Chicago Sun-Times: Piper a worthy addition to Hall

Many fans give all the credit for the wrestling boom in the 1980s to Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan -- McMahon as the visionary behind the master plan, and Hogan as the one who had the athleticism and charisma to carry it out. But what many forget or flat-out neglect is that without Rowdy Roddy Piper, none of that would have been possible.

Hogan needed a heel opponent, but not just some nameless jobber who would be turned aside with little effort; he needed someone fans would hate as much as any heel before or after. Piper teamed with Paul Orndorff and Cowboy Bob Orton and used the legendary Piper's Pit as the platform to get perhaps the WWE's greatest bad-guy career off the ground. From classic Pit segments with Jimmy Snuka and Frank Williams to the main event of the first "WrestleMania," Piper was in the middle of every big moment in the early '80s.

Now Piper finally will be enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame at "Mania 21." The WWE HOF has added some big names before, but he truly is one of the most deserving.

AROUND THE RING: The WWE soon will add another inter-promotional match for "WrestleMania," and it will be Legend vs. Legend Killer as The Undertaker will face Randy Orton. This will be tough to call as the Taker is undefeated in "Mania" matches while Orton is still on the rise. ... It sounds like many WWE wrestlers are still unhappy with the way Brock Lesnar left the company and don't want the former champion back.