It’s long overdue but one of the best heels in WWE history will be posthumously inducted into their Hall Of Fame this year. “Ravishing” Rick Rude is the latest name revealed for the 2017 Hall Of Fame class, according to PWInsider Elite.
Rude began his career in 1982 after being trained by Eddie Sharkey. He then worked for Championship Wrestling from Florida and World Class Championship Wrestling in the mid 80’s before eventually signing with the World Wrestling Federation in 1987. Rude quickly shot up to the top of the cards as one of their top heels alongside names like “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Andre The Giant. Perhaps, his most famous storyline was the angle they did involving Jake “The Snake” Roberts real-life wife Cheryl. Rude spotted her at ringside and tried to hit on her which caused Roberts to run down to ringside to defend the honor of his wife.
He also had a run with the WWF Intercontinental Championship and challenged The Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Championship before leaving the company in 1990 and eventually joining WCW. His career was cut short when he suffered a back injury in a 1994 match with Sting. He took time off from the business but then resurfaced in ECW in a non-wrestling role. He was also part of the original incarnation of DX before jumping to WCW in one of the most infamous moments during the Monday Night Wars. Rude, who was on a handshake deal, was offered a nice money deal to jump to WCW and appeared on a live episode of Nitro while also appearing on a taped episode of Raw at the same time.
Rude died at the age of 40 on 4/20/99 from heart failure and it was believed that he was training to make a comeback with WWE.
