Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
In 1995, when promising the “Ultimate Surprise”, Hulk Hogan and WCW teased the debut of the Ultimate Warrior. In the end, it took serveral years until he joined the company but in the meantime they debuted Rick ‘Renegade’ Wilson. Today we look at the rise and fall of Renegade.
“One minute you’re on top
The next you’re not.”― Linkin Park
The career of Rick Wilson aka The Renegade in WCW is an interesting one, to say the least. It’s a story about a wrestler who was handed the keys to the company almost immediately. As quick as the fame, success and fortune came, it left just as fast. It’s a tale that needs to be told to show just how everything you think you have, can be taken from you in a split second.
Rick Wilson was a male exotic dancer in the New England area in the early 1990’s. With his jacked up physique, Wilson decided to try his hand at professional wrestling. He went to one of the top wrestling school’s in the area run by the legendary Killer Kowalski. Kowalski helped train future stars like Triple H, Chyna, Perry Saturn and Damien Sandow.
Wilson began his career under the gimmick of Rio ‘Lord of the Jungle’, a sort of spin on Tarzan. It was complete with him banging on his chest like a gorilla and him wearing a loincloth. Wilson would wrestle on the independent circuit and also Japan for the next three years. In 1995, his fortunes would change for the better.
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was in the midst of seriously attempting to compete with the WWF. They had already signed former WWF stars like Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage to try and lure new fans to their product. Hogan was made the WCW world champion and was feuding with both Ric Flair and Big Van Vader. He was all set to defend his title at WCW’s Uncensored pay per view against Vader in a leather strap match. In the weeks leading up to the show, Hulk began promising an “Ultimate Surprise” that would shift the balance of his title defense and power in WCW.
Naturally, the word “ultimate” got fans interested in what was thought to be another former WWF star acquisition in the Ultimate Warrior. At the time, the Ultimate Warrior had left the WWF and was in semi-retirement. It was believed that WCW was making a huge push to get the real Warrior signed and sealed, but negotiations broke down. There was a true buzz surrounding WCW at this time and if the Ultimate Warrior was indeed Hogan’s ultimate surprise.
The problem was, the buzz was a little too strong and with no Ultimate Warrior signed, WCW desperately needed to deliver on their tease. The night before Uncensored on the WCW Saturday Night show, Hulk Hogan revealed his ultimate surprise. Through the smoke, a figure appeared who looked a little like the Ultimate Warrior, but was a man he called the Renegade. A risky move to reveal who it was the night before the show but a move that probably needed to be made to prevent an all-out riot.
When the Renegade debuted at Uncensored ’95, he did receive a pretty solid ovation from the fans. Most likely because those fans were holding out hope that the Renegade was just a swerve and the Ultimate Warrior would in fact appear. Sadly for them, that was not the case. What made matters worse, the Renegade did all the mannerisms of the Warrior including running to the ring, face paint and growling. It was almost as if WCW was kicking the fans while they were already down.
Despite the obvious disappointment from fans, WCW was committed to making the Renegade gimmick work. Hulk Hogan would praise him as ‘the man who would take Hulkamania into the 21st century.’ The Renegade would be managed by Hogan’s manager Jimmy Hart and put together quick squashes of his opponents. About a month into his WCW tenure, the Renegade would defeat beloved WCW heel Arn Anderson for the WCW television title. He would go on to be the likes of Stunning Steve Austin and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff as well.
While the booking committee was pushing him hard and the announcers were selling him like a mega star, the Renegade was catching a lot of heat backstage. According to Arn Anderson, the Renegade was almost resented by the entire WCW locker room. Guys like Van Hammer hated the Renegade and all that was being handed to him while they were being overlooked. Some of these wrestlers weren’t even being booked, Meanwhile, Renegade was a TV champion, teaming with top guys like Hulk Hogan and Sting.
Realizing that the Renegade was being booed more than cheered, his push was starting to decrease. He would lose the TV title to Diamond Dallas Page and his manager Jimmy Hart dumped him. On the November 6, 1995 Monday Nitro telecast, Jimmy Hart would throw beer on the Renegade and take a towel and wipe off Renegade’s face paint. Hart would go on to say,”You’re not the Renegade, you are nothing…a nobody. You are just plain Rick.” That was the end of the Renegade character as we knew him.
The Renegade would be kept off TV for the next eight months. When he returned to WCW television, he no longer wore face paint or ran to the ring. He was a more subdued character who usually teamed with a wrestler named ‘Desperado’ Joe Gomez. He also was used primarily as a glorified jobber to bigger stars. In one match, Renegade was squashed by Goldberg in a matter of seconds. Ironic, because just a year before, he was the wrestler beating others in seconds.
Renegade would remain with WCW until December 7th 1998…where he lost a match against Wrath. He was released by the company soon after. That is where Rick Wilson’s downward spiral began. He apparently fell into a deep depression after getting fired and with seemingly no interest from anywhere else, Wilson was without a job. On February 23rd, 1999, just over two months after his WCW release, Rick Wilson took a gun and shot himself in the head and committed suicide. He was just 33 years old at the time of his death.
Rick Wilson became a casualty of his own superstardom. Perhaps, he didn’t know how to prepare for a day without pro wrestling. Maybe he simply couldn’t handle the rejection. Whatever the case, Wilson is a lesson in how things in life can quickly turn.
david fullam
Poor man, deserved better.