Zen411
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Zen411 on Sept 20, 2022 13:31:46 GMT -5
Rick Rude's 1997 is such a unique situation. Appearing in ecw, wwf, and wcw all around the same time. I have so many unanswered questions about this time frame.
He apparently wrestled a time or two in ecw so he could wrestle but something to do with Lloyd's of London? Anyone know details? Was he eventually going to wrestle in wwf if not for signing with wcw? Why the business suit and briefcase look? It was such a departure from the old Rick rude. I don't even remember him cutting promos in dx as hbk was always on the mic. Did he just stand around? It was a weird addition to the group and I don't feel he added much.
There are photos of him with dx including the world title. I assumed he left immediately after survivor series after being disgusted over the screw job. So when did they have time to take professional photos with the belt? Was that before the survivor series or in the days after assuming it took a few days to sign with wcw?
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Post by James Fabiano on Sept 20, 2022 14:56:11 GMT -5
Only Rude "match" I remember was the cage match where he doesn't even wrestle. Instead he swerves Sandman and Dreamer and lays them out. Beulah too. Then lets Sabu, RVD, and Lawler have their way with them. So that part I guess is a moot point.
I guess Rude turning up was meant as a surprise, only they had little for him to really do after that.
I thought the suit look was okay. Maybe it was to hide that he didn't have the Rude body anymore?
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Post by GodzillaIsMyMonster on Sept 20, 2022 15:19:33 GMT -5
Wasn't he training for a comeback? He had the insurance policy, but he did a few 'matches" in ECW.
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Post by ThankGodForSidJustice on Sept 20, 2022 15:20:10 GMT -5
I liked Rude but I don't really get why companies were hiring him at that point as due to his Lloyds of London policy he couldn't do much. He still had name value but after the initial shock of him debuting there was nothing useful for him. All he could was be a manager who couldn't take any bumps. I thought his presence also hurt the faces that were facing whoever he was representing in that he could beat them up but the faces could never retaliate because of the Lloys of London so as a result which you would have top faces like Bret Hart and the Undertaker getting their ass kicked by a 40 year old manager and not being able to do anything about it.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Sept 20, 2022 15:28:28 GMT -5
Wasn't he training for a comeback? He had the insurance policy, but he did a few 'matches" in ECW. Supposedly he was, though if it was something he was earnestly working towards, or if it was like Yokozuna where he kept holding onto a dying hope of a comeback, I couldn't really say. |
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Post by GodzillaIsMyMonster on Sept 20, 2022 15:30:21 GMT -5
Wasn't he training for a comeback? He had the insurance policy, but he did a few 'matches" in ECW. Supposedly he was, though if it was something he was earnestly working towards, or if it was like Yokozuna where he kept holding onto a dying hope of a comeback, I couldn't really say. Yea. Id have loved to see how that babyface WCW run would have played out. |
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Zen411
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Zen411 on Sept 20, 2022 16:26:20 GMT -5
Was he supposed to wrestle in wcw or wwf? Face run? Never heard anything about that.
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cjh
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Post by cjh on Sept 20, 2022 16:29:59 GMT -5
Rude never wrestled in ECW. The closest he came to taking bumps was breaking out the Rude Awakening in WCW in 1998.
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Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Sept 21, 2022 9:03:20 GMT -5
According to Wikipedia, he was training for a comeback around the time he died.
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tafkaga
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Post by tafkaga on Sept 21, 2022 9:50:41 GMT -5
It was pretty remarkable to me how Rude's image transitioned from being the cowardly villain to just looking like the most badass bodyguard without actually changing his gimmick at all.
For as entertaining as he was in his WWF run, his WCW run elevated him to being a top 10 guy for me.
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Post by nakedmideon on Sept 21, 2022 15:37:01 GMT -5
Apparently he asked Bischoff to pay his loyds of London deal back so he could return but Bischoff refused
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Post by Triangle Lancer on Sept 21, 2022 15:41:57 GMT -5
According to Wikipedia, he was training for a comeback around the time he died. That's what the Torch reported as well; he was looking to try a run at Steve Austin. |
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Post by DZ: WF Legacy on Sept 21, 2022 15:55:37 GMT -5
His final televised appearances were for that WCW satellite commentary show mere months before he died, and he was kinda out of it at times, bloated as hell, and looked like had gained some weight. They're on YouTube; I legitimately didn't recognize him until he spoke. I don't know if he was actually training and just bulked up, or if that was what he wanted to do but couldn't because of his insurance, or if it got mixed in with Rude expressing interest in getting into MMA shortly before he died. He began taking bumps and doing more physical stuff in WCW after his WWF departure, so it seems like he was physically able to do something. Side note: this is coming out soon as a Build-A-Figure! Comes with additional mustache head, too.  |
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Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Sept 21, 2022 16:44:52 GMT -5
According to Wikipedia, he was training for a comeback around the time he died. That's what the Torch reported as well; he was looking to try a run at Steve Austin. I would have loved to see that match, especially if Austin hadn’t had the neck injury and Rude hadn’t had the back injury. |
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Zen411
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Zen411 on Sept 21, 2022 17:05:07 GMT -5
I wonder how he would have updated the appearance/presentation as a wrestler. There's no way he would have continued the airbrushed tights and robe. Just curious how he would have transitioned from suit and briefcase to wrestler and made it work.
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Post by sdoyle7798 on Sept 21, 2022 17:52:39 GMT -5
His final televised appearances were for that WCW satellite commentary show mere months before he died, and he was kinda out of it at times, bloated as hell, and looked like had gained some weight. They're on YouTube; I legitimately didn't recognize him until he spoke. I don't know if he was actually training and just bulked up, or if that was what he wanted to do but couldn't because of his insurance, or if it got mixed in with Rude expressing interest in getting into MMA shortly before he died. He began taking bumps and doing more physical stuff in WCW after his WWF departure, so it seems like he was physically able to do something. Side note: this is coming out soon as a Build-A-Figure! Comes with additional mustache head, too. Here’s one of those clips. youtu.be/Yru39svtuHcI’m no workout expert but that doesn’t look like “I’m preparing for a comeback” bulk. That’s “I am retired and don’t need to maintain my look” bulk. He even shaved the ‘stach, almost like he was removing every trace of the wrestler Rick Rude. |
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auph10imitated
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Post by auph10imitated on Sept 22, 2022 10:27:42 GMT -5
I think Rude in 1997 still had great value, so they could get asway with hiring him as a personality/manager, especially as ECW was looking for star power and WWF was looking for anything to get them back in the race. But by 1999 everything was so hot that Rude would have needed a ring come back to elevate his stock again, which is why he was training to come back
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