Biography for
Rick Rude More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

7 December 1958, Robbinsdale, Minnesota, USA

Date of Death

20 April 1999, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA (cardiac arrest)

Birth Name

Richard Erwin Rood

Nickname

Simply Ravishing
Ravishing Rick Rude

Height

6' 4" (1.93 m)

Mini Biography

The wrestler who would eventually become known as Ravishing Rick Rude was born Richard Erwin Rood on December 7th, 1958. He spent his childhood in Robinsdale, Minnesota, and had an early childhood friendship with future pro wrestler Curt Hennig. Rood broke into the business after a stint as a bouncer working with Barry Darsow, 'Joe Laurinatis' and Michael Hegstrand. He had a stint as an arm wrestler before Eddie Sharkey trained him as a professional wrestler. He got his first big breaks working in Memphis for Jerry Jarrett, who gave him his "Ravishing" nickname. He then worked for Dory Funk Jr. in Florida and World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas. After working in the upper mid-card of the NWA in the mid-80's, he made his way to the World Wrestling Federation under Vince McMahon in late 1987. He was a slow starter, but eventually won the WWF Intercontinental title from The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania V (1989) (TV) and headlined against the Warrior at _Summerslam (1990) (V)_. Shortly after that, he left the WWF to work in All Japan and then WCW. This led to arguably his greatest feuds, against Ricky Steamboat (Richard Blood) and Sting (Steve Borden). He won the NWA world title in 1993, but a dispute between the WCW & NWA left this achievement unrecognised. A back injury ended his wrestling career in 1993. He continued on as a manager & commentator, & in 1997 caused controversy when he appeared on _"Raw Is War" (1997)_ and _"WCW Monday Nitro (1995)_ on the same night. This was his last major stint with a company, and on April 20th, 1999, he died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Alpharetta, Georgia. He was 40 years old.

IMDb Mini Biography By:

Spouse

Michelle Brown	(22 September 1988 - 20 April 1999) (his death) 3 children
Cheryl Holler	(17 May 1980 - 6 August 1982) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Wrestling finishing move "The Rude Awakening"

After winning a match, would select a good looking female out of the audience to give a big kiss to in the middle of the ring.

Trivia

Professional wrestler

Former WCW US Champion & WWF Intercontinental Champion

Former member of the Heenan Family & D-Generation X

Sparked a huge controversy in 1997 when he appeared on the same night on WWF Raw Is War (which was taped) and WCW Monday Nitro (which was live)

Notable title wins include Tennessee Southern Heavyweight title; Tennessee Southern tag team titles w/King Kong Bundy; Southern Heavyweight title; NWA Florida United States tag team titles w/'Jesse Barr'; NWA American Heavyweight title; WCCW World Heavyweight champion; World Class Championship Wrestling Television title; NWA World tag team titles w/Manny Fernandez; WWF Intercontinental title; WCW United States Heavyweight title; WCW International Heavyweight title.

Was trained by Eddie Sharkey, who also trained the Road Warriors, Barry Darsow and Nelson Scott Simpson (aka "Nikita Koloff").

In January 1985, he moved to the Florida region and accepted the managerial services of Percy Pringle.

His finishing move, the Rude Awakening as actually a modified version of the DDT.

Took his marriage vows very seriously. He always wore his wedding ring even in the ring. He taped his finger.

Personal Quotes

[addressing the fans before a match] What I'd like to have is for all you fat, out-of-shape sweathogs to keep the noise down while I take off my robe.

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