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The passings of Warrior (2014), Roddy Piper, and Dusty Rhodes (both 2015, June and July respectively) were huge newsmakers. All three were legends that had carved their mark in various ways with professional wrestling, with Rhodes being the most active one behind the scenes due to working with the future stars of WWE through its developmental program NXT. It was a shock when Warrior returned to the WWE Universe in 2014 only to be snatched away days later by a heart attack, robbing the fans of potentially more appearances in the future. And Piper's sudden passing, because of it still being recent, is still a wound that will take some time to really get over, due to him still being an active on camera presence in various promotions, his Piper's Pit podcast, and was doing the convention circuit until just a few weeks before his passing.

Each man were arguably at their peaks in the 1980s, with Rhodes tearing it up down South in the NWA against Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen, while both Piper and Warrior enjoyed huge success in the then-WWF, with Piper being a focal point for one of wrestling's first big boom periods in his feuds against Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Snuka, and Warrior--on the rise when he arrived in 1987--running rapidly first as Intercontinental champion and then towards his big Wrestlemania VI bout against Hogan.

Ironic that all three ended up at various times for WCW, and all three working there roughly at the same time (1998). Piper was probably the most successful though of the three while in WCW; his Starrcade '96 main event against Hollywood Hogan was the first time WCW had posted a huge rating for the event since the company's inception, and he remained a constant figure in the upper mid-card until he left in 2000, engaging in feuds with everyone up and down the card and even put in the requisite video game appearances. Dusty Rhodes was effectively retired by the time he came back to WCW in 1991 after a couple years working for the McMahons. His nonsense turn towards the New World Order notwithstanding, he did his best to keep the company afloat but after 1997 little could be done to salvage WCW, revealed all the more glaringly when Warrior signed on for what became the worst match in wrestling history with his Halloween Havoc match against Hollywood Hogan.

Each will be missed dearly in the years to come, their influence being their ultimate legacy.

Description
The passings of Warrior (2014), Roddy Piper, and Dusty Rhodes (both 2015, June and July respectively) were huge newsmakers. All three were legends that had carved their mark in various ways with professional wrestling, with Rhodes being the most active one behind the scenes due to working with the future stars of WWE through its developmental program NXT. It was a shock when Warrior returned to the WWE Universe in 2014 only to be snatched away days later by a heart attack, robbing the fans of potentially more appearances in the future. And Piper's sudden passing, because of it still being recent, is still a wound that will take some time to really get over, due to him still being an active on camera presence in various promotions, his Piper's Pit podcast, and was doing the convention circuit until just a few weeks before his passing.

Each man were arguably at their peaks in the 1980s, with Rhodes tearing it up down South in the NWA against Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen, while both Piper and Warrior enjoyed huge success in the then-WWF, with Piper being a focal point for one of wrestling's first big boom periods in his feuds against Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Snuka, and Warrior--on the rise when he arrived in 1987--running rapidly first as Intercontinental champion and then towards his big Wrestlemania VI bout against Hogan.

Ironic that all three ended up at various times for WCW, and all three working there roughly at the same time (1998). Piper was probably the most successful though of the three while in WCW; his Starrcade '96 main event against Hollywood Hogan was the first time WCW had posted a huge rating for the event since the company's inception, and he remained a constant figure in the upper mid-card until he left in 2000, engaging in feuds with everyone up and down the card and even put in the requisite video game appearances. Dusty Rhodes was effectively retired by the time he came back to WCW in 1991 after a couple years working for the McMahons. His nonsense turn towards the New World Order notwithstanding, he did his best to keep the company afloat but after 1997 little could be done to salvage WCW, revealed all the more glaringly when Warrior signed on for what became the worst match in wrestling history with his Halloween Havoc match against Hollywood Hogan.

Each will be missed dearly in the years to come, their influence being their ultimate legacy.