{"id":116679,"date":"2022-11-17T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=116679"},"modified":"2022-11-17T09:06:23","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T14:06:23","slug":"rick-rude-raw-nitro-same-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2022\/11\/17\/rick-rude-raw-nitro-same-night\/","title":{"rendered":"25 Years Later: Rick Rude Appears on WWF Raw and WCW Nitro on the Same Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

Often considered to be one of the best wrestlers to never capture the WWE world title, the late Rick Rude<\/strong> boasts a legendary career all his own. His accomplishments include, but aren’t limited to, the WWF Intercontinental Championship, NWA American Heavyweight Championship, and 3 WCW International World Heavyweight Championship reigns. This bouncer turned professional wrestler is remembered for his undeniable charisma, his \u201cRavishing\u201d persona making him one of the most effective villains of his time. Historically, Rick Rude is also known for a significant moment in wrestling, when he appeared on WWF Raw is War <\/em><\/strong>and WCW Monday Nitro<\/em><\/strong> on the same night: November 17, 1997.<\/p>\n

Rick Rude Appears on Raw and Nitro \u2013 The Same Night<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Ravishing One Retires from the Ring<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Before getting into the historic moment in question, it’s important to set the stage. Having parted ways with the World Wrestling Federation<\/strong> in 1990 due to internal disputes, Rick Rude wrestled independently for a short period before making his way to World Championship Wrestling<\/strong> the year after. It was here where he captured the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in addition to the aforementioned WCW International World Heavyweight Championship. Rude’s third world title victory took place at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka Dome<\/em><\/strong> event in 1994, where he bested Sting<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

During the course of the match, however, Rude sustained a career-ending back injury. Sting executed a suicide dive to Rude at ringside, resulting in the latter hitting the corner of a raised platform outside of the ring. Unable to wrestle, Rude was stripped of the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship and retired from in-ring competiton from there. Rude wouldn’t appear in wrestling again until January 1997, briefly working for Extreme Championship Wrestling<\/strong> as a color commentator and an in-ring personality. Later that summer, however, Rude found his way back to the WWF; this time there would prove brief yet eventful.<\/p>\n

A Landmark Event in Professional Wrestling<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In August of 1997, Rick Rude returned to WWF, aligning himself with D-Generation X<\/strong> members Chyna<\/strong>, Triple H<\/strong>, and Shawn Michaels<\/strong>. Suit and tie and all, Rude served as the faction’s \u201cinsurance policy,\u201d supporting the group from a financial standpoint and at ringside during matches. When DX is discussed in a historical context, not often does Rude’s name come up, mainly because his involvement with the group was short-lived. Later that November, at Survivor Series<\/em><\/strong>, Bret Hart<\/strong> lost the WWF Championship in what has since been coined \u201cThe Montreal Screwjob.\u201d This signaled the end of Hart’s time in WWF, for a time, but it also bred mistrust internally.<\/p>\n

One of the individuals who lost trust in the company was Rude, who was upset with how the Survivor Series<\/em> main event was handled. In fact, he was one of the few individuals who departed the company post-Montreal Screwjob and never returned. This posed an interesting scenario, however, especially after Rude reached an agreement with Eric Bischoff<\/strong> to return to WCW. Keep in mind that while WWF Raw is War<\/em> was still a taped show at the time, WCW Monday Nitro<\/em> aired on live TV. This led to the moment when Rick Rude appeared on WWF Raw<\/em> and WCW Nitro<\/em>, on the same night, on November 17, 1997.<\/p>\n