When Rick Rude was posted opposite Vince McMahon's great white hope, The Ultimate Warrior, he must have thought he'd made it to the promised land. Surely the money would be grand when working against the top babyface in the company? For Rude, it obviously wasn't what he had hoped for, because his wage for jobbing to Warrior at SummerSlam 1990 led to him walking away from the WWF. Disgusted by the fact he had received far less than his co-worker, Rude was likely also incensed by his own disregard for Warrior's in-ring abilities. Bumping around like a man possessed for the main event hero, Rick clearly felt he deserved to be better financially compensated for his efforts. Instead, he was given a smaller sum of cash than he wanted, and his headline run turned sour. There's no doubt about it, Rick Rude was a far more accomplished pro wrestler than The Ultimate Warrior. With that in mind, Warrior was - in McMahon's mind at least - the top draw in the promotion at the time. Therefore, it's not a surprise that he was paid more for SummerSlam. That simply didn't sit well with Rude.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
