The Deceased Dozen Of The 1990 Royal Rumble

10. Rick Rude (7 December 1958 – 20 April 1999)

Ultimate Warrior Rumble 90
WWE

Entering twenty seconds early to aid The Barbarian as he beat down the fallen Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, Ravishing Rick Rude was given a relatively easy night at the 1990 Royal Rumble, but still got to hang around the year's top stars as he began an aggressive reimagining of his character.

Having first shortened and straightened his hair before the eventual full chop, Rude had been gradually morphing into a more serious competitor, which would manifest in a long series of training vignettes over the summer of 1990 in preparation for his steel cage match for the WWF title with The Ultimate Warrior.

As a perennial rival of the Warrior, Rude was trusted in any scenario with him, and for the scant minutes Warrior had left before his elimination, it was Ravishing Rick he'd share the ring with.

Alongside two others on this list, Rude would make the final four, leaving Hulk Hogan now the only surviving member of that group.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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