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Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper were two of the most popular superstars during the 1980s. Hogan was the ultimate good guy, a superhero for the masses, while Roddy Piper was the heel. In contrast to the bland babyfaces of the 1980s, Hot Rod was a class apart when it came to character, and despite portraying a bad guy, he was quite popular with the fans, even in the olden days with kayfabe abound.
Hogan versus Piper in WWE was instrumental in the 1980s wrestling boom, and these two took part in the first ever WrestleMania. The success of the inaugural WrestleMania was built on the back of this feud. Sure, you had Mr. T and Paul Orndorff, but they were minor characters at best.
Hulk Hogan And Roddy Piper Had One Of WWE's Most Underrated Feuds
The spotlight was on Piper and Hogan, and after the WrestleMania clash, the two met once again in another highly successful event titled The Wrestling Classic. This one-time event hosted a 16-man tournament, but the focus was on the world title match between Hogan and Piper.
The match ended in a disqualification win for Hulk Hogan when Bob Orton struck the champion with his cast. Hogan won but it was far from clean. In fact, even during the Hulk Hogan era, Piper was the one heel Hogan could not get a decisive victory over. While every other heel was fed to Hulk Hogan, Piper was exempt from a crippling defeat despite the fact that he was the perfect foil and an apt antithesis to Hogan. This would be like if Superman never defeated Lex Luthor.
The feud gave us quite a lot of memorable moments, but the rivalry never really transcended the business as it should have. We talk about Austin versus Rock. Shawn Michaels versus Bret Hart. Andre The Giant versus Hogan. But Hogan versus Piper is rarely mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned rivalries.
Neither Hulk Hogan Or Roddy Piper Wanted To Lose To The Other
The reason for this? The two did not get along backstage. And yes, we are not counting the debacle of the feud that occurred in WCW. It is no secret that Hulk Hogan was the master politician backstage, and he was basically second in command after Vince McMahon. He also had an aversion to losing, and throughout his WWE run, Hogan barely lost clean. When he did lose clean, he would come back and get the title anyway, because he was Hulk Hogan, brother.
On the other hand, Piper was no different, and he disliked losing as much as Hogan did. Even back when he was wrestling in the Mid-Atlantic territory, Piper detested jobbing, and this made sense as he was a massive star and a top draw. Given that both wrestlers hated jobbing, the backstage tension was a foregone conclusion. While Piper never went out his way to sabotage careers like Hogan did, he was not keen on losing to anyone, and especially to someone like Hulk Hogan.
For this reason, Hogan versus Piper never really got the closure in WWE, and this was due to Piper refusing to job to Hogan. He was a big enough superstar to speak his mind and sentiments were mutual. Now, the tag-team match at WrestleMania 1 makes sense, as these two refused to put each other over, especially on a stage as grand as WrestleMania. Orndorff ate the pin in the end, after all.
Hogan And Piper's Dislike For Each Other Carried Over To WCW
The rumors of backstage heat between Piper and Hogan continued when the two worked for WCW. Arn Anderson, another WCW employee, confirmed the rumors of real-life heat during a podcast. When asked whether there was any truth to the rumors, Anderson said that he knew for sure that Roddy Piper disliked Hogan, but he was not sure if Hogan felt the same way, or at least whether he disliked Piper as much as Piper disliked him. According to him, the two did not get along well backstage.
Eric Bischoff also confirmed the reports during his 83 Weeks podcast. The former WCW president mentioned that there was a level of professional tension between the two, and they refused to job to each other. However, Bischoff did mention that the two got along fine after a while.
Indeed, Hogan and Piper buried the hatchet and Piper was around to celebrate the Hulk Hogan birthday celebration segment on RAW in 2014. Yes, the same segment where Lesnar went off script and called Hogan a grandpa.
Following the death of Roddy Piper in 2015, Hogan, during an interview with TMZ, said that Piper became one of his best friends.