Roddy Piper Bottom Line segments in 1994

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What did you think of them?

I know that heel Piper is the best Piotr I believe and I know that by 1994, Piper was starting to lose it but these segments proved that he still had the gift of gab. Check out this segment. I love how you hear a phone ringing in the background. That proves that Vince wasn’t making this. Hehehe!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSYVvM7htAc

These segments didn’t last long. There was one that he did on the set of the movie Tough & Deadly. In short, these segments I think were good. Bottom line…oh come on! You knew I had to say that.

[Tiger Millionaire]

They must have cut so much shit out of them if Roddy was given free reign.

[tafkaga]

I'm a big fan of Piper through his first retirement, but most of his stuff after his '89 comeback was borderline cringe for me, if not fully cringe. I've never been able to put my finger on why, but it's like he wasn't as sharp as before so he just doubled down on kooky and crazy. I would almost say it's because he just wasn't a good babyface, but I think he was fine as a babyface before WM3, and when he found his edge again in WCW, he still just came off like a grandfather yelling at kids for playing their music too loud. So, Bottom Line is a pass for me.

[ThankGodForSidJustice]

Mar 21, 2023 21:01:39 GMT -5 tafkaga said:

I'm a big fan of Piper through his first retirement, but most of his stuff after his '89 comeback was borderline cringe for me, if not fully cringe. I've never been able to put my finger on why, but it's like he wasn't as sharp as before so he just doubled down on kooky and crazy. I would almost say it's because he just wasn't a good babyface, but I think he was fine as a babyface before WM3, and when he found his edge again in WCW, he still just came off like a grandfather yelling at kids for playing their music too loud. So, Bottom Line is a pass for me.

I actually liked his little run in late 91-early 92 when he started wrestling full time again as him winning the IC title from Mountie was a fun moment and the match with Bret at Mania VIII was great with him doing the right thing and putting him over. I also thought he was really good in the 92 Rumble and probably the second best guy in the match after Flair. For me that was the best stretch of his career.

However that run was only like four months. Piper was a guy I just always found kind of overrated. I guess his heel run was good but I'm not really that familiar with it as pre 87 WWF is a period I wasn't really big on and haven't really watched much. And his face run was just kind of disappointing for the most part sans that four month period I mentioned. It's weird because he was a rugged blue collar type guy who was a bad ass and I usually love face characters like that. However I just could never really get into most of his stuff. I thought he was inconsistent with his promos and I didn't find most of his matches to be any good. A lot of punch and kick and then usually some lame DQ or count out finish. Him, Jim Duggan, Ted Dibiase, Jake Roberts, and Bad News Brown were like the non finish kings. Seemed like any time those guys were in a big match especially if they were fighting each other it was going to end in some crappy non finish.

As weird as it sounds I think I like his movie characters better then his wrestler character. Like his character Nada in They Live is to me a lot cooler and more likeable then "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

[tafkaga]

Mar 21, 2023 21:35:59 GMT -5 ThankGodForSidJustice said:

Mar 21, 2023 21:01:39 GMT -5 tafkaga said:

I'm a big fan of Piper through his first retirement, but most of his stuff after his '89 comeback was borderline cringe for me, if not fully cringe. I've never been able to put my finger on why, but it's like he wasn't as sharp as before so he just doubled down on kooky and crazy. I would almost say it's because he just wasn't a good babyface, but I think he was fine as a babyface before WM3, and when he found his edge again in WCW, he still just came off like a grandfather yelling at kids for playing their music too loud. So, Bottom Line is a pass for me.

I actually liked his little run in late 91-early 92 when he started wrestling full time again as him winning the IC title from Mountie was a fun moment and the match with Bret at Mania VIII was great with him doing the right thing and putting him over. I also thought he was really good in the 92 Rumble and probably the second best guy in the match after Flair. For me that was the best stretch of his career.

However that run was only like four months. Piper was a guy I just always found kind of overrated. I guess his heel run was good but I'm not really that familiar with it as pre 87 WWF is a period I wasn't really big on and haven't really watched much. And his face run was just kind of disappointing for the most part sans that four month period I mentioned. It's weird because he was a rugged blue collar type guy who was a bad ass and I usually love face characters like that. However I just could never really get into most of his stuff. I thought he was inconsistent with his promos and I didn't find most of his matches to be any good. A lot of punch and kick and then usually some lame DQ or count out finish. Him, Jim Duggan, Ted Dibiase, Jake Roberts, and Bad News Brown were like the non finish kings. Seemed like any time those guys were in a big match especially if they were fighting each other it was going to end in some crappy non finish.

As weird as it sounds I think I like his movie characters better then his wrestler character. Like his character Nada in They Live is to me a lot cooler and more likeable then "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

Considering that his career (the in-ring aspect) was a mostly barren wasteland, his 91-92 stretch was easily his career peak in terms of wrestling matches.  His match with Bret was the best I've ever seen from him, and other than a match he had with Savage in late 86 or early 87, the only Piper match that ever impressed me.  Dude made up for it with his personality and ability to get heat like nobody else in his day, and it didn't hurt that audiences at the time were far more invested in seeing him get his ass kicked by Hogan and really couldn't give two shits about seeing them have some kind of a great wrestling match.  He's a classic case of being so good at being hated that was inevitable the fans would turn him babyface, and he was still riding that wave of popularity and channeling that same energy through his feud with Adonis, but when he retired to do movies he never got that spark back.

[johnnyk9]

I loved them

[Milkman Norm]

They were terrible and they lead to a god awful comedy match.

[James Fabiano]

About 1989 Piper...we had the Rude Feud to make that not a total washout. Him warring with Heenan too had some good moments. His last match for awhile at that time....nuff said...

I know people are iffy about his commentary job, but I still remember his one liners for Undertaker's debut, and it helped in Virgil's turn. We also got the Flair Superstars debut incident, and him attempting to rescue Hogan from Taker, and Savage from the cobra. His Flair feud and I-C run were fun. So I'd say after 1992 was when Piper jumped the shark.

[tafkaga]

Mar 22, 2023 15:03:13 GMT -5 James Fabiano said:

About 1989 Piper...we had the Rude Feud to make that not a total washout. Him warring with Heenan too had some good moments. His last match for awhile at that time....nuff said...

I know people are iffy about his commentary job, but I still remember his one liners for Undertaker's debut, and it helped in Virgil's turn. We also got the Flair Superstars debut incident, and him attempting to rescue Hogan from Taker, and Savage from the cobra. His Flair feud and I-C run were fun. So I'd say after 1992 was when Piper jumped the shark.

Oddly enough, as critical as I am of Piper as a wrestler in this time period, I actually thought he did a good job as a commentator.  He had a similar vibe to Ventura, being unfiltered and calling it like he saw it instead of always aligning with the face or the heel.  I remember him mocking the Warrior's "hulk up" sequence on more than one occasion, where Piper would ask "Why is he prancing like a pony?" Struck me as funny and very Ventura-esque.

[ToyfareMark]

To paraphrase Piper. These were cringe before cringe was cool.

[thecrusherwi]

Mar 21, 2023 21:35:59 GMT -5 ThankGodForSidJustice said:

Mar 21, 2023 21:01:39 GMT -5 tafkaga said:

I'm a big fan of Piper through his first retirement, but most of his stuff after his '89 comeback was borderline cringe for me, if not fully cringe. I've never been able to put my finger on why, but it's like he wasn't as sharp as before so he just doubled down on kooky and crazy. I would almost say it's because he just wasn't a good babyface, but I think he was fine as a babyface before WM3, and when he found his edge again in WCW, he still just came off like a grandfather yelling at kids for playing their music too loud. So, Bottom Line is a pass for me.

I actually liked his little run in late 91-early 92 when he started wrestling full time again as him winning the IC title from Mountie was a fun moment and the match with Bret at Mania VIII was great with him doing the right thing and putting him over. I also thought he was really good in the 92 Rumble and probably the second best guy in the match after Flair. For me that was the best stretch of his career.

However that run was only like four months. Piper was a guy I just always found kind of overrated. I guess his heel run was good but I'm not really that familiar with it as pre 87 WWF is a period I wasn't really big on and haven't really watched much. And his face run was just kind of disappointing for the most part sans that four month period I mentioned. It's weird because he was a rugged blue collar type guy who was a bad ass and I usually love face characters like that. However I just could never really get into most of his stuff. I thought he was inconsistent with his promos and I didn't find most of his matches to be any good. A lot of punch and kick and then usually some lame DQ or count out finish. Him, Jim Duggan, Ted Dibiase, Jake Roberts, and Bad News Brown were like the non finish kings. Seemed like any time those guys were in a big match especially if they were fighting each other it was going to end in some crappy non finish.

As weird as it sounds I think I like his movie characters better then his wrestler character. Like his character Nada in They Live is to me a lot cooler and more likeable then "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

The thing that always bothered me about Piper as a face is that he was portrayed and talked like a badass, but he still worked like a weasely heel with this jitterbug striking offense and slapstick or goofy spots. You just never got this feeling that heels were in any peril facing him. "Ohhh Flair has done it now! He has to face Piper!!". And it's not like he had to work like Goldberg or Warrior. But with Hogan in his prime or even midcard guys like Big Bossman or Duggan there was this feeling that the heel was going to get roughed up and pay for all the bad things they've done, win or loss. With Piper, it felt like they were gonna get poked in the eyes and chased around the ring and that's about it. Big deal.

[tafkaga]

Mar 23, 2023 12:55:50 GMT -5 thecrusherwi said:

Mar 21, 2023 21:35:59 GMT -5 ThankGodForSidJustice said:

I actually liked his little run in late 91-early 92 when he started wrestling full time again as him winning the IC title from Mountie was a fun moment and the match with Bret at Mania VIII was great with him doing the right thing and putting him over. I also thought he was really good in the 92 Rumble and probably the second best guy in the match after Flair. For me that was the best stretch of his career.

However that run was only like four months. Piper was a guy I just always found kind of overrated. I guess his heel run was good but I'm not really that familiar with it as pre 87 WWF is a period I wasn't really big on and haven't really watched much. And his face run was just kind of disappointing for the most part sans that four month period I mentioned. It's weird because he was a rugged blue collar type guy who was a bad ass and I usually love face characters like that. However I just could never really get into most of his stuff. I thought he was inconsistent with his promos and I didn't find most of his matches to be any good. A lot of punch and kick and then usually some lame DQ or count out finish. Him, Jim Duggan, Ted Dibiase, Jake Roberts, and Bad News Brown were like the non finish kings. Seemed like any time those guys were in a big match especially if they were fighting each other it was going to end in some crappy non finish.

As weird as it sounds I think I like his movie characters better then his wrestler character. Like his character Nada in They Live is to me a lot cooler and more likeable then "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

The thing that always bothered me about Piper as a face is that he was portrayed and talked like a badass, but he still worked like a weasely heel with this jitterbug striking offense and slapstick or goofy spots. You just never got this feeling that heels were in any peril facing him. "Ohhh Flair has done it now! He has to face Piper!!". And it's not like he had to work like Goldberg or Warrior. But with Hogan in his prime or even midcard guys like Big Bossman or Duggan there was this feeling that the heel was going to get roughed up and pay for all the bad things they've done, win or loss. With Piper, it felt like they were gonna get poked in the eyes and chased around the ring and that's about it. Big deal.

And after he's chased them, poked their eyes, and given them the airplane spin, they will be subjected to one of the most feared finishing maneuvers ... a move so hideous that it should be outlawed.... THE SLEEPER.

[Milkman Norm]

Mar 23, 2023 13:58:02 GMT -5 tafkaga said:

Mar 23, 2023 12:55:50 GMT -5 thecrusherwi said:

The thing that always bothered me about Piper as a face is that he was portrayed and talked like a badass, but he still worked like a weasely heel with this jitterbug striking offense and slapstick or goofy spots. You just never got this feeling that heels were in any peril facing him. "Ohhh Flair has done it now! He has to face Piper!!". And it's not like he had to work like Goldberg or Warrior. But with Hogan in his prime or even midcard guys like Big Bossman or Duggan there was this feeling that the heel was going to get roughed up and pay for all the bad things they've done, win or loss. With Piper, it felt like they were gonna get poked in the eyes and chased around the ring and that's about it. Big deal.

And after he's chased them, poked their eyes, and given them the airplane spin, they will be subjected to one of the most feared finishing maneuvers ... a move so hideous that it should be outlawed.... THE SLEEPER.

I think that has a lot to do with the nature of WWF wrestling at the time. Babyface Roddy in Mid Atlantic would get the shit beat out of him and then make the firey comeback. That's not how Vince operated. It's not like Roddy could gig for sympathy & use what he was best at in the ring, crowd psychology, to get people invested. He certainly wasn't gonna work like Hogan, Warrior, etc. That left pretty limited options for him as a babyface.