[3] Piper earned the nicknames "Rowdy" and "Hot Rod" by displaying his trademark "Scottish" short temper, spontaneity, and quick wit.

[13] He started wrestling under the care of promoter Al Tomko in Canada, his first match involving "midget wrestlers" in front of a lumberjack audience in Churchill, Manitoba.

[13] From 1973 to 1975, Piper was a jobber in the AWA, NWA Central States territory surrounding Kansas City, and Eastern Sports Association in the Maritimes.

[15] He also worked in Texas for Paul Boesch's NWA Houston Wrestling promotion,[15] and in Dallas for Fritz Von Erich's Big Time Rasslin.

In 1977–78, he also started to work for Roy Shire's NWA San Francisco Wrestling in addition to remaining with the Los Angeles office, where Piper developed his Rowdy character.

[18] Piper also won the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship with victories over both Lord Jonathan Boyd and "Playboy" Buddy Rose.

[18] From 1981 to 1982, Piper served as a commentator on Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and feuded with the likes of Bob Armstrong, Dick Slater, and Tommy Rich.

In Wrestling to Rasslin, Gerald W. Morton and George M. O'Brien described the transformation: "the drama finally played itself out on television when one of his [Piper's] hired assassins, Don Muraco, suddenly attacked the commentator Gordon Solie.

Although WrestleMania V was billed as his return, he actually made his first appearance on March 19 in Denver, CO at a house show when he hosted a live Piper's Pit and interviewed Brother Love.

[31] Two weeks later at WrestleMania V he did make his official return with another live Piper's Pit, where he hosed down a smoking Morton Downey Jr. with a fire extinguisher.

After this, Piper co-hosted Prime Time Wrestling from July 17, 1989, to December 25, 1989, with Gorilla Monsoon, feuding with Bobby Heenan, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, and Brother Love, he would return to the show in 1991 as well.

Piper wrestled as a fan favorite, and adding to the face attitude by donating part of his purse from the fight with Lawler to a children's hospital in Ontario.

[41] In spring 1994, Piper began hosting a regular weekly segment on All-American Wrestling called "The Bottom Line" where he commented on various happenings in the WWF, as well as on his feud with Lawler.

Leaving the WWF again, he briefly returned in 1995 at WrestleMania XI, once again in a referee capacity, for the submission-only match between Hart and Bob Backlund.

On the January 29, 1996, episode of Monday Night RAW, Piper returned for another regular role: he was named as interim WWF President after Gorilla Monsoon had to take a leave of absence due to an attack by Vader.

[46] The match, dubbed a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl", began in a pre-taped segment, recorded in an alleyway, but Goldust jumped into his gold Cadillac and ran Piper over, ultimately escaping (allegedly) onto the highways of Anaheim.

[47] His final appearance came the September 6, 1996, edition of Monday Night RAW, where footage was shown of him participating with other WWF wrestlers at the CNE "Experience" in Toronto.

He made his surprise WCW debut as a fan favorite at the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view in October to insult the nWo leader and the World Heavyweight Champion Hollywood Hogan.

[53] The following month, at The Great American Bash pay-per-view, Piper and Flair unsuccessfully challenged The Outsiders for the World Tag Team Championship.

On the February 8, 1999, episode of Nitro, Piper defeated Bret Hart to win his third United States Heavyweight Championship; the first two reigns being in JCP.

He also appeared on the Raw Family Reunion, along with Money Inc. and Arn Anderson to accompany Ric Flair ringside for a match against Mitch of the Spirit Squad.

[82] In 2007, Piper appeared in February to announce Dusty Rhodes for the WWE Hall of Fame, and also in June for Vince McMahon Appreciation Night.

On January 29, 2011, Piper made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend, defeating nineteen other men, last eliminating Terry Funk, to win the Legends Battle Royal.

[114] Deadline Hollywood wrote, "During and after his wrestling days, Piper racked up dozens of film and TV credits, starring in numerous action B-movies and later doing voice work".

[118] Rolling Stone wrote that Piper "had a memorable career as a cult actor", citing They Live and the 1987 film Hell Comes to Frogtown.

Piper had a role in a fourth season episode of the Superboy television series as an immortal Alchemist stealing the youth from his gym patrons.

In 1991, Piper and Jesse "The Body" Ventura starred in Tag Team, a television film about two ex-professional wrestlers turned police officers.

In the story, Piper helps the player rescue Keith David from a simulation by recreating their fight scene from They Live, and can be recruited as an ally during missions.

"[156] In an HBO Real Sports interview conducted by Piper in 2003, he had predicted that he was "not going to make 65" because of his poor health, and that he made his 2003 return to WWE because he could not access his pension fund until reaching the age of 65.

At the War to Settle the Score in February 1985 before his WWF Title match with Hulk Hogan at Madison Square Garden, Piper's theme was played by the NYPD Pipes and Drums out to the ring.