10 Ravishing Rick Rude WWE Hall Of Fame Moments

9. Going Extreme

Rick Rude Ultimate Warrior
WWE Network

Proving himself a perfect fit for the Philadelphia outfit, Rude rejoined his former WCW manager Paul Heyman for a short but enjoyable 1997 run in ECW.

Carrying injuries and living off a sizeable Lloyd's of London insurance cheque similar to the one taken by Minnesotan best friend Curt Hennig, Rude was unable to insert himself too physically, but was a riot as the most obvious masked offender in professional wrestling.

With a nod to his equally tongue-in-cheek unmasking as the 'Halloween Phantom' at WCW's 1991 Halloween Havoc pay-per-view, Shane Douglas found himself hassled by a hooded individual, who spoke and moved exactly like Rick Rude.

With Joey Styles suggesting 'The Franchise' was in for a 'Rude Awakening', the story became rooted in farce as everybody got to be in on the joke whilst Douglas panicked about Rude's presence in the company, much to the delight of the ECW faithful.

The masked silliness was paid off at ECW's first pay-per-view Barley Legal, as Douglas would jump who he thought was Rude following his anaemic victory over Pitbull #2.

This time, the mysterious man was a returning 'Prime Time' Brian Lee, leaving Shane flabbergasted when Rude revealed himself has one of Douglas' personal riot police, right-hooking 'The Franchise' to a incredible reaction.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett