"Rowdy" Roddy Piper is described as one of the best heels of his generation and according to some, of all time but behind the scenes,Roderick Toombswas a beloved figure in pro wrestling. ChrisJericho sat downwith "The AdamCarolla Show," where he looked back at Piper's career and recalled the first time he met the legend.
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Jericho recalled how his own career was in it's middle stage while Piper was already on his way out, which was why the two never faced each other before their Handicap Tag Elimination match at WrestleMania XXV. That said, the AEW star always looked up to the legend. "He's still kind of a gold standard for, kind of, what you want to be in the business because he had such a great character," the veteran explained. Jericho also noted how his promo abilities helped make the legend one of the few wrestlers to have a successful acting career, citing Piper's 1988 film "They Live" as one of the great movies of its era.
"If you're a great character in wrestling, it really lends itself to movies and TV and film, because that's the basis of what wrestling is," Jericho noted, again claiming that Piper was especially good at this. The ROH World Champion then noted that even if Piper wasn't the best in-ring technician, it wasn't needed when his character was that good.
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"He was the type of guy that could sell tickets by the promos," Jericho said, noting how easily Piper could make people both like and hate him. "The personality and charisma and all those sort of things is what really matters in wrestling; Roddy was one of the best at it," Jericho added. During the interview, the AEW star also shared a story about working with Piper outside of wrestling.
A few years after "They Live," Roddy Piper led another film called "Immortal Combat," in which a young Chris Jericho had a brief cameo. As such, the AEW star got to witness the wrestler-turned-actor's process behind the scenes.
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"I was wrestling in Mexico and he happened to be down there shooting a movie," Jericho recalled. "I remember him just like standing in the corner with his eyes closed, just getting ready for this scene, and emerging and becoming this guy." According to Jericho, Piper would do the same thing to get into character for wrestling, even though his gimmick was based on himself but turned up to the tenth degree.
One of Piper's co-stars in "Immortal Combat" was Sonny Chiba, a martial artist and actor, who Jericho had a brief fight scene with in the movie. "He was probably I don't know 60 at the time, and he would throw these kicks that came right across my jaw, like I barely felt them, right?" After a few takes, Jericho said that Chiba began to actually kick him in the face, and that the veteran actor simply said he was getting old. Jericho then claimed that this was purposely set up by Piper, who simply wanted to see if it would happen to him too. "So, yeah, that was Roddy's big rib and booking me in a fight scene with Sonny Chiba, to get kicked in the face multiple times."
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Jericho has continued his acting career since then, most notably as part of the "Terrifier" horror movie franchise, which has made people puke and pass out at screenings. That said, wrestling fans shouldn't expect Jericho to retire any time soon, as he's still having fun in the ring.
If you use any quotes from this article, please creditAdam Carolla's YouTube channel and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
