Roddy Piper's 1984 WWF TV in-ring debut (02-11-1984)

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper makes his return to the WWF ring as he teams with "Dr. D" David Schultz to take on Frankie Williams and John Callahan.
(Championship Wrestling, February 11th 1984)

[@jackbauer4186]

Piper's walk to the ring was so incredibly badass. You can see why he was such a good Hollywood actor. His entire gimmick felt real. That was a guy who wholeheartedly believed in pro wrestling.

[@DS-hy6ld]

As a kid growing up in the 80s, he genuinely scared the hell out of me. Her was just so... unpredictable! A _bona-fide_ lunatic, if ever there was one. His appearance on Piper's Pit with Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka -- which I saw live (or at least, when it first aired on TV) -- damned near traumatized me. At the young age of 7 or 8 years, I had no concept of pro wrestling being fake or staged, and figured I had just witnessed a legit assault of the type which would land any person years in prison.

[@robrozek9265]

The good old days when you could tell the jobers from the stars as soon as they walked out from behind the curtain

[@IAmAHeater]

Been saying for years that they should bring the jobbers back to make the midcard guys look like stars.

[@ericshanline6153]

The Jobbers always just had a regular old name!

[@F40PH-2CAT]

​@@ericshanline6153or lame like Iron or Fabulous

[@RobertEllis-e7p]

How ironic that Piper is in a tag match against Frankie Williams, who was notorious for being on The Pit later on that year.

[@RPGisDUM]

Piper’s a whole vibe doing the Heel walk with the Superman shirt on in 1984.

[@cb5895]

Rowdy Roddy is one of the all time greatest !

[@MrAitraining]

Here in the northeast, when I saw Piper on WWF TV it was awesome! I used to get Georgia championship wrestling and read the wrestling mags, so I knew of him. Piper being a heel was a huge surprise.

[@ronaldshank7589]

He could go either way. He could be one of the most vicious heels you ever saw in your life, or he could be one of the best faces that you ever saw in your life...with that heel temperament lurking just below the surface! If you didn't know what was involved with wrestling this guy, when you got into the ring with him, you were in real trouble! Sometimes, even if you did know about his reputation, you were still in trouble, too! Roddy Piper was no one to make mad. If you did, you were gonna get whomped!!!

[@pulsarstargrave256]

This is the very early WWF Roddy Piper, the guy who still remembered the wrestling HOLDS he so often used in the NWA! THIS is the Piper who would go on to become American wrestling's favorite heel because he could back up that "motormouth" in the ring! The guy who came back from semi retirement in '89 was a stranger!

[@cliffrockalliance9071]

Agreed. There are at least three Piper prime versions. My fav is the 84/85 Superman-shirt wearing heel. God, he was so good at making you hate him. You know you're a good heel when you become a saturday morning cartoon lead villain.

[@theyinkaquadri]

Pulsar Stargrave we saw flashes of NWA version of Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 8 when he wrestled Bret Hart.

[@thelionsshare6668]

You're also a big LSH fan, I take it.

[@MrDrokkul]

Frankie Williams looks like he could be Benicio Del Toro's dad.

[@cycl0nnus]

he never won a match

[@anthonymatis2977]

@@cycl0nnus but he’s still in debt 😂😂🤣🤣

[@scottscott7801]

He reminds me of slow poke Rodriguez from speedy Gonzales!

[@MalnourishedGoat]

This is one of the squashiest squash matches ever. Just beautifully brutal. Love it! Great post.

[@darrylgrant4718]

I feel like I can smell the cigarettes on Frankie Williams through my laptop 35 years later.

[@JLC2025]

Yea. Wasn't hard to tell a jobber from a star

[@oldandbitter]

​@@JLC2025Really? Because Dr. D has a very generic look to him. And he was no jobber.

[@lcamp1977]

How about now at 40 years later?

[@darrylgrant4718]

@@oldandbitterIt’s about presence and charisma, not merely looks. Nothing about Dr. D felt generic. He was legit terrifying.

[@chrisspencer2428]

Roddy piper is a legend in Canada I'm so proud hes Canadian the greatest wrestling entertainer ever RIP roddy your name lives on in Saskatchewan

[@aceldamia9114]

I miss how you used to have to wake up your opponent after a sleepinghold by hitting the back of their necks/shoulders.

[@subzero8679]

Yeah just slap em around a little bit, they'll wake up. Haha

[@p4life56]

Quite possibly one of the greatest tag team matches I have ever seen.

[@lewis9702]

Oh come on!

[@EmperorStarscream]

😆 🤣 if you've seen one Hot Rod match you've seen them all punch 👊 kick sleeper 😴 💤 still fun to watch

[@All4mula]

You should Google the road warriors

[@p4life56]

@All4mula Used to go to the Baltimore Civic Center for Cards. Saw them a few times. Early 80's.

[@epcotman32]

RIP Piper.

[@jimmyd8206]

Piper and Shultz better than I thought. Figured Callahan and Williams would destroy them.

[@larrystroh233]

I was thinking the same thing 🤔

[@Duke-bv5wh]

Big frank Williams fan Guy was a animal

[@BudSchnelker]

Christ, I had a fiver on Callahan and Williams. Left me with no quarters for the arcade, ruined my entire weekend.

[@VolumedMusicMan]

Watching wrestling and hearing the police and thriller back in the day....🎼

[@teflonmagnet]

VolumedMusicMan the police’s outro music was a faint sweet whiff of youth

[@philipdefibaugh7127]

Also collecting the WWF LJN dolls and watching Saturday Night's Main Event!

[@MrAitraining]

This is the way you put the top guys over - SQUASH Kills on TV. I miss old TV wrestling.

[@shaneshrimp6519]

I used to hate it though . I was like when will they ever have a good match on ? lol

[@WALDENSOFTWARE]

@@shaneshrimp6519 Yeah, no one likes total jabronis. I remember in the very early 90's when everyone was jobbing on Superstars and then Jabroni Red Tyler got a couple of shots in, then proceeded to job the rest of the match. Never forgot those 2 punches, what a Jobber hero.

[@ronaldshank7589]

It did give the jobbers something to do, but you already knew who was gonna win. I actually thought that it was better when main event Wrestlers faced each other. It put the question "Who's gonna win this one" into the mix, and made things much more interesting.

[@ronaldshank7589]

@@WALDENSOFTWARE I got so sick and tired of seeing those horrible squash matches! I was glad when they put two Wrestlers that were true Superstars, against each other. It was much more exciting! Jobbers? I know that they may not know as much as the main eventers, but come on! They could've been trained to be superstars themselves, get into a match with a main eventers, and really spiced up those matches, instead of having the matches be so hanged predictable, that a blind man coulda told you, who was gonna win!

[@MrAitraining]

@@ronaldshank7589 yeah but TV wrestling then was mainly almost commercials and feud building for the main events. There were no big cable tv deals then. The arenas were the money then. So that format made the top guys invincible and you had to pay to see them fight each other. Just a different era.

[@VolumedMusicMan]

Vince and Mean Gene pretend to not know Piper's potential as a wrestler. LOL

[@chanakyaisalive505]

They Live. They still live. Thanks Rody Piper for spreading awareness. 🙏

[@danielr4640]

I liked it back then whare these wrestlers didn't come out to the ring with a theme song

[@subzero8679]

Theme songs are better. It gets the crowd hyped up more.

[@adamslemp9398]

Watch NWA power they don't use entrance music and it's studio wrestling 👍👍👍👍

[@johnflowers2736]

Agreed-Piper was my Favorite All-Time Wrestler 👍

[@christophernicholson20]

A legend was born Hot Rod Roddy piper the 🐐

[@eddielester3589]

The unbeaten Great Frankie Williams!

[@Magneticlaw]

The Chael Sonnen of pro wrestling.....

[@larrystroh233]

Frankie Williams has a perfect record. 0 and forever.

[@europeanamerican1360]

Apparently ole stone cold jacked Piper's whole in ring swag.

[@KHLthe2nd]

"Mr. USA Tony Atlas to take on 'suitable competition'." LMFAO

[@BudSchnelker]

+KHLthe2nd No doubt a main event in any arena in the country. Seriously, who wrote that line and how did the Fink read it without busting up laughing?

[@KHLthe2nd]

+mwoelfle I guess the Fink is a professional? LOL I almost fell out of my chair when I heard it.

[@danthemeatman9883]

I remember when Roddy Piper came to Florida in the 70s , and he gave our baby face a pile driver on the concrete floor and every one hated him !!!!!!!! Great heel !!!!!!☠️Tampa , Florida.👍

[@emm352]

Ty for putting this up...RIP Roddy

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

Even Dr. Death is like fuck this guy is crazy

[@zenoftupac9096]

Tony Atlas Vs “Suitable Competition” & Sgt Slaughter in action noticeably w/o any similar guarantee of “suitable” offered. Those matches were advertised on upcoming card in which “Iron” Mike Sharpe headlined vs Mil Masceras.

[@bill57board]

Iron Mike Sharpe - Canada's greatest athlete!!

[@fredericbarclay7468]

Word. Al Madril in the WWF in 1984? This HAD to be the Olympic Aud. in LA.

[@mdhotstuff]

He debuted as a manager / wrestler / Piper's Pit Host - His stable would soon grow to include Cowboy Bob Orton Jr and Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff

[@littlegp18]

Actually, Roddy's first debut was around 1980 where he came into the ring playing his bagpipes wearing checkered shorts

[@susanduva1088]

I was going on twenty piper was a fantastic Wrestler don't forget that the hot rod was a boxer too rip to the late great roddy roddy piper and up the irons!!!!maiden manic🤘🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🎸🎸🎸🤟🤟

[@mike76geo]

Love the Howard Finkel promo "You'll see Mr. USA Tony Atlas against 'Suitable Opposition'."

[@kurtcobainpizza5606]

That card sounded like every match was a main event in any arena.

[@BudSchnelker]

@@kurtcobainpizza5606 Surely the Olympic Auditorium crowd was literally hanging from the rafters.

[@maraviyoso8473]

"King Of Pain" by The Police. Very fitting song at the end.

[@trinityj1]

Vince saying to expect catcalls, but I was not ready for how many there were.

[@Nunzi3]

From the second he stepped in a WWF ring Hot Rod was OFF and running Full throttle to Super stardom and a Hall of Fame career!!

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

Hey that's an awesome Sleeper there.

[@GlorifiedTruth]

It looked like an evenly matched contest until the bell rang.

[@OneUltimateWarrior]

This was actually Piper's return to a WWF ring. He defeated Steve King in 1979.

[@alloutofbubblegumRP]

I mention that in the description - "Rowdy" Roddy Piper makes his return to the WWF ring"

[@kingofkings69ner]

Two out of the three men that helped to make Hulk Hogan the ultimate baby face.. Piper, Dr. D, and The Iron Shiek

[@scottjenkins890]

I love when the announcer comes on to do a commercial on where they're going to fight that's the greatest I forgot all about that I love this old s***

[@NOV123]

Um, that’s the late great Howard Finkel sir!

[@armenian_nightmare33]

It's weird this is his debut, then 3 years later would be his "retirement" match @ WM 3, against his "real life" best friend, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis! It seemed like ALOT longer than 3 years, when you're a kid! LMFAO!

[@30907bng]

He did a lot in those 3yrs though, I wish he stayed in the NWA with Crockett and gotten a run with the world title, he just seemed like he belonged with the NWA.

[@craigstrachan]

Image Piper and Schultz as a regular tag team let alone being tag team champions .those 2 would have been awesome as a tag team .why they never put the 2 of them together let alone have them as tag team champions is a mystery .they would have been damn near unbeatable let alone all the heat they could have generated from the fans . that would have interesting to see let alone fun to watch .

[@robertcoggeshall3071]

Schultz got blackballed after this.

[@craigstrachan]

@@robertcoggeshall3071 That was the 20/20 incident when that idiot John Stossel asked him if wrestling was fake and he open hand slapped him twice , The best part is McMahon told him to do it as part of staying in character ,At the time the 1st Wrestlemania was being promoted and McMahon didn't want the negative press . Somebody else taking the heat for McMahon . Insert shock here .

[@robmcclendon6223]

Thanks for sharing this video!

[@rakhijaman659]

Still,It looks like a real sport.

[@samiam7342]

WHAT A TREAT THANKS FOR POSTING.......

[@countconner]

Frankie Williams - Ohio's favorite son!

[@phillyflash43]

Pat Patterson was hoping for no tights under the kilt...

[@jennyn5692]

So was I. 😁

[@joeclements7750]

Jenny N Oh Jenny, BEHAVE! 😉

[@subzero8679]

Pat Patterson is a piece of shit. Hopefully he goes to hell soon.

[@chalklounge]

Mean Gene on the mic with Vince!

[@OriginalFatCat]

The Living Legend Frankie Williams. Wearing the same gear from the Infamous Piper's Pit episode.

[@TL2354]

I thought Frankie Williams was from Columbus, OH

[@eddiemunster7474]

I'm still in that ring no matter what

[@cycl0nnus]

@@eddiemunster7474 i'm still in there!

[@egrintarg230]

Hot Rod gave us so many great matches even as a heel. It is a wonder KZbin hasn't banned wrestling right along with everything else that was ever worth watching.

[@thomashenderson7481]

What a nasty brawler Piper was! When he first came in, he didn't have real good wrestling knowledge, but a street fighting way of quite intimidating! 👊🤛🤜

[@mapmtony]

Damn I miss Piper

[@mercoid]

Roddy’s very first appearance on wwf tv was as a manager.

[@charleslegoff1586]

He appeared years earlier in msg ....then in 79 fought jose estrada

[@dixol]

Yup, his 1st WWF TV appearance was in 1979.

[@paultrigo2184]

Faaaarrrrankeee Williams

[@lastwolflord]

The scrub wrestlers looked like they dreaded even being there.

[@landrykkb]

+lastwolflord They probably did,but it didn't compare to the humiliation Frank Williams suffered on Piper's Pit 2 months later.

[@cliffrockalliance9071]

Frankie is from Youngstown Ohio (or is it Columbus Ohio? heh); he dreaded being "anywhere"

[@Fakename70]

Easy work for Schultz. Just stand back and let Piper do all the legwork.

[@barvelo26]

This is what kind of wrestling is missing

[@jasonlane1528]

03:37 Man, Piper's catching Frankie Williams blindsided all day everyday!

[@millardhale85]

A lot better than today’s wrestling

[@SerkanMazz]

def not

[@HyperRoboTenguris1984]

I find it unusual how he is wearing green trunks and knee pads in his WWE debut as opposed to his usual blue trunks and knee pads.

[@johnclark562]

Mitchell Patterson I remember when he returned in '89 he had red trunks in a match against Macho Man. The pic of Roddy pinning Savage was on the cover of The Wrestler magazine that month.

[@MoniqueFromPlymouth]

Mitchell Patterson | Keep in mind he just started in WWE after he left Crockett/NWA weeks earlier. If you seen video from his Crockett years he wore green trunks infrequently. Note that Ricky Steamboat made his WWE TV debut wearing standard trunks and didn't have his karate gimmick yet.

[@stacyhamilton2619]

This is how Cyndi Lauper named her album.

[@stacyhamilton2619]

@@MoniqueFromPlymouth If you have* seen

[@jrupp8853]

I read somewhere that Piper turned heal in Jim Crockett promotions before his start with the WWF. Does anyone know the facts surronding the turn?

[@redbandsteve6115]

I love Piper, but isn't it funny how kayfabe he was supposed to be from Scotland and never even attempted to speak in a Scottish accent. Lol

[@VolumedMusicMan]

Actually earlier in his career Roddy played, the bagpipes.that’s why he came off as Scottish…

[@williamdlatorres4790]

Anyone notice the stiffness of that ring? Everytime a slam happens...its a dead thud. So many stories of the hard WWF rings in the early 80s.

[@donwilcox728]

At least Joe McHugh didn't announce them as Mr. D. David Schultz and Ruddy Ruddy Piper like he did during both men's debut in the WWF.

[@BudSchnelker]

Old Joe had been listening to "Goats Head Soup" that night.

[@bc1969214]

Match featuring soon to be Piper's Pit guest Frank Williams. This was Olympic Auditorium where Piper was already a legend?

[@alloutofbubblegumRP]

+bc1969214 Yeah, it's very ironic isn't it? As for the venue, no, this is Allentown, PA. The Fink is just putting in a localised voice-over for a house show taking place that night.

[@bc1969214]

All Out of Bubblegum appreciate the detail and thanks for posting these. It took me a bit to nail down what was missing- no bagpipe intro for Roddy (which makes sense as it's tag team and definitely wouldn't fit Schultz).

[@JasonL77]

+All Out of Bubblegum I remember Finkel doing that when WWF would be in Minneapolis.

[@BOTzerker]

Someone forgot to tell the UFC, for full effect you gotta shake your head when applying a sleeper hold!

[@brucesturton8521]

Piper, was a baby face in the mid Atlantic, comes over to the wwf as a heel. He teamed with Schultz and orndorf. I always wondered where Schultz disappeared to then, later I heard he assaulted a reporter. I then figured he must have gotten fired.

[@DrBeef216]

Did you tape all these videos of the Hot Rod that you've posted the last couple months?

[@paulietv2162]

You know you're a psycho when Doctor D is the sensible one out of the both of you

[@madbrowniac7871]

Just realized that "Doctor D." David Schultz is one of the very few men in the History of The Sport who can honestly say that he Teamed with BOTH "Macho Man" Randy Savage (in Memphis) and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (in the 1984 WWF)!😂🎤👨‍⚕️🎼🎸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤼‍♂️B.W.

[@DixiePokerAce]

I am glad Mr. USA Tony Atlas faced "suitable" competition.

[@tonygarea7925]

Interesting to see a young Mark Callaghan before he worked as the undertaker.

[@christophernicholson20]

That's Calaway not Callahan Mark Calaway is The Undertaker. That guy is shorter with dark hair. Mark had red hair and was taller

[@mikejejenich7116]

They should have put the belt on williams. He would have been a great wwf champion

[@donemerson699]

Great tag team match!

[@timreplugle6373]

Frank Williams billed from Youngstown Ohio? Cool but fitting...a jobber from a town gone in the tank long ago (I'm from nearby Girard, I would know lol)

[@subzero8679]

The entire state of Ohio has gone down the tank.

[@lunitari74]

LOL! I'm from a Columbus, Ohio

[@aceldamia9114]

Which one?

[@cliffrockalliance9071]

I believe Frankie said, "Ah-clumbus, Ohia" in that interview before being savagely beaten.

[@inker1972]

I maybe a lousy wrestla but ima still in there..

[@thomasmartin5182]

From Glass Cow, Scotland.

[@robtru84]

WrestleMania would debut a month later on March 31. This is as old as me. I was born January 9 1984 and I saw this match

[@alloutofbubblegumRP]

WrestleMania was March 31st 1985, not 1984.

[@robtru84]

@@alloutofbubblegumRP there have 39 WrestleManias and 1984 was 39 years ago. Just like Super Bowl started in January 1966

[@realazduffman]

Williams looks like he should be making pizzas instead of wrestling. No guts, doesn't go after his opponent.

[@jacobm5167]

I may be a lousy wrestler but I got no room for nobody!!

[@testodude]

He also didn't sell Roddy's punches. I bet Roddy or Dr. D kicked his ass later.

[@SovereignStatesman]

If these weights are accurate, I am King Kong Bundy.

[@MURUR1025]

Is John Callahan related to Undertaker ?

[@gamma1695]

I remember this from back in the day. I lost my shirt betting on Callahan and Williams to win. What was I thinking??

[@robertcoggeshall3071]

Wow, had no idea Piper debuted with Schultz. Always saw him with Orton instead.

[@kevinb6831]

I was rooting for Callahan and Williams

[@OaktownABQ]

I really think John Callahan and Frankie Williams had the potential to be one of rasslin's great tag teams...LOL

[@MrLuckytrucker21]

they look like they pulled them out of the local bar at the last second, to job for this match.

[@OaktownABQ]

mgtowfish73 LOL

[@davemanning9385]

I mean Callahan was there for a few years before going to Quebec under a different gimmick.

[@rexsexson5349]

🤣

[@caseycallahan5364]

@@davemanning9385 That is professional wrestling

[@Hotdiggity11]

"I don't even wanna speculate!" - Pat Patterson Oh, he was speculating alright lol. I notice Piper isn't that much smaller than Schultz was. Even though Schultz was booked as a big guy. Also weird to see Piper in anything but blue tights in the WWF. He did different colors in other promotions but he was using blue almost his entire WWF tenure.

[@highgate4767]

If you ask Jesse the Body, they're called "trunks".

[@ATMyles]

How about that card at the Olympic Auditorium? Whew!

[@charlesbonds9967]

Who's here after his tribute

[@williambanks2223]

Frankie Williams was the quintessential jobber. He even got beat up on Piper's Pit.

[@maraviyoso8473]

Did The Fink say "Al Madril?" I didn't know Al Madril ever wrestle in the WWF!

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

They didn't even let the other guy tag in that's how it's done. They did Schultz dirty after he slapped that reporter

[@scottgordin9709]

This looks like a low budget promotion, in just a year or two you can see how much the WWF has grown into the monster it is now.

[@larrystroh233]

I thought Callahan and Williams would win.

[@thegr8tony777]

Is it just me, or does Mean Gene sound like he's giving an interview or giving a promo while serving as a color guy?

[@landrykkb]

Piper alone could have beat both of them with his hand tied behind his back,much like he did jobber A.J. Petruzzi a few years later.

[@shaneshrimp6519]

Was this match before or after the Piper's Pit with Frankie Williams ?

[@DoppelgangerShockwave]

It's a shame Piper didn't like Schultz much, cause they would've made for a super tag-team.

[@jamesdemichele3649]

I scare myself that I still remember the name of the ref and ring announcer

[@seanberry1969]

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