If it wasn't for "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, would the inaugural WrestleMania have been as successful as it was? That's a question that you could spend an age debating. To some, Roddy Piper is just as important to the wrestling business as Hulk Hogan. As the old saying goes, every good hero needs a good villain. But Piper was more than just a great bad guy. Whatever side of the fence he was on, Roddy Piper was and is someone you just can't take your eyes off. Never the most technical of grapplers, Piper was a brawler with a mouth. That mouth was his key, though, with him able to talk you into the building to either see him get his a** whipped or to see him as the one dishing out the punishment. When Piper talked, fans listened. Simple. Like "Superstar" Billy Graham, Roddy Piper is one of the very first people in the WWWF/WWF/WWE to masterfully utilise the microphone as a true piece of their arsenal. And through his interaction with the likes of Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper, he was someone who truly transcended the wrestling industry and grabbed the interest of non-wrestling fans.
