Roddy Piper

In late 2006, Piper was selected by the fans to partner up with Ric Flair to face The Spirit Squad (Kenny and Mikey) on Cyber Sunday pay-per-view on November 5, 2006. They won the titles and went on a Europe tour with the rest of the WWE roster when Piper realised something was wrong with him. His legs were no longer working. They flew him back to the US where the doctors discovered that he had Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Diagnosed with low-grade 2A lymphoma, he underwent 20 cycles of radiation and chemotherapy over the course of four weeks, finishing the radiation therapy on January 15, 2007.

Born on April 17, 1954, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Roddy Piper was the son of Eileen (née Anderson) and Stanley Baird Toombs. His father served as an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) while the family was staying in The Pas, Manitoba. Piper grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba and had a very turbulent relationship with his father.

He studied at Windsor Park Collegiate secondary school but later was expelled because he brought a switchblade to school. This led to further deterioration of his relationship with his father. He eventually left home as a teenager and lived out of various youth hostels.

He worked odd jobs at local gyms to support himself. During this period, he was exposed to the culture surrounding professional wrestling for the first time. He ran errands for professional wrestlers and learned the early lessons of the business from them. He also became adept in playing the bagpipes, although he later reiterated that he had no recollection of how he had learned them.

Roddy Piper started off as a boxer and amateur wrestler before he stepped into a professional wrestling ring. In fact, he was quite successful in his early career. He was not only a Golden Gloves boxing champion but also earned a Black Belt in Judo from Gene LeBell

He began his professional wrestling career under the tutelage of promoter Al Tomko in Canada and made his in-ring debut in a ‘midget wrestling’ match in Churchill, Manitoba. His first match for a reputed promotion took place in the American Wrestling Association against Larry Hennig. At the beginning of his career, from 1973 to 1975, Piper mainly served as a “jobber” to other professional wrestlers.

In the mid to the late 1970s, Piper gradually accumulated experience and fame in small promotions. He adopted several ring names, including the Masked Canadian and took part in quality storylines with some of the best professional wrestlers of the time, such as the members of the Guerrero family. Even then, Piper demonstrated his natural talent as a heel. He could enrage the crowd like no other. He once even caused a riot in Los Angeles.

Prior to his signing to WWF, Piper appeared in three matches at Madison Square Garden in 1979, when Vince McMahon, Sr. was still at the helm of the promotion.

He made his official debut in 1984 as a manager due to the injuries he had received during a dog-collar match at Starrcade. His tenure as a manager ultimately ended and Piper started wrestling in the WWE. In those early years, he feuded with the likes of Jimmy Snuka and Bruno Sammartino.

Roddy Piper made his film debut in 1978, in an uncredited role in the comedy film ‘The One and Only’. In 1986, he was cast in his first leading role, "Quick" Rick Roberts in ‘Body Slam’.

He portrayed a drifter named John Nada in the 1988 cult classic ‘They Live’. He also starred in another cult classic that year, Donald G. Jackson’s directorial venture ‘Hell Comes to Frogtown’.

He continued to be active as an actor until his death in 2015. One of his last memorable roles was as Da' Maniac in an episode of Rob McElhenney’s sitcom ‘It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia’.