Commentator Roddy Piper Appreciation

[DragonMasterP]

Watching the 1991 Royal Rumble on DVD, I was always intrigued by how well Piper did commentary, especially considering how bad ex-wrestlers tend to be in that position. He seemed into it, and not annoyingly so.

Just something worth thinking about. Any other opinions?

[thecrusherwi]

I'm mixed on Piper as a commentator. Sometimes he was just way too wacky and over the top to take seriously. The debut of The Undertaker comes to mind.

On the other hand, he could really sell disgust as well as anyone. His commentary after Slaughter won the title and on Superstars after Jake crashed Savage's wedding at Summerslam 1991 are two of his better moments in this regard.

I think he was a pretty solid hand that often made some really insightful points. One thing going against him is that he was trying to replace Jesse Ventura. No one is gonna look good in that comparison. I would say I like him and, as an ex wrestler commentating, I like him better than guys like Dusty, Zbyszko, and Ted Dibiase, but not as much as Mr. Perfect, Lawler, or even 1994-95 Shawn Michaels when he was regular commentator.

[DiBiase is Good]

I wouldn't normally go into an appreciation thread with a negative comment but as you asked for opinions, I thought he sucked. His constant over-reactions and pointless comments were ridiculous. Calling Bobby Heenan "boobsie" all the time was pathetic, borderline racist comments and Impressions of Slickster were painful too. A lot of the times he'd say something that went a bit too far and Vince would have to cover for him after a second of silence (and probably mouth "NO!" to him). My favourite moment was when he was outraged at Slaughter winning the World Title and he spat so hard it caused his headphones to fall off.
Good wrestler, one of the best promo men ever but terrible commentator.

[The OP]

I enjoyed watching him sometimes but he did go into a little bit of like this old fashioned tough guy schtick that didn't even really play well at the time, and by today's standards it might really come off badly.

[Deleted]

Remember that time that he swung a chair at someone (Flair?) and nailed Vince on one of the jobber shows? That happened right?

[CMWaters]

Piper was OK as an announcer from the little I've seen.

But you wanna see a wrestler who surprised me pleasently as an announcer?

Watch the first match of WrestleMania VII

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan was a pretty good face color commentator.

[wildojinx]

I thought Hillbilly Jim was surprisingly decent as an announcer as well. He didnt play up the whole hick character on commentary so that was a plus.

[RowdyRobbyPiper]

Sept 18, 2013 19:57:37 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Remember that time that he swung a chair at someone (Flair?) and nailed Vince on one of the jobber shows? That happened right?

Close! But that chair shot was not intended for Flair.

youtu.be/hhUWfa-l39M

[wildojinx]

As for piper, his crowning moment on commentary was during the dibiase/virgil match at Summerslam 91:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2b3brvuInM

[DoubleDare]

"Tear em off bret! Tear em off man!"
He seemed really happy at bret tearin mr perfects tights off lol.

[James Fabiano]

"Put your Hart into it, Bret!" - SurSer '90

Which reminds me, all of his comments during the Undertaker's debut entrance were classic.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I like him, but he really wasn't very good. I always like the face/heel commentating dynamic and a lot of the times it was him and Vince or him and Gorilla. So I don't think the heels could always get over as good as a proper heel announcer could.

If you want to see him try and get a heel over, watch Rude vs. Warrior in the cage at SummerSlam 90. In an attempt to get Rude over he does nothing but take shots at the Warrior.

[willywonka666]

He covered this in his book and it was interesting to read. I wasn't watching as much at the time, but supposed we had the Roddy Piper of 85 on commentary.....

[James Fabiano]

Sept 20, 2013 1:01:23 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

I like him, but he really wasn't very good. I always like the face/heel commentating dynamic and a lot of the times it was him and Vince or him and Gorilla. So I don't think the heels could always get over as good as a proper heel announcer could.

If you want to see him try and get a heel over, watch Rude vs. Warrior in the cage at SummerSlam 90. In an attempt to get Rude over he does nothing but take shots at the Warrior.

That was a weird time period, when he debuted as an announcer. He was kind of a tweener at first, then went back to being a face. But it wasn't as blatant as when Macho Man became an announcer. Look up the April 1991 SNME for an example of this. It was really strange considering his big angle at WMVII. He didn't completely become a face again, it seems, until after the proposal to Liz.

[GuyOfOwnage]

I like to look at Piper on commentary as sort of the Booker T of that era. Really enthusiastic about everyone and everything, had some memorable lines and moments, but was also prone to being too over-the-top and hard to understand sometimes.

[jason1980s]

I have a feeling he had not seen, or heard about, Undertaker and was especially surprised when he was introduced.
Gorilla on the other hand is sure to have seen him. Almost like Tony Schiavone ("this building is rumbling, it's like an Avalance" and then comes John Tenta) Gorilla sure enough knew this newcomers move was to be called "tombstone." I know Don Muraco had used the move before but don't think it ever had an official name.

[Mac]

I thought he was awful. Mostly everything he did after coming back from his "retirement" was terrible. He was obnoxious, way too over the top, made brutally lame jokes and seemed like an idiot on speed doing commentary. If Piper's career was 1989 and on, he'd be widely hated by fans IMO.