10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Jan 3)

5. Rhythm & Blues Was Rick Rude's Idea

Rhythm & Blues Honky Tonk Man Greg Valentine
WWE.com

They've got long sideburns and their hair's slicked back, they owe Ri---ick Rude some creative payback. They were 'Rhythm & Blues', a short-lived tag-team idea used to extend the careers of Honky Tonk Man and a usually strait-laced Greg Valentine. It's a gimmick Valentine reportedly hated, but he can't even blame the WWF.

Vince McMahon's braintrust core of Pat Patterson and Bruce Prichard weren't the ones who came up with the team's look or presentation. It was actually 'Ravishing' Rick Rude who envisioned a battle-hardened Greg doing his best Elvis Presley impersonation for the cameras. A man wouldn't hold his guitar so awkwardly again until Fred Durst.

Prichard said on his podcast that Rude was the one who pitched 'Rhythm & Blues', and he thought Valentine would be perfect for it. That's why Greg was asked to dye his hair black and start looking like Roy Orbison had hit the weights.

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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.