What I'd like to have right now, is for all you fat, ugly, out-of-shape, internet geek, TV Troper sweathogs..... keep the noise down, while I take my robe off, and give the ladies a good look at the sexiest man alive.
He was born Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), but he's far better known to fans of 1980s Professional Wrestling as "Ravishing" Rick Rude, the Sexiest Man Alive. Rude had a nearly two-decade career that spanned many different companies including the WWF (now WWE), ECW and WCW. Best known for his chiseled physique, his narcissistic Heel persona and his microphone skills. Also for his notorious feuds with Jake "The Snake" Roberts before the storyline was aborted, but Rude's most remembered and a high-profiled one was against The Ultimate Warrior in 1989, they even were the SummerSlam '90 main event. He's also remembered by fans of The '90s wrestling for his post-Montreal Screwjob Take That! at the WWF, where he managed the rare feat of appearing on Monday Night Raw and Monday Nitro on the same night (Nitro with his trademark mustache; Raw an hour later with a full beard since it had been taped days earlier).
Among other accolades, he was the inaugural and former WCWA World Heavyweight Champion
, a former WWF/E Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, a former WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and a former x2 WCW International World Heavyweight Champion.
Rude passed away in 1999 from a prescription drugs related heart failure, but left a very influential legacy on later generations of wrestlers. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.
"What real sexy tropes are supposed to look like":
- Aborted Arc: Rick was scheduled to partake in an angle leading to a big feud against Big Boss Man on Survivor Series '90 as part of the "Natural Disasters" team, but he was replaced by Haku and left the promotion later that fall.
- The Ace: Had legit boxing and arm-wrestling credentials, even tried his hand in Judo at the ending of his life. And legend has it that he was very strong for real.
- Alliterative Name: Triples up if you include "Ravishin'" to it.
- Arch-Enemy:
- In NWA Mid-Atlantic and as part of "The Awesome Twosome": The Rock 'n' Roll Express.
- In WWF, Jake Roberts, Junkyard Dog, The Ultimate Warrior and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
- In IWCCW: The Honky Tonk Man.
- In WCW: Sting and Dustin Rhodes.
- Badass Family: His dad was a legit Golden Gloves champ.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: In 1997.
- Badass Longrobe: Rude was second only to Ric Flair in terms of fancy-looking robes.
- Camp Straight: His in-ring character was a little effeminate to say the least, but he only had eyes for the ladies. He was also legitimately one of the toughest guys in wrestling and could knock a person cold with just a tap.
- Career-Ending Injury: While wrestling Sting at a Japan match in 1994, Sting took a giant leap off the ropes at Rick. Rude came down on a raised corner of floor, fracturing a vertebra and bringing his wrestling career to an abrupt end.
- The Casanova: Part of his character, of the Testosterone Poisoning variant.
- Casanova Wannabe: He gets shot down just as much he got lucky.
- Catchphrase: "Cut the music.note What I'd like to have right now is for all you fat out-of-shape sweathogs, keep the noise down while I take my robe off and show the ladies what a real man looks like. Hit the music."
- Insults referencing the particular town he was in that night were sometimes included.
- Censor Box: In a famous incident on Superstars, Rude wore tights with the face of Jake Roberts' (now ex) wife, Cheryl, on them. Jake responded by running out and ripping them off of Rude right in the middle of the ring. Rude was wearing a g-string underneath, but his entire groin area got the Censor Box treatment making it seem even more risque on TV.
- Character Development: Started as a Lothario who could kick your ass. Ended as a tough guy who just so happened to be a Lothario.
- Cluster Bleep-Bomb: He did commentary for the Tommy Dreamer-Raven Loser Leaves ECW Match at WrestlePalooza 97. During the obligatory Beulah McGillicutty-Chastity Catfight sequence, he said, "Maybe they'll [LONG BLEEP!]"
- Contrived Coincidence: Too many to not scratch your head about between Rick and an old childhood friend of his, Curt Hennig. Both of them were physically gifted men who excelled in every sport they tried their hand in (baseball, billards, bowling, football, darts, and golf in Hennig's case), both of them got their most famous gimmick in WWF (a vain individual who loves to brag about it), both of them suffered severe back injuries that cut their careers short and both of them died by overdose in their forties.
- Everyone Went to School Together: He attended Robbinsdale High School at the same time as Nikita Koloff, Barry Darsow, Tom Zenk, John Nord, Brady Boone and his childhood friend Hennig.
- He, The Road Warriors and Darsow all trained at Eddie Sharkey's school at the same time.
- Family Man: Despite his in-ring narcissistic, Casanova wannabe persona, Rude was known as a good family man and devoted to his wife and children. Bret Hart – who wrestled him in the 1980s (and was on opposing sides with him during his feud with Shawn Michaels in 1997) – noted that Rude never took his wedding ring off during wrestling matches, instead covering it with tape.
- The Farmer and the Viper: To Shane Douglas in ECW in 1997, making this a rare case of a heel pulling this on another heel.
- The Fighting Narcissist: Set a standard for this trope in wrestling.
- Finishing Move: A Hangman's neckbreaker with pelvic gyrations dubbed "Rude Awakening".
- Game-Breaking Injury: Suffered a neck injury right before WCW Starrcade 92, where he was scheduled to challenge, and, most likely, defeat Ron Simmons for the WCW World Heavyweight Title.
- Suffered a back injury against Sting in Japan in 1994 which ended his in-ring career.
- Heel: One of the greatest bad guys in professional wrestling. Rude's simple but effective character of a vain narcissist thinking he was God's gift to women combined with his excellent wrestling ability garnered A TON of heat from the male fans and A LOT of swooning from the women in the crowd. It didn't matter if Rude lost, he looked great, he sounded great and everyone else was just trying to catch up.
- Important Haircut: Rude cut his mullet off in mid-1990, and it also shifted his character from a hapless Lothario to legit tough guy. While he left the company later in the year, he kept this look (and persona) for the rest of his career.
- Improbable Weapon User (as a member of DX): His briefcase, and once threw hot coffee in The Patriot's face as he was making his way out to the ring.
- Insult Backfire:
- At the Survivor Series '89 promo, in which every Superstar gave thanks for all of that year's accomplishments and fulfillments, Rude was thankful in his trademark manner "...for having the most Ravishing body in the WWF", only to be roasted in less than five seconds by Roddy Piper, who in the next cut was thankful "...for NOT being Vicky Rude!"
Blowing a kissie to the camera and all. - Before his match with Cactus Jack at a WCW house show in New York City on April 14, 1993, Rude said, "What I'd like to have right now is for all you fat, out-of-shape, inner-city SCUMBAGS to keep the noise down so the ladies can see what a real sexy man looks like." Then Cactus came out and got on the mic and said, "What I'd like for now is for Rick Rude to keep the noise down so I can show everyone what a fat, out-of-shape, inner-city SCUMBAG is supposed to look like!" Jack even did some poses to the cheers of the crowd.
- At the Survivor Series '89 promo, in which every Superstar gave thanks for all of that year's accomplishments and fulfillments, Rude was thankful in his trademark manner "...for having the most Ravishing body in the WWF", only to be roasted in less than five seconds by Roddy Piper, who in the next cut was thankful "...for NOT being Vicky Rude!"
- It's All About Me: Bobby Heenan claims that he and Rude didn't get along because Rude was afraid that Heenan would steal Rude's heat.
- Jerkass: Was a Heel for the majority of his career. Rude was almost always booed in every building he was in for his ego, and narcissism, and loved every second of it.
- Large Ham: Not to the extent of, say, Roddy Piper or Randy Savage, but in his own way, Rude relished the spotlight.
- Mr. Fanservice: Even during his self-absorbed heel promos, cameras would cut to women in the crowd who were just drooling over the guy.
- Pornstache: It's so 80s. He briefly shaved it off and had no facial hair in late 1992 but it looked so out of place that he quickly grew it back. He had a beard in his brief WWE stint in 1997 and had his trademark moustache when he showed up on Nitro.
- Power Stable:
- (In Memphis): The First Family and The Neidhart's Raiders
- (In Florida): The Pringle Dynasty
- (In NWA Mid-Atlantic): Paul Jones' Army
- (In WWF/E):
- The Heenan Family (1987-1990)
- Survivor Series '87: with André the Giant, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang and "The Natural" Butch Reed. Managed by The Brain and Slick.
- 'Survivor Series '88'': with Andre, Hennig, Harley Race and Dino Bravo. Managed by again by Heenan.
- 'Survivor Series '89'': "The Rude Brood" with Hennig and The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. Managed by The Genius and Jimmy Hart.
- D-Generation X (1997)
- (In WCW):
- The Dangerous Alliance (1991-1992)
- The nWo (1997-1998)
- (In ECW): The Triple Threat
- Real Men Wear Pink: His most consistent palette scheme back in the day.
- Signature Move: Swinging neckbreaker, Forearm drop and the Backbreaker.
- He also fashioned to take it to the highs using a top-rope Forearm smash or Knee drop.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Averted on the first half. Not that his gimmick went to oblivion, for he was one of the most notorious vain heels in pro wrestling.
- Smooch of Victory: After winning a match, he would pick up a fine, good-looking lady from the audience who; if she accepted, received a tight embrace with a big, long kiss in the middle of the ring.
- Tag Team: "The Awesome Twosome", with "The Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez.
- Take That!: His aforementioned Nitro/Raw stunt is one of wrestling's most notorious of these. And that's not even taking into account the promo he cut on Nitro.
- Theatrics of Pain: In his day he could take any opponent of any skill level and make them look like a million bucks with his ability to sell.
- Took a Level in Badass: Rude's 1991 debut in WCW made an immediate impact and he became a top heel almost instantly, in contrast to his comparatively lighter role in the WWE.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: He had tights for almost every occasion, normal ones sometimes, and ones he wore to mock his opponents, whether it be his enemy airbushed on them or it being the wife of his enemy.
- NOW... Hit the music!
