Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name of"Ravishing" Rick Rude, was a professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, most notably World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, in the 1980s and 1990s. Stage names included: Smooth Operator, Ricky Rood, and The Halloween Phantom.
In the WWF, Rude was managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and 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 running down the males in the crowd and after the match he would kiss a girl (that Heenan picked from the fans) all the way down to the mat after a successful match. On one occasion, he tried to get Roberts' real-life wife, Cheryl, to comply, aggravating Roberts. On another memorable 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 the television viewer) to leave him naked (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 the Super Posedown that ended with Rude attacking Warrior with a metal pose bar. With a little 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 WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The two battled in a cage at SummerSlam 1990, in the only Pay-Per-View Rude would ever headline as a solo wrestler. Rude failed to win the title and departed WWE in October 1990 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).
Rude died on April 20, 1999 after suffering heart failure. He is survived by his wife, Michelle and their three children.[1] The believed 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". In 1994, he testified that he had used anabolic steroids to build muscle mass and relieve joint pain.[2]At the time of his death, Rude was planning on opening a wrestling school in Rome, Georgia. His family still resides there.
*note- this information is from wikipedia and may not be 100% accurate.
