“Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s daughter, Ariel Teal Toombs, wanted to let the fans know that her father is completely fine. In fact, he recently appeared at The Laugh Factory in Los Angeles and will be filming an independent film next month in Canada. And of course, he will be making his triumphant return to Madison Square Garden tonight as the special guest host of Monday Night Raw.

Regarding my previous report concerning the wrestling legend’s health, I will explain the situation as it is not as cut and dry as it initally appeared.

Speculation regarding Mr. Piper’s health began circulating after Dave Meltzer reported in an issue of the Wrestling Observer that he he was forced to a pull out of a few previously scheduled late September indy bookings in Connecticut because he was “seriously ill.” He did not release further details.

Due to my reporting over the years, I have managed to gain contact with a number of people inside the wrestling business, so much so that it’s no longer a big deal. Hardly a week goes by where I don’t hear from at least one “name.” In this case, I started talking to a certain WWE wrestler off-and-on over the summer after he complemented my work one day and I eventually got him to open up on life in the oompany. While he wouldn’t give me any “scoops,” I played the listening ear to his vents on WWE and why they are making him look bad on television. At the time, I thought it was just talk, but considering how he has been treated in recent weeks, it’s really quite telling in hindsight.

He saw the report on Piper being “seriously ill” and contacted me to ask if I had heard that WWE was planning on running video tributes on him on a future episode of Raw because “he was said to be on his last days.” Suffice it to say, I was stunned. He assumed I knew beforehand because WWE’s creative plans get out so fast these days.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, I wasn’t too sure whether to run what I had been told or not. However, a shortwhile later, I discovered that Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com had seemingly implied during an audio report that week that Mr. Piper’s cancer had returned. He made the following remark during an audio show in early October:

“You guys all know what Roddy has fought in the past and I understand it’s not good news on that front.”

After finding that out (plus factoring in what the WWE wrestler and Meltzer had said), I made the decision to run the story considering that Johnson is perhaps the most trusted news reporter in wrestling as he’s rarely off the mark.

Following my post, Piper’s agent, Noelle Kim Retes, sent me a blunt e-mail chastising me. The e-mail contained a direct link to a “rumor killer” report from Mike Johnson denying my report – even though he had seemingly implied beforehand that Piper’s cancer had returned.

Regarding the WWE wrestler in question, it should be noted that he has worked with Piper on television in the past not to mention I believe he has personally known him for years. He also has a reputation for speaking his mind without fear of what the higher-ups in WWE may think. Even though the report proved to be inaccurate, I still do not believe he was lying to me, especially considering that he never gave me any “scoops” in the many times I talked to him. I do however feel he was going by a rumor that had gotten out of control based on people’s wild speculation of the severity of Mr. Piper’s health.

Nonetheless, I cannot express the magnitude of my sorrow. I was incredibly wrong to do what I did. I am deeply sorry for any grief I caused Mr. Piper, his many supporters, his family, and anyone else I may have upset.

I am sorry.