This journey through the footage from the Portla|nd wrestling territory began as a series of odes to the underrated greatness of Buddy Rose. Since we started in 1979, though, while Rose is still great, it’s given me a greater respect for the talents of Roddy Piper.

That continues here, in the surviving footage from the first half of May 1979, where Piper is definitively the star of the show.

Here’s the footage we will be covering in this edition:

May 5, 1979

Not a lot of meat on the bone in what footage has survived the test of time from this week’s episode … almost entirely interviews, but there’s a gem to be found. Piper gets two chances to speak from the crow’s nest with Frank Bonnema. Both address the battle royal that coming Tuesday, where both men and women are entered, and he can’t wait to throw Vicki Williams out of the ring and into the fifth row — understandable, given recent events between them.

Piper’s second promo, at the end of the footage, is must see. He runs the gamut here, starting by busting out some rhymes like a freestyle rapper in the midst of their flow, in a sequence that, given it’s 1979, feels groundbreaking and innovative. Then he shifts: “You take a good look at me.” Here we see Piper making magic, grabbing at the attention of the viewer through the screen. As he talks about how he always gets up in a fight, the bandage on his head covering a fresh cut helps to sell the words. Then, Piper veers into complaining about promoter Dn Owen letting kids into events free.

The subject matter here veers all over the place. His schtick isn’t perfected and polished yet, like it will be by the time Piper reaches the big stage of the World Wrestling Federation in about five years as the chief foil to Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania. The intensity, the presence, however? It’s all here, already. And it’s impossible to ignore.

The feud between Rose and Piper advances here as well. Between Piper’s interviews, Rose comes to the crow’s nest and refuses to wrestle Piper this coming Tuesday because Rose’s partner Ed Wiskowski currently is out of the area. Piper interrupts and decks Rose, which evidently is all it takes for the Vegas Playboy to accept. Rose runs down the list of wrestlers he’s injured and/or crippled in the territory, in a nice odd to continuity that I appreciated probably more than someone watching this week to week in Portland nearly five decades ago would have.

One more fun fact: the battle royal they’re hyping has a $4,000 prize for the winner. That’s worth more than 18 grand in 2026 dollars.

May 12, 1979

One match in the existing footage, and it’s a good one: the first televised contest between Piper and Rose. Piper’s the current Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion, but he’s refused to put the title on the line here because Wiskowski is back in the area, and in the building. The previous Tuesday, Rose and Piper had a match that got thrown out after they brawled all around the Portland Sports Arena, That’s helpful context for what comes here, and what comes next between these two.

Unfortunately, Dutch Savage has affixed himself to what looks to be the hottest feud in the territory in quite some time; he’s been added to this affair as a second referee, outside the ring. Sigh … at least we don’t have to we Savage wrestle. Or talk.

The match itself is a treat. Piper drags Rose to the floor during the introductions and starts battering him, still seeking payback for what Rose and Wiskowski did to his beloved “Brooksie” last month. Rose gets the upper hand and targets the fresh bandaged cut on Piper’s head. Punches to the head prime the pump, and then Rose applies a headlock and squeezes Piper’s head like he’s trying to draw juice from a fruit. It works, and I’m here for it. Later, as Rose grinds his knuckles into the open wound, the camera catches a great close-up shot of Piper as his eyes roll back into his head. It’s the featured image of this article.

What’s astonishing about this match is, after weeks of Piper doing or saying something dastardly — usually to or about Vicki Williams — he wins over the crowd in short fashion here. What’s that old proverb? “The enemy of my enemy is my new fan favorite.” Or something like that. Bonnema does an admirable job on commentary helping sell the change in the fans’ perception of Piper. He’s disbelieving as a “We Want Piper!” chant begins, while noting Piper has not changed his style at all. Indeed, Piper throws punches. He fights recklessly. At one point he delivers an open-handed strike to Rose’s throat. “He didn’t ask anybody to cheer for him,” Bonnema observes during Piper’s comeback in the first fall. It’s a subtle but effective layer of the story being told here. After Piper wins the first fall, he seems legitimately bewildered at the fans who were previously howling for his destruction now cheering him.

This feels like a grudge match because neither man appears particularly interested in winning. When Piper hits a swinging neck breaker on Rose, he lets Buddy up rather than maintain contact for the pin. Then, in the second fall, Rose returns the favor, letting up Piper after hitting his back suplex into a backbreaker (or, the “Billy Robinson inside backbreaker” as it’s called here). In the third fall, Rose ultimately gets disqualified after Wiskowski runs in when both wrestlers and both referees are entangled outside the ring and rams Piper into the ringpost. Neither Savage nor Sandy Barr sees anything. Rose is DQ’d nonetheless, because they don’t believe his story on how Piper gets waylaid. It’s the only disqualification I can remember in wrestling based on nothing more than vibes.

Rose could care less. He’s gloating as he reaches the crow’s nest that he was the first to get there for his interview. He taunts Piper to put the title on the line next week, then retreats quickly to the back as Piper approaches. There’s great energy from Piper on his rebuttal: “When you were in high school having your mama pack your lunch, I was fighting,” he tells the absent Rose. Throughout, Piper maintains a captivating eye contact with the camera. There’s a star quality presence from him that anyone else in the territory lacks.

These two aren’t done. Next week, Piper puts the title on the line in a no DQ match with six “guards” around the ring — a lumberjack match, in other words. Piper cackles in delight when Barr informs him of the stipulations. He’s not the only one.

Barr says promoter Don Owen is ready to end the feud with this upcoming match. Thankfully, for all of us, he’s wrong. Piper and Rose have many more battles left to wage.

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