Here's a prime example where being selfish can be a positive trait when it comes to the wrestling business. For younger fans, Roddy Piper may be nothing more than the rambling legend in a kilt who shows up for a segment once a year or so, but for fans who remember the Rowdy One in his prime, you know how incredibly on fire he was throughout the majority of the 1980s. When Piper joined the WWE he was coming off a huge run in Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic territories and had become one of the most talked about talents in the business. He was a hell of a heel, and few men could get audiences to hate them with all of their souls the way Roddy could. There was no better foil for Hulk Hogan to help jumpstart the early days of Hulkamania than Hot Rod. The usual formula for WWE would have been to build a big feud between Piper and Hogan, the challenger gets some heat on the champ and then they run the loop with the Hulkster getting his revenge in clean wins. Problem was, Piper wasn't laying down for Hogan. Or anyone. Roddy's clean losses in the 80s can be counted on one hand (Jimmy Snuka and Bruno Sammartino among them), and even during his return to WCW in the late 1990s he only suffered a few losses. Hogan claimed on Talk Is Jericho that he told Piper he would drop the belt to him if Roddy would be willing to reciprocate because it would lead to more money for both of them and Hot Rod wasn't interested, but that's pobably just a typical Hoganism. He was strongly protective of his legacy and how it affected his drawing power and felt like a willingness to do jobs would seriously hurt his value as a top star.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
