Two of Rowdy Roddy Piper's four children are making sure the Canadian wrestling legend won't soon be forgotten. Piper, who died at 61 last year, didn't get a chance to finish his memoir so Ariel and Colt Toombs (Rowdy's real name was Roderick Toombs) completed the task.
The two are now travelling to promote the "Rowdy: The Roddy Piper Story," which was just released.
During an interview on CBC Radio show Q, Candy Palmater revealed that Colt is now a WWE wrestler, just like dad. (Not to mention, he is the spitting image of Roddy.)
When asked what the most important lesson his dad taught him about the sport, Colt said: "Hmmm... Probably, for me, my whole life I've had to live up to his expectations. Everybody always thinks it's easier when you're a celebrity's son, or Roddy Piper's son. They say it's easier to get in the wrestling world because I'm his son. No, not true... You're held to a higher standard. You have bigger shoes to fill. Immediately, your first match, your first show, they expect you to be perfection and one mess-up, they'll kill you for it. He taught me not to care about that. He said you're your own man. That's the most important thing."
The love between father and son was mutual. "He's my best friend," Roddy said in an impromptu interview with TMZ Sports. "My son is my best friend, without a doubt."
Colt started out in the MMA, but his dad always knew he had it in him to be a wrestler. Back in 2013, the proud papa said of his son: "He’s a natural. Now comes the question of what Colt decides to do with it. I’m trying to mostly stay away from it. His name is Colt Toombs. He is undefeated as an MMA fighter as an amateur, and he always fights under his real name, Toombs. He’s making his own headway, on his own terms, with his own name. And I’m extremely proud of him."
From social media, it's clear that the wrestler's four kids (Falon and Anastacia are his other two daughters) and his wife, Kitty, remain very close and miss Roddy. While he was renowned for his work in the ring, it was his family that mattered most.
"It takes a man to be a father," Roddy said in an interview that was only published after his death. "I would’ve been dead a long time ago without my family. My kids turned the monster back and into a dad. All the accolades are nice. But I just want to be a good dad.”
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