Rowdy Roddy Piper - In the Pit with Piper

Table of Contents

IN this business, there arent too many real people. Roddy Piper is definitely one of the real ones.

A stand-up guy, Roddy always shook everyones hand in the dressing roombig, small, old, and young. He was polite and different from all the big names I ever met.

When I got to the WWF in 84, Roddy was already on top of the card as their number one heel. He didnt have to give me the time of daybut he did.

Long before cliques in wrestling had become a major angle, the big clique was Don Muraco, Bob Orton, Adrian Adonis, Mr. Fuji, and Roddy. They didnt hang out together for political reasons but for comradeship. One night, after a Hart Foundation tag match, Roddy invited Jim The Anvil Neidhart and me up to a hotel room for a beer with the boys, and they let us into the fold. It was a privilege to sit with these top stars, soaking up their advice on wrestlers, wrestling, psychology, angles, and territories. The camaraderie in those lonely hotel rooms provided some of the most insightful and significant lessons a young apprentice like me would ever get.

One day I mentioned to Roddy that my dad had some relatives on his side by the name of Toombs, Roddys real last name. As it turned out, Roddy is from Saskatoon, as is my father, Stu, and we found it curious that in North Dakota the Harts and the Toombs were indeed blood-related. To what extent nobody knew. Ever since this discovery, Roddy and I have referred to each other as Cuz.

One of the greatest moments of my career was when I challenged Roddy for the WWF Intercontinental title at WrestleMania VIII in Indianapolis. Wed never really had any matches together, and to have one this big, in the sold-out Hoosierdome, plus millions more watching live around the world on Pay-Per-View, was going to be a challenge. Roddy had an indifference to pain, working as hard as anyone I ever knew, and at WrestleMania VIII I knew he bore the brunt of it for me. To win the Intercontinental title from my mentor was an amazing accomplishment for me.

As the years went by, I found myself in numerous situations where I desperately needed some good advice, and I often joked about shining a spotlight in the sky like Batman and Roddy would always be there. I could always trust Roddy, knowing that his advice wasnt just good, it was the best. I was able to work my way up in the business, forever grateful for his counsel.

Being a wrestler was like being in a tribe. The best thing that any of us had going was the feeling of brotherhood we shared. Too many wrestlers end up as wrestling tragedies. For me, I followed Roddy like a Sioux brave followed Crazy Horse. He was a real warrior, who could truly lay claim to being a chief.

In the world of professional wrestling, the true giants dont always face one another, sometimes they stand side by side facing the world.

Thanks, Roddy, for being a true friend and hero.

And thats a shoot.

Bret The Hitman Hart

MICK Foley once said to me on the Larry King show, Piper, its usually the guys that didnt make it that are bitter. Why are you so bitter?

Mick brought up the point that I couldnt see the trees for the forest, and for this Im forever grateful. As you read you might get the same idea, but Im going to try and take you back with me on whats been a wild, wacky, and glorious journey as a professional wrestler.

I love the sport of professional wrestling and all that it has given me. Its allowed me to see the world, earn a decent living, raise a beautiful family, and meet lots of great and interesting people. It has also taught me to have the utmost respect for anyone who has ever stepped foot in a professional wrestling ring. I know firsthand that it aint easy. The athlete in you takes a physical pounding seven days a week from all the wrestling youre doing all over the world, while your brain takes a mental beating from all the time you spend alone on the road away from your family and home.

As youll find out in my book, there were many times in my life when I didnt see the green of the trees that Mick was talking about because I was always on the runand its very hard to notice anything in life when youre running with your head down. But my forefathers took me in and not only taught me how to wrestle, but also how to walk through life with my head up and become somebody. I am forever grateful to them for passing this knowledge on to me, so thats one of the reasons I decided to sit down and pen this book. In the Pit with Piper allows me to get my story out there for everyone to read and enjoy, and it also allows me to pass some knowledge down to people who are interested in getting into the business. They can read and learn about the hard road that I traveled to break into the rough and tough sport.

I started to write this book two years ago, and boy, let me tell you, its been a learning experience. I went through six people before I found the crew to help me get everything right. I have tried to get all the people, places, names, and facts correct, as I did the entire book from memory, and I was as honest as I can be.

But I have to tell you, the deeper and further I went back in my life and career, the harder the task became. To be honest, I almost gave up three times, but one night I got a call from a good friend, Bob Friedman, who is the vice president of Celebrity Placement in Detroit. After screening a hundred literary agencies for me, he came up with Warwick Associates, operated by a wonderful team of people headed by Simon Warwick-Smith and Patty Vadinsky, who took me on as a client. Not only did they dive into the project headfirst with me, but they baby-sat me through the entire process. Eventually, Simon and Patty got me a deal with Penguin Putnam books to publish my work, and here I am 100,000 words later. Thank you to a fine editor, Kelly Sinanis. We may never have gotten this book published if she hadnt battled for us. I must also give thanks and gratitude to writer Rob Picarello for his countless hours of hard work and sleepless nights in helping me write this book. Without him, this project would never have gotten done, and he is truly one of the finest in his field and one of the most devoted workers I have ever met. Thank you, Rob.

These people are responsible for helping me get the book out of my head and onto the shelf, and for this I am truly grateful.

Also, this book would not be possible if not for people like Leo Garibaldi, Gene LeBell, and Red Bastien (the best man at my wedding), who took me under their wings as a young misfit. These men, along with so many other greats from their generation, allowed me to learn the art of wrestling well enough so I could earn a living from it. My forefathers had me in school 24/7 teaching me the ropes in both my life and my sport.