Roddy Piper on How Theatrics Ruined Wrestling (2002) 

Love the part where Howard tells him about his wrist and that he read his book, the look on Roddy’s face, you can tell that meant a lot to him, RIP Hot Rod!!

He seemed so touched that Howard read his book and even cited a fact from it.

"They Live" was one of the greatest movies ever made. Roddy made the right choice doing it.

RIP Mr. Piper. An absolute legend. So, so many fond memories of him in WWF. One of the greatest talents on the microphone and in the ring. Greatly missed.

RIP PIPER

Wow and this was in 2002 and he thought wrestling was bad then?? He should see the garbage now

Roddy had a point. Wrestling is dead when the improv is taken away.

Roddy Piper is a Canadian treasure. Miss him.

when I was a kid Piper was my favorite. everyone at school loved Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair or the Ultimate Warrior or Macho man. for whatever reason I always rooted for Roddy Piper

Yet “They Live” is a cult classic that is referred to this very day, up there with 1984.

Vince: my ass does tricks!🤨 Piper: I've been knowning that for years🤯😂

If Roddy was alive now... The absolute state of WWE these days.. It's more theatrics than wrestling.

Damn I am so sad this man is dead.....such a good dude.

They Live was based on a book written in 1963...dude knew what was up.

Fun fact, when Roddy did They Live, he was in such good shape, Carpenter said he was accused of photoshopping Piper's head on someone else's body in some scenes.

I respect any man that stands up for what is right even if it costs him his fame and fortune. God bless you Roddy. You are sorely missed by this fan.

this was 20 years ago and his words ring truer then ever

I’ve never been a wrestling fan, but I appreciate the fact that Roddy was intelligent and articulate. And not boring.

I cried my eyes out when Roddy left this earth...NO FEAR

Roddy Piper was absolutely right. Making stories for wrestlers to follow ruined wrestling.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum."

Theatrics did ruin wrestling. I was never a fan, but as a kid it was fun to watch time and again.

so honest about everyone and everything. and thats why vince didnt like having him in all the time

Piper's Pit where he smacked Jimmy Snuka in the head with a coconut.....thats entertainment.

Always liked hot Rod. His raw emotion in Piper's pit was second to none.

I came hear to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I’m all out of bubblegum

He didn't get it back on track unfortunately it's worse than ever now.

every interview i see Roddy do there was always "I love you, thank you" to anything the man was so pure I wish he was still with us today

Rest in peace Roderick Toombs. Always and forever our rowdiest of pipers

The sad irony here is Hot Rod predicted the future of WWE and was spot on.

Rod Piper's best work was still "They Live"

Everyone should learn from how everyone speaks about Vince. He got drunk on his own power and turned into a bad person who people only respect because they have to, not because they want to. That’s never how you want to be viewed.

Rowdy Roddy doing Canada proud! 🇨🇦Good 'Ol Saskatoon boy. RIP man.

18 years later, this is still the biggest problem in pro-wrestling (i.e., being overly-scripted).

Roddy was my favorite wrestler of all time. His spontaneity made it a joy to watch his performances. RIP, Roddy.

It made me feel good that piper was touched by Howard reading his book

Starting at 5:10, this was the meat of this great interview! From explaining the steroids side effects, to Roddy asking Howard what he truly thinks of the book. Amazing stuff!!

This guy is genuine. Someone you could value for a true friend.

Roddy quoting Bob Dylan, liking this guy more and more.

I miss Roddy. The man always spoke his mind!

Hated him while he worked, but loved how he handled himself outside the ring. Great guy, rip.

I met Roddy right before he passed. We talked quite a bit. He was my favorite heel, and my favorite wrestler. It seemed to me that it was exciting for him to meet some regular dude that grew up watching him. Maybe he could tell that I was a legit fan, maybe he just liked to talk to the guy willing to take the time to be first in line. I ended up having to talk him into letting me move along so that he could talk to other fans. Anyway, he was a great guy from what I could tell, very gracious of the fans that helped him get where he was. He seemed so genuine. I'm so sorry for his families loss. RIP

RIP Hot Rod a legend who was old school and stood his ground

wow i want to see the entire interview

I still miss Roddy! I never met him, never even got to see him wrestle live, yet I loved him so much all the same! To lose both him and Dusty in such a short space of time was just heartbreaking!

Vince was so bitter when Hogan, Jesse and Piper jump off to Hollywood.

The greatest of all-time. Miss Hot Rod!

What's funny is, most people think wrestling is fake, but they still hated Roddy for all his antics.

Seriously? No love for "Hell Comes to Frog Town?" We miss you, Piper!

His real name is Maniac, he used to have kids, he loves chesnuts and he's a top earner for Invigaron

Wow, about to say what he wrote to Vince and Howard had to open his mouth and go to a completely different topic.

Let's not forget Hot Rod was the inspiration for Duke Nukem's best lines😉

A piece of my childhood.

Rowdy Rowdy Piper is a #LEGEND

His voice is amazing. He could have a killer career in audiobooks.

I always LOVED the improv in wrestling! Theatrics is great but to a point. You need the good choreography, too.

RIP Roddy Piper

"They Live", one of my fav movies...

Piper was the best, he was one of the greatest heels ever, when I was a kid, I believed this. That's how good he was. I wish I had a chance to meet him. In these interviews he is so humble. Awesome dude. Favorite quote. a lot of them, but, "Evert time you think you know the answers, I change the questions, also, I was rowdy before rowdy was cool.

His last sentence of this clip couldn’t have been more true.

I have tried to watch wrestling again after growing up with it in early 80s-90s. All I saw was flips, choreographed dives, high spot after high spot, super kicks and then more flips. Turned it off and now watch the classics on RU-vid.

"i love my kids" Howard: Oh you got kids? "Nahhhhh, not anymore"

RIP Hot Rod!

Thanks for choosing they live, roddy. One of my favorites. R.I.P

I think Roddy would say today that wrestling is, in fact, dead.

RIP to Roddy. One of the best and an absolute fan favorite We miss him greatly

Roddy was right. I watched wrestling when I was a kid, I've got a son now. I'd love to take him to some family-friendly matches where we could cheer the faces and boo the heels. That kind of wrestling is long dead.

Roddy Piper was a real Catch Wrestler, boxer and Judo black belt

Ronda Rousey started wearing that black jacket to the ring after he gave it to her.

Piper was one of the nicest guys.

R.I.P. Maniac

So cool to see Roddy on Howard Stern. Miss you Roddy! Love you! Thank you for this!

Piper is a legend, Vince is a legend, both for very different reasons, but love both as they played a huge part of my best childhood memories.

They Live is one of the greatest movies ever made, and its the real story of whats actually going on in the world

Really miss hearing him..... we love you roddy

He came back a year after that during the match of Hogan Vs McMahon @ WM19

Funny that Piper says Vince wanted nothing to do with him if he did the movie considering that Piper would be a hot commodity after the movie and be More valuable to the WWF. I get it that Vince wanted to protect Hulk and ensure that he was the biggest star in the company but I don't think there was reason for them to feel threatened by Piper, Perhaps there is more to the story.

I had no idea hot rod was on stern! Can you guys upload the whole interview? 🙏

Roddy piper has a point when the cinematic over takes the in ring action pro wrestling stinks

Lady:your not as big as you used to Roddy Piper:piss me off and watch me grow. Lolz that's why he was Rwoddy RIP.

God bless your soul Roddy Piper. You are deeply missed.

Roddy Piper was on Stern? Now I gotta find the full audio

Love They Live!

I thought theatrics were what wrestling was about.

I had no idea Rod was on Stern! My dream interview!

RIP. Piper was the real legend of pro wrestling.

anyone who grew up on wrestling in the early to mid 80s knows how big rod was . the best heel

That’s a good host, he reads the book by a guest. Amazing

"Sometimes loud noises make the squirrels go in my head. And I dont fight in the ring anymore. But I still fight with the demons in Da' Maniacs head."

He was such a great genuine man and it shows even in this short clip.

*I love Piper. Straight shooter and funny dude. Vince McMahon, uh, nope.*

He looks 45-50yrs old at most. Amazing.

Can you imagine the ego on Vince McMahon?

Hot Rod was UNFUCKWITABLE! "I came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I'm all out of bubble gum." R.I.P. to a real one!

"That's not WRASILING" RIP big man

Miss this guy. Vince fired Hogan for doing Rocky. But piper always said the truth

I would love to see the full interview 😆From Sara in London England 💂

Roddy Piper was a stand-up guy. He was anti-establishment. He stood for something and didn't fall for crap.

Odd how this applies to today's wrestling times 10. Roddy was ahead of his time with these comments. Rest easy to a legend

Rowdy Piper and Mickey Rourke sound just a like and have the same mannerism 😎