Unrivaled (Happy Birthday Rowdy Roddy Piper)

I grew up an insane WWE (formerly WWF) fan and I loved the energy and excitement of the wrestling superstars. Hulk Hogan. Randy Savage. Andre The Giant.
They were all larger than life.
And of the the greats from that era was the amazing 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper.
He displayed an energy that was unrivaled. And that's saying something, since every superstar was as over-the-top and insane as you can remember.
For those that don't know wrestling, there's a term called 'heel.' Basically in the early days there were good guys and bad guys. It was The '80's...pretty clear cut in those days. And Piper was a heel. But he was so brilliant in his delivery and his mic skills that he was among the most popular of superstars. I believe all of the 'grey' wrestling superstars have benefited from his legacy. You could be considered a heel but if you had the charisma, you were loved.
And much like a handful of wrestling superstars that made the leap to The Big Screen, Mr. Piper was no different.
On November 4th 1988 he starred in "They Live," directed by the great John Carpenter. I saw it as a kid mainly on the star power of Roddy Piper, but was exposed to the filmmaker who would shape my future tastes in horror. Though I certainly enjoyed his non-horror releases.
And Piper gave a truly amazing performance. He definitely left at least one performance for the ages, and that's all anyone can ask for, isn't it?
These days the themes of capitalism and greed ring like a loud church bell.
It wasn't received well by critics in its day and was a modest hit, but over the years it has grown into cult status and I can say it's one of the finest science fiction films from The '80's.
And he was a reason for it's long lasting legacy.
He was born on April 17th 1954 and passed away on July 31st 2015.
We love you. We miss you. And your legacy lives on Rowdy Man!