10 Ravishing Rick Rude WWE Hall Of Fame Moments
7. New And Improved
Set to face off with the Ultimate Warrior for their second consecutive SummerSlam in 1990, Ravishing Rick Rude completed an overhaul of his character and look in a set of refinements that would stick with him for the remainder of his career.
Having spent his first three years with the company portraying a narcissistic womaniser, Rude began adjusting the persona to lean more on the fact that he legitimately one of the toughest men in the entire company.
First trimming his long perm into a slick-back look for his WrestleMania 6 squash of Jimmy Snuka, Rude lost the long locks altogether, as fans began to see intense weekly training vignettes of Rude sparring in local gyms, sprinting along beaches and exhibiting feats of inhuman strength via his weightlifting prowess.
Manager Bobby Heenan had reasoned that focus was the missing piece of the Rude puzzle. With the Warrior as the new WWE Champion and Ravishing Rick the only man to achieve a televised pinfall over him, the dastardly duo worked tirelessly to prepare for the August steel cage clash.
Rude would eventually be unsuccessful in his attempts to dethrone Warrior of the top prize, but the edgier gimmick was a superb fit for future endeavours following his late-1990 WWE departure.