Book Review: "In the Pit with Piper: Roddy Gets Rowdy" by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (2002)

First off, I gotta say that I think Piper is one of the crappiest wrestlers to ever walk the face of the earth. The only moves he knew how how to do were the sleeper and the eyepoke. He was also a loudmouth on the mike who was painfully unfunny, much like Chris Jericho is today. However, he always got a reaction from the fans, and that's what puts bums in seats. I attribute this to his willingness to push the envelope, from the coconut incident with Superfly Jimmy Snuka to how he let himself get just obliterated by Adrian Adonis, Don Muraco and Cowboy Bob Orton on the "Flower Shop" talk segment. Who can forget Piper laying there on his back with lipstick on his face and a mouthful of soil and roses, only to come back the next week on crutches and absolutely destroy the set? Up until then, that was about as real as wrestling ever looked, and he was part of it. He also had me believing in his feud with Bret Hart over the Intercontinental title, which the Hitman won from Piper at Wrestlemania 8 (I think). The good guy vs. good guy angle was played out to perfection because once again Roddy had you asking "just how fake is this stuff, really"? And you gotta mention the MTV "War to Settle the Score" where Piper beat the crap out of Cyndi Lauper's manager. This was what took wrestling out of the gambling parlours and Legion halls and put it front and centre on NBC with "Saturday Night's Main Event".

Like most wrestling books, this one reads like a conversation with Piper. He touches on his youth in Winnipeg, growing up on the streets and how getting into the business as a teen basically saved his life. From there, his travels through the territories and up through the NWA into legendary feuds with Ric Flair and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine are retold, but the centrepiece of the story is Wrestlemania I. Piper has unkind words for Mr. T, and portrays him as basically an egomaniac who thought he would be the one calling the shots. Piper's animosity towards T. reached the boiling point one year later at WM II during the infamous "boxing match" where Piper bodyslammed T and drew a DQ. That was real. Also receiving unfavourable treatment is Mr. Wonderful, Paul Orndorff, who Piper says was one of the most insecure wrestlers of all time. Perhaps that explains why he has no reputation to speak of these days as the WWE pays tribute to their legends.

I think Piper goes a little overboard when he suggests that it wasn't Hogan who put Wrestlemania on the map, but it was (of course) him. He states that people didn't want to see Hogan win, they paid to see Piper get the crap beat out of him. Big difference. The two seem to have a love/hate relationship both inside and outside of the ring. Piper is also hard on Vince McMahon, and pulls no punches when discussing McMahon's sometimes underhanded business practices. This is where the book is different from other wrestling "autobiographies" because it isn't commissioned by the WWE, so Roddy is free to say whatever he wants.

Piper also addresses in stark terms the reasons why wrestlers die younger and more frequently than other entertainers do. He attributes this to "the Sickness". "The Sickness" pretty much refers to the addiction that one gets from hearing the roar of the crowd, when you walk through the curtain, do a high spot, or get a pin. Piper says wrestlers will do anything to maintain that high once they get a taste of it, and this explains why they will stay out on the road 250 nights a year, eating takeout, popping pills and going without sleep, all for that rush. Whether it leads to premature heart attacks (Rude, Guerrero), overdoses (Henning), car crashes (Adonis) or suicide (Kerry von Erich), it's all about the Sickness.

Great stories here about guys like Andre, Jesse Ventura and Rick Martel as well. If you are spending a day travelling or on the beach and want a good easy read about the highs and lows of the rasslin' business from one of its most successful performers ever, pick this one up. Oh, and he's Canadian, not Scottish.

Overall rating: 8.5/10