By Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist

What was supposed to be a light-hearted evening featuring pro wrestling legends at Marlins Park turned into a somber affair with the death of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper on Friday.

The Nasty Boys, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Bushwhacker Luke, and Tyrus gathered in Miami to sign autographs for fans and participate in some in-game activities. However, just as they arrived at the stadium, they learned of Piper’s death. All of the wrestlers seemed affected by the news when meeting with the media prior to the baseball game.

The wrestlers arrived in the media room a half-hour later than scheduled, due in part to their desire to have some time to digest the death of their colleague in private. Brian Knobbs spoke first, with tears in his eyes, expressing condolences to the family of Roddy Piper.

The Nasties discussed their work in getting pro wrestling hooked up with major league ballparks, as they were behind the Legends of Wrestling Night at Marlins Park two years ago. “(With) the team and the fans behind you, and the wrestling fans combined with that team’s fans…it’s the greatest thing,” said Sags. “Fans are fans and we love them all.”

“I’ve been doing it since 2008 and it seems to be getting better and better each time we do one,” said Knobbs.

Mick Foley, who later threw out the first pitch, was asked about his strategy in doing so. “You just lower your expectations,” he joked. “I usually try to actually throw it in with velocity, but you just embarrass yourself.”

“Can’t be any worse than 50 Cent,” quipped Nash, referring to 50’s infamously errant first pitch at Citi Field for the New York Mets last season.

Sags then asked Bushwhacker Luke, a close friend of Roddy Piper’s, to say a few words about Hot Rod. “We were crying together ten minutes ago,” Sags said of him and Luke.

“I just spoke to Roddy the other day…to lift his spirits up,” said Luke, who got choked up describing his longtime mate. “It’s a sad time to see a good friend of mine pass away.”

Sags shared a Piper story before the interview session was called after less than ten minutes: “Me, Knobs and Shawn Michaels were in Bangor, Maine. There was an old guy-young guy thing going on. (Ric) Flair stirred it up. Next thing, Sgt. Slaughter, Roddy Piper and Ric Flair had me, and Knobbs cornered in the Hyatt…like a movie, I had a jagged bottle, glass at my throat, (in a Roddy impression) ‘you young punks,’ we were like, ‘please Roddy, don’t slit my throat, we didn’t mean it.’ That’s how competitive it was.”

For a more in-depth report on the Legends of Wrestling night at Marlins Park, be on the look out for “Moonlighting” with Greg Parks VIP audio show this weekend, as well as a full-page column chronicling the events in the upcoming edition of the PWTorch Newsletter.

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