PIPER’S PIT PODCAST – EPISODE 2
GUEST: “HACKSAW” JIM DUGGAN, STEVE SIMEONE
RELEASE DATE: April 2013
DIRECT LINK TO STREAM OR DOWNLOAD EPISODE
Report by Gary Milson, PWPodcasts.com reporter
GUIDE TO SUBJECTS (w/Time Stamps)
0.00 Opening
1.29 Introduction for Steve Simeone
2.32 Introduction for Jarek 1:20
4.11 Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies
8.07 David Chow
12.21 Charlotte
14.22 The Rock
16.02 Stone Cold
16.25 Wrestlemania
17.22 Wrestlemania 30
20.45 Hall of Fame
22.58 Break – Commercial for the “Short Corner” podcast on PodcastOne
23.38 Return from Break
24.15 Jarek 1:20
24.45 Mr. T
34.21 Warrior
43.55 Scott Hall
45.54 Randy “Macho Man” Savage
46.43 “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan calls in
49.06 “Hacksaw” on Warrior
52.20 “Hacksaw” on Jake “the Snake” Roberts
53.52 “The Klik”
55.02 “Hacksaw” on Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies
59.05 “Hacksaw” signs off
SUMMARY OF SHOW
Roddy talked about his theme, “The Green Hills of Tyrol”, and that it was traditionally a “retreat” tune on the battlefield, as opposed to “Scotland the Brave” which was a “charge” tune.
Introduction for Steve Simeone
Piper introduced Steve Simeone as a Comedy Store comic that he had known for quite some time and noted that they had been trying to meet up for a while.
Introduction for Jarek 1:20
Piper introduced Jarek 1:20 as an upcoming young wrestler, putting him over as having his head on his shoulders and having a clean lifestyle.
Jarek said he was interested in hearing Piper’s stories, but Piper noted he was only 22 years old, so Piper might have to “put cotton wool in his ears” as his stories might not be appropriate for Jarek.
Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies
Piper talked about what he had been up to since their last meeting: “killing zombies” in Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies (with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Kurt Angle and Matt Hardy, whom he momentarily mistook for Marty Jennetty).
Roddy talked about Hacksaw pulling a rib on set where he had put a glove on his 2/4 (called “Lucille”) on set for Roddy to shake in greeting, instead of holding out his hand.
Piper talked about a fight scene in a jail where he hit a zombie with a coconut, but one of the guys on set was asking why there was a coconut in a jail…
Roddy tried to avoid mentioning the name of the movie until pressed by his guests.
Roddy talked about how, over the weekend, they had a double feature of Hell Comes to Frogtown and Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies.
Piper joked that that he was sure the movie would be big and give him a lot of acting credibility, but noted that it was fun, and that he had done worse.
Roddy said it was filmed in Wheeling West Virginia.
David Chow
Roddy said he had a call from someone called Alexander to do a cold read of 107 pages of dialogue for David Chow, who had made $100m on Facebook stock that he was paid for decorating their office with murals when they didn’t have cash to pay him.
Simeone expanded on the story of David Chow taking stock for payment and then cashing out a few years later…
Piper explained that Chow now has a podcast, and they wanted him to appear on it, giving him the dialogue. Piper talked about the dialogue was a transcript of various topics that Chow addressed, such as being in jail and general ranting on laziness.
Charlotte
Piper talked about going to Charlotte, and noted that his daughter was born in the Presbyterian Hospital there.
He also talked about doing a meet and greet in the city for WWE around March 21-23, followed by shooting the movie and then going to Wrestlemania 30 afterwards with his son (Colt).
The Rock
Roddy talked about meeting The Rock at Wrestlemania and how Rock was very pleasant and respectful, and approached him in catering.
Piper mentioned that he fought Peter Maivia (Rock’s grandfather) with The Great Howley (being negative Hawaiian slang for white people or non-Hawaiians) on his shirt, back when he was 23.
Piper explained that the fans would break off the antennas from cars and whip him with them on his way to the ring.
Roddy said he talked with Rock about having the latest WWE game and how Colt would play as Rock as his favourite wrestler.
Stone Cold
Piper said that he met Austin straight after meeting Rock, and put him over as a good guy, and that they joked about the trouble Piper would get into.
WrestleMania
Piper talked about meeting up with Sgt. Slaughter, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Bret Hart and Ric Flair at WrestleMania just before the show.
Simeone said he was actually at WrestleMania I.
WrestleMania 30
Both guests put over WrestleMania.
Jarek said he had a WrestleMania party with non-wrestling fans, and his favorite moment was how everyone at the party became engaged with the Daniel Bryan-Triple H match and were doing the “Yes” chants, despite not being fans
Piper said this was a great example of how wrestling was so popular.
Piper put over Bryan, saying he was good to work with and that he was a good guy.
Simeone said he had many favourite moment from WM30, but when pressed, he said his favourite moment was when Piper and Mr. T shook hands and hugged, which was a big deal, given the backstory there. Piper noted this was all improvised. Jarek said the tension was clear, and Piper agreed that the animosity thirty years ago had been real.
Hall of Fame
Simeone talked about Mr. T’s speech at WM30 and that they were confused whether it was a work or not, and how it was awkward when Kane had to come out and call time on the speech.
Piper stated that he thought Mr. T’s speech was a comedy spot for a good portion of the speech.
Jarek 1:20
Jarek talked about having started wrestling at age 17 and having been wrestling since 2007. He noted that Greg “the Hammer” Valentine was in attendance at his first show in Michigan.
Jarek talked about getting his start with his friend Justin Klotz, but that they had a falling out after attempting a reckless manoeuvre in a match, but put him over as a great guy.
Mr. T
Piper talked about having a beef with someone for thirty years, and used this to segue into talking about Mr. T.
Roddy again talked about the Hall of Fame speech, but then noted that he paid attention when Mr. T mentioned his son having a master’s degree.
Piper said that some people there he didn’t stand and clap for, but others he did, and that when asked about Mr. T, he’d said that he was in the “celebrity wing of the Hall of Fame”. He then said that he bumped into Mr. T by accident while leaving the ceremony (he joked that Mr. T’s back was to him so he asked his son if he had a coconut…), and because his son was with him, he decided to do “what a man does” and bury the hatchet with Mr. T.
Simeone pointed out that most people don’t appreciate how bad the animosity was between the two. Piper conceded that he had genuinely considered “taking him out” in the ring with a back suplex.
Piper said that when he met Mr. T, he told him he was proud of what T had done with his son, and that he put over the speech with Mr. T. Roddy then said he suggested going for a coke, to which Mr. T suggested that he liked chicken…
Roddy said he didn’t realise that someone took a picture of this meeting, but then saw a tweet from Mr. T thanking him for his kind words after the speech, which Piper was really pleased with, and responded in kind.
Piper thought it was strange that the internet was celebrating this as a show of “class” but stated that this was more about a show of love and making peace and how this was more important than animosity.
Warrior
Simeone pointed out that this was similar to the Warrior passing away after making peace with WWE, and that as a fan, he was glad that he was able to do this.
Jarek noted there was a question on Twitter re Piper’s favourite warrior moment/interaction.
Piper said his interaction with Warrior was small and that he didn’t wrestle him, but in WCW, his interaction was brief and respectful, and that Warrior treated him as a gentleman and as a peer.
Piper said that Warrior put him over as one of the reasons for the success of the business when they met in the locker room.
Simeone noted Warrior thanking Vince for “letting him pretend to be a tough guy” in his speech, and suggested this was one of the reasons why Warrior respected Roddy.
Piper discussed Warrior’s speech, but said he disagreed with Warrior on how some guys (like Flair) would keep going in the business, even though Warrior had basically made his gimmick into his real life name.
Jarek discussed Warrior’s speech on Raw, and how it was eerie and bizarre at the time, and how it was even more so when viewed again after Warrior’s death later that night/that morning.
Piper said he woke up in a cold sweat on the night Macho Man passed, and had gone on Twitter that night, mentioning that he had been dreaming of Mr Perfect and Kerry Von Erich.
They discussed that it was like Warrior knew it was coming, and then discussed how glad they were that he had the Hall of Fame moment and that he got to make peace. Jarek pointed out that guys generally don’t go onto Raw after the Hall of Fame to give another promo.
Piper said he found this to be eerie given the supernatural experiences he’d had over the years.
Piper noted that Warrior and Vince had hugged backstage, and that the whole weekend was about “mending”, although Jarek suggested that he had heard that Warrior didn’t put on his Hall of Fame ring. Piper wondered why…
Piper suggested that even as Warrior tried to live down the gimmick, he also ended up living up to it, and that it goes to show how strong pro wrestling is and just how much it takes and how much the wrestlers give to the business, and that “these guys gave their life to the fans”.
Scott Hall
Simeone said he liked Hall’s speech, but that it was a shame that it had to follow a speech as intense as Jake “the Snake” Roberts’. He said he met Hall and that he felt Hall seemed like a nice guy and that he was “wiser for the things he’d been through”. He was glad to see that Hall looked healthier and put over DDP for helping Hall.
Piper went back to the theme of Wrestlemania 30 seeming to be a time of healing.
Randy “Macho Man” Savage
Jarek noted a question from “Brian” on Twitter asking about Roddy’s thoughts on why Randy “Macho Man” Savage wasn’t yet in the Hall of Fame. He alluded to a beef between Savage and Vince and Stephanie McMahon.
Piper said this would be tricky because Savage couldn’t ever attend a ceremony, and that he wasn’t sure if Savage would ever be inducted.
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan calls in
Hacksaw telephoned in, and Piper put him over as his “therapist and psychiatrist.”
Piper explained that they were roommates in “Legends House”. Hacksaw said it was fun as he could get away with anything and blame it on Piper…
Hacksaw advised that he was in Detroit for a viewing of Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies
Piper asked Hacksaw’s thoughts on the Wrestlemania weekend. Hacksaw said he brought his family there but that he was very busy, so he didn’t get to enjoy it as much. He joked that the Hall of Fame ceremony went long because Mr. T thanked “everyone on the face of the earth” and “his mother about 3,000 times”.
“Hacksaw” on Warrior
Hacksaw said that “the Warrior’s speech was the Warrior’s speech”.
Piper asked what Hacksaw thought of Warrior’s speech. Hacksaw related being stunned to hear Warrior had passed, but said that while he didn’t want to speak ill of the dead, he did think that Warrior’s speech may have reminded people why he didn’t have many friends in the business.
Hacksaw suggested that Warrior changing his name to his gimmick suggested an ego problem.
Roddy went back to Warrior’s talk about guys going on too long in the business, saying that although he wasn’t mentioned in the discussion, he felt that he effectively had been. Hacksaw joked that Warrior was eyeballing the two of them while he’d said that.
Hacksaw joked about changing his kids’ names to “Saw 1” and “Saw 2”.
Hacksaw did suggest that Warrior talking about sweating so much on stage at the ceremony might have been an indicator that something was wrong.
Hacksaw said that regardless of his feelings on Warrior, he was a family man and that it was a sad time for all involved.
Both men agreed that they were glad that Warrior had a chance to bury the hatchet and make peace before passing.
“Hacksaw” on Jake “the Snake” Roberts
Piper asked about Jake’s speech.
Hacksaw said that his 25th wedding anniversary was just the day before, noting that Jake was a groomsman at his wedding and that they had been close, but fell out when Jake got into the hard drugs. Duggan said he was glad to see Jake straightened out and put over DDP’s induction speech.
Duggan noted that there isn’t a set formula for getting into the Hall of Fame, and that it was good to see Jake there after being ignored for so many years.
“The Klik”
Piper and Hacksaw talked about Nash inducting Hall and how Michaels and Waltman came out as well.
Hacksaw joked that for years Hall had been a jerk when he was drunk and a bigger jerk when he was sober
Piper put over Hall’s son Cody as “a great kid”.
Hacksaw said he didn’t get to see Piper much over the weekend as they were both so busy.
“Hacksaw” on Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies
Duggan joked about not needing make-up to be a zombie.
Piper retold the story of the Duggan 2/4 rib. Duggan said he was impressed by Piper on set as he was a professional and could put the lines over when performing.
Duggan related upcoming events (an indy show and then a signing event over the weekend).
Piper put over Duggan as a true legend.
They joked that they probably wouldn’t get to spend time together at WrestleMania 31 either, as the WWE schedule was built around keeping them apart. They joked that Tony Atlas was a prima donna and that he was too lazy to get out of the limousine to get snacks and ended up passing gas in the limo
Duggan signed off with a trademark “hooooooo!!”
Wrap Up
Piper put over Duggan as a fun guy who was lots of laughs. Simeone mentioned how Piper had brought Duggan to the
Comedy Store and how the guys still talked about it.
Piper put over Jarek as someone to watch out for.
Jarek read out a tweet from “Matthew” asking how many showers Piper had to take to feel clean after hugging Mr. T. Piper laughed and said “ten” but that it was still worth the hug and that WM30 was an outstanding event, but that they missed out when they had Hogan, Rock and Austin in the ring, as they should have had the guts to send him out too, as he’d have used his “chew bubblegum and kick ass” catchphrase.
SCORE & REVIEW
5.5 out of 10: Piper’s second show was far more engaging than his first, possibly because of the formatting starting to fall into place, or possibly because of the time that it came out, and the big events and major subject matter that were inevitably going to be brought up (i.e. Warrior’s passing and WrestleMania).
Again, his guests were less of a serious factor in the show, and they almost fell into the pattern of interviewing Roddy at some points, rather than the other way around, but there was a notable ease to the flow of the show overall, without the awkward lack of focus of the first show.
The show remained generally light-hearted, but took more sombre turns when discussing the Hall of Fame and Wrestlemania weekend, with Piper’s reconciliation with Mr. T and the induction and subsequent passing of Warrior being the biggest talking points, as both had clearly affected all three men. Piper’s talk of fatherhood in relation to reconciling with Mr. T was certainly a touching moment.
It was also interesting to hear Duggan’s take on the same weekend, particularly in that, while he wasn’t disrespectful of Warrior or vindictive towards him, nor was he reverential. Ultimately, he showed respect for Warrior as a family man, while being open about his misgivings.
The show had a fair amount for wrestling fans, particularly those interested in the behind-the-scenes of Wrestlemania 31, and for Warrior fans looking at the immediate reactions to his sudden death as well, and while still not reaching the heights it later would, was a marked step up from Piper’s Pit’s beginnings.
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