WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.520 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We are so thrilled 00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:05.620 you're joining us today because this one is custom 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:07.540 tailored just for you. It really is. We've got 00:00:07.540 --> 00:00:10.039 a fantastic topic lined up. Yeah. Today we are 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:12.699 stepping into a world of like absolute spectacle. 00:00:13.019 --> 00:00:15.240 We're going to look at the life, the psychological 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:18.280 brilliance and really the ultimate television 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:22.519 rebellion of Richard Irwin Rude. Though you probably 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:24.730 know him better by his legendary ring name. Right. 00:00:24.829 --> 00:00:27.929 Ravishing Rick Rude. Exactly. And our source 00:00:27.929 --> 00:00:31.250 material for this exploration is a comprehensive 00:00:31.250 --> 00:00:34.329 Wikipedia biography that chronicles his entire 00:00:34.329 --> 00:00:36.750 journey. The whole thing. Yeah. From a Minnesota 00:00:36.750 --> 00:00:40.909 bouncer to becoming one of the most iconic, despised 00:00:40.909 --> 00:00:43.710 and ultimately influential villains in professional 00:00:43.710 --> 00:00:45.929 wrestling history. We're looking at the actual 00:00:45.929 --> 00:00:48.210 man behind the persona. And what a mission we 00:00:48.210 --> 00:00:50.109 have for you today. We are going to explore how 00:00:50.109 --> 00:00:53.990 one man mastered the dark art of psychological 00:00:53.990 --> 00:00:56.630 manipulation in front of massive live crowds. 00:00:56.789 --> 00:00:58.609 While secretly living a completely contradictory 00:00:58.609 --> 00:01:00.990 life behind the scenes, which is just fascinating. 00:01:01.270 --> 00:01:04.140 Totally. And if that isn't enough. We're going 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:06.739 to break down how he pulled off a corporate television 00:01:06.739 --> 00:01:09.599 heist that genuinely changed the history of cable 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:12.900 television forever. It's a huge story. It is. 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:16.239 OK, let's unpack this. Where does the story of 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:19.299 the ultimate wrestling bad guy actually begin? 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:23.280 Well, it begins in a setting that honestly defies 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:26.980 all statistical lies. Yeah. Richard Rood was 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:29.900 born in St. Peter, Minnesota, but it was at Robbinsdale 00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:31.799 High School where the foundation was really late. 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:33.540 Oh, right, the high school. He was walking the 00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:36.870 same hallways as... an absurd lineup of future 00:01:36.870 --> 00:01:38.530 wrestling legends. I mean, we're talking about 00:01:38.530 --> 00:01:42.349 Tom Zank, Nikita Koloff, Barry Darso. And his 00:01:42.349 --> 00:01:44.870 childhood best friend, Kurt Hennig. Exactly. 00:01:44.890 --> 00:01:47.290 It's an anomaly. You look at that roster of talent 00:01:47.290 --> 00:01:49.290 coming out of one single high school, and it 00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:51.629 points directly to the intense wrestling culture 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:54.450 in Minnesota at the time. The AWA territory specifically. 00:01:54.870 --> 00:01:57.510 Right, the localized AWA territory. But more 00:01:57.510 --> 00:01:59.609 than anything, it points to the influence of 00:01:59.609 --> 00:02:02.590 the man who ended up training them, Eddie Sharkey. 00:02:02.989 --> 00:02:06.090 Yeah, Sharkey was a renowned trainer. Someone 00:02:06.090 --> 00:02:08.090 who had already shaped heavyweights like Bob 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:11.449 Backlund and the Road Warriors. Legends. His 00:02:11.449 --> 00:02:15.110 training camps were notoriously brutal. But Rude 00:02:15.110 --> 00:02:17.150 came in with a really unique advantage. Because 00:02:17.150 --> 00:02:20.050 of his background. Right. After graduating from 00:02:20.050 --> 00:02:22.169 Anoka Ramsey Community College with a degree 00:02:22.169 --> 00:02:24.870 in physical education, he spent time working 00:02:24.870 --> 00:02:27.949 as a bouncer and as an arm wrestler. Which is 00:02:27.949 --> 00:02:30.669 such a crazy combination of jobs. It is, but 00:02:30.669 --> 00:02:33.370 think about it. He wasn't just a big guy. He 00:02:33.370 --> 00:02:36.449 had a formal and practical understanding of human 00:02:36.449 --> 00:02:39.090 physiology. Oh, like leverage and body mechanics. 00:02:39.349 --> 00:02:41.750 Exactly. And that translates perfectly to the 00:02:41.750 --> 00:02:44.569 ring. Sharkey saw that raw physical potential 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:46.509 and brought him right into the business. His 00:02:46.509 --> 00:02:49.569 initial run is almost unrecognizable compared 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:51.610 to the superstar we know. Oh, totally night and 00:02:51.610 --> 00:02:54.250 day. He made his debut in 1982 as Ricky Rude, 00:02:54.270 --> 00:02:56.889 and he was working as a babyface jobber. Which 00:02:56.889 --> 00:02:58.889 means he was a good guy who was paid to lose. 00:02:59.009 --> 00:03:01.539 Right. He even lost his television debut to Jocelyn 00:03:01.539 --> 00:03:04.340 Duke. It's wild to picture the guy who had become 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:07.039 the most arrogant villain of the 1980s starting 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:10.280 out as the smiling, generic good guy. Just staring 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:12.439 up at the lights. Yeah, whose sole purpose was 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.379 to make the other guys look tough. It's the classic 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:18.340 dues -paying era of the territories. You take 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:20.860 the bumps, you learn the pacing, and you figure 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:22.879 out what doesn't work. And being the smiling 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.539 good guy clearly wasn't clicking for him. Not 00:03:25.539 --> 00:03:28.430 at all. The pivot happened in 1984 down in the 00:03:28.430 --> 00:03:31.150 Memphis territory. Memphis television was fast 00:03:31.150 --> 00:03:34.150 -paced, character -driven, and just chaotic. 00:03:34.169 --> 00:03:37.590 Perfect for him. Exactly. He linked up with legendary 00:03:37.590 --> 00:03:41.270 manager Jimmy Hart and transformed into ravishing 00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:44.210 Rick Rude. Memphis was the perfect incubator 00:03:44.210 --> 00:03:46.789 for that character. With Jimmy Hart doing the 00:03:46.789 --> 00:03:49.389 talking initially, Rude was able to focus entirely 00:03:49.389 --> 00:03:52.050 on his physical charisma. and he had a lot of 00:03:52.050 --> 00:03:54.449 it he really did he realized that playing an 00:03:54.449 --> 00:03:58.169 overconfident spectacularly arrogant heel a bad 00:03:58.169 --> 00:04:01.150 guy wasn't just a character choice it was a mechanism 00:04:01.150 --> 00:04:04.349 yes a mechanism to control the pacing of a match 00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:06.710 and the emotions of an audience and he didn't 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:09.629 just play a heel he refined it into an absolute 00:04:09.629 --> 00:04:12.330 science he figured out exactly what buttons to 00:04:12.330 --> 00:04:14.349 push to make an audience despise him on a deeply 00:04:14.349 --> 00:04:17.050 personal level Which brings us to his legendary 00:04:17.050 --> 00:04:19.529 pre -match routine. Oh, this is iconic. You really 00:04:19.529 --> 00:04:23.230 have to visualize the atmosphere of a 1980s wrestling 00:04:23.230 --> 00:04:26.670 arena to appreciate this. Before the bell even 00:04:26.670 --> 00:04:30.649 rings, the crowd is already buzzing. Rude would 00:04:30.649 --> 00:04:33.389 take the microphone, stand dead center in the 00:04:33.389 --> 00:04:35.949 ring, and aggressively demand total silence. 00:04:36.189 --> 00:04:38.110 Just standing there waiting. Waiting until the 00:04:38.110 --> 00:04:41.680 boos were absolutely deafening. Then he would 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:44.680 purposefully insult the hometown men. Calling 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:47.680 them fat, out -of -shape sweat hogs? Every single 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:49.759 time. And while the men in the crowd were boiling 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:52.199 with rage, he would slowly disrobe to show off 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:54.819 his physique and then kiss a woman from the audience. 00:04:55.180 --> 00:04:56.879 A woman, by the way, who was handpicked by his 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:59.899 manager, Bobby Heenan. Yes. It's a masterclass 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:01.759 in generating heat. And we aren't just talking 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.509 about... pantomime theatrical booze no this was 00:05:04.509 --> 00:05:07.550 visceral deeply personal anger right by insulting 00:05:07.550 --> 00:05:09.829 the men and seducing the women he was directly 00:05:09.829 --> 00:05:13.189 attacking the ego and masculinity of every single 00:05:13.189 --> 00:05:15.709 male ticket buyer in that arena he made them 00:05:15.709 --> 00:05:17.550 desperately passionately want to see him get 00:05:17.550 --> 00:05:20.199 his teeth kicked in It was brilliant psychological 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.860 warfare. He wasn't just wrestling his opponent. 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:25.899 He was wrestling the emotions of 10 ,000 people 00:05:25.899 --> 00:05:28.160 at once. At the exact same time. Here's where 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:31.040 it gets really interesting, because that psychological 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.920 warfare eventually spilled over into his feuds. 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:36.720 Most notably, the legendary rivalry with Jake 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:39.720 the Snake Roberts. Yes. The setup was a perfect 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:43.420 trap. Rude goes into his usual routine. Bobby 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:46.079 Heenan picks a woman out of the crowd for Rude 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.360 to kiss. But Heenan... unknowingly selects Cheryl 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:51.899 Roberts. Who happens to be Jake the Snake's real 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:54.560 -life wife. And when Cheryl rejects his advances 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:57.600 and reveals who she is, Rude doesn't back down 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.160 or play the coward. He escalates. He pushes it 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.480 further. Cheryl actually slaps him so hard it 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:06.230 busts his eardrum. Wow. Yeah. He grabs her wrist 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:08.129 and berates her on the microphone until Jake 00:06:08.129 --> 00:06:10.069 sprints from the dressing room to make the save. 00:06:10.189 --> 00:06:12.529 But Rude didn't let the feud settle into standard 00:06:12.529 --> 00:06:15.069 wrestling matches. He found a way to weaponize 00:06:15.069 --> 00:06:17.769 his actual ring gear. The airbrush tights. Yes. 00:06:18.250 --> 00:06:21.449 Rude was already famous for having custom airbrush 00:06:21.449 --> 00:06:23.730 artwork on his gear, usually depicting his own 00:06:23.730 --> 00:06:26.870 face or his opponent's face. But to retaliate 00:06:26.870 --> 00:06:28.790 against Jake, he shows up to the ring with a 00:06:28.790 --> 00:06:32.610 massive likeness of Cheryl's face stenciled right 00:06:32.610 --> 00:06:35.370 on the front of his tights. wearing your opponent's 00:06:35.370 --> 00:06:38.350 real life wife on your gear is such a massive 00:06:38.350 --> 00:06:40.850 violation of the unwritten rules it blurs the 00:06:40.850 --> 00:06:44.389 line between a sanctioned athletic contest, and 00:06:44.389 --> 00:06:47.029 a duckly personal street fight. It was the ultimate 00:06:47.029 --> 00:06:49.829 psychological trigger. He knew exactly what would 00:06:49.829 --> 00:06:53.350 push Roberts over the edge, and it worked flawlessly. 00:06:53.629 --> 00:06:56.589 Roberts was furious. So furious that he charged 00:06:56.589 --> 00:06:59.769 the ring and physically stripped Rude in front 00:06:59.769 --> 00:07:01.850 of the live audience. And the execution of that 00:07:01.850 --> 00:07:04.389 moment on television was phenomenal. For the 00:07:04.389 --> 00:07:06.430 viewers at home, it looked like Roberts left 00:07:06.430 --> 00:07:09.410 him completely naked. Right. The broadcast put 00:07:09.410 --> 00:07:12.029 a giant black censor spot over Rude. Rude's midsection, 00:07:12.250 --> 00:07:14.449 adding to the illusion. Even though the live 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:16.569 arena audience could see he was actually stripped 00:07:16.569 --> 00:07:19.250 down to a G -string. It was absolute chaos. And 00:07:19.250 --> 00:07:21.529 Rude was so committed to the bit that he brought 00:07:21.529 --> 00:07:24.310 it back at the inaugural SummerSlam. He wrestled 00:07:24.310 --> 00:07:26.569 the junkyard dog, and while on the top rope, 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:29.089 he deliberately pulled down his own tights. But 00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:31.110 he was wearing a second pair underneath. And 00:07:31.110 --> 00:07:34.009 those had Cheryl's face on them. Roberts ran 00:07:34.009 --> 00:07:37.189 out again, attacked Rude, and caused a disqualification. 00:07:37.830 --> 00:07:40.569 The layers of planning to keep that heat alive 00:07:40.569 --> 00:07:43.550 are just spectacular. What's fascinating here 00:07:43.550 --> 00:07:46.449 is the stark contrast between the character of 00:07:46.449 --> 00:07:49.589 ravishing Rick Rude and the actual man, Richard 00:07:49.589 --> 00:07:51.870 Rude. It's a huge divide. When you look at the 00:07:51.870 --> 00:07:54.149 hyper -sexualized persona, the kissing of fans, 00:07:54.370 --> 00:07:57.269 the Cheryl Roberts angle, it's easy to assume 00:07:57.269 --> 00:07:59.730 the man behind the curtain was a notorious womanizer 00:07:59.730 --> 00:08:02.990 living the 1980s rock star lifestyle. Because 00:08:02.990 --> 00:08:05.699 he played it so well. Right. But fellow wrestling 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:07.939 legend Bret Hart made an observation that completely 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:10.399 shatters that illusion. What'd he say? Despite 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.459 the flamboyant, arrogant character he played 00:08:12.459 --> 00:08:14.959 on television, Roode was incredibly grounded 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.579 and a fiercely devoted family man. It's a brilliant 00:08:17.579 --> 00:08:20.720 juxtaposition. He married his second wife, Michelle, 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:24.300 in 1988, right as his fame was skyrocketing to 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:26.819 its absolute peak, and they stayed together until 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:29.180 his death. But the detail that really drives 00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:31.740 this home is about his wedding ring. Because 00:08:31.740 --> 00:08:33.899 of his dimmock, he obviously couldn't wear a 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:35.980 wedding band while aggressively seducing women 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:38.440 in the front row. It would absolutely kill the 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:40.960 illusion. But he outright refused to take the 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:43.860 ring off. Instead, he chose to cover it up with 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:47.000 athletic tape during every single match. That 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:49.700 taped -over wedding ring is such a powerful symbol. 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:52.639 It highlights the absolute divide between the 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.220 bombastic larger than life characters of sports 00:08:55.220 --> 00:08:58.039 entertainment and the real human beings playing 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:00.779 those roles. He was manipulating millions of 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:03.399 people into hating his guts. Taking these massive 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:06.120 physical risks. But underneath the tape, he was 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:08.620 keeping his real life priorities completely intact 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:11.799 and protected. His dedication to his craft was 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:14.179 matched only by his dedication to his family. 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:17.059 He kept the family man completely insulated from 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:19.549 the showman. And that intense dedication. to 00:09:19.549 --> 00:09:21.970 his craft translated directly into championship 00:09:21.970 --> 00:09:25.309 gold. Moving into 1989, he entered a massive 00:09:25.309 --> 00:09:28.009 rivalry with the Ultimate Warrior. Another legendary 00:09:28.009 --> 00:09:30.330 feud. It kicked off at the Royal Rumble with 00:09:30.330 --> 00:09:32.990 a super pose down, which ended exactly how you'd 00:09:32.990 --> 00:09:35.389 expect, with Roode attacking the Warrior with 00:09:35.389 --> 00:09:38.070 a heavy metal pose bar. Classic Roode. That led 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:41.049 to WrestleMania V, where, with some outside interference 00:09:41.049 --> 00:09:43.649 from Bobby Heenan, Roode pinned the Ultimate 00:09:43.649 --> 00:09:46.049 Warrior to win the Intercontinental Championship. 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:48.919 Winning the Intercontinental title was a massive 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.279 milestone, especially during an era where that 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:55.279 specific championship was widely considered the 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:57.620 workers' title. Meaning it was given to the guys 00:09:57.620 --> 00:10:00.019 who put on the best actual wrestling matches. 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:03.559 Exactly. But what's equally important is how 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:06.879 Roode allowed his character to evolve. By the 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.879 summer of 1990, he was scheduled for a rematch 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:12.200 against The Warrior, who is now the world champion, 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:16.009 inside a steel cage at SummerSlam. And he completely 00:10:16.009 --> 00:10:18.350 changed his presentation for that match. He did. 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:20.970 Rude recognized that the flamboyant kissing routine 00:10:20.970 --> 00:10:23.250 and the airbrushed tights wouldn't fit the brutal 00:10:23.250 --> 00:10:25.629 intensity of a world title cage match. It wouldn't 00:10:25.629 --> 00:10:28.110 make sense. So he dropped the womanizing act 00:10:28.110 --> 00:10:30.830 completely. He cut his signature long hair short, 00:10:31.070 --> 00:10:34.090 stopped the pre -match seductions, and got deadly 00:10:34.090 --> 00:10:36.529 serious. It shows a profound understanding of 00:10:36.529 --> 00:10:39.149 narrative pacing and ring psychology. He knew 00:10:39.149 --> 00:10:41.110 exactly when to be a showboat and when to be 00:10:41.110 --> 00:10:43.370 a killer. A true professional. He eventually 00:10:43.370 --> 00:10:47.019 left the WWF shortly after that cage match. On 00:10:47.019 --> 00:10:49.379 television, they ran a storyline where he was 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:51.700 suspended because he insulted the mother of the 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:54.399 big boss man. But behind the scenes. It was a 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:56.480 legitimate financial and contractual dispute 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.840 with Vince McMahon. Right. That departure led 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:00.960 him down south to World Championship Wrestling, 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:04.100 or WCW, where he stepped right into the main 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:06.820 event scene. He became the centerpiece of the 00:11:06.820 --> 00:11:10.139 Dangerous Alliance, managed by Paul E. Dangerously. 00:11:10.299 --> 00:11:14.690 Who modern fans know as... Paul Heyman. Yes. 00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:18.529 His WCW run really solidified his legacy as a 00:11:18.529 --> 00:11:21.169 top tier in -ring general. He won the United 00:11:21.169 --> 00:11:23.350 States Championship and held it for nearly 14 00:11:23.350 --> 00:11:25.889 months. To this day, that remains the second 00:11:25.889 --> 00:11:27.850 longest reign in the history of that specific 00:11:27.850 --> 00:11:30.549 title. He was having phenomenal, grueling matches 00:11:30.549 --> 00:11:33.690 with guys like Sting, Ricky Steamboat. and Ric 00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:36.009 Flair. But that grueling schedule brought severe 00:11:36.009 --> 00:11:39.649 physical consequences. In 1994, during a match 00:11:39.649 --> 00:11:42.210 against Sting in Fukuoka, Japan for the International 00:11:42.210 --> 00:11:44.929 World Heavyweight Championship, Roode suffered 00:11:44.929 --> 00:11:47.730 a devastating back injury. This was tough to 00:11:47.730 --> 00:11:50.529 read about. Sting was performing a suicide dive 00:11:50.529 --> 00:11:53.110 to the outside of the ring, and Roode, while 00:11:53.110 --> 00:11:55.710 trying to catch him, landed awkwardly on the 00:11:55.710 --> 00:11:58.009 corner of the raised wooden platform surrounding 00:11:58.009 --> 00:12:01.610 the ring. He blew out his C4 and C5 vertebrae. 00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:04.120 That injury forced him into early retirement 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:06.919 from active in -ring competition. It's a harsh 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:09.080 reality of the industry. You could be at the 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:12.120 absolute pinnacle of your career, and in a fraction 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:14.399 of a second, your livelihood is compromised. 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:17.639 Rude collected on a Lloyd's of London insurance 00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:20.080 policy and disappeared from the spotlight for 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:22.299 a few years to recover and spend time with his 00:12:22.299 --> 00:12:24.299 family. But someone with his understanding of 00:12:24.299 --> 00:12:26.000 the business wasn't going to stay away forever. 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:30.279 No way. Which brings us to a late 1997 and the 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:32.399 single greatest television trick in the history 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:34.379 of the wrestling industry. This is legendary. 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:37.080 To really appreciate the magnitude of what Rude 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:39.100 pulled off, we have to look at the landscape 00:12:39.100 --> 00:12:42.440 of cable television in late 1997. The Monday 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:46.399 Night Wars are raging. The WWF and WCW are locked 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:48.759 in a billion dollar head -to -head battle every 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:51.879 single Monday night for rating supremacy. Every 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:54.929 quarter hour rating mattered. It was a cutthroat 00:12:54.929 --> 00:12:57.450 corporate environment. Roode had returned to 00:12:57.450 --> 00:13:00.129 the WWF not as an active wrestler, but as the 00:13:00.129 --> 00:13:02.789 insurance policy. The ringside enforcer. Exactly. 00:13:03.210 --> 00:13:06.809 For the rebellious faction D -Generation X, standing 00:13:06.809 --> 00:13:09.470 alongside Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna. 00:13:09.629 --> 00:13:12.230 He added a layer of legitimate toughness to that 00:13:12.230 --> 00:13:15.549 group. But the turning point came at the Survivor 00:13:15.549 --> 00:13:18.370 Series pay -per -view with the infamous Montreal 00:13:18.370 --> 00:13:21.549 Screwjob. A pivotal moment in wrestling history. 00:13:21.889 --> 00:13:24.750 Bret Hart. the same man who praised Rude's dedication 00:13:24.750 --> 00:13:28.370 to his family, was legitimately deceived by Vince 00:13:28.370 --> 00:13:30.990 McMahon and stripped of his championship on live 00:13:30.990 --> 00:13:33.190 television. Rude was in the locker room for the 00:13:33.190 --> 00:13:36.029 fallout. He was a man who valued loyalty and 00:13:36.029 --> 00:13:38.470 respect, and he was absolutely disgusted by the 00:13:38.470 --> 00:13:40.389 political betrayal he had just witnessed. And 00:13:40.389 --> 00:13:42.370 this is where Rude's business acumen shines. 00:13:42.789 --> 00:13:45.309 He wasn't on a guaranteed full -time contract 00:13:45.309 --> 00:13:47.889 with the WWF. He was working on a paper appearance 00:13:47.889 --> 00:13:50.370 handshake deal. Because he was furious about 00:13:50.370 --> 00:13:52.669 the Montreal incident, and because he wasn't 00:13:52.669 --> 00:13:55.549 legally bound by paper to stick around, he simply 00:13:55.549 --> 00:13:57.389 picked up the phone and called Eric Bischoff. 00:13:57.610 --> 00:14:00.970 The head of the rival WCW. He negotiated a deal 00:14:00.970 --> 00:14:04.460 to jump ship immediately. And the execution of 00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:07.299 that jump is what cemented his place in television 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:09.870 history. Let's break down the timeline of November 00:14:09.870 --> 00:14:13.210 17, 1997. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:14:13.389 --> 00:14:15.850 the mechanics of television broadcasting at the 00:14:15.850 --> 00:14:18.210 time made this heist possible? Right. If you 00:14:18.210 --> 00:14:20.009 were flipping channels that night, the continuity 00:14:20.009 --> 00:14:23.490 would have melted your brain. At 8 p .m., Rude 00:14:23.490 --> 00:14:27.429 appears on the WWF's broadcast, Raw is War, standing 00:14:27.429 --> 00:14:30.169 in the ring alongside D -Generation X. I mean, 00:14:30.190 --> 00:14:32.490 he's got his signature full beard. But Raw is 00:14:32.490 --> 00:14:34.889 War was actually pre -taped six days earlier. 00:14:35.500 --> 00:14:37.620 Just one hour later, on the exact same night, 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:40.799 Rude walks out onto WCW's Monday Nitro, which 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.159 was broadcasting completely live. And he looks 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:45.299 different. He shaved the beard down to a mustache. 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:48.720 He took a microphone on live WCW television and 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:51.179 began tearing into Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, 00:14:51.299 --> 00:14:53.740 and his former group DX. He openly called the 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:56.779 WWF the Titanic a sinking ship. But the impact 00:14:56.779 --> 00:14:59.419 of this moment goes way beyond a wrestler cutting 00:14:59.419 --> 00:15:03.029 a promo on a rival company. By appearing on the 00:15:03.029 --> 00:15:06.350 live WCW show while simultaneously being broadcast 00:15:06.350 --> 00:15:10.549 on the pre -taped WWF show, Rude completely shattered 00:15:10.549 --> 00:15:13.350 the television illusion. He exposed the wizard 00:15:13.350 --> 00:15:15.710 behind the curtain. He proved to the entire viewing 00:15:15.710 --> 00:15:18.759 audience that the WWF show wasn't live. In the 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:20.679 context of the Monday Night Wars, where both 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:22.740 companies were fighting to convince viewers that 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:25.600 their show was the must -see, anything -can -happen 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:28.419 live event, proving your competitor was taped 00:15:28.419 --> 00:15:31.960 was a massive, humiliating psychological blow. 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:34.480 It gave viewers permission to change the channel. 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:37.779 Exactly. It was corporate warfare, and Rude delivered 00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:40.220 the decisive strike. And just to highlight how 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:42.860 omnipresent he managed to be, he also appeared 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:44.940 on an Extreme Championship Wrestling broadcast. 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:47.779 that very same weekend. Because their programming 00:15:47.779 --> 00:15:49.919 was syndicated in different markets. With that 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.340 one night, he achieved an incredibly unique piece 00:15:52.340 --> 00:15:54.740 of trivia. He became the only person in history 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:58.039 to be a member of the WWF's D -Generation X and 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:01.240 WCW's New World Order. It was the ultimate manifestation 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:04.340 of his understanding of perception. He manipulated 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:06.700 the live crowds in the 80s with the airbrushed 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:10.700 tights. But in 1997, he manipulated two massive 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.879 television networks and the entire cable viewing 00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:16.289 public. He understood exactly how the system 00:16:16.289 --> 00:16:19.389 worked, and he exploited it flawlessly. Unfortunately, 00:16:19.750 --> 00:16:22.570 his time in WCW would eventually be cut short. 00:16:22.830 --> 00:16:25.830 He managed a few more wrestlers, but health issues 00:16:25.830 --> 00:16:27.970 eventually forced him off television entirely. 00:16:28.629 --> 00:16:31.029 Leading to a much more somber conclusion to his 00:16:31.029 --> 00:16:33.309 story. Yes, we do have to transition to the tragic 00:16:33.309 --> 00:16:36.019 end of his life. On the morning of April 20, 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:39.620 1999, Richard Rude was found unconscious by his 00:16:39.620 --> 00:16:42.360 wife, Michelle. He died of heart failure at the 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:45.019 incredibly young age of 40. The autopsy report 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:47.340 indicated that he died from an overdose of mixed 00:16:47.340 --> 00:16:50.220 medications, noting that the effects of GHB, 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:53.080 a narcolepsy prevention drug, may have contributed 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:55.690 to it. What makes it even more tragic is that 00:16:55.690 --> 00:16:58.029 at the time of his death, he was actively training 00:16:58.029 --> 00:17:00.009 and getting his body ready for a return to the 00:17:00.009 --> 00:17:02.710 ring. It's a devastating end for a man who had 00:17:02.710 --> 00:17:04.750 given so much of his physical well -being to 00:17:04.750 --> 00:17:07.910 the industry. But his legacy within that industry 00:17:07.910 --> 00:17:11.170 has absolutely endured. In 2017, he received 00:17:11.170 --> 00:17:13.509 the ultimate professional validation when he 00:17:13.509 --> 00:17:16.170 was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of 00:17:16.170 --> 00:17:19.390 Fame. Fittingly, he was inducted by his old WCW 00:17:19.390 --> 00:17:22.250 rival, Ricky the Dragon Steamboat. But the most 00:17:22.250 --> 00:17:24.369 poignant part of that induction wasn't who introduced 00:17:24.369 --> 00:17:27.130 him. It was who accepted the honor on his behalf. 00:17:27.410 --> 00:17:29.470 His wife, Michelle, along with his children, 00:17:29.609 --> 00:17:32.509 Marissa and Richard Jr., stood on that stage 00:17:32.509 --> 00:17:34.849 to accept his Hall of Fame ring. It all comes 00:17:34.849 --> 00:17:37.089 full circle back to that taped over wedding ring. 00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:39.809 The family he protected so fiercely behind the 00:17:39.809 --> 00:17:42.490 scenes was the one to cement his legacy in front 00:17:42.490 --> 00:17:44.859 of the world. So what does this all mean? Why 00:17:44.859 --> 00:17:47.519 does the story of a 1980s wrestling villain matter 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:49.579 to someone outside the wrestling bubble today? 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:52.180 Rick Rude's life is a masterclass in the power 00:17:52.180 --> 00:17:54.140 of total commitment and understanding the mechanics 00:17:54.140 --> 00:17:57.319 of perception. He proved that to be the ultimate 00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:00.660 villain in public, you have to be a master psychologist. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.460 You have to understand what makes people tick, 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:06.039 what makes them angry, and how to command their 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:08.609 attention. But more importantly, he proved that 00:18:08.609 --> 00:18:11.109 wearing a mask in your professional life doesn't 00:18:11.109 --> 00:18:13.490 mean you have to lose the core of who you are 00:18:13.490 --> 00:18:16.910 behind closed doors. He manipulated crowds, opponents, 00:18:17.170 --> 00:18:19.630 and eventually two massive television networks, 00:18:19.890 --> 00:18:22.710 all while keeping his real -life priorities safe 00:18:22.710 --> 00:18:25.609 under a layer of athletic tape. He knew exactly 00:18:25.609 --> 00:18:27.809 who he was, even when he was pretending to be 00:18:27.809 --> 00:18:30.289 someone everyone hated. Which leaves us with 00:18:30.289 --> 00:18:32.490 a thought for you to take away today. Think about 00:18:32.490 --> 00:18:34.470 the airbrushed tights you wear in your own life. 00:18:34.650 --> 00:18:37.029 We all have that professional persona, that armor 00:18:37.029 --> 00:18:39.029 of confidence, or those intimidation tactics 00:18:39.029 --> 00:18:42.009 we put on to survive and thrive in our own industries. 00:18:42.329 --> 00:18:45.089 But ask yourself this. If the world suddenly 00:18:45.089 --> 00:18:47.170 stripped away your outward character tomorrow, 00:18:47.430 --> 00:18:50.069 just like Jake the Snake did to Rick Rude in 00:18:50.069 --> 00:18:52.250 the center of that ring, what would the audience 00:18:52.250 --> 00:18:54.829 actually see underneath? A phenomenal question 00:18:54.829 --> 00:18:57.950 worth considering as we navigate the divide between 00:18:57.950 --> 00:19:00.589 our own public and private lives. Absolutely. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:03.319 Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:05.779 the fascinating, contradictory life of Richard 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:07.859 Rood. Keep questioning the characters you see 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:09.980 on screen, and remember to keep digging into 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:11.839 the sources around you. We'll catch you next 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:12.180 time.