Roddy Piper’s Greatest Career Highlights

Beating Hulk Hogan in WCW

Despite becoming a household name in WWE, and winning numerous accolades for his tremendous performances in the ring and on the microphone, Roddy Piper would eventually leave to take up a big money offer to join their deadly rivals in WCW. In his first appearance, Piper’s motives were made plainly clear – he would break Hollywood Hogan’s monotony and finally defeat the man that Hot Rod could not see his way past in the 1980’s. Piper in a typically shoot-style promo stated that Hogan was only so popular because Piper was so reviled, but in this feud the roles were reversed, with Hollywood Hogan now the leader of the nefarious nWo.

The pair would meet at Starrcade, the WCW’s premier event, in similar fashion to their battle at the first WrestleMania. Whilst Hogan was the WCW Champion at the time, this contest was for some reason determined to be a non-title match. The contest itself was certainly not the same as in 1985, as both had become slower and more deliberate in the decade in between, hampering their performance. It was also troubled by unwanted crowd interference when a fan jumped the barricade in an attempt to interfere. However, the end result saw Piper finally stand with his hand raised over his fallen foe Hogan, after years of attempts across their storied rivalry. It might not have been for the world title, but it was a milestone for Hot Rod, and Hogan’s first clean loss since WrestleMania VI.

The rest of Piper’s tenure was a mixture of controversy and unspectacular feuds, and although briefly held the United States Championship, he wasn’t able to recapture the magic and swagger of his previous years.