1954-2015: WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper Dies at 61

Piper passed away in his sleep from cardiac arrest. In the latter, he feuded with fellow wrestlers such as Ric Flair and Greg Valentine, whom Piper faced in a “Dog Collar” match in the first Starrcade for the NWA United States Championship.

Piper’s wife Kitty and their four children will carry on his name.

Piper, born Roderick Toombs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is the second WWE Hall of Famer to die this summer, following the June death of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.

With this news eclipsing the controversy surrounding Hulk Hogan and WWE, fans of Roddy Piper and wrestling enthusiasts, poured out their condolences on the social media. With the first WrestleMania looming, and all of Vince’s financial hopes resting on it, Hogan and Piper (with an assist from Mr. T. and Cindi Lauper) took the supershow on their shoulders and launched the first wrestling boom. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and participated in competitions until 2008. Piper spent decades wrestling before his death, making a name for himself in the 1970s and continuing to brawl through the 2000s.

Piper battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006, but later said he had beaten the cancer.

Do you think WrestleMania 1 would have worked with Paul Orndorff as Hogan’s number-one foe? He noted that one of his sons was competing in MMA and suddenly, the interview was over. Many thought that he was indefatigable and will not leave for his heavenly journey so soon, while many others thought that it was just a rumor going viral on social networking sites.

Following the tribute, the show goes on with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins bragging about actually breaking current rival John Cena’s nose during their match last week and issuing his open open challenge for his championship belt.

Piper would eventually get the opportunity to exact a measure of revenge against his former arch nemesis in the main event of the 1996 edition of WCW Starrcade. And then my father, on his side of the family, they had Tombs (sic).

“I’m devastated by the passing of my friend Roddy Piper”, Carpenter tweeted out to his followers. I was trying my best not to cry.