Wrestling Legend Rowdy Roddy Piper Reveals Painful Past

By Melissa Antoinette Garza

Today was my brother’s 40^th birthday. One of the gifts Steve and I bought him was The Great Amerian Bash 3 disc DVD set. We were having fun watching The American Dream Dusty Rhodes wrestle while Dusty himself provided hilarious commentary. It was overall a fun night, until Geno mentioned he had seen an interview that implied something of a sexual nature occurred between Pat Patterson and Rowdy Piper. I immediately called bullshit. I read Piper’s book cover to cover multiple times and this supposed encounter was never mentioned. It was until, Geno told me that the words came from Piper’s mouth himself that a pit in my stomach began to form as I know how honest and how much integrity Piper has. If he says it, it’s the truth. He doesn’t lie, even when it gets him fired or blackballed, he tells the truth. That’s just who he is.

Here’s some relevant background on myself. I’m a huge fan of Piper. My first grade teacher Mrs. Lewison called my mom in for a meeting when I wrote an essay on how Rowdy Piper was the person I admired most. Others wrote about their parents or historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr., but me I wrote about the Rowdy one and how nice he was to his bodyguard Cowboy Bob Orton. Lewison first attempted to make me rewrite the essay about someone else as she thought that a wrestling figure, especially a heel, was inappropriate and contradictory to what the essay was supposed to be about. I refused. Piper was who I admired most, and I wasn’t going to be dishonest to appease my teacher. That is the reason my poor mother was called in. It wasn’t her first visit nor her last during my education in the Ludlow, MA school system.

During the meeting, I was offered the opportunity to write an essay about any topic other than Piper. I agreed knowing full-well that I had slightly devious intentions. My paper was about my favorite television program which by coincidce was the TV segment, The Piper’s Pit. I believe I was the first 6 year old who received an F for a paper turned in. Still, I was proud of my paper. As I wanted to be a writer since I can remember, I knew that my essay was far superior than those in the class who simply wrote things such as, “My grampa is great. He tot (sic) me how too (sic) ride a bike.” Before the internet, spellcheck, etc. most classmates just wrote their essays and guessed on how to spell words. Not me, I studied on how to spell words, I used a dictionary and also made sure my older sister Rena read it prior to turning it in. Not to mention, my essay had much more detail than any of the others. No one else, had a tale about how their hero hit someone over the head with a coconut. In full disclosure, my sister was a huge fan of Piper as well, so I’m sure she helped me construct it. Though, she was much more cooperative with teachers and, had it been her paper, she probably would have rewrote it about someone else. I was slightly more argumentative. I still am.

I never stopped loving Piper. When he comes back to wrestling, I watch it.  When he’s gone, I stop.  I enjoyed every moment of the iconic They Live (1988) and the cult classic Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988). Though I hold They Live in a higher regard as it is one of my favorite films of all time, Frogtown is pretty bad-ass and I’ve seen it at least 10 times.

When his book was released, I purchased an autographed copy and read it multiple times. The love story between him and his beloved Kitty is something that needs to be made into a film. It’s far more romantic than the sappy The Notebook. It’s real and pure and a real life fairy-tale. I was able to meet Piper twice. I’ve met many celebrities but have never been more starstruck in my life. I don’t recall what I said to him, but I know he had the longest line at the conventions, and when I was finally in front of him, he hugged me and was kind and spoke with a genuine sincerity that made me admire him even more. I will always have those amazing memories and I cherish them in my heart.

So today, when I heard that Mr. Piper may have endured the wrath of Pat Patterson I was angry and sad for him.

I came home later and watched the interview. I don’t know what happened, but the one thing that stands out is that Piper seems to blame himself for whatever happened. I hope that he is able to one day see that whatever occurred, it was not his fault. Patterson is a known predator. He has been accused multiple times and was even let go from the WWF (WWE) for awhile during an investigation. Vince McMahon Jr. (owner of WWF/WWE) who has a strange friendship with Patterson quietly brought him back once the media began following another story.

I hate Patterson. He looks slimy and he is slimy. He has been accused of sexual harassment and wrestling legend Cowboy Bob Orton’s brother Barry Orton was brave enough to come forward and admit to being molested by both high ranking officials Terry Garvin and of course Pat Patterson. With that knowledge, it isn’t difficult to guess what may have happened to Mr. Piper.

The interviewer asked whether Piper felt he was forced and he was emphatic about saying “No.” He also said that perhaps it was his fault. Anyone who is on the outside looking in and especially those who have been sexually assaulted know that Piper who was 21 years old at the time was a victim and not a willing participant to whatever occurred. He was a young man who grew up in poverty, was on his own, and wrestling was his only option to survive. When one reads his book, they’ll see that’s true. Patterson was and is a powerful figure that uses his authority to take advantage of those in need. Though Piper was already a name by the time he came to the WWF (WWE), it was obvious that to be noticed and to make it in the industry one had to work for Vince McMahon Jr.

I speak from experience. Though the abuse I endured was far different than whatever happened to Piper, I hope he can one day understand that he is not to blame for that abusive douchebag’s actions and demands. Patterson should rot in hell for what he did. I pray that Mr. Piper sees that he was just a kid and Patterson did more than just take advantage of him. He dangled survival in front of Piper’s face and with no other options, was is a young kid who has no one supposed to do? There was no other choice.

Rowdy Roddy Piper is a national treasure. Wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans alike adore him. Most casual wrestling fans haven’t an idea of who Patterson is. Those who do just remember him making an ass out of himself in a few of the worst story lines in WWF (WWE) era, and that includes the multiple Doinks and Dinks running around. Sure Patterson may be wealthy and behind the scenes may have a lot of control, but when he dies (which hopefully will be soon) few will grieve and mostly it will go unnoticed. I doubt it would even be a Yahoo top story. Kim Kardashian wearing a new bikini will probably be considered bigger news.

Piper on the other hand is revered, adored and is held in the highest regard by every true wrestling fan I know. Everyone adores him both as the best wrestling figure of all time and an amazing actor. More than that, I can vouch for him being an absolutely beautiful individual. He has a heart of gold and truly cares for his fans.

I know this isn’t a horror film review, but it does deal with a real-life horror.   After reading some comments from morons on message boards attempting to be funny and failing by making light of this revelation, I wanted to add some perspective. More than that, I wanted it to be written somewhere, even if just on Scared Stiff Reviews that whatever occurred Piper was the victim.

For more information on Rowdy Roddy Piper please visit his website at:  http://www.rowdyroddypiper.com/