Rick Rude : Favorite Moment

[FlairFan2003]

If this has been done before I apologise, but reading through posts today I saw multiple Rick Rude mentions and it got me thinking, in two decade long career with stints in at least three major wrestling companies, what do fans think was his greatest moment/feud ?

I didnt follow Rude very much in Texas, for me my favorite Rude moment was his tag team with Manny Fernanez and their run as NWA Tag Team Champs. They had some phenomenal matches in their feud with Rock & Roll Express, every bit as good as R&R vs Midnight Express, maybe better. His "Ravishing" personna was really developed and cultivated here, a gimmick that was only tweaked a bit when he arrived in WWE.

Though that was my favorite Rude moment, there were many other notable ones in a long career, being the 1st guy to pin Ultimate Warrior, winning the IC title in the process, turning evil Jake Roberts into a good guy in the feud over his wife Cheryl (remember when Rude put her face on his ring outfit?), a great feud vs Sting in his WCW return, battling Ricky Steamboat, and lets not forget he was the 1st wrestler to appear on both Raw & Nitro on the same night, one of the great "screw you" moves WCW ever pulled on WWE during the Monday Night Wars. So lets hear it, the best of Rick Rude...

 

[MINISTRYrising]

if i had to pick a moment then it would probably be when he was revealed to be the halloween havoc phantom. that was a pretty cool moment. but as far as feuds go then i would say rude and jake the snake. purely because ive always been a fan off both guys and the matches they had were awsome.

 

[ccotreau1]

A lot of Rick Rude's career was before I was born, too young to watch wrestling, and when I was old enough to watch it, only saw Raw, and didn't see him in WCW due to what my family had for cable. Looking back at what I have been able to see since his death, and that I have the money to get some of the DVDS that he was in, the 2 that stand out to me was the early Royal Rumble days, when he did his entrance, and then the whole Raw/Nitro in 1 night thing.

 

[The mind]

My favorite Rick Rude moment was when he debuted in ECW. No one knew who the masked man strolling to the ring to confront Shane Douglas was. When the masked man took the mic and said "It's a New Year, Shane Douglas."

The crowd knew the voice, and it was just one of those moments that you'll never forget. Instant classic.

 

[daddyJ_t]

rude vs piper. i cant remember how it started. i believe he spit mouthwash in pipers face. i remember it got really heated atsummerslam i think when rude was defending the ic title vs warrior and as far as i know had him damn near beat cleanly when piper walked down to ringside. they taunted each which lead to warrior hitting a belly to back suplex out the middle turnbuckle and beating rude for the ic title. when ya got 2 great ring physcologise in the ring like rude and piper. it can only mean great things

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

My favorite was when the ECW crowd was chanting "YOU! FUCK! CHYNA!" at him, and he came back on them by saying that he's had pussy in China, Korea, Thailand, and all over the world, tell me something I don't know!

Got to love when he used to tell all of the sweathogs to keep the noise down.

 

[vaderpwnsall]

I think it was at one of the Clash of the champions' with Rude & Steve Austin vs Sting & Steamboat.
Memory may be fuzzy, but...
Sting got put to the outside, after missing a Splash on Austin, while Rude delivers two Rude awakenings to Steamboat. In comes Paul E and takes his belt off, giving it to Rude, who proceeds to whip Steamboat like a Dog.
Classic Heel!

OH.. or the whole Rude Brood Survivor Series match... Well worth a watch there!

 

[MillionDollarMan]

His steel cage match for the title versus the Ultimate Warrior. There was a point during the match where I thought he was really trying to change the ending and get out of the cage to win the title. It was one of the few moments I can remember where I thought a guy wasn't going by the script.

Summerslam 1990 I believe.

 

[Firewall_Philip_Hanan]

Interesting you mention him. I was thinking of Rick Rude yesterday and the HOF. I never really got to see the guy wrestle. First time I remember him, he was in the nWo. But I sure love the spoof John Morrison did of him. I think Rick Rude was like a rude version of Val Venis. I have a decent WWE and WCW Collection I haven't watched yet, so I'm sure I'll eventually see some awesome moments of Rudness.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There were a few, the Cheryl Robert's design on the tights was perhaps his pinnacle of heat, but not by much over when he beat Warrior for the IC belt. That was a real shocker cos Warrior was unbeaten.

My personal favourite is when he won the US title from Sting, he'd injured Sting's knee and after they did the whole "coming back from the hospital" schtick you expected Sting to nick it. But they followed through and Rude held the belt for over a year.

To this day I think Vince made a big mistake not booking Rude v Hogan for Mania 7, most of the talents who got over later would still have done so, but they'd have had someone great to put them over in Rude, rather than the Yokos and Diesels.

 

[JuviJuiceIsLoose]

Probably his Superbrawl II promo.

So much heel heat! Vince McMahon, JBL, and Triple H at the height of their heel heyday would kill for a reaction like this!


[youtube]nAVY8iwHXkw[/youtube]

 

[Shakin' Abe]

WOW, how strange is this? I was just watching an old Royal Rumble (89?), It was with the pose down with Warrior. I thought Rude was great as always insulting the crowd at that PPV. He was a GREAT talent and very missed!

 

[The Eighties]

Everything about his IC title match with Warrior at Summerslam 89 was perfect, kind of like a domino effect of favourite moments.

My runner up choice would be him unveiling Cheryl Roberts on his wrestling tights.

 

[HBsam31]

The pose down with Warrior was really good stuff. All of his stuff with Warrior was really good actually. My favorite moment though is him winning the IC title from Warrior. No one expected that as Warrior hadn't lost. Good match, great ending with Heenan holding Warrior's leg. A huge win for Rude at the time.

 

[PEP3]

"Ravishing" Rick Rood -- and later "Rude" -- is perhaps one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. I enjoyed his matches for Florida Championship Wrestling and later the Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling, where he reigned as the resident World Champion.

My first "most memorable moment" was when Rude and Manny Fernandez "upset" the Rock 'n Roll Express for the NWA World Tag Team Titles. I watched the two-hour NWA broadcast every Saturday night on "Super Channel" TBS religiously, and remember thinking the R-n-R Express would easily beat Rude and Fernandez. When the heels stole the win -- and the titles -- I was genuinely shocked!! That led to a series of incredible matches, and primed Rude for the greatness to come.

When he jumped to the WWF, though, is where his star really started to rise. He was an incredible talent, and few could touch him in terms of the heat he could draw during a promo. When his feud started with the undefeated Ultimate Warrior -- whom I remembered him tagging with briefly when both wrestled in Dallas! -- I feared he would become fodder to extend Warrior's streak.

Rude's chances of beating Warrior seemed even more bleak because he was managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Though one of the greatest managers of all-time, at that point, Heenan had never led a wrestler to championship gold in the WWF. As a huge Rude fan, I just knew Rude was going to put Warrior over.

When Warrior went to suplex Rude back into the ring during that match, and Heenan tripped him, letting "The Ravishing One" grab the gold, I legitimately marked out! Of the many, many moments I love from Rude's career, that is -- hands down -- the single most memorable for me.

There are tons of others, as people have noted, where he shined, but that was the pinnacle of his success. It's a terrible shame he wasn't afforded at least one WWF or NWA World championship, but his Intercontinental run came at at time when that belt was nearly as prestigious. And he more than did the belt and his legacy justice.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I also think honorable mention to his promo on nitro... or rather the intro.."Just 24 little hours..." that was reality to the nth degree after the screwjob.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

I think the Ravishing One's greatest run was in his original stint with the WWF. He drew so much heat as a heel, and his feud with Jake Roberts was a truly memorable one. Loved how he used to come out in his big robe, dissing the crowds and telling the ladies to get a good look at a real man - not the sweathogs they were sitting next to. When he took off the robe and revealed Jake's wife's likeness on his tights, it was great! Jake snapped, as Rude would constantly hit on his wife. She was pretty hot, as I remember. Rude was also one of the select few who could pull out a decent match and feud against the Ultimate Warrior. As far as Warrior matches go, these were my favorites in their feud over the IC belt.