Roddy Piper Once Faced Fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley In A Match Many Never Saw
Juggalo Championship Wrestling certainly lived up to the name of its "Legends and Icons" pay-per-view in August 2011. Scattered throughout the card were several wrestling legends and WWE Hall of Famers, a number of which even competed that night.
62-year-old Bob Backlund defeated Ken Patera, while Scott Hall accompanied long-time friends Kevin Nash and X-Pac in their victory against The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn & Brian "Road Dogg" James). In the main event though, four WWE Hall of Famers clashed for the very first time. There, Mick Foley teamed with fellow hardcore legend Terry Funk. The duo met to take on "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Cowboy" Bob Orton. Each may have put their unique stamps on professional wrestling — many within the same decades — but somehow never crossed paths all at the same time until that summer evening in JCW.
Piper and Orton frequently teamed together between 1982 and 1986 between appearances in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and the WWF. Piper, Orton, and Funk had all previously competed in a Legends Battle Royal earlier in the year at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's "Kurt Russellreunion 2: The Reunioning." Funk and Foley did battle on over 40 occasions throughout their careers with notable bouts in both ECW and WWF. However, this respective tag team match marked the first time Roddy Piper and Mick Foley ever formally met inside a wrestling ring — with the exception of the 2008 WWE Royal Rumble.
A Rare Match Amongst Legends
Mick Foley initially arrived at the show as a part of the commentary team, where he remained on it until the main event. That's when he was called upon to save the day for Terry Funk.
Funk was scheduled to take on Roddy Piper one-on-one in an "I Quit" Match. The "Rowdy" one emerged with Bob Orton in tow, before being hit with insults from the former ECW Heavyweight Champion. Piper retorted with some verbal jabs on his own and then unleashed a beatdown of Funk with Orton getting the assist.
At one point, Piper grabbed hold of his belt, nailing Funk across the body with it as he transitioned into using it for a choke. Funk managed to fight back but the two-on-one situation was too much. Enter Foley, who stepped off commentary to come to Funk's aid. As a result, the singles match that was supposed to be then officially morphed into the tag team that was.
Foley and Orton began trading blows in one corner, as Funk and Piper tussled in another. Foley would soon roll out of the ring, where Piper met him and proceeded to whip Mrs. Foley's baby boy into the ring post. Meanwhile, Funk attempted to roll up Orton for the win, but it was broken up by Piper. In the end, Orton managed to score the pinfall on Funk with Piper's help to pick up the victory for their team.