Ted DiBiase said Roddy Piper’s death was “such a shock” and that Piper checked into a hotel, went to bed, and never woke up, speaking on Everybody’s Got a Pod while looking back at WrestleMania VII.
“It was such a shock. The guy goes to a hotel, checked in, went to bed, and never woke up,” DiBiase said. “There were no drugs in his body, none of that crap. It’s still a mystery, I think. And he just, his heart just quit.”
Piper passed away on July 31, 2015 at the age of 61 from a cardiac arrest in his sleep at his home in Hollywood, California.
DiBiase said the first time he met Piper was at Madison Square Garden, on the same night DiBiase put over Hulk Hogan in what was Hogan’s debut and DiBiase’s last match on his first run through the territory. “The first time I met Roddy Piper was in Madison Square Garden, and it was my last match in Madison Square Garden on my first run. And my last match on the first run was with this new guy that Vince McMahon Senior said, ‘Ted, we really want you to get him over. We got high hopes for him.’ And his name was Hulk Hogan,” DiBiase said. “So I got the Hulkster over, and then I was gone. He was making his debut there. It was his first match and my last match.”
When asked if he viewed Piper as one of the best promos of all time, DiBiase stopped short of the all-time label but praised Piper’s mic work and overall package. “I don’t know about all time, but yeah, he was very good on the mic. He was excellent,” DiBiase said. “That’s oftentimes the thing that makes the difference. Wrestling is sports entertainment. Rod had it all.”
DiBiase said his WrestleMania VII match with Virgil was designed to set up a program with Piper, and that working with Piper was a welcome change. “I wish I could have wrestled him more,” DiBiase said.
On calling matches with Piper, DiBiase said the two shared responsibilities in the ring. “Who’s calling that match? We both did. We figured out whatever, I can’t even remember now what we did for a finish. We commingled, if you will,” DiBiase said.
When asked about Arn Anderson’s recent comments that Piper was great at getting himself over but did not always do enough to help get his opponents over, DiBiase pushed back. “I’m not sure about that, because Roddy and I had a program, and I don’t think it was all one-sided,” DiBiase said. His co-host Marcus D’Angelo noted that both men got over when they worked together, and DiBiase agreed. “Arn is a pretty sharp guy, but I don’t know. Maybe that was a personal thing,” DiBiase said.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Everybody’s Got a Pod with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
