Rick Rude was one of the most underrated heels in wrestling history, and while his career in the WWE was lacking deserving world title, this day in wrestling history celebrate his final championship win as well as mourn it being his final match.
On May 1, 1994, this match marked a curious series of title runs as Rude had lost it to Sting two week previous, which was three weeks after he defeated Sting for it.
Unfortunately, during the match Rude went for a suicide dive and landed on the corner of a raised platform by the ring.
He managed to finish the match, but Rude’s injured back made this his final match and he was stripped of the title shortly afterwards and retired from in ring competition.
Failed return
Following his injury, Rude cashed in his Lloyd’s of London insurance policy and lived off it for two years before he tried to return to wrestling in some form.
Given the legalities of the situation, he could only participate on commentary or other non-competing rolls. There was a way for him to return to the ring, and he approached Eric Bischoff about it.
Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the transcript.
“There were ups and downs. There were some challenging moments. For the most part, we got along great. We came from kind of the same area, had a lot of mutual friends growing up, even before I got into wrestling and so forth…Rick was a really, really interesting dude. He was very intense.
“He, unfortunately, got tied up with a Lloyd’s of London policy, which prevented him from ever getting back into the ring again. He took a big cash payout because of his disability, a back injury that he sustained. And after he got the money and saw where things were going in WCW, and even in WWF, he really desperately wanted to be back in the ring. And it just wasn’t in the cards for him, from a legal perspective.
“The only way that he could have gone back into the ring is if he would have paid Lloyd’s of London back the amount of money that they paid him based on cashing out his insurance policy. Rick couldn’t do that, he didn’t have the money. He really wanted me to do it for him as part of his compensation package. There was no way
“I could justify that. It just wasn’t possible for me to pull it off. That created a lot of tension…I was really disappointed that our relationship ended the way it did under those circumstances. It’s a sad thing.” – Eric Bischoff 83 Weeks podcast.
While Rude never wrestled again, he continues to gain fans as more are discovering his work and falling in love with one of the greatest heels ever.
He passed away in 1999 without ever finding his way back to the ring, but his legacy is secure.
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