WWE: 15 Wrestlers Who Should Have Been Top Guys

11. Rick Rude

First, there was the whole reworking of "The Stripper." The silly mustache helped, as well. Best of all, though, was the in-ring promo before the match. Who knew you could refer to anyone as a "Pennsylvania p*ss ant," let alone on television, let alone in Pennsylvania? "Ravishing" Rick Rude was a perfect example of what the WWF could do with an already-established wrestler. Gimmicks come and go, and sometimes they feel forced (see: Bastion Booger). Yet every once in a while, a wrestler will turn a gimmick into an essential part of his character. It's one of the things the WWF did best in the eighties: turning established wrestlers into icons. Now recognized by WWE for having the greatest physique in the history of professional wrestling, Rude was better known for his promos. If you were a tad pudgy or had overactive sweat glands, you were guaranteed to be offended. And even if you weren't, there was that creepy hip-grinding thing. Rude's unique ring work and innate sense of timing set him apart from most of his contemporaries. He was a genius at selling moves, and his Rude Awakening finisher was the most painful-looking neck-breaker in the business. He was briefly in the WWF's main event picture, finalizing a feud with champion the Ultimate Warrior in 1990, but it was a short-lived stint. When he retired from regular ring work in 1997, his generation's "methodical pace" was phased out in favor of a faster in-ring style, more Michael Bay than Alfred Hitchcock. He is now perhaps most famous for appearing on both the taped WWF Raw and the live WCW Nitro on the same night, as well as appearing on ECW's Hardcore TV later that week. Even in retirement, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, one of the best villains of the eighties, was breaking new ground. Had he not died of heart failure in 1999, he undoubtedly would have continued to innovate.