This year’s WWE Hall of Fame class is shaping up to be extremely WCW-heavy, which is just fine with all of us here at With Spandex. In addition to Diamond Dallas Page, Doom manager Teddy Long, and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, WWE confirmed on Monday that another wrestler with deep WCW and NWA ties will be joining the Kurt Angle-headlined class in Orlando this year.
WWE.com announced that “Ravishing” Rick Rude will officially be inducted this year (long overdue), and that he will be inducted by none other than his longtime rival, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat.
Anyone who grew up with any kind of pro wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s will be very familiar with Rude, who held championships in WCW and was Intercontinental Champion in WWF during his extensive feud with the Ultimate Warrior. He also challenged the Warrior for the WWF Championship in a steel cage in the main event of SummerSlam in 1990. He sadly retired early due to injuries, and tragically passed away in 1999 at the age of 40.
During his career, Rude was best known for his over-the-top personality as an egotistical heel, who encouraged producers to cut his music, and requested that all the fat, lazy slobs in the audience shut up while he disrobed, in order to give the women watching a glimpse of what a real man looks like.
Also, the guy’s 1980s WWF logo was a picture of himself stripping:
So yeah, Rick Rude forever. Congratulations to his entire family and friends.
