Kudos to Madusa for the shout-out during the 2015 Hall of Fame ceremony, rallying the crowd behind an eventual Rude induction. There's no good argument against putting Ravishing Rick in; how could there be? Rude's self-absorbed lothario shtick matched up well with a number of opponents, be they blue-collar Jake Roberts, or fellow muscleman Ultimate Warrior, among others. It was his feud with Warrior that proved Rude's working mettle. Undeniably, Warrior's first good matches came with Rude opposite the ring, and their 1989 feud went a long way in proving that Warrior could work main events dependably. Rude's workmanlike style, and his willingness to take some exaggerated heel beatings and bumps, made him an indispensable commodity. His WCW run also deserves mention, proving just as compatible with another set of workers altogether.
Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.
