Being that this is my first editorial, let me first say hello to all the wrestling fans out there. Now that I got that out of the way, it's time for your Rude Awakening. That's right, I am going to do something that WCW and WWF should have done a long time ago. Right here, in this very editorial, I will relive some of the greatest moments involving one of the greatest heels ever. So as Michael Buffer would say, let's get ready to rumble. I'll start this editorial off with a match that I remember as being the beginning of Rick Rude's career in the WCW. It happened on Halloween Havoc, and he appeared as a masked wrestler. As he hit his opponent, whom I cannot remember at this time, with the Rude Awakening, it became the beginning of something that would last for many years. Rude had always had this way of making you hate him. Whether it is his arrogance, or his swagger. He seemed more arrogant than even the Nature Boy, if that's possible. His microphone skills were, and are, unsurpassed in quality. Some people have to go the extra mile to get the attention of the people, and hold it. When Rude was in the ring you knew it, and you listened. Whether he was spouting out about his perfectly sculptured body, or the women in his presence, people listened. Now Rude wasn't a man of few qualities. He could not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk, as Flair would say. His memorable feuds with the likes of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Sting will always be etched in my mind.

One particular match that stands out in my mind is the Iron Man match against Steamboat. This match went back and forth the entire thirty minutes. It was, of course, Rude's arrogance that cost him the match. During this period of wrestling, it was illegal to do any moves off the top turnbuckle. Today's wrestling fans are so used to seeing people like Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio Jr. fly off the top turnbuckle that this rule seems absurd, but that is how things were then. Another rule then was if you throw someone over the top rope, you were disqualified. About halfway through the match, Rude decided to test the referee, and he did a splash off the top rope. That automatically gave Steamboat a pin fall, but the logic did seem pretty clever. Rude, at this point, was already in the lead by about three pin falls. So losing the lead by one would not hurt much, but the move itself would further injure Steamboat, and thus make Steamboat more open to be pinned to regain that three pin fall lead. In the end this arrogance, and his seemingly bright idea, became his undoing as he lost to Steamboat.

In his stay in the WCW, Rude had won numerous titles, and became involved in some of the best rivalries of all time. Though he was never given the World title, he has definitely worked his ass off for the people, and will always be considered among the greatest ever. His reign in the ring did not stop in the WCW. He has also paved a path of destruction in the WWF as well. Most notably he was involved in something that has only happened once in the history of both WCW and WWF. Though it happened due to erroneous timing, it will still be remembered as a first. It happened on a Monday night where Rick Rude became the first person to be seen on both WCW Nitro and WWF Raw, simultaneously. The only other occurrence that came close to this was when Shane McMahon was seen on both Raw and Nitro. Even then, he wasn't physically at both locations as Rude was.

Towards the end of his career, and life, he was seen with another notable wrestler no longer with us, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Henning. He was also seen, just before his passing, with the Degeneration X. He was supposed to make the jump to the WWF, and join the likes of X-Pac, HHH, HBK, and the New Age Outlaws. That move would make him the second person to jump from one major heel group, the nWo, to another, DX. Unfortunately at the time of his jump, he was found soon thereafter in a hotel, dead.

I have been a wrestling fan for many years, and believe me when I say that when a man like Rude dies, it hurts as if it was someone I knew personally. Some people look at wrestlers merely as actors and wrestlers. Some view them as nothing more than Hollywood glitz and glimmer. While that may be so, when you become a wrestling fan and watch these people on television as long as I have, their deaths touch you. These people almost become part of your household as you see them almost as often as you see some of your family. The people who actually knew these departed wrestlers, I mourn for them too. For all the Pillmans, Rudes, Hennings, Harts, and all the others that we have lost, there will always be a spot in my heart for you. So as I close this editorial, allow me to do something that the major wrestling companies have chosen not to do in most cases. Let me have a moment of silence for all the wrestlers, known and unknown, that we have lost.

Thank you.

by "Primetime" Glen