You can bet the bagpipes that "Rowdy" Roddy Piper won't be kicking back
on some plush, leather chair somewhere in the South Tower - aka, Executive
Wing of CNN Center now that he's been named Interim Chairman of the WCW
Executive Committee. Perhaps that suited James J. Dillon or Eric Bischoff, but
no way for The Hot Scot. A ringside, wooden chair is more Piper's style. The
charismatic, kilt-wearing Scotsman was thrust into the high-ranking position in
September after "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and The New World Order thugs
brutalized the defenseless Dillon. That, however, ain't gonna work with Piper.
Hogan, Bischoff, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and
everyone else in The NWO can take all the shots they want at Piper - verbally
or physically and the fearless fighter will keep coming back. Surrender isn't part
of Piper's vocabulary. And if you think a few Hogan leg drops, like he delivered
to the helpless Dillon, will affect Piper, then you probably also buy into the
Easter Bunny and Santa Clause. (Ed's Note: What do you mean?) Piper, as the
Interim Chairman of the WCW Executive Committee, is the best thing to happen
to the company since the re-formation of The Four Horsemen. Dillon, while a great
manager for The Four Horsemen in the 1980s, cannot compete with Piper when it
comes to Chairman. That's why we suggest removing the "Interim" title. Give him
the task for six months, maybe a year, they see what's happening with the NWO.
Piper's approval rating for the new position was seen instantly at WCW Magazine.
We received more faxes, e-mails, phone calls and letters in the first week after it was
announced than for any other incident this year. And trust us, we had tons of
bridal gowns 2x cheap correspondence after The NWO Arn Debacle. After analyzing literally thousands of
questions for Piper, we picked a letter from Damon Hambruch of San Rafael, California,
because of its wide-ranging approach. So here goes, a one on one with The Interim
Chairman of the WCW Executive committee, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, the man who
made a hot pink dress shirt and tartan-plaid kilt the "in" fashion statement of the season.
"If you want to accurately judge one's career, I think you should do so on how much
money has he made, not how many titles has he won."WHO DO YOU SEE AS THE NEXT GENERATION OF WRESTLING GREATS?
"I see a lot of potential in a lot of different guys, such as Chris Jericho and
Chris Benoit. I see both of them really coming into their own in the next couple
of years."HOW DO YOU ANSWER CRITICS THAT YOU ARE TOO OLD TO COMPETE
WITH TODAY'S SUPERSTARS?
"It's interesting, The NWO calls me a dinosaur at 43, yet I found out I'm only four
years older than some of them. Today's athletes are much more intelligent.
They take care of themselves a lot better. So, the people who make those
statements don't know anything about athletics."IF YOU HAD TO PAY TO WATCH A WRESTLING MATCH, WHO WOULD YOU
WANT TO SEE?
"I would pay to me wrestle myself. I don't really know how I would wrestle a guy
like me. I wouldn't want to fight a guy like myself."HOW DO YOU COMPARE WRESTLING WHEN YOU FIRST BROKE IN, TO
WRESTLING TODAY?
"It was a much more hardcore lifestyle and a lifestyle with no real light at the
end of the tunnel because the crowds I was fighting in front of
were, sometimes, three hundred people in a garage. And you don't get big
paydays for that. But, I was so young, so dumb, that I didn't care about that.
I think if it had stayed that way I would have wound up a financially broke
fighter in a rough world with a really bad attitude.
"Now, there are a lot of guys who stand a chance to make a great life for
themselves. The Difference is, there's light at the end of the tunnel."WHEN YOU STARTED WRESTLING, YOU WERE ABOUT 40 POUNDS
LIGHTER, WHICH WOULD PUT YOU IN THE CRUISERWEIGHT DIVISION.
WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF WCW's CRUISERWEIGHT DIVISION?
"It's incredible and I have a lot of respect for those guys. They put more heart
into it than a lot of heavyweights that I know. Take, for instance, Dean Malenko.
He is a fantastic wrestler."IF A WRESTLER'S CAREER IS JUDGED ON TITLES HELD, YOURS WOULD
ONLY RANK AVERAGE. DO YOU AGREE?
"No... that's not correct. When I was 19 years old, I won the
World Light-Heavyweight Championship. At that time, it satisfied my urging for
a World title. After that, I fought for money, I fought to feed my family because
I was a gun for hire. If I was to deal with the political structure needed to fight
for a Championship belt, I would have been in trouble. However, it should be
noted that I've held 22 titles.
