10 Fun Facts About My Trip To WWE WrestleMania 21
8. Roddy Piper And Steve Austin In The Same Ring
If you read my WrestleMania XX article , you'll know that Roddy Piper was originally scheduled to be on the show before he got fired. You'll also no doubt be aware that Steve Austin left the company shortly after the MSG supershow, so its ironic that both of them would return at 'Mania 21 to verbally square off in a Pipers Pit segment.
The friend who came with me to LA wasnt a wrestling fan, so it was interesting to gauge his reactions to certain matches and segments. Being from Scotland, he remembered Roddy Piper from back in the day so he was pretty excited to see Hot Rod come out to talk a bit of smack with Stone Cold.
I vividly remember Pipers introduction of Welcome to Pipers Pit as he slapped The Texas Rattlesnake across the face. We suddenly became a Jerry Springer-esque audience with facial expressions and noises of the OH NO HE DIINT variety permeating throughout the Staples Center.
Stone Cold looked like he was going to destroy Piper until he smacked Piper across the face (far harder than Piper had) and responded with Thanks very much for havin me, ya little son of a bitch. What an awesome opening back-and-forth that was.
They then proceeded to beat up Carlito, a relative newcomer to the SmackDown brand. Seeing these two legends in the same ring just this one time is a great, lasting memory from the night.