Should Rick Rude have been made WWF champion in 1990?

[Tazz Dan]

I was going through some old tapes over the weekend and came across SummerSlam 1990. Rick Rude was totally over at this time and the stuff he was doing with the Ultimate Warrior put him over more than any other wrestler he went up against did.

My question is though, do YOU believe Rick Rude would have been accepted as champion had he gone over Warrior at the time, and do you you think he was good enough to have gotten the rub? Watch the match I'm talking about and give me your opinion.


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[Volare]

Hell yes. The man was gold on the mic, could cut a promo anytime, was a great wrestler inside the ring, and was one of the top heels (imo) in the wwf/e at the time. Him being champ could've brought someone else to a higher level for a challenge, but sadly Hogan probably would've gone over at the next PPV.

[Tazz Dan]

but sadly Hogan probably would've gone over at the next PPV.

This exactly.

[Joesgonnakillyou]

I think the problem was the audience was high on face champs. Heel champions only had short runs. Did rude deserve it though? hell yes.

He got a couple of top line title runs in WCW afterwards anyway. Good ones as well

[Mooияakeя™]

Listen, if they dropped the ball with Rude, they fucked up Hiroshima style with DiBiase.

[Nicky Fives]

Fuck yes... Even Hogan as Champ was better than Warrior.....

[RaginRonic]

I think the problem was the audience was high on face champs. Heel champions only had short runs. Did rude deserve it though? hell yes.

He got a couple of top line title runs in WCW afterwards anyway. Good ones as well

Yeah.

The then WWF marketing to kids doomed Rude's prospects at becoming WWF Champion from the start.

[bigslimjj]

Yeah.

The then WWF marketing to kids doomed Rude's prospects at becoming WWF Champion from the start.

Cena = Hogan Christian=Rude

[Rollermacka]

Cena = Hogan Christian=Rude

Hulk Hogan is a christan? I guess thats why he always said "say your prayers" :shifty:

[FourFifty]

Yea, Rude could have done it, but the same can be said for a number of wrestlers who were in the middle of hulkamania. A lot of good heels could have been champ if it wasn't for hulkamania.
Rude, Bundy, Honky Tonk Man, the Million Dollar Man, etc.
Some faces could have gotten that brass ring also if they were given a chance. Look at Steamboat, Piper, Roberts, and Rhodes for example.

[Providence Peep]

No way, brother! Hulkamania was still running wild in 1990, brother. Hulkamania is immortal, brother. Check out the 24" pythons, brother.

OK, on a serious note.... I don't know if Rude was quite ready for a World Championship run in 1990, or if the fans back then were ready to see him as Champ, but if he had stuck around for a few more years it might have happened. I think if his years in WCW had been spent in the WWF/E he could well have been in the ME title chase, and a feud between Rude and Hart would have been huge. If I remember correctly, Hogan's schtick was getting old by then, right? Or was it old in 1986?

[Mooияakeя™]

lol how BIG the neckbreaker was at the start of the 2nd vid. Like it's a major move. God damn it's kinda shit how super moves then are simple now. If you get me. Just wow at the difference.

Also, makes sense why the steel cage (blue one) was binned. Shit camera angles.

[DLVH84]

I believed Rick Rude should've been champion. To think about it, the match series...Rude defeated Warrior at WrestleMania V, Warrior defeated Rude at SummerSlam '89, and Warrior defeated Rude at Saturday Night's Main Event...Rude should've evened up the score at SummerSlam '90 and win the title, only to finish the feud once and for all at a later event, being a Saturday Night's Main Event, The Main Event, or even Royal Rumble '91.

[bigslimjj]

yea they all started to leave around 1991 or so.Hogan had the infamous harvey wippleman exploding camera thing happen then was gone.Rude left right before that i think?

[Stickman]

lol at "15 foot" high steel cage.

[Tazz Dan]

I believed Rick Rude should've been champion. To think about it, the match series...Rude defeated Warrior at WrestleMania V, Warrior defeated Rude at SummerSlam '89, and Warrior defeated Rude at Saturday Night's Main Event...Rude should've evened up the score at SummerSlam '90 and win the title, only to finish the feud once and for all at a later event, being a Saturday Night's Main Event, The Main Event, or even Royal Rumble '91.

Wow, that actually makes sense.

[Gertner]

Nope.

[Loose Cannon]

I wouldn't of done that, but the WWF really didn't do a great job of building a heel after his Title win at Mania 6. Rude's last major win was @ Mania 6 where he beat now jobber to the stars, Jimmy Snuka. Rude was literally the only route they could go with Warrior because of the history. But Rude never even got a clean win over Warrior in the past, so that program was dead from the start.

And that was the biggest problem with Warrior's run. The WWF didn't have the array of heels like they did with Hulks run. You had a bunch of mid card guys. Earthquake, Perfect, Savage (who was stuck in mid card hell) and Rude. Out of these guys, I would of put Perfect in with Warrior right off the bat. Remember, Warrior was the IC Champ going into Mania 6 and he had to foefeit it. Perfect won the belt after Mania, but they put him into a feud with Von Erich.

The WWF would of never beat Warrior 3 months after he beat Hogan and I wouldn't of done that either. It's just not the right thing to do after you've spent a year building him.