wrestling / News

Teal Piper on Growing Up as Roddy Piper’s Daughter, The Weight Of Her Dad’s Legacy and Forging Her Own Path

September 6, 2019 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

– Speaking with Jeffrey Harris for the 411 Interview Podcast, WOW – Women of Wrestling star Teal Piper spoke about growing up as the daughter of the legendary Roddy Piper. Piper spoke about how when she was young she was kept from watching wrestling, and how when she was younger it was very real for her. She also discussed feeling the weight of her father’s legacy as she steps into the ring and how she trying to forge her own path and identity.

Highlights from the discussion, as well as the full podcast, are below:

On when she realized her father was a wrestling star and one of the biggest heels in the industry: “Well, when I was very little, you know we grew up in a small town in Portland, Oregon, or just outside of Portland. And he did that because my mom’s family lived there and he wanted to give us a regular life. He didn’t want us to be affected by him being this mega-heel in the ring, especially when we were little. I did know people reacted different to him a lot. People would try to get in fights with him at restaurants or at the bars, even though he’s there with his kids. You know, people really did hate him at that stage. But I didn’t really grasp the magnitude of what he did for a living until I had first gone on the road with him when I was maybe 14 or 15. And he just got swarmed in an airport, and we got separated. Which as you can imagine he did not care for that, getting separated from his little kids. But that was the first time that I think the gravity of it hit me, and I was like ‘All right, this is not normal,’ you know? It’s hard to explain, because to me, him being on TV was just Dad’s job until that moment when I really saw crowds react.”

On if she watched wrestling when she was young: “I watched a couple matches, but ultimately my parents didn’t let me watch it, or any of us watch it because we were — it was really hard as kids to understand. Like, you know what your dad’s injuries are, you’re seeing people hit him in those injuries. And you’re seeing people cheer for that, you know? And then you go to school, and people tell you ‘Oh, wrestling’s fake!’ And then your dad gets home, and he’s hurt. And it was very confusing and would make me very upset. I remember when I was in like sixth grade just hating Hulk Hogan, because he’d had this match with my dad, and I was so mad because I knew he was hurting my dad. I would cry, I was so mad! It’s just so funny now. So my parents decided it was too confusing for us when we were little and kind of kept us away from that.”

On the whole thing being real for her at that time: “Absolutely. And it — you know, he used to always say ‘I can’t make you believe wrestling is real, but I can sure make you believe I am.’ And anybody that knew him in real life, he was the real deal. He was old school, he grew up pretty much on the streets. There is a hardness that was around him, which is probably why he was such a good heel, and also why he survived all those years of hatred. But yeah, as his kid, you know, to me it was just confusing. I didn’t understand why people hated him. And then when he would get injured and if I got bullied in school or anything about that, I didn’t — it was just very hard for me to understand. And so my parents waited until we got older to like let us watch it and that type of stuff once we could grasp it better.”

On her father’s legacy and the pressure she feels over it: “It absolutely weighs down on me, and I think that the fact that I waited so long to get in the industry and even to announce that I was doing it or interested — if you look at past interviews, I have never once said I was interested in getting into wrestling. Because I knew as soon as I said something like that, there would be a lot of pressure for me to go forward. And even if I was interested, I never hinted at it until I was ready. Of course there’s a lot of pressure, and I hope that that pressure is just making me work harder and making me be a better athlete. I am somebody that thrives under pressure, so I’m trying to use it to my advantage. I’m very grateful to have such great trainers at WOW, like Selina Majors who understands what I’m under and [is] working with me to make me the best wrestler I can be. And of course, she’s somebody that I really admire as an old-school female talent in wrestling. I couldn’t be happier to be training with her.

On forging her own path and identity in the ring: “It is a lot of pressure, and I don’t want to let the fans down. But at the same time, I want everybody to know that if they’re looking for another ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper, they’re not going to get it here. I am not my dad, and there never will be another one. So suck it up and watch the old tapes, I guess. [laughs] But I certainly have some characteristics of my dad — I think we all have that from our parents — in the ring. And I love being on the mic, and I hope to bring my own fresh ideas. And I hope everyone likes the personas you’ll see me develop.”

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Introduction (0:00)
On how she ended up signed with WOW – Women Of Wrestling (0:36)
On why she decided to make the leap into pro wrestling and if she’d considered it before (1:13)
On when she realized her father was a wrestling star and a heel (2:32)
On if she watched any wrestling when she was young and becoming more of a fan as she got older (4:03)
On what AXS TV and WOW are doing for women’s wrestling (6:55)
On Tessa Blanchard and her accomplishments in the industry so far (8:23)
On what makes wrestling so unique in how it connects with fans (9:28)
On the weight of her father’s legacy and if she feels the pressure of it when trying to walk her own path (10:45)
On the evolution of women’s wrestling and women getting more opportunities in the industry (13:21)
On the impact her dad had on people like Ronda Rousey and his mark in the business (15:51)
On learning to take bumps (16:58)
On her other projects and where to find her online (17:57)