Arn Anderson Praises WWE HOFer Rick Rude, Says He Could Have Gone Further

Like many wrestling greats, Rick Rude underwent several gimmick changes before finding the most "over" version of himself that — in late '80s WWE — wowed the ladies and called out the "fat, out-of-shape sweathogs" in the audience. Once Rude tapped into his "Ravishing" character, he retained the persona in other promotions, notably while working for WCW in 1993 as a member of The Dangerous Alliance.

On "ARN," Arn Anderson lavished praise upon his fellow WWE Hall of Famer for his dedication to the character, and for being mindful of every detail that made it tick. "He had such a firm grasp on the character," Anderson said of Rude. "He was respected by the boys for being a no-nonsense, tough, sumbitch. And when you're respected within that inner circle, it's going to permeate out to the fans. ... Rude just had a firm grasp on his pacing, his look; strong as hell in the gym. It wasn't just beach muscles that the guy had. I've seen him — very strong in the gym."

The topic of Rude came up when Anderson recapped Fall Brawl 1993, where Rude scored the biggest win of his career by defeating Ric Flair for the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship. The now-defunct title was created after WCW had withdrawn from the NWA, losing the rights to the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. Anderson laments the fact that the history books don't recognize Rude as a former World Champion. "I don't know if I'm qualified to make the assertion of whether he was the greatest to never be that guy. There are others like Curt Hennig, Ted Dibiase, Jake The Snake, and Roddy Piper." In 1994, Rude retired from in-ring competition after suffering a back injury. He would spend the rest of his career as a manager for factions such as DX and the nWo.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "ARN" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.