Towards the end of Roddy Piper's life, he expressed frustration with WWE and Stone Cold Steve Austin in particular. Piper believed Austin had forced Podcast One to pull an episode of his radio show which had mocked the rattlesnake. Austin denied this. There was also a beef with WWE, with Ric Flair suggesting that the company may have ditched Hot Rod from his legends contract. Apparently, Austin and WWE had taken real objection to Piper's podcast comments, but the real story isn't fully known. A lot of it was Piper saying one thing and Austin saying another thing. It sounded like crossed wires and it wasn't clear if Piper really had been released from his legends contract. Whatever the situation, there was definitely tension. It's a shame that things ended on that note for Piper, with his death coming just weeks after the fall out.
