Growing up, my first love was Georgia Champjonship Wrestling. Of course, like any eight year old, Tommy Wildfire Rich was my favorite wrestler.
But then there was Roddy Piper. He was hated by the Georgia fans. But I loved him. Even if he was fighting Wildfire, Bullet Bob Armstrong, Brad Armstrong, and all the fan favorites. He had this vibe about him. A craziness.
Fast forward a few years and he is the biggest villain on the planet at WrestleMania. But, he was also the first LJN figure I asked for that Christmas.
I followed Roddy from the ring to the movies and back again. He was the man. When I found out he was really born in my birthplace, I knew I had a cosmic kinship with him.
But I never crossed paths with him.
Until one night in Nashville. He was a special guest at the Ring of Honor event and he needed a ride from the hotel. I asked referee Gino Colucci if I could go with him.
I was nervous as all get up as we got to the hotel. He couldn’t have been more nice right away. I break the ice and tell him that I too am from Winnipeg. He asks if both my parents have Canadian in them and I tell him that my mother does. He proceeds to tell me to call my mother and give him the phone. I am sitting in the back of a car in Nashville, Tennessee watching one of my heroes talk to my mother about what part of Winnipeg they both lived in. Amazing.
He hangs up with my mother, apologizes to Gino and I because he needs to make a phone call. I try not to listen in, but it’s Roddy Piper. He gets fired up on the phone. A real inspirational Roddy speech.
Who was he talking to? Burt Renyolds.
Sometime later, I am getting prepared to run one of my PWF shows in North Carolina when the news of Roddy Piper passing hits the Internet. The guy I was wrestling that night had quite a history with Hot Rod and CW Anderson and I knew we had to take him aside and let him know that Roddy Piper had died.
The person I was wrestling?
Tommy Wildfire Rich.
Life is crazy.
10November
2017
2017
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