I've Come Here to Chew Bubblegum and Kick Ass...And I'm All Out of Bubblegum

The death of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, aka "Hot Rod," a professional wrestling star had many people who watched him posting about his on social media. Piper often played the villain in the ring and seemed to enjoy playing the bad guy, even though he was a good guy outside of the ring to his fans.
Piper was one of the first pro-wrestlers to make the transition from wrestling to acting. Actually, there is a lot of acting in the arena so it was only second nature to him. And like fellow wrestlers Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan, Piper started out playing wrestlers on the screen in the movie Body Slam, playing a good guy for a change.

But he wasn't the star. Dirk Benedict was. Even when he appeared in the forgettable prison comedy, Buy & Cell, he was a supporting role to Robert Carradine.
It wasn't until 1988 when he got cast in two science-fiction movies that things changed. The first was Hell Comes to Frogtown.

I haven't seen this but I have heard, it is a cult classic that must be seen.
The next was They Live, John Carpenter's satirical commentary on 1980s capitalist greed. Piper plays the unnamed blue-collar everyman drifter. In a way, Piper was perfect for the role. Other wrestlers like Hogan, Andre the Giant and Jesse Ventura, to name a few, had the look of a pro-wrestler or athlete. Outside of the ring, Piper just looked like a normal man.

And during the period in the 1980s where working class people got screwed over, it was a perfect Twilight Zone like story about the rich and famous people in America and even being the world, alien humanoids whose goal is greed rather than word domination. The movie had some interesting topics that I wished Carpenter had examined further. But the movie had a small budget and you get the sense that Carpenter wanted to do more but the funds were unavailable.
This being a 1980s sci-fi movie, Piper had to become Rambo, which makes little sense that his character would quickly go on a shooting rampage. But when he does, he does it well with the iconic line, "I'm come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum!"
The movie is also memorable for a five-minute fight sequence between between Piper and co-star Keith David that doesn't get tiresome half-way through. The fight scene was later parodied on South Park in the infamous Cripple Fight between Timmy and Jimmy. Even the Peter Griffin/Chicken fights on Family Guy seem to pay homage to the fight sequence.
Unfortunately, neither Frogtown nor They Live were major success, even though now they both have a loyal fan base from the public and critics.
Piper returned to pro-wrestling and did the occasional guest spot on famous TV shows like Walker, Texas Ranger and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, while appearing in numerous B-movies from the 1990s to his death.
But he was able to show that pro-wrestlers just don't have to be playing wrestlers on the screen. Look at Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who has the most success in Hollywood in roles or John Cena.
To say Piper is a pioneer might be a little much, but it's apparent no one would've thought to cast current wrestlers in action roles if Piper had showed them already it was possible.
Rest in peace, Hot Rod.