Around this time
WWF owner
Vince McMahon contacted Piper, who however insisted on serving out his contract with Jim Crockett. Piper started in the WWF in late 1983 and at the same time fulfilled dates with Crockett. On his way out of Crockett's promotion he turned heel which set the stage for his WWF run in
1984. He started as a manager at first, due to the injuries he sustained during his dog collar match with
Greg Valentine, but soon started wrestling full-time. Piper came in as the manager for Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff, and soon began to wrestle with Paul Orndorff as well. Later that year, he was given his own
interview segment called
Piper's Pit, in which he talked to other superstars, and which frequently ended in a fight between Piper and his guest.
The
Piper's Pit segments were very popular and helped create the feuds Piper had with other wrestlers. He even went as far as insulting superstars, such as
André the Giant, Mr. T, and preliminary wrestler (jobber) Frank Williams. According to Piper's autobiography, Piper's Pit was completely unscripted, and was in fact so popular that it was taken on the road. In addition to pleasing many of his fans who wanted to see the Pit in person, it accomplished other things: it gave Piper the opportunity to heal some nagging injuries while still retaining his heat with the fans.
In one infamous
Piper's Pit, Piper had an interview with
Jimmy Snuka. Piper started insulting Snuka's Polynesian heritage by bringing out pineapples, bananas, and dropping coconuts onto the table; this was to make Snuka "feel at home" in an act of "remorse" after Snuka was not given much time to speak the previous times he was on
Piper's Pit. Snuka took offense to this and Piper then attacked Snuka by smashing him over the head with a
coconut and shoving a banana in his face. He followed this up by whipping Snuka with his belt. Snuka was legitimately knocked woozy allowing Piper to leave before Snuka, now seriously enraged, could fight back. This incident led to a long feud between the two.
Another feud, this time between Piper and
Hulk Hogan erupted soon after, and became what was at the time the highest-profile feud in wrestling history, thanks to the involvement of pop singer
Cyndi Lauper, where Piper kicked Lauper in the head- and even attacked
Captain Lou Albano- with Hogan seeking revenge as a result.
In 1985,
MTV broadcast
The War To Settle The Score, featuring a main-event matchup between Piper and Hogan, who was accompanied to the ring by Lou Albano, Cyndi Lauper, and Mr T. This event set up the very first
WrestleMania, which pitted Piper and
Paul Orndorff against Hogan and
Mr. T. Mr. Wonderful was pinned by Hogan when Piper's bodyguard
"Cowboy" Bob Orton interfered and mistakenly struck Orndorff instead of Hogan with his trademark "injured" arm covered in a plaster cast.
Later in 1985, Piper paid tribute to Portland promoter Don Owen, who first set him on the road to superstardom, by making a special appearance at the
PNW 60th Anniversary Wrestling Extravaganza on May 21, 1985 in Portland. Although he was competing as a heel in the WWF at the time, Piper played the face role in his match at the PNW supercard as he defeated
Buddy Rose.
In
Born to Controversy, Piper recalled how he had to keep Mr. T busy with tie-ups and other shoot wrestling moves to keep Mr. T's lack of wrestling ability from being seen by the fans, thus ruining the match. From this situation, Piper and Mr. T's real-life relationship became hostile, leading to the inevitable conclusion that they be put into a feud with one another. Piper once again faced Mr. T, this time alone, in a
boxing match at
WrestleMania 2 in
1986. Piper lost the match by disqualification after bodyslamming Mr. T. In
Born to Controversy, Piper admits that he is embarrassed looking back upon this match and wishes he had just taken Mr. T out in the first place.
Following a leave of absence from the WWF, Piper returned to find his
Piper's Pit segment replaced by
The Flower Shop, a segment hosted by the then effeminate wrestler
Adrian Adonis. Piper (returning as a
babyface) spent weeks crashing Adonis' show and trading insults, leading to a "showdown" between the two segments that ended with Piper being assaulted and humiliated by Adonis, Piper's former bodyguard Orton (now in Adonis' employ), and
Don Muraco. The trio left Piper with his face covered in red lipstick lying in the middle of the remnants of the Piper's Pit set which had been destroyed. In response, Piper stormed the set of Adonis' show and destroyed it with a baseball bat. This led to their
Hair vs Hair match at
WrestleMania III, which was billed as Piper's retirement match from wrestling before becoming an actor full-time. Piper won the match with the assistance of the newly turned face
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, who had been sheared by Adonis shortly before the match.