10 WWE Attitude Era Stars & Their 80s Counterparts

3. The Rock / Rowdy Roddy Piper

While The Rock's post-wrestling career was unprecedented in terms of the success and staying power he would achieve, Rowdy Roddy Piper was the first pro wrestler to be the lead actor in a major motion picture and in many ways laid the groundwork for the eventual path taken by the real-life Dwane Johnson. Initially retiring from the ring at WrestleMania III, Roddy Piper went to Hollywood and under famous Hollywood director John Carpenter, filmed a future cult-classic entitled They Live. The film debuted as #1 but soon fell from the top spot and did not meet expectations leading Piper to eventually rejoin the World Wrestling Federation at WrestleMania V. The Rock's Hollywood success is well documented. His big break came in The Mummy Returns which eventually landed Johnson his first leading role in 2002's The Scorpion King. Like Piper, the former Rocky Maivia would return to the ring on numerous occasions following his new career and amassed a huge following that appreciated the superstars' multi-faceted talents. The strongest part of The Rock and Piper's games was their mic skills. Piper is often credited as the greatest talker of all time, but that title has also been given to The Rock. Both men relied more on their interview skills than on their in-ring abilities in order go get over with the crowd. As big of stars as these two men were, they were never truly the company's number one guy. The Rock came closest in 2000 by representing the WWF as its champion due to the top guy's injury, but for the bulk of The Rock's career, the true face of the company was Stone Cold Steve Austin. Similarly, Roddy was one of the top talents Vince McMahon had on his roster, but it was Hulk Hogan who waived the flag for the WWF in the 80s and not Rowdy Roddy. Regardless of their positioning, both men were true main event level superstars who crossed over into pop culture icons.