By Mark Worrall@hoohoowozza
On my IPod, the same ‘RED’ IPod that I have owned for some years now sits a collection of my favourite songs and albums that I regularly listen to and have done for many years now! Mostly Rock, with some classic Eighties tunes the majority of the storage on that very IPod contains most of my music collection.
With the little space that remains sits one of my all time favourite Podcasts, yes just one podcast that has sat intermingled alongside some of the world’s most classic Rock songs! So why does this Podcast sit alone amongst all these albums?
Three years back, I used my IPod to not only listen to music, but to also download whatever Podcasts took my interest at the time, with a majority of these Podcasts focusing primarily on Wrestling! As the years have passed I have found another way of listening and downloading Podcasts so inevitably I wiped all podcasts from this very IPod to make more storage for my music. So why keep this podcast?
Firstly let me reveal the contents of this sole Podcast, a podcast that I still listen to at least once a year, and on a certain date. The Great Rowdy Roddy Piper, a legend in wrestling would weekly host a Podcast that he called ‘Piper’s Pit’ that was broadcast through Podcasting group ‘Podcast One’. On July 6th 2015 the Rowdy one released a somewhat controversial episode that featured Comedian ‘Will Sasso’ doing a rather terrific impersonation of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. Due to the content of the Podcast Steve Austin did not, let’s say ‘enjoy’ the audio and subsequently requested that Podcast One take the episode down after just six hours of being on the air!
Now, I’m not about to continue with the aftermath of what happened afterwards as this was over three years ago and seems somewhat irrelevant now. The reason I keep this particular episode is for several reasons. Firstly, it is one of the last pieces of audio from Roddy Piper before his untimely death just three weeks later. Secondly, the episode also saw several sides of Mr Piper, from the confused man that does not understand why Mr Austin would take offence to another man impersonating him when Roddy saw it has a bit of fun. The loving nature that embodied Roddy throughout this Podcast, when I myself felt that this was all done with pure affection and no harm was meant whatsoever! Thirdly, having lost Roddy shortly after, it brings so many memories of the man that when listening can make me smile and shed a tear at the same time.
So why does one episode of a single Podcast have such an effect on me? Well we all know of the passing of Roddy on July 31st 2015. Just one year prior, July 28th 2014 to be exact, Roddy hosted the final date of his UK tour at the Glee club Birmingham. I was lucky to attend that very show, which was a meet and greet, followed by talk from the great man himself. In fact it was this very show that saw an opinion of just a wrestling fan, enjoying having the opportunity of meeting one of my favourite on screen Wrestling characters, basically change from a fan, to, well let’s just say to a man who absolutely made an impression on me!
Now this event sold out, no surprise there! However, the meet and greet overran, why, easy to answer based on my experience alone! Usually a meet and greet contains a shaking of the hand, signing some sort of memorabilia and having a photo taken, and that’s cool. However it was clear to me that this would not be the same, and from my own meeting, I at least got over five minutes of Roddy’s time, maybe this may sound not sound a lot, but it felt like it at the time.
When you consider that this man, who left home at the age of fifthteen after falling out with his father. The man who basically spent his youth wrestling for various promotions, wrestling bears in California, having vicious dog-collar matches with Greg ‘the hammer’ Valentine during the first ever Starrcade event! Having a Boxing match with MR T. Smashing a coconut over Jimmy Snuka’s head! Painting his body half black and half white during Wrestlemania six against Bad News Brown and still looking that way at the airport after the show!! Wrestling Goldust in a bizarre no DQ match at Wrestlemania twelve! I could continue… What or who I expected to meet and speak to I was one hundred percent sure, and I was not let down. Mr Piper’s first question to me was about my family, if I was married, had children. His response when I told him I was married and had a seven year old boy at the time? Take care of your family, the rest don’t matter!! He accordingly signed my little boy’s book and wrote to him that his Daddy love’s him. Is this the same man that had this outrageous career in Wrestling? Was at times a little crazy, maybe? Went for walkabout during Legend’s house! The same man that exposed an Alien invasion in ‘They Live’? Yes he was that man, a truly loving caring human being, a little eccentric to add, but that was his charm, he cared more about me, and everyone else at the venue that night, and the show was not entirely about him.
So from my writing you can probably see how my opinions of this man are rated so high, and why not! Legend is used so often and easily used not only in wrestling but in so many aspects and genres in life. Roddy piper can easily be called a Legend, in my mind and heart anyway. Only when you meet somebody face to face can you see a person for what they are and this is so true in Mr Piper’s case. A man that beat cancer, defeated many adversities during his life, sadly left us too soon.
It had been my objective to write this article and put it up on July 31st, the anniversary of his death, unfortunately due to my holiday I was not able to get it up in time so I am putting this up a little later than I would have liked. I am not a wrestling Mark, I do not Mark out for certain individuals, yes I have my favourites of course, who doesn’t? However, Roderick George Toombs left a big impression on me as a human being and a person. The relevant Podcast episode aforementioned in this piece is my memories of the man who is missed very much not only by myself, but millions of people around the world, albeit Wrestling fans or not! If you really want to hear another person’s feeling of Roddy, then you could not go wrong by listening to a Podcast from a Comedian by the name of Earl Skakel, suitably name ‘Inappropriate Earl’ the man acted has co-host for some of the last episodes of Roddy Piper’s Podcast and on his own Podcast, titled Number 73-Roddy Piper tribute, earl pours out his feelings about Roddy, take a listen.
You will always be more than just a memory.
Rest in peace Roddy!
