Should Rick Rude have been WWE Champion

[MINISTRYrising]

Ok here we are again. Today i would like to know if you think Rick Rude should have been WWE champion or not

I personally think he should have been. He had a great look and was good in the ring and on the mic. He had some great feuds with guys like Jake the Snake and The Ultimate warrior. but i think that him become wwe champion would have topped things of nicely.

 

[Silent1886]

Not only should Rick Rude have been champion, but he was one of the most head-slappingly obvious candidates for the position.

He had the requisite size, body and look.

He might not have been Ric Falir, but he was, at his worst, a decent wrestler and at his best, quire great.

He was amongst the hottest heels at the time, garnering instant heat with his entrance and maintaining it throughout his match. His opening promos are the stuff of legend.

Though his WWE career was short, his feuds have kept their place in history.

It would be hard to find a more perfectly suited heel to hold your title, especially given the time period (late-80s/early-90s, where Rude fit so damn well).

 

[sdelfin]

Okay, up front I have to say that I am totally biased on this one. Rick Rude is one of my all time favorites. I think he had all the tools to be a great heel champ. He had an amazing look, was great on the stick, and really developed into a tremendous in-ring worker. So, I'd go yes.

With that said, it's a show and it doesn't really matter who "should have been" champ. The WWF title was for the mainstream superstar to carry, and the IC belt was typically given to the best wrestlers in the company back in those days. And Rude's WCW run showed that Rude was truly a top heel.

 

[Lowdown]

Rude probably could've been world champ in WWF. He was a fantastic heel, and having Bobby Heenan as a manager didn't hurt. But you have to look at the period he was at the height of his career. He wasn't the biggest heel at the time, that probably being Ted DiBiase, and even he never won the world title. WWF was content keeping the belt on Hogan. Now Rude probably could've won it during '88 against Macho Man, but it wasn't in the cards. He got a huge rub when he beat Warrior for the IC title. He did get his shot against Warrior for the belt at Summerslam '90, but he came up short. I think if Hogan wasn't top dog during the 80's, Rude probably would've had at least one run with belt.

 

[RicSpade]

I think Rick Rude had the tools to be a world champion, however his run in WCW shows how much it wouldn't have been worth it, but seriously in terms of villians in the 80's and 90's Rick Rude was not really considered a top star, and the only reason he had a small main event push was because Warrior was champion and they knew Rude could carry a warrior through a match. In todays standards I just don't believe Rude drew enough heat like a Ted Dibiase or Randy Savage, and in terms of ability while he might have had the ability the only thing he had going for him in his WWE prime was Bobby Heenan.

 

[HitmanRicks]

Rick Rude was a fantastic wrestler and could cut great promos, but he had a reputation of being difficult to work with and having a bad temper. Hulk Hogan was afraid to work with him due to this, which kept Rude at the mid-card level for the majority of his stay in the WWF. Some even say that the reason Rude's feud with Warrior went so well was because if Warrior started whining backstage about their feud and who was in charge in the ring, Rick would punch him in the face and tell him he was running the show.

Despite this, Rude would have made a great WWF Champion. His sexy bad-boy persona worked incredibly well, and it would have been great to see him in high-profile matches against Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and more.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Rude was clearly the best heel WWE had during the late 1980's. Many say Ted DiBiase or Mr. Perfect should have had the belt. I always say, not ahead of Rude.

Why was he so good? Well he was a believable "missing link" from the smaller WWF guys like Perfect, Piper, DiBiase to the monsters like Hogan. He was cut, but not in an excessive way like guys such as Scott Steiner or Trips went for. Rude's body was loved by women and envied by the men.

In the ring, he was a strong, tough worker. Not overly flashy but I don't recall him ever having a "bad match" on PPV for the WWF, even against aging workers like Superfly. His finisher, for its time was vicious and it always burns me today when Ziggler uses it and there is no reference to it's origin... Could they not just call it the Rude Awakening? Oh no cos that then means people ask why he ain't in the HOF!

Rude's real strength tho was in using unique ways to get the crowd to hate him more than anyone in the building. Look back to his feud with Jake Roberts, it was Jake's 2nd major face feud and Rude pulled out all the stops to get him over. He hit on his wife, he put her face on the crotch of his tights... yep read that again, then go and look at it. Of course Jake played his part, but that feud and Jake's success as a face was pretty much owed to their segments and that blow-off match, ironically taking each other out of the World Title tournament!

Rude's best was with the Warrior and it proved he was ready for Hogan. He was able to not only teach Warrior a lot about the ring and how to work but make him look a million bucks while doing so, the loss to Rude actually built Warrior and when he took the title back, even with an assist from Piper it put Rude into the "why is this guy not higher" bracket.

Sadly that's where it started to decline, because Hogan clearly didn't want to lose to "the smaller guy", he didn't see the big picture of the Hogan images on Rude's tights, the heat that Rude would have generated for Hogan by beating him dirty would have prolonged his WWF career for another year at least.

Come Summerslam 90, it was Warrior refusing to job, he'd gotten wind of Hogan's methods and employed them himself. Rude clearly quit out of exasperation, there was nothing more he could do if Vince insisted on pushing those two particular wrestlers.

Ironically Warrior held the title only another 3 months, but of course Hogan was the one who handpicked Slaughter to work with. Rude v Hogan at Mania 7, or Rude v Warrior in the career match would have been a much better feud and match than what occured.

Of course we all know Rude went to WCW and was simply the best heel in the biz for a 2 1/2 year period til his enforced retirement. He did get a World Title there, the NWA/WCW International title. So he held the same belt that Flair, Lou Thesz etc had...

When he returned in 97 as a manager, he immediately made an impact and by 99 was training hard for a return, which I am pretty sure would have seen him win the WWF title as he'd have been a golden opponent for Mick Foley or Austin.

Should he have had the WWF title... Absolutely, should Hogan and Warrior be ashamed for refusing to work with him yes... of course neither will be.

 

[justtxyank]

I think Rick Rude had the tools to be a world champion, however his run in WCW shows how much it wouldn't have been worth it

I don't get this sentence. Did you watch his WCW run? What do you mean it wouldn't have been worth it? Rude was awesome in WCW.

Anyway, to answer the question, no he shouldn't have been based on what the WWF was during his time. Vince didn't believe in heel champions. In the time Rude was in the WWF there was a heel champion for about 58 days total out of the 1000 plus days he was there. Those were consumed by the few minutes that Andre was champ and the time after Savage's heel turn before Hogan took the belt back.

 

[wrestling fan 666]

Without a doubt, this man was the uncrowned world champion. He had the looks, mic skills, psychology, and experience that would've shined. Not only did he have the list I gave, he also had the talent to make others with weaker skills in the ring to shine...hell, look what he did to Ultimate Warrior.

Now why is he NOT in the Hall of Fame???

 

[MeanGene78]

Ziggler reminds me more of rude than any past superstar, he has mr perfects look but rudes swagger and personality.He diffently should have been give a title run to atleast see if he could draw as champ.Thing is back then Wwf had long term champs and were scared to pull the trigger on rude as a long time champ. Nowadays he would have alredy had a few runs with the belt. This a big difference between then and now back then guys like Rey and several others would never even sniff the title picture even as a mid card champ.

 

[Pedigree1]

Not only should rude have been champion HE damn well deserved to be champion. He was the best Heel IMO in the 80's he had the look,size,and the crowd absolutely hated him. Inner city sweat hogs many many of his sayings.

Its a damn shame that rude was not champion and that idiot Warrior was. Roles should have been reversed most definitely. Plus Rude had Heenan at his side another major plus in my book. I sometimes hate the powers that be Rude Hennig were ripped off big time both of them should have at least 1 run with the title.

But creative powers that be didnt believe in rude at all. Its bullshit he wasnt given a run with the strap. He had the total package again a damn shame

 

[salopstick]

In the 80/early 90s era it was more profitable to have the face be chased.

In the NWA it was easier to have long term heel champions flair and race because they would go from territory to territory putting over the local face.

That is part of the reason deserved stars like Hennig, dibiase, rude etc didn't get the strap

 

[theBec2101]

I do think he should have been champ. He did have the look, he was decent in the ring and his mic skills were good as well. He was a great heel and was capable of getting tons of heat simply why the hip rotation and a few words. With that being said there are other wrestlers that never held the belt either that I would of liked to of seen before him. Like Piper and Jake Roberts.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Ziggler reminds me more of rude than any past superstar, he has mr perfects look but rudes swagger and personality.He diffently should have been give a title run to atleast see if he could draw as champ.Thing is back then Wwf had long term champs and were scared to pull the trigger on rude as a long time champ. Nowadays he would have alredy had a few runs with the belt. This a big difference between then and now back then guys like Rey and several others would never even sniff the title picture even as a mid card champ.

Really sorry but this offends me more than most other comparisons... Ziggler is nothing like Rude except he has stolen his Rude Awakening. As Rude's legendary manager once said it's like Ice Cream and Horse Manure...

Rude was unique in that his charisma was based on the intangibles, not just looks, body or skill he had a total package. Ziggler has made his career thus far on overselling and phantom comparisons, to Rude and Curt Hennig. I actually am hoping Ziggler loses his cash in, he isn't the messiah, nor even a very naughty boy (although his carelessness has already put a competitor out for 6 months)... he is an upper mid card talent that has had his title reign and is getting by on a mediocre field to compete with. He stands out because WWE is not letting others stand out... Cesaro is far ahead of him in ability and uniqueness, Barrett light years on all counts, Sandow quickly catching up... I can't say too much more, but really look at Ziggler and you are not seeing anything close to Rick Rude.

 

[HBsam31]

I always thought Rude could have went over Warrior for the title. He could have carried the title well until it was time to drop it to Hogan. The times were just to different then to really say who should have been champ. In today's WWE Rude would have been a 8 or 9 time champ. He was awesome, he had the total package, but he was all of those things in an era where Hogan still Ruled.

 

[Doctor Awesome]

Without question he would have made a fine champion in the time of his run at some point after '88. Here's the big problem, as it always is when this thread is introduced inserting the names of a few worthy candidates during that period (Hennig, DiBiase, Bulldog); it was the tail end of Hulkamania, Vince knew it and milked it for all it was worth. Savage absolutely had to get his run as did Warrior based on popularity and hope that he would evolve into more. There just wasn't room, these guys were there at the wrong time, though they all were great contributors to the product. Lengthy title reigns were also a detriment to trying to get the belt on guys as they were not live on tv yet and ppv's were still only the big 4 + 1 here and there, less exposure.

Rick Rude really capitalized on his time in WCW and if not for the injury may have been able to eventually go back to WWE in '94/'95 and ride that success into a big push and manuever the title around his waist. That was a dark time for WWE though, and I know I would rather be here right now ragging on Kevin Nash's reign as being among the worst than having to insert Rude in that spot, considering he had more talent in one of his six abdominal muscles than Nash did in his whole existence.

I will also say that the kind of heat that Rude garnered was more adept to the late 80's/early 90's WWE. If not for Hogan, a handful of guys would have had title reigns during that time. Rude was one of the greats, not lost in the shuffle-just stuck behind the "Unstoppable Force" like so many others.

 

[original1316]

In my opinion Rick Rude should have been WWF champion. Rude had it all, the look, the in ring abilitie and more importantly he was one of the best talkers in the history of WWE. I truely believe that if Rude had not of left WWF in late 1990 then Vince would have put the title on him in the next year or so.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I think Rick Rude had the tools to be a world champion, however his run in WCW shows how much it wouldn't have been worth it, but seriously in terms of villians in the 80's and 90's Rick Rude was not really considered a top star, and the only reason he had a small main event push was because Warrior was champion and they knew Rude could carry a warrior through a match. In todays standards I just don't believe Rude drew enough heat like a Ted Dibiase or Randy Savage, and in terms of ability while he might have had the ability the only thing he had going for him in his WWE prime was Bobby Heenan.

Did you not watch his run in WCW? That was probably his best time as far as In-Ring stuff went in his Career. Had some great stuff with Flair,Dustin Rhodes,Sting,Steamboat.

I think he could have gotten a small run as WWF Champion when he was there but there weren't many Heel Champions at that point running around. He was a great Heel,had the look,and could talk on the Mic. When he came back in 1997 and was HBK's Bodyguard he was still awesome but his back injury would not allow him to get back in the Ring.