Rick Rude is the greatest performer

[endyourif]

Thought this was a good read. Includes some great images from Rude's wrestlemania match with the Warrior.
www.wwfmemories.com/2016/06/11/rick-rude-the-ultimate-sports-entertainer/

I specifically remember the way Rude would walk around after taking an atomic drop. Priceless!

Ahhh “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Back in the 80s, I hated him. How could I not? He had one of the greatest, long running, feuds in WWF history with The Ultimate Warrior!

Rick’s matches would always be delayed by his need to “entertain the ladies”. He would ask for his music to be cut, grab a microphone, and begin belittling the entire audience. This incensed fans in the building including me at home, on my couch, yelling at my TV.


The feud, I eluded to earlier, with The Ultimate Warrior, was one of the greatest all-time feuds in WWF history. I don’t recall exactly when it started, but I vividly remember “The Super Posedown” that took place at the 1989 Royal Rumble.

Like all of their on-air matches, it began with Rude antagonizing the crowd until the Warrior’s theme music would hit. He would come running to the ring to put an end to it. Rude of course would quickly flee the ring to slow things down.

I’m not sure if I’m alone in this feeling, but the WWF has done several posedown’s since the 1989 Royal Rumble involving other wrestlers and while they are “OK”, they just couldn’t captivate me like that first one that I ever saw.

While there was no wrestling, this perfectly set up a great match at Wrestlemania V…

 

[Krendall]

Rude wasn't the greatest, but he was damn good once he was paired with Bobby Heenan and got his heel mannerisms down. What's funny about the Warrior feud is that prior to it Rude was mediocre at best in the ring. Yet, somehow, the two found great in-ring chemistry together and Rude used it to make himself a good worker, too.

The reason the posedown between Rude and Warrior worked when others failed is it took itself just seriously enough but not too seriously like future attempts would (Trips/Steiner springs to mind). The banter between Heenan and Gene Okerlund as well as Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura also helped.

 

[Swift]

He was a beast.

 

[Roadster]

I've watched a lot of his work before, during and after his WWE tenure and I call bullshit on him being "mediocre" because his work even as a green Rick Rood was better than a lot of his work after his feud with Warrior. That's just my opinion.

Also, he hit his greatest height when teaming with Manny Fernandez and being managed by Paul Jones. They had great matches, amazing promos and a great run with the NWA tag titles. He hit his physical prime in his last few years as an active wrestler. His time in the Dangerous Alliance was great, and I recommend everyone check out the War Games match I posted in the Classic Wrestling thread to see the peak of his prime :dawg:.

He finally got his rightful world title push in WCW and had amazing matches especially with Sting and I personally like his work with Barry Windham for some reason, lol. And his last match was cool, but the set up was really poor and it ended up ending his career.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Although I wouldn't classify Rick Rude as the greatest, he was definitely a great performer. Anyone who could put on an entertaining match with one of my least favorite workers of all time, the Ultimate Warrior, has got to be good at what he does.

Honestly, I can't really think of much that he did that I did not enjoy.

 

[Roadster]

The match that ended his career. 1:18 is the injury.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

He was one of my favorites as far as guys that I've watched who were a little before my time.

 

[Krendall]

I've watched a lot of his work before, during and after his WWE tenure and I call bullshit on him being "mediocre" because his work even as a green Rick Rood was better than a lot of his work after his feud with Warrior. That's just my opinion.

Fair enough. I haven't seen any of his work before the WWF, so I wouldn't know. Maybe he had trouble adjusting the WWF style in that first year and a half, then.