Rude at an Extreme Championship Wrestling television taping in October 1997
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Birth name | Richard Erwin Rood |
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Born |
St. Peter, Minnesota, United States |
December 7, 1958
Died | April 20, 1999 Alpharetta, Georgia, United States |
(aged 40)
Cause of death | Heart failure |
Alma mater | Anoka-Ramsey Community College |
Spouse(s) | Michelle Rood (1988–1999; his death) |
Children | 3 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Rick Rude Ricky Rood The WCW Phantom |
Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Billed weight | 251 lb (114 kg) |
Billed from | Robbinsdale, Minnesota, United States |
Trained by | Eddie Sharkey |
Debut | 1982 |
Retired | 1994 |
Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2017.
Rude wrestled from 1982 until his 1994 retirement due to injury, with a final match following in 1997. Among other accolades, he was a four-time world champion (three-time WCW International World Heavyweight Champion and one-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion), a one-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion. Rude also challenged for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view.
In 1997, Rude co-founded the influential D-Generation X stable, along with Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna. On November 17 of that year, he became the only person to appear on the WWF's Raw Is War and WCW's Monday Nitro on the same night, as the former was pre-recorded and Rude had left for WCW in the interim.