Originally I was going to talk about the 1985 Owens Family 60th Anniversary Extravaganza this month. However I'm out of town and I'd rather not talk about that great card off the top of my head, thereby not to leave any details out. There will be a column on it next month.

If you ask the average person walking down the street to name five pro wrestlers, they will of course name Hulk Hogan, and you can bet one of the other four will be "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. That's because Roddy Piper has wrestled virtually everywhere on the map at one time or another, but I don't think he was loved or remembered more anywhere besides the great Pacific Northwest territory, more specifically Portland, OR.

During Piper's several years in the Northwest, he faced some of wrestling's most prominent people including: Jesse Ventura, the Sheepherders, Don Leo Jonathan, "Easy" Ed Wiskowski (Col. DeBeers), Ron Bass, and others. But none of these battles are as memorable as his wars with one "Playboy" Buddy Rose. Many talk about the greatest feuds in the Pacific Northwest… the wars between Dutch Savage and the Iron Sheik, Billy Jack Haynes and Rip Oliver, Bull Ramos and Dutch Savage, and Jesse Ventura and Buddy Rose. However, they all pale in comparison to the Roddy Piper/Buddy Rose rivalry.

It all began on a fateful day in April of 1979. Roddy Piper and his tag team partner "Killer" Tim Brooks joined forces with Buddy Rose and his tag team partner "Easy" Ed Wiskowski for an eight-man tag team match up at the Sports Arena in Portland. Unfortunately for the heels they lost in two straight with Brooks going down for the final decision. Rose and Wiskowski blamed Brooks for the loss and jumped him. Piper tried to defend his partner but was viciously thrown to the floor. Rose placed Brooks over his knee in a backbreaker type hold and Wiskowski came off the top rope with a series of headbutts, injuring Brooks' neck.