A Less Familiar Story

Roddy Piper and Ric Flair

Roddy Piper and Ric Flair – Laying the Foundation for Superstardom

Before their time in the WWF, Roddy Piper was regularly challenging Ric Flair for his United States Heavyweight Championship.

From November 1980 to June of ’83, Roddy Piper and Ric Flair faced each other over 40 times in singles competition and another 40-plus in tag matches.

This feud came at a critical time, as Flair was being groomed for his first National Wrestling Alliance World Championship reign.

The Nature Boy’s program with Piper prepared him for the global stage, and Flair took his place when he defeated Dusty Rhodes for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.

Flair was now defending the title worldwide against numerous contenders, but his feud with Piper did not cease.

As a result of his big year, Flair was voted "Wrestler of the Year" for the first time by the readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

Ric Flair: “Piper was the greatest bad guy in the history of the business!” Although Roddy Piper gets credit for propelling Hulk Hogan into sports-entertainment supremacy (though arguably not enough), the story of how he helped lay the foundation for the rise of Ric Flair is far less familiar.

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