JSA Authenticates Rob Feinstein’s Roddy Piper Autographed Prints

The subject of an Internet feud and the authenticity of one wrestling legend’s signature has seemingly come to a conclusion.

James Spence Authentication (JSA), a third-party authenticator, certified two prints owned by RF Video Inc. owner Rob Feinstein, verifying that both were signed by WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Feinstein revealed the authentication of both in a YouTube video:

The validity of those signatures have come into question in recent weeks, as accuser Christopher Ott argues that the signed prints were initially unsigned, claiming that he had sold the prints to Feinstein without signatures on it. The accusation led to a week long back-and-forth between both parties and their followers.

Ott has explained his side of the story in an August 9, 2015 blog post.

The authentication process, as explained on JSA’s website, is as follows:

Each item that is submitted to JSA for autograph authentication is examined individually by a group of authenticators who then compare their evaluations and come to a conclusion on the validity of an autograph. JSA experts are extremely familiar with the many different variations and evolution of an individual’s signature and can quickly identify forgeries. All decisions are supported by our extensive exemplar database and the use of state-of-the-art fraud detection equipment.

How the process works

Step 1 – Compare and analyze the item against valid copies, drawn from the nearly 500,000 files in our autograph exemplar database.

Step 2 – Equipped with forensic science devices, and using a side-by-side comparison method, our experts closely examine each and every component and letter of an autograph, paying close attention to characteristics such as signature flow, style, spontaneity, letter angles and more.

Step 3 – The authenticators collaborate and employ a scoring system for the final determination of an item’s authenticity. Certified items are then given an alpha-numeric registration number and a tamper-evident JSA label is applied to the item itself or to the letter of authenticity (customer preference). Items that fail our strict examination standards for certification are returned with a failure letter, known as a letter of opinion, detailing the inconsistencies.

In cases where closer examination is required, JSA employs the Video Spectral Comparator (VSC) to reinforce the expert’s findings. This state-of-the-art authentication tool is a powerful workstation that uses sophisticated color and infrared imaging, magnification, coaxial lighting, side lighting, and on-screen, side-by-side or overlaid autograph comparisons. In doing so, the VSC can detect erasures, reveal masked and obliterated signatures, differences in ink types, and several other signs common in autograph forgeries.

Both prints have since been issued a certification number by JSA, Y51987 (They Live) and Y51988 (Portrait in Hot Rod T-Shirt). A screenshot of the form indicating authentication for each has been included below:

When asked if the now authenticated prints would be sold, Feinstein told Wrestledelphia during an inquiry that its yet to be determined what the future holds for the prints and that an announcement regarding such would be made via social media in the next few weeks.

However, Ott maintains that his story is true. When asked for his response via a Facebook conversation, Ott sent this response:

Rob’s video is of no surprise to me. I’ve said it for a couple of weeks. I said it on my radio interview with In Your Head Wrestling Radio. I said he’d come back with JSA certified autographs. It means nothing to me. I know the truth. It is my personal opinion that the certification only serves as proof you can’t even trust JSA certification. There’s are many people who say you shouldn’t trust ANY certification. There are well documented stories of failure from both major Authenticity Firms. Just sticking with JSA, they proved it right on national tv. When, on Pawn Stars, John Reznikoff certified the authenticity of an Al Pacino signed Godfather script. Which, was actually signed by producer Al Ruddy. You can read all about it online.

Not to mention, if we wanna get specific about Roddy Piper, his signature had a wide variation. If you have a stack of things he signed at once, it’s changed from the beginning of the stack to the end, just like it does with many celebrities. There’s a wide range of authenticating for them to work with and it’s clear that forgeries make it in there.

I think my timeline blog outlined, quite clearly, all the proof there is to make the determination of authenticity. Anyone that can read that and still believe Mr. Feinstein, can go right on ahead and enjoy their autograph, as there will definitely be no convincing them otherwise.

Wrestledelphia.com founder Mark Whited can be reached at . Follow him on Twitter at  or .