by Cyrus Webb
Strong. Resilient. Determined.
Unstoppable.
These words and so many more can
be used to describe the amazing women I have had the honor to recognize in this
issue of Conversations, and they definitely fit the one and only Teal Piper.
I had a chance to talk with Teal
before her very first live event in 2019. It was a wide-ranging conversation
talking about her own life in professional wrestling, what it’s like for her to
build her own legacy and the support from her community.
What an
exciting time this is for you Teal. Talk to us about the experience since you
announced you were going to begin your own wrestling journey.
As soon as I said I wanted to get into wrestling, I knew
it would be very fast and you know, you just kind of get thrown into
everything. I think that's part of why I waited so long to say anything. It’s surreal.
I'm enjoying it because it's something that I can do and I'm kind of relearning
a part of my dad's life. But instead of me standing outside of the ring, I'm in
it and I kind of get a little piece of what he did all those years. And so for
me it’s a lot about as it turns out I actually like doing it.
One thing
that you said in an interview recently that really struck me that I hope our
audience gets. I think it happens to anyone who might be involved in what's
considered the family business, right? No matter what it might be, there are
always going to be comparisons. But you really talked a lot in this one
interview about being able to be yourself. How important was that for you? I
mean you were entering an arena literally that your father was known for. How
important was it for you to let people know that you are going to be just you?
For me, that's one of the most important things, because
I've said it time and again, there's never going to be another Rowdy Roddy
Piper. I'm not that. I will not be that person. However, I do want to continue
the family legacy, and I think that's also a part of why I waited so long to
get into wrestling as it helped me kind of find my own identity with movies and
music and entertainment and myself. I feel like I have my own identity that I
can bring into the ring now. And hopefully as I'm performing and going along
and having matches and everything, people will start to identify me more as my
own, my own person. There’s no longevity in being Rowdy Roddy Piper's kid as a
career. I
am focusing very hard on bringing my own new things to the ring.
In another
interview, Teal, you talked about your father and women, and what he would have
thought about women wrestling. WOW didn’t exist in his time, but what is that
like for you to think of being a part of a platform that welcomes women.
I've noticed with WOW (Women of Wrestling) when I watched
their first season, they cut to the audience. I saw so many young girls just
like in awe at what they're watching and so engaged in these matches. I thought,
“Wow! This is definitely something I want to be a part of.” I have a lot of
nieces, and I've always wanted to be a positive role model to the younger
generations coming up and now in wrestling--being a girl—this is the time. Women
are killing it across the industry right now, and it's a movement that I didn't
want to miss out on. I wanted to be a part of it and help it grow.
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