Rick Rude 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 , most notably World Championship Wrestling , Extreme Championship Wrestling , and the World Wrestling Federation , in the 1980s and 1990s . Among other accolades , Rude was a four - time World Champion ( a three - time WCW International World Heavyweight Champion and one - time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion ) , a one - time WWF Intercontinental Champion and one - time WCW United States Champion . The self - proclaimed " Sexiest Man Alive " , Rude was noted for his chiseled physique as well as being one of the greatest talkers in the history of professional wrestling . He is also notable for being a member of the original incarnation of D - Generation X , alongside Shawn Michaels , Triple H , and Chyna . Career . Born in St . Peter , Minnesota , Rood attended Robbinsdale High School in Robbinsdale , Minnesota with Tom Zenk , Brady Boone , Nikita Koloff , Curt Hennig , John Nord , and Barry Darsow , all of whom later became professional wrestlers . After graduating from Anoka Ramsey Junior College with a degree in physical education , Rood began wrestling in 1983 as Ricky Rood , a babyface jobber . He started with Vancouver ' s NWA : All - Star Wrestling before moving on to compete for Georgia Championship Wrestling and later the Memphis - based Continental Wrestling Association . He later left and joined the National Wrestling Alliance affiliate Jim Crockett Promotions where he and a variety of tag team partners feuded with The Road Warriors . He returned to Memphis in 1984 , this time as " Ravishing " Rick Rude , an overconfident , arrogant heel managed by Jimmy Hart . Rude feuded with Jerry Lawler and later his former partner , King Kong Bundy . Rude was hired by Championship Wrestling from Florida in December 1984 , where he was managed by Percy Pringle . He defeated Pez Whatley for the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship on January 16 , 1985 and lost it to Brian Blair on April 10 , 1985 . He captured the championship again on July 20 , 1985 , when he defeated Mike Graham in the finals of a Southern title tournament . He held the belt until October 2 of that year when he dropped it to Wahoo McDaniel , who was booking Florida during this time . While teaming with Jesse Barr , he won the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship on April 16 , 1985 , and feuded with Billy Jack Haynes and Wahoo McDaniel over the belts , losing the straps to McDaniel and Haynes on July 9 , 1985 . In late 1985 , he jumped to World Class Championship Wrestling along with Pringle , where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich and Chris Adams . During his time in WCCW , Rude captured the NWA American Heavyweight Championship on November 4 , 1985 . However , WCCW withdrew from the NWA on February 20 , 1986 , and changed its name to the World Class Wrestling Association . The NWA American Championship was renamed the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship while Rude was still holding the title . As a result , Rude became the promotion ' s first World Champion . After losing the title to Chris Adams in July 1986 , he fired Pringle and briefly replaced him with his sister , Raven . He formed a short - lived tag team with The Dingo Warrior , but the Warrior turned on him and became a face . In September 1986 , Rude returned to Jim Crockett Promotions and joined Manny Fernandez and his manager Paul Jones in their rivalry with Wahoo McDaniel . Rude and Fernandez , known collectively as the " Awesome Twosome " , won the NWA World Tag Team Championship on December 6 , 1986 from The Rock ' n ' Roll Express , and they began a feud that ended only when Rude left the promotion for the World Wrestling Federation in April 1987 . To explain the sudden departure , Jim Crockett , Jr . aired a pre - taped non - title match where the Express defeated Rude and Fernandez and claimed that Rude had been injured as a result . World Wrestling Federation ( 1987 – 1990 ) . In the WWF , Rude was managed by Jimmy Hart and later Bobby " The Brain " Heenan . He feuded with " Mr . Wonderful " Paul Orndorff , before starting one of his most famous feuds with Jake " The Snake " Roberts . Rude had a routine where , before the match , he would make a show of removing his robe while insulting the males in the crowd and , after his victories , he would kiss a woman that Heenan picked from the fans . One of Rude ' s trademarks was his specially airbrushed tights that he wore during matches . In one storyline , he tried to get Roberts ' real - life wife , Cheryl , to comply , aggravating Roberts . On another occasion during the Roberts / Rude feud , Rude came to the ring with a picture of Cheryl stenciled on the front of his tights . A furious Roberts charged the ring and stripped Rude , appearing to television viewers to leave him naked , although the live audience saw him stripped to a thong instead . Rude ' s next big feud was with The Ultimate Warrior and began in January at the 1989 Royal Rumble pay - per - view in a " Super Posedown " that ended with Rude attacking Warrior with a metal pose bar . With help from Heenan , Rude won the Intercontinental Championship from the Warrior at WrestleMania V , before dropping it back to the Warrior at SummerSlam 1989 , due in large part to interference from " Rowdy " Roddy Piper . Rude then feuded with Piper , before resuming his conflict with the Warrior in the summer of 1990 after the Warrior had won the WWF Championship . The two battled in a cage at SummerSlam 1990 , however Rude failed to win the title and departed from WWF in October 1990 . This departure came right before he was scheduled to feud with the Big Boss Man , which had its potential start when Rude started to make degrading comments about The Boss Man ' s mother . World Championship Wrestling ( 1991 – 1994 ) . Main article : Dangerous AllianceRude made his way to World Championship Wrestling , which had originally been Jim Crockett Promotions prior to being sold to Ted Turner in late 1988 ; he debuted as The Halloween Phantom at Halloween Havoc on October 27 , 1991 , unmasking himself later that night . He founded and led The Dangerous Alliance , consisting of himself , Paul E . Dangerously , Madusa , Arn Anderson , Bobby Eaton , Larry Zbyszko , and " Stunning " Steve Austin . On November 19 , 1991 , Rude defeated Sting for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and engaged in a number of high profile feudes , including one with Ricky Steamboat . At one point during their feud , Steamboat suffered a kayfabe broken nose in a gang attack . In 1992 , Rude and Madusa left The Dangerous Alliance and feuded with Nikita Koloff . Rude challenged reigning WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons on several occasions but did not defeat him . In December 1992 , Rude suffered a legitimate injury and was forced to forfeit the United States Championship , thus ending his reign of nearly 14 months , a reign that still stands today as the second longest reign in the 33 year history of the title . Rude returned alone in April 1993 and tried to reclaim the title from Dustin Rhodes , who had won it while he was injured . The title was eventually held up after several controversial finishes to matches between the two , although Rhodes regained the title in a rematch . Rude switched his sights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , making his intentions clear on August 28 , 1993 , when he was the guest on then - champion Ric Flair ' s " A Flair For the Gold " talk segment . Rude defeated Flair for the title in September 1993 at Fall Brawl . As WCW had recently withdrawn from the NWA , WCW lost the rights to continue using the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . WCW created their own championship , dubbing it the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship , which Rude lost to Hiroshi Hase on March 16 , 1994 in Tokyo , Japan . Rude regained the title just eight days later in Kyoto , Japan . After dropping the title to Sting on April 17 , Rude pinned Sting on May 1 in Fukuoka to become a three time champion . Rude , however , injured his back during the match ; unable to wrestle , he was stripped of the title ( with the storyline excuse that he was found to have used the title belt as a weapon in the course of the match ) . Rude retired shortly thereafter . Extreme Championship Wrestling and return to the WWF ( 1997 ) . Rude collected on a Lloyd ' s of London insurance policy and did not compete in wrestling again until 1996 , when he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling ( ECW ) as a masked man who harassed Shane Douglas , at one point spanking Francine . He eventually unmasked and became a color commentator before later aligning himself , for a short time , with Douglas and his Triple Threat stable . During the ECW versus USWA / WWF inter - company competition , Rude helped Jerry " The King " Lawler defeat ECW mainstays Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman . Rude later returned to WWF as the " insurance policy " of the D - Generation X ( DX ) stable ( Shawn Michaels , Triple H , and Chyna ) . As a member of DX , Rude never wrestled , but would stay ringside during the group ' s matches . He once again left WWF after the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series . According to Bret Hart , Rude stayed in the locker room during Bret ' s confrontation with Vince McMahon , later calling Eric Bischoff and informing him what had happened was in fact real . As Rude was not signed to a full - time contract with WWF , and was instead performing on a " pay - per - appearance " basis , Rude was able to negotiate a deal with Bischoff and WCW , in part due to his anger over the Montreal Screwjob . Return to WCW ( 1997 – 1998 ) . Rude appeared on both " WWF Raw is War " and " WCW Monday Nitro " on November 17 , 1997 . A mustached Rude appeared on " Nitro " , which was live , and proceeded to criticize Shawn Michaels , DX , and the WWF , calling the company the " Titanic " ( a reference to Titan Sports , as the WWF ' s parent company was then known , as the " sinking ship " ) . An hour later on " Raw " ( which had been taped six days earlier ) , Rude then appeared with the full beard he ' d been sporting during his return to the WWF . Rude also appeared on ECW ' s " Hardcore TV " during that weekend ( November 14 – 16 as the show was syndicated differently depending on the market ) . Rude was still making ECW appearances while in D - Generation X . In WCW , Rude became a member of the nWo , managing his friend Curt Hennig . When the nWo split , Hennig and Rude joined the nWo Wolfpac , and they tried to motivate Konnan to defeat Goldberg , who was undefeated at the time . When Konnan was defeated by Goldberg , Rude and Hennig attacked him , later joining nWo Hollywood , the rivals of the Wolfpac . By late 1998 , both Rude and Hennig were off WCW TV due to injuries . Hennig had an ongoing leg injury that year , and Rude was thought to have had testicular cancer which later turned out to be a cyst . Curt Hennig returned to the nWo from his injury at Starrcade 1998 without Rude , who was still unable to appear on WCW . Rude was rumored to be training for a full - time comeback to active wrestling in early 1999 . Personal life . Rood married his wife Michelle in 1988 and the couple remained together until his death in 1999 , having three children together . His youngest son , Colton , died on September 3 , 2016 , in a motorcycle accident in Rome , Georgia , at the age of 19 . Bret Hart has stated that Rood was a devoted family man who never took his wedding ring off even during matches ; covering it up with tape . Hart also stated that Rude , along with Curt Hennig , was one of the greatest technical wrestlers of his era . Death . Rude died at the age of 40 on April 20 , 1999 after suffering heart failure . He is survived by his wife Michelle and their three children . The cause of death may have been an overdose of Gamma - Hydroxybutyric acid ( GHB ) and steroids . An autopsy report showed he died from an overdose of " mixed medications . " Rude testified in 1994 that he had used anabolic steroids to alleviate pain in his joints and increase muscle mass . Legacy . Despite entering superstar status toward the end of the decade , " Ravishing " Rick Rude became one of the most successful heel superstars of the WWF 1980 ' s boom . With his raunchy pre - match entrance and opponent themed tights , Rude paved the way for male superstars adopting an adult film star type character . Managed by Bobby Heenan , Rude became a pivotal member of the infamous Heenan Family . Rude was widely known as one of the toughest men in the business and legitimately feared . It is said that Hulk Hogan refused to wrestle Rude , who had a brutally strong grip , and was known to knock men out with a single open handed slap to the face . In 1988 Randy Savage , who was WWF Champion at the time , purposely chose Rick Rude and the Dynamite Kid to watch his back at a bar when they were in NWA territory . The bar was a well known hangout for NWA wrestlers and Savage knew someone in NWA could make a name for themselves by legitimately taking out the WWF World Heavyweight Champion . With Rude and Kid being Savage ' s bodyguards , there were no issues that night . Rude also was a noted arm wrestler , finishing sixth in the world championships in Las Vegas in the light heavyweight division in 1983 . On March 6 , 2017 , it was announced that Rick Rude would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame . Ricky " The Dragon " Steamboat will induct Rude .