Wrestling legend and former Winnipegger (Rowdy) Roddy Piper has died.

Piper — born Roderick George Toombs — died from cardiac arrest in his sleep at his Hollywood home. He was 61.

“My father Roddy Piper was a great man and my best friend, I will miss him forever and will always try to be the man he raised me to be,” Colt Toombs, one of Piper’s four children, wrote on his Twitter account early Friday evening.

Piper and Hogan met in landmark matchups including MTV’s “The War to Settle the Score” and the first WrestleMania, where Piper and (Mr. Wonderful) Paul Orndorff took on Hogan and Mr. T.

But before all that, Piper moved from town to town every year throughout his childhood — his father was an RCMP member and CN Rail cop and the family lived in The Pas, Dauphin, Toronto and Glasgow, Scotland, among other places, before landing in Winnipeg. Piper lived here for a few years while he was a teen, attending Windsor Park Collegiate, and told the Winnipeg Sun in 2006 that the city was key to turning his life around.

“They were probably the most influential couple of years of my life,” the WWE Hall of Famer told the Sun. “I kinda got lost and in Winnipeg I got found. So for me, I think of Winnipeg as my hometown.”

WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon relayed his condolences on his company’s website.

“Roddy Piper was one of the most entertaining, controversial and bombastic performers ever in WWE, beloved my millions of fans around the world,” said McMahon. “I extend my deepest condolences to his family.”

Piper claimed he made his pro wrestling debut at the age of 15, Wrestling historians argue, though, whether his first match was actually one year later, losing in 10 seconds to Larry (The Ax) Hennig, or two years earlier, a loss to Winnipegger Tony Condello.

Piper’s last known visit to Winnipeg was in 2008. In Gimli to film a movie, Piper came in for the day to accept a key to the city from former mayor Sam Katz. He also visited a North End recreation centre that day.

Other wrestling personalities quickly relayed their condolences via social media, including Winnipegger and former multiple-time WWE champ Chris Jericho.

“Sorry to hear of the passing of my friend and Wrestlemania rival Roddy Piper,” wrote Jericho. “One of the greatest who ever lived, but more importantly a legit sweet family man with a good heart. God bless you Rod, see you on the other side.”

“One of the true greats of all time,” John Cena, WWE’s current top star, wrote. “My heart goes out to his family and the fans he entertained over the years. RIP Rowdy.”

“Grew up a fan (still have my Hot Rod shirt), became a colleague, and most importantly, became a friend. Bagpipes are playing,” wrote Toronto’s Adam (Edge) Copeland, another former WWE champ.

Piper, who made a foray into film acting, starring in John Carpenter’s sci-fi pic “They Live,” had suffered a bout of Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2006 but was reportedly deemed cancer-free last November.The wrestling icon was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He was named one of the WWE’s top 50 villains, as well.Piper is survived by his wife, Kitty, and their four children.