"Ravishing" Rick Rude
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If there's any wrestler from the late 1980s and the early 1990s that was the pure definition of a heel, it was Rick Rude. No-one could get the crowd to passionately jeer with just one sentence like Rick Rude. One sentence that is still remembered to this day, "Cut the music, what I'd like to have right now is for all of you fat, ugly, inner-city sweat hogs to keep the noise down while I take off my robe and show you all what a real man looks like, hit my music."
Although he was capable of saying so much more, he didn't need to. When you combine that with his simply tremendous physique and fluid in-ring movements, that at times seemed to be a little cartoon-ish (think how he sold an inverted atomic drop) it didn't matter because they still worked, it still remained believable. It was perfect for his era. That in itself is something of an art, over the top selling in a manner that does not break the suspension of disbelief.
One could say Richard Erwin Rood, the man behind the Ravishing gimmick, was destined to be a professional wrestling great. He attended the famous, within the wrestling world, high school in Robbinsdale. Curt Hennig (later Mr. Perfect) was his best friend growing up and Rood idolized Curt's father, Larry "the Axe" Hennig, as well as Verne Gagne.
A real life American arm wrestling champion, holding a degree in physical education, and working as a bouncer, Ed Sharkey snapped Rood up and trained him to be a wrestler. After toiling around in various territories to start his career he landed a role in the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA, Memphis) as part of Jimmy Hart's first Family alongside Randy Savage and King Kong Bundy.
It was obvious already that Rude was going to go far and he did so quickly. Gaining championships in Championship Wrestling from Florida and in the Texas based World Class Championship Wrestling promotions, all the while having the benefit of Percy Pringle III (later Paul Bearer) as his manager giving him valuable advice in and out of the ring. After a short teaming with Manny Fernandez (The Awesome Twosome) for Jim Crockett Promotions, Rude headed to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF - now WWE) and into the bosom Heenan Family.
There Rude gained the majority of his popularity as fans witnessed him make everybody he wrestled with look so much better than they really were. His long term feud with the Ultimate Warrior being the perfect example. During his tenure in the WWF Rude managed to win the Intercontinental Championship. When fans talk about guys who could have ran with the big one in the late 1980s, Rude's name is one of the first to be brought up.
Once his time was up there Rude moved back to Jim Crockett Promotions, only now it was called World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He came back toward the top of the card and picked up the WCW International Heavyweight Championship title whilst there, as well as putting on numerous classic matches with the likes of Ricky Steamboat and Sting. Sadly in 1994 Rude suffered a career ending injury which he never did truly recover from.
There were brief appearances from Rude going forward, but never in a wrestling capacity. He showed up in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), helped solidify the formation of D-Generation X and was a member of the New World Order. He was also the only man to be featured on WWE, WCW, and ECW televised shows all in the same. That came about due to an episodes of WWF Raw and ECW Hardcore TV being taped, and Rude leaving the WWF over the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997. The night after the Survivor Series, the episode of Raw aired, meanwhile Rude appeared on the live episode of Monday Night Nitro for WCW.
Most fans tend to forget about his roles in these parts though and choose to remember his career back with the artistically brilliant performances in the ring. Memories that live on following his passing on April 20, 1999. In 2017 Rick Rude was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Rick Rude.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #121.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: November 17, 2019.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Rick Rude.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #121.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: November 17, 2019.