rock ’n’ Wrestling Connection, our reputation’s
at stake, and I’m going to take care of it.
What you going to do when the wired up Hulkster is running
wild on you, Piper?
- The Rock ’n’ Wrestling Connection was a marketing tool
utilized by WWE and MTV to promote each other’s stars.
- You’re seeing your favorite wrestlers on TV, and you’re
seeing them with these rock stars, and you’re seeing them
with Cyndi Lauper.
All of a sudden, this became mainstream popular.
- Hulk is going to put you down, man.
He going to put you down so low, you’re going to have to
look up to see your skirt.
- MTV was so invested in the Rock ’n’ Wrestling Connection
that they put together their own WWE event.
It was the show that featured the first match between
Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper.
- Two proud men with such different viewpoints,
backgrounds.
It seems written in the stars that ultimately these two men
would clash someday.
- This was the inception point.
The psychology of these two men and the ability to tell
their story all started at this moment.
- Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, The War to Settle the Score.
We’ve talked about it.
The Rock ’n’ Wrestling Connection,
the hottest ticket in town, the biggest and the best.
And tonight on MTV live, ladies and gentlemen,
Hulk Hogan with the title defense against challenger,
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
[crowd cheers]
- Oh, they’re at it.
[bell rings]
- 23,000 strong, not a one of them in their seats.
Everybody on their feet.
The Rock ’n’ Wrestling Connection.
- The War to Settle the Score, it was a whole
different electricity,
[bell ringing]
but there was no teamwork whatsoever,
because the plan was to take over the world with Hogan.
In the plan, you forgot that it takes two to tango.
That’s when things really elevated as far as animosity.
- Whenever I went in there against Piper,
it was always a war.
I used to beat the -- out of him,
and he’d give it right back to me.
You had to take what you can get in there.
[crowd cheers]
- Oh, what a shootout, ladies and gentlemen.
I cannot believe it.
- And Orton down to where
- Orton heads to the locker room
- The War to Settle the Score, I just remember like it feeling
like chaos, and it really felt like New York was going to come
over that barricade at any second.
- Look out. Orndorff.
- Wait a minute.
Oh, come on.
Come on, he’s never--
- Orndoff going up to the top.
- Oh, please.
- Look out.
- Oh, you got to be kidding me.
Please.
Here comes Mr. T, ladies and gentlemen.
- When I first jumped in the ring, it was wild.
It’s the only thing that I can say.
It was just wild.
- Listen to this.
- Look at these two. Piper doesn’t know what to do.
- Hogan getting a clean pinfall or submission would’ve been
the most satisfying way to conclude the match,
but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
- There was still that old-school mentality
to protect myself.
Back then, he didn’t want to put me over,
and that’s why the finish was screwed up.
[bell rings]
- The winner of this bout as a result of a disqualification,
Hulk Hogan.
[crowd cheers]
[bell rings]
- Typically a disqualification in a match in the form
of storytelling leaves a very unclear,
unsatisfying closure to that story.
- Hogan was the face of the business,
and I agree he should’ve been, but everybody was butting heads.
Only way this guy holds this title is he has this stupid guy
with some ridiculous haircut.
All of a sudden, all these people are flooding the ring.
If you ain’t got enough guts to fight me one-on-one, mister,
then take a hike and leave the title with me.
- Now we’ve got MTV on our side.
New demo, new kids, new audience plugged in.
It was just like throwing big tanks of gas on the fire.
We knew once MTV got on board, this thing was going
to be a monster.
- Anytime you need me, I’ll be there, brother,
because you my man.
I think you’re the greatest heavyweight wrestler
there’s been, man.
- It was great to see Mr. T come in there and help the Hulk.
I mean, it was incredible.
- In the mid-’80s, Mr. T was a huge star, celebrity, actor,
household name.
and so the WWE brought him in to elevate
the Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper rivalry.
- That’s why the Rock ’n’ Wrestling Connection
was so cool, because it was like a blend of what was hot.
- It was hot.
- Yes.
- That was the beginning of Hollywood transforming over to
professional wrestling, opposed to professional wrestling
wanting you know to be Hollywood.
- That brings us to WrestleMania number one,
which was a spectacle, to say the least.
- The biggest wrestling extravaganza of all time.
That big tag team match, Mr. Controversy,
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff
with "Ace Cowboy" Bob Orton in their corner to meet,
World Wrestling -- Heavyweight champ Hulk Hogan
and his partner, Mr. T.
- Vince being the pioneer that he is, he said, "Wow, we going
to broaden and bring it to the world."
So you got Cyndi Lauper there, you got the MTV crowd,
you got Mr. T from the A-Team.
That audience say, "Hey, now."
People say, "Wow. Mr. T, you’re
going to be in wrestling. Oh, wow,"
but now you’re bringing in the world to it.
- It was a roll of the dice by Vince McMahon.
I mean, he’s trying to take over the world at this point.
He mortgaged his home.
He got everything into this.
This had to be a success.
- The whole world knows about this man.
Hulk Hogan and Mr. T start to train.
- The dream team, man.
The dream team.
- The dream team.
Check this out, dude.
Check that out.
[laughs]
- Oh, man.
- There you go.
Just keep it moving.
Go on, T.
- I had been brought up old old school.
If you bring me somebody outside our business,
I’m going to eat his lunch.
The children of America today must be sick to look at
someone--
Hey, Hey, Hey.
- Mr. T ain’t no powder puff.
You got to understand, you know but I guess his ego would say,
"Okay, we can’t let this come in."
I guess that’s why you had sour grapes going around.
- Roddy was very protective of the business.
When it came to wrestling, he was a very serious guy
and took his job very serious, and that’s why
he was as good as he was.
- It was kind of left to Hulk Hogan to kind of
be the go-between, between
Roddy Piper and Mr. T, allowing this high stake
story to be told.
- Wrestlers at the time didn’t have the mindset to understand
how big this was going to be, and my focus was on trying to
to keep this thing together.
Please don’t run this guy off.
Please don’t hurt him.
- I’ll tell you.
You mess with me, T, I’ll put an X on your name, brother.
- The World Wrestling -- presents the wrestling
extravaganza of all time, WrestleMania.
- These were the two guys that hooked me on this thing,
and now they’re each other’s greatest rival.
Now they’re the pieces to putting this thing
on the national map.
- Everything was on the line that night in WrestleMania.
I knew that Vince had given everything he had.
His whole life was betting on that one night,
and I knew we’d better put on the best show we could and
tear the roof off the Garden.
- 25,000 plus on their feet.
The electricity is unbelievable.
- I’m pumped up.
I’m pumped up.
WrestleMania, the greatest of wrestling history
is taking place right now.
Right now.
- With the inception of WrestleMania 1,
it wasn’t just wrestling fans that were watching,
it was people that watched MTV that will bring those two worlds
together, and it feels even cooler and more magnified
than ever before.
That really brought in a whole different demographic to WWE.
- When you get in the Garden, brother, it’s like the Roman
Coliseum for wrestlers, and I’ve been there
a million times already.
But for WrestleMania, whoa, goosebumps as big as pimples
all over my arms.
What is going on in here?
The people knew the wrestling business
was changing that night.
That was the highest vibration I’ve ever felt.
- The Garden was just so packed.
I mean, God, what a show.
- It all hinges on Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper.
Yes, Cyndi and Mr. T, but without those two,
quite possibly be an entirely different conversation
we’re having or maybe we’re not having this conversation.
- When I came up at the ring, I pointed right at him
as soon as I get in there.
I knew he was lit.
I knew he was ready.
I said, "We’re having a war tonight, boys."
- Look at the look on Piper’s face.
- The fans are chanting "T, T, T," and they’re going
nose to nose.
- Look at nose to nose.
Mr. T and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper nose-to-nose
in the center of the ring.
- Oh, a slap across the face, and a return slap by Mr. T.
Look at this.
They’re exchanging slaps.
Wow, Piper now-
- Piper caught him.
- -goes behind quickly, takes him down to the canvas.
- I was still trying to protect Mr. T, so that Orndorff
and Piper wouldn’t break him in half.
They were really having a problem with each other.
I’m here in the middle trying to be like the mother goose
between all these guys.
I’m like, "Oh, my God."
I was ready to have a nervous breakdown
- Here comes the Hulk.
- And all four of them are going at it in the corner,
and it’s chaos already.
- Pat Patterson.
- We’re getting chaos five minutes into the match,
Gino Monsoon.
- Piper giving us a sign for timeout here.
They’re headed for the dressing room, Jess.
- I don’t believe that.
Hulk Hogan saying, "No way," to the referee Pat Patterson.
He says get them back in the ring, and here they come.
- Here they come.
- Rodd Piper and
"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff.
- Piper, he won’t overpower with muscles and all that stuff,
but he knew the game.
He could wrestle and he could be tough.
He was tough.
- Look out.
- Without a great antagonist, the protagonist means nothing.
And if Hulk didn’t have Roddy Piper to play off of,
I don’t know how big it would’ve been.
- This place is sold out.
It’s the hottest ticket in town.
We had closed-circuit television mainstream media everywhere.
- The reason they came to WrestleMania was to see
me get my butt kicked.
It was crazy.
- Full Nelson now.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper, double team,
maybe triple team effort here.
Oh, nice save by Mr. T as Piper was about to-
Oh look out.
- Oh, Paul Orndorff.
Unbelievable.
- With the cast.
Going for the cover.
Pat Patterson.
He got him.
- They got him.
[crowd cheers]
- Unbelievable.
Pandemonium here in the Garden.
- One of the unique things about this rivalry is the way
Piper would lose.
He didn’t want to.
The protection of his character was very,
very important to the man.
- Oh, he hit Orndorff.
- Of course, now this gives privilege for Piper to now
blame Orton for the loss.
- It’s never Piper’s fault.
- No, it’s never Piper’s fault.
- It’s never Piper’s fault.
- And the winners of the main event, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T.
[crowd cheers]
- And look at the champ.
The greatest representation in the world of professional
wrestling, champ, Hulk Hogan.
- Roddy was a guy that was pretty strong on his position in
the sense that he wasn’t going to just lay down for Hogan.
He protected himself.
- You had to hit with the cast, to get somebody to stay down.
Premier event like WrestleMania, you want a clean
winner and loser.
Everybody at Madison Square Garden, all the way around
the world, now you know what it’s all about, brother.
- But you know, I’m not a bad guy, okay?
Don’t be judging me here.
It’s a tough business.
How do you stay on top?
- He’s the man that never got pinned.
I think, because we didn’t have an outcome,
it was detrimental to us really moving forward.
So many disqualifications, so many count outs.
I mean, I think the fans get tired of seeing that.
Where do you go from there?
- The wrestling extravaganza of all time, WrestleMania.
As Piper was about to lower the-
Look out.
- Oh, he hit Orndorff
- Coming off of WrestleMania, the rivalry between Hulk Hogan
and Roddy Piper kind of simmered down without
Hulk Hogan ever beating Piper by pinfall or submission,
which left so much on the table for fans.
- All in all, WrestleMania it was a perfect springboard for
what we needed to launch the WWE into the stratosphere.
We created a huge amount of positive momentum.
It parlayed into different TV deals and expanding the horizons
beyond anywhere we’d been.
- Welcome, everyone to Monday Night Raw.
- But, Vince and myself and the whole WWE,
we were all sent into different directions.
Vince was moving to younger wrestlers at the time,
and it just seemed like the perfect time for us
to mutually part ways, because I just wasn’t finished yet.
It made sense to dig in and try to reinvent myself.
WCW, they were basically the number two company.
Not even in the same universe as the WWE.
I figured if there were so many good wrestlers there,
and if I wanted to work there, I saw a huge potential.
- The deal was easy.
It was a good fit for him and it was a good fit for us,
because we needed that kind of flagship character to
let everybody know that we were really serious about being a
competitor in the space.
- On their feet, the Hulkamaniacs.
- His first match in WCW.
- The first night on pay-per-view,
I won the belt from Ric Flair.
You know, Shaq was at ringside.
Right away, kind of like made everybody take a double-
whoa, what’s going on over here?
- This guy that every night would pose.
You had the people that loved Hulkster.
- Hulk Hogan.
Oh, man, is this going to be good.
- Yes, sir.
- But, all of a sudden, the act was getting a little stale.
- I kept going to the buildings, I didn’t feel that same energy
you know when the Hulkamania was on track.
I had discussions with Eric Bischoff about me
turning into a bad guy.
I had seen Scott come in, I’d seen Kevin come in,
I’ve seen the edge they put on the bad guy.
- He’s got Nash down.
Savage is--
- Oh, no.
- Hulk Hogan is in the building.
- You’re damn right he is.
- Go get him, Hulkster.
- If I could not be Hulk Hogan, but if I can do this thing as
Hollywood Hulk Hogan and come in with a really nasty edge on,
I’ll do it.
- Hulk Hogan has betrayed WCW.
- You can call this the New World Order of Wrestling,
brother.
All the stuff that was thrown in in the ring, trash, the bottles,
it pissed some people off.
And I knew that we were off and running.
- The following announcement has been paid for by the
New World Order.
- It’s a new era of wrestling, and man, for him to flip
the switch like that and go bad guy,
who would’ve thought the red and yellow would go black?
- Everybody was getting punked.
Everybody was being disrespected.
- Is there any question now?
What is the powerful organization
in professional wrestling?
- While Hogan was becoming the new face of WCW,
Piper continued to work for WWE both in and out of the ring.
- "Rowdy" Roddy Piper,
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper, one of the all-time greats
here in the World Wrestling --.
- I’m the reason Hogan’s got no hair.
I pulled it all out.
I don’t retreat, and I don’t surrender.
- But there was definitely some unfinished
business between them.
- We still needed a nemesis, and it was time to give
WCW a shot in the arm.
- I’m taking over the WCW.
Everybody that gets in the ring with the
NWO or Hollywood Hulk Hogan is going down.
[crowd boos]
["Rowdy" Roddy Piper’s music]
- Hey-
-what is that?
- What’s this all about?
What’s this music?
- Would you look at this?
[crowd cheers]
- Yes.
You know who that is.
- It’s "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
- You know, I give credit where credit’s due with Hogan.
When I hit those bagpipes, Hogan’s eyes
got pretty big and white.
- You know Eric told me, you know we have a chance
to bring Piper in.
What do you think?
I said, "Well, we haven’t had our last dance."
- The business wasn’t finished for Hogan and Piper.
I’m the only guy that Hogan didn’t conquer.
- That’s one man who has haunted Hogan.
He wants no part of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
- Over 10 years removed from WrestleMania.
Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan finally met again to resolve
unfinished business.
- Why don’t you shut up for a second?
It’s my turn.
I’m the only guy you have never been able to beat.
- Piper never lost legitimately.
He never got pinned.
It was either always a disqualification or a count out.
- Now that I look in your eyes, maybe we need to have the war
that didn’t settle the score.
- Piper in WCW, there’s going to be so many more eyes.
This thing could get really, really big.
It just goes to show you how smart a guy like
Hogan is to say "Man, let me just go back
to the drawing board."
[crowd chanting, "Roddy"]
- We trying to reverse roles at this point in history.
Now, Piper was the good guy and up as the evil guy.
Hogan can’t beat Piper by himself.
He’s got have three or four people hurt Piper.
It added another dimension to the Piper character,
because now he was against insurmountable odds.
You know something, Piper, you’re a loser fighting
a losing battle.
- Roddy being Roddy was such a phenomenal performer.
He knew what that history meant to those fans.
- Come on, get out here, Hogan.
Let’s get it done.
I’m going for the Fight of the Century and who the icon is.
- When you were my equal 10 years ago,
you couldn’t get it done.
- There it is.
Yes.
- Let me tell you, Piper, now that I’ve signed that contract,
you my friend are not going to have a leg to stand on--
- Yes, yes.
The NWO wasn’t going to leave it alone.
- Piper, I’m going to break you in half.
You piece of crap.
- He’ll fight the whole NWO.
There was never really a question about that.
- If that’s the best you can do, you’re in trouble.
Because there’s no retreat, no surrender.
- Wherever you are watching our telecast,
we’re glad you’re with us for this history-making event.
This place is going to erupt.
[crowd chanting, "Roddy"]
- "Rowdy" Roddy Piper is one man Hogan’s never beaten.
So let’s just hook up our seat belts and see
if he beats him tonight.
- These were just two old great legends
that you just want to see.
[crowd chanting, "Roddy"]
- The entire arena was chanting my name.
Holy cow, you couldn’t hear yourself.
- People standing with NWO t-shirts on,
chanting Roddy’s name.
- The fact that you could have a rivalry between Roddy Piper
and Hulk Hogan in the ’80s and have it again in the ’90s,
speaks to their respective talents and their relationship
with the audience.
[bell rings]
- The bell sounded, means this thing is on.
Look at the intensity and the face of Roddy Piper.
- It was a test you know to stand your ground with Roddy,
because you know he wasn’t backing up.
- And he did not let him go.
- It made for a good evening of fun-filled entertainment for me
whenever I had to wrestle.
Ask and I’ll break you in half.
- Got the sleeper on Hogan.
- Good night, Irene.
He’s got him.
- He’s out..
Ring the bell.
[crowd cheers]
- He put him to sleep.
There’s the man Hogan never beat beating Hulk Hogan.
- He got him. That’s unbelievable.
Roddy Piper, unbelievable, brother.
- Piper wins.
- After all these years of Hulk Hogan being the top dog
in the industry, it was striking to realize when the two met
and a definitive victor was finally announced,
it was Piper who came out on top.
- We made progress you know in WCW with the storylines.
- So with the non-title victory, Piper earns a shot at
Super Brawl for the WCW Championship.
- Whatever their personal feelings are,
whatever their baggage is, whatever their histories are,
whatever issues there were,
once they step inside of the ring,
they put all that to the side.
- This is for the title.
- Here you go, baby.
[bell rings]
- Bell sounds and Hogan is walking away.
There he is.
- Let them go.
- Moving into that match with Piper, fans from 20 to 25 years
ago could argue about who was the greatest wrestler,
who was going to win.
- Hogan is in the fight in his life.
- It’s an art to fighting.
It’s like playing chess.
- Hey, there’s some more NWO.
He’s having a deal on all of them, baby
- Did the best I could to be the coward and be the bad guy.
- Hogan has turned it around now, and got Piper wheeling.
- You get a gut feeling you know when you’re out there.
The fans gets tired of seeing count out after count out
after disqualification.
- Savage is putting something in Hogan’s hands.
- Put something in Hogan’s hand.
What happened here?
What the hell’s going on?
One, two--
- 12 years in the making for Hulk Hogan to get
this clean victory over "Rowdy" Roddy Piper,
and it still isn’t clean.
He gets some brass knuckles, and that’s how he gets the victory.
Of course, Piper protects his character at all costs.
- That was Piper.
Piper definitely was unique in that fact as far as taking care
of his character, making sure he was protected at all times,
making sure that he stayed at that same level
or even bigger than Hulk Hogan.
That what Piper was all about.
- I thought when Roddy came in, I thought, this is going to be
so hard to manage these two, because I’ve heard all the war
stories, but I never got the
sense that there was anything, but respect.
Partly because Roddy had matured.
I think Roddy knew coming to WCW was, for the most part,
the end of his run.
Thinking, "Okay, this is my last ride.
I want to go out having fun."
- I think as you get older, you get wiser.
Piper realized that Hulkster was never there to really take his
spot, and I think Hulk realized Piper was not there
to take his spot.
- Yes, I admit you’re just as big a superstar as I am.
- The drama that happens, that all dissipates.
I think those guys had a mega amount of respect
for each other, but they both wanted
to be the man.
- This didn’t end the rivalry, because I honestly think the
rivalry would still be going on if Piper was still with us.
But it ended that story.
- After WCW ceased to be, Hulk Hogan ended up
returning to the WWE.
And once he put that red and yellow back on,
all the Hulkamaniacs were right back there with him.
- There’s an issue between you and me, McMahon,
and it goes longer than 20 years, brother.
- We get one more little shot of him at WrestleMania 19 when
Hogan goes back to the WWE, and Vince is a very mean
Vince McMahon at this point.
- I created Hulkamania, and by God at WrestleMania,
I’m going to kill it.
- They’re going to have a match.
The head of the company is going to wrestle the man
who helped build the company.
- It is 20 years in the making, McMahon-Hogan.
- McMahon is down.
Hogan is down.
- What, what the hell is he doing in here?
It’s "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
No freaking way.
Roddy Piper is here.
What the hell is going on here?
All you got to do is walk in a trench coat and take
it off, and then go pow, that’s how much credibility
the entire situation had.
- Roddy Piper flooring Hogan.
- Piper gets a pipe and just goes to town on Hulk Hogan.
And you feel as a fan, as if there was a little bit more than
just story trying to be told in that moment.
- There’s two guys out there that’ll do anything,
anything to keep this art form alive, and we’re so much alike.
It’s scary.
- Two old guys always want to get over on each other.
I mean, you put Jordan and Bird out there.
I don’t care what, one of them is going to try to get over
on the other one.
And I think that’s what it is with Piper and Hogan.
- Over the years, it felt like a bond formed between
these two legends.
And I think that was most evident in 2005
when they were both inducted into the hall of fame.
- I got to admit, I was jealous of Hogan.
Well, it had nothing to do with the hair.
My name is "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and you ain’t seen nothing yet.
- The one, the only, the incredible Hulk Hogan.
[crowd cheers]
- Roddy Piper and I, we had a great time in this business.
And what you going to do, brothers,
when the WWE runs wild on you.
[crowd cheering]
- I gotta tell you, I heard you yelping you know
over again and about you and Mr. T,
how you beat us at WrestleMania.
- He got him.
- They got him.
- Hey, big guy?
Well-
- Oh, ho, ho, wait a minute.
A new Hall of Famer.
- I pity the fool who starting trouble with my man, Hulk.
- Really?
- Be a man, Piper.
Bury the hatchet.
- All right, there you go.
- My word.
That’s a WrestleMania moment.
- [groans]
- Piper.
- [groans]
I’m so sorry.
- Unfortunately, that sad day did come in 2015 for every
wrestling fan in the world when we found out that
Roddy Piper had passed away.
- Two days after Piper died, all of a sudden
I get this voice message.
Bing.
I looked at it and saw from Piper.
Very strange.
I know there’s been delays in texts.
If it’s raining here in Florida, the weather’s weird.
It may take an hour or so to get there.
Two days after he passed to get that, you know?
You know, it’s crazy.
I still have it at home.
- I’ve always thought, I don’t know who belongs
on the Mount Rushmore of Greatest Heels,
but I know it starts with Roddy Piper and
there’s no one close.
- Now who are you supposed to be?
- Hulk Hogan, Mr. Piper.
- Who’s he?
The last time I saw him, he was catching dogs for
the service of the city.
You got the candy?
You got candy in here.
- The whole world’s going to witness this when you feel
the wrath of the Hulkster
- There’s two sides of a coin, a heads and a tails.
Piper and Hogan together, unstoppable.
- When you think of Hogan, you know, and all
you think Piper.
- It just was always a natural rivalry that people
could relate to.
- I am the legend killer.
All of a sudden, this Hulkamania is going wild
all over the place, and he’s becoming a legend.
- I’m so thankful that those two guys came together at the same
time, and I was watching at the age that I was.
- I didn’t know how low a man could go,
but you hit the bottom brother.
It’ll go down in history.
There will always be a Piper-Hogan connection
until the end of time.
- Whatever animosity that we may have,
I wouldn’t have picked anybody else.
I wouldn’t have said, "The heck with that Hogan.
I don’t like him."
He’s the guy. He’s the guy.
So I got you, I got you locked in.
Ring the bell.
Let’s roll.
[crowd cheering]