A Q&A with 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper

Have you ever wondered how professional wrestlers would survive in the event of a zombie apocalypse? A movie aptly titled "Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies" answers that very question.

A movie of that title has two main components: professional wrestlers and, you guessed it, zombies.

However, these aren't just ordinary professional wrestlers. These wrestlers are some of the most famous in the history of the industry. Among the wrestlers that star in the film are Matt Hardy, Kurt Angle and WWE Hall of Famers "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

Piper, a man who headlined the very first WrestleMania, took time out of his Hall Fame schedule to have a quick chat with philly.com. Here's how it went down:

Piper on what's going on in his life lately:

[Laughter] "I'd have you in therapy, brother. I may have broken another world record: the most blatant descriptive title of a movie ever. You can't buy a ticket and say you don't like it because you saw the title. If you bought the ticket you're going to love it."

Piper on what the atmosphere was like on set with all of the other wrestlers:

"The guys that I was there with, there all good men. For me what was it like? All these guys were fans of mine. I've been fighting pro 42 years, so these guys watched me. I love them all. It was great. They were all great athletes in their own ways."

Piper on being a trailblazer for wrestlers to seek careers in film:

"A lot of guys that were trailblazers, if we were to go back to the actual time were just really scared and had no choice, but the water's rushing in and you either swim or sink."

"They go, 'He was the first guy. He blazed a trail,' but at the time I was scared. I didn't have another way to go and I had a family to feed. You can go back to Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett … somebody needed to go first. Well, they just got out there. I'm just real grateful I'm here now."

Piper on The Rock's success in Hollywood:

"I'm very proud of The Rock. On the 1,000th episode of Raw, I don't really know the guy, but he comes over and says, 'You know, you were my hero when I was a kid.' I remember thinking that's pretty cool."

Piper on essentially playing himself in "Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies":

"Not a lot of work. Not a lot subtext or background to him. Just 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper knocking the dog out of a bunch of zombies."

Piper on a little mishap that occurred on the set of "Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies":

"A lot of [the zombies] were up and coming wrestlers and this guy had gauze around his head. He came in the kitchen and I saw this pot hanging, so I grabbed this pot and I hit him. I thought I was hitting the kitchen sink. It was making a really good noise, but I was hitting his head. I put him in the hospital. There was a little of zombie fear there."

Piper on his plans for WrestleMania weekend:

"I will be really happy because I will be seeing a whole bunch of guys I really love and I'm going to have my son with me. For that alone, it blows me away."

"That aside though, it's a very unique moment for WWE being the 30th [WrestleMania] and having the two guys [himself and Hulk Hogan] that started it being there. What happens? I don't know. I have not been asked to do anything."

The day after WrestleMania XXX, Piper's podcast aptly titled "Piper's Pit" will debut on Podcast One. Podcast One is already the home of Steve Austin's Chris Jericho's and Jim Ross' podcasts.

[Video courtesy of Principalities of Darkness LLC]