And true to his form as one of wrestling’s greatest heels, he concludes with a characteristic bit of antagonism: “Just for the record, Charlie Sheen’s not a pimple on my ass.” Then, with barely a pause, he launches into a lengthy story about meeting two guys while he was on the Mancow radio show in Chicago and getting invited to something called the “Players Ball,” showing up without knowing what it was (it’s a convention of real-live pimps) and “I’m the only guy of my ethnic group there.” Here’s how it ends: “Two very large black men with canes that turn into swords walked me to a limousine, and I got out of there.
“So what do you call that?” he wonders rhetorically. “I mean, I kicked Cindy Lauper. I slapped Mr. T. I wrestled a bear. What do you call that? I don’t know.”
Whatever it is, those strange stories and many more will characterize a night with professional wrestling’s longest-lasting dude (he’s still wrestling) and his bizarre and illustrious past — and if you’re lucky, he might just tickle the ivories for you, too. “I love playing the piano,” he says. “I’m not that good yet, but I’m going to get good some day.”
It will be just one more thing on a very long list of achievements. Piper will be at the Comedy Works, 1226 15th Street, starting tonight at 8 p.m. and continuing through Saturday. For tickets, $28, and showtimes, call 303-595-3637 or visit www.comedyworks.com.
For a rowdy Q&A with Roddy Piper, go to showandtelldenver.com.
April 14-16, 2011
