Remembering The Hot Rod and The Dream

In the span of seven weeks, two of the all-time great professional wrestlers had passed away. On June 11^th, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes passed at the age of 69, then on July 31^st we lost “Rowdy” Roddy Piper at age 61. Both Rhodes and Piper were uniquely great. Piper would serve as an early prototype for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, while Dusty’s style hasn’t been duplicated since (because he was that great at it). Both men showed that it wasn’t just what took place in the ring that mattered, but how you sold the story to the audience on the microphone. I remember more segments and interviews than matches for both, and that’s perfectly okay (each had their share of great matches anyway).

We have two legends here who care about the business. Dusty of course, helped write NXT and helped make that brand as great as it is. Piper would show up from time to time to help put over some of the current storylines. My favorite Piper interview in fact took place in 2010, where he put over the WWE World Championship match at Survivor Series 2010 between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett (where John Cena was the referee). Piper made you feel the moment.

I’m just going to post some pics or videos of my favorite Dusty and Piper moments. Two legends gone way too soon. But right now I imagine Dusty’s still doing the booking, perhaps putting together a triple threat with Warrior, Savage and Piper up in heaven. Maybe he’s putting himself in the ring as well. Just be sure that Dusty and Piper will sell the match up there on the mic like they always did, and always will.

These are in no particular order.

Dusty beats Flair in their famous 1986 Cage Match for the NWA World Title.