Here's What 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper Really Thought Of Women Wrestlers

Throughout a phenomenal 42-year career in professional wrestling, the  late "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was known for displaying his trademark Scottish rage and male aggression when taking apart opponents. However, his views on gender relations were surprisingly progressive.

I interviewed "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in July 2013

at a convention in Indianapolis. 

Never shy about expressing himself, Piper spoke out about the status of women in the industry during an interview for the new documentary, "Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring." I directed the documentary, which will screen on Thursday, March 29, at the Wexner Center for the Arts on the campus of The Ohio State University. For tickets and more information, click here. 

"Lady Wrestler" chronicles courageous black female athletes like Ethel Johnson, Babs Wingo, Marva Scott and Ramona Isbell. These phenomenal women braved racism and sexism to excel in the male-dominated world of professional wrestling in the 1950s and '60s – before many of the gains of the civil rights and feminist movements had been won.

Piper knew several of the women featured in "Lady Wrestler." While making the documentary, I interviewed Piper in July 2013 at "Days of the Dead," an annual horror convention in Indianapolis. He was there to greet fans of the 1988 sci-fi/horror movie "They Live." The cult classic was directed by the legendary John Carpenter of "Thriller" fame and starred none other than Piper himself.

When I approached Piper, he was outspoken about the obstacles faced by Black women ‒ and women, in general ‒ in the wrestling industry.

"They had a hard, hard time," Piper said. "It was so competitive that, back then, I think it may have been very difficult for a Black lady." 

Piper acknowledged that, just as in many other industries, women ‒ and Black women, in particular ‒ had to work twice as hard to be acknowledged in the wrestling business.

"When they got on the mat, they had to perform and hit harder and they were rougher on each other than we [the male wrestlers] were," Piper said. "There was so much male dominance and they were always treated as just, you know, flash."

Piper said he had enormous respect for the African-American lady wrestlers' work ethic and all that they achieved in spite of the odds.

"These women were really trying to get over," he said, "as the guys were."

And just like the guys, he added, the lady wrestlers aspired to "being a world champion." 

My interview with Rowdy Roddy Piper took place two years before his untimely death from a heart attack in July 2015. He was very cool and approachable. And unlike his tough-guy image, he seemed like a really nice, sensitive man. Rest in peace. 

How Black Women Wrestlers Succeeded Against The Odds

Black History Month is a time to reflect on African Americans' accomplishments and countless contributions to United States. These accomplishments are all the more remarkable, considering the nearly insurmountable obstacles of racism and segregation that Black Americans have historically had to overcome.

The stories of African-American women who succeeded against the odds are chronicled in the new documentary I directed, "Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring." The 83-minute movie will debut on Thursday, March 29, at the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St. on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus.

In the documentary, courageous Black women like Ethel Johnson and Ramona Isbell and the children of the late Babs Wingo and Marva Scott talk about excelling in the male-dominated field of professional wrestling in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. They competed in matches all over the world and were celebrated as heroes in Japan, Australia, Latin America, Canada and other many other places all over the world.

But back home in the United States, the women endured Jim Crow segregation. When wrestling in venues in the Deep South, they often had to go in the back door of restaurants, drink from "Colored" water fountains and stay in segregated hotels.

However, instead of being defeated by discrimination, the women used their circumstances to form lasting bonds with other African-American athletes and entertainers. 

In "Lady Wrestler," Ethel Johnson shares her experience of befriending boxing legend Joe Louis. In fact, Louis refereed some of the ladies' wrestling matches, as Ethel relates.

Ramona Isbell recounts running into famous Black celebrities who stayed in the same segregated hotels – legends such as Ike and Tina Turner, Ray Charles, and the Harlem Globetrotters.

As African Americans have done throughout history, the lady wrestlers and their peers survived and prospered through the power of unity, found strength in numbers and turned tragedy into triumph.

For tickets and more information about the March 29 screening of "Lady Wrestler," visit Wexarts.org.