Rick Williams

Rick Williams
The tribute to Rick Williams that aired on WCW Monday Nitro after his death; note the erroneous reference to him as "Rick Wilson".
Ring name(s)	Rio, Lord of the Jungle[1][2] (The) Renegade[2]
Billed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Billed weight	255 lb (116 kg)[2]
Born	(1965-10-16)October 16, 1965[1][2] Marietta, Georgia[2]
Died	February 23, 1999(1999-02-23) (aged 33)[2]
Billed from	Parts Unknown
Trained by	Killer Kowalski[2]
Debut	1992[1][2]
Retired	1998[2]

Richard C. "Rick" Williams^[1][3] (October 16, 1965 – February 23, 1999) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name (The) Renegade, where he was a one time World Television Champion.

Professional wrestling career

After a stint as a male stripper,^[2] Williams began training under Killer Kowalski in order to become a professional wrestler. After making his debut in 1992, he began performing under the ring name Rio, Lord of the Jungle and began competing for the Japannese promotion WAR.^[4]

World Championship Wrestling

Debut

In 1995, Williams was signed by World Championship Wrestling. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were involved in the main event feud with the Dungeon of Doom stable. Leading up to Uncensored, in which Hogan was scheduled to face Vader in a strap match in the main event, Hogan began hyping an "Ultimate Surprise"^[5] and showed a silhouette of a man with long hair and tassels tied to his arms, implying that the Ultimate Warrior was the man in question. On March 19 at Uncensored, Williams, under the ring name The Renegade, was billed by Hogan as "the man that's gonna bring Hulkamania into the 21st Century."^[5][6][7]

World Television Champion and debut of the Ultimate Warrior

Soon after his debut, The Renegade acquired Jimmy Hart as his manager and soon defeated several heels while utilizing mannerisms, moves and entrance music very similar to the Ultimate Warrior's. On June 18, 1995, Renegade defeated Arn Anderson for the World Television Championship at The Great American Bash, his first and only championship.^[1] The following month at Bash at the Beach, Renegade defeated "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff to retain his title for the first time.^[1] Under a month later on Clash of the Champions XXI, Renegade again retained his title in a rematch with Orndorff.^[1] However, a few months later, the real Ultimate Warrior had appeared in several wrestling magazines and dispelled the belief that Williams was the Ultimate Warrior. As a result, Renegade's momentum was virtually halted before he subsequently lost the World Television Title to Diamond Dallas Page on September 17 at Fall Brawl.^[8] He then went on to lose to Orndorff on an episode of Main Event preceding Halloween Havoc the next month in less than two minutes.^[1] On the November 6 edition of Monday Nitro, after losing to Kevin Sullivan, Jimmy Hart turned on Renegade before ultimately burying him by splashing water in his face to remove his face paint before saying "You're not a Renegade! You're just plain Rick!"^[9] The end of The Renegade gimmick was possibly due to a cease and desist order by the World Wrestling Federation, due to its similarity to The Ultimate Warrior's gimmick.^[1]

Lower-card status and departure

Williams returned to television on the February 26, 1996 episode of Nitro as The Renegade, where he was squashed by Lex Luger.^[5] Upon returning, Renegade's signature facepaint and singlet attire were replaced with trunks and tribal armbands. After wrestling sporadically at house shows, Renegade returned on the July 1 episode of Nitro, where he teamed up with Joe Gomez and The Rock 'n' Roll Express in a losing effort to The Four Horsemen.^[10] After competing in the World War 3 battle royal, which was won by The Giant,^[1] Renegade formed a short-lived tag team with Joe Gomez in late 1996, though the team was not successful as they were relegated to being jobbers.^[11][12][7] After their team ended in early 1997, Renegade turned heel for the first time in his career during a match with Scotty Riggs on the March 22 episode of Saturday Night, which he lost.^[13] Renegade remained a jobber while competing sporadically on Nitro, Thunder, and Saturday Night.^[6][14][13] After a five-month hiatus, Renegade returned on the August 12 episode of Saturday Night in a losing effort to Super Caló.^[15] Renegade would remain utilized as a jobber throughout the rest of 1997 and 1998 before wrestling the final match of his career on the December 7 episode of Nitro, which he lost to Wrath.^[16] He was released from WCW soon after.

Death

Williams committed suicide on February 23, 1999.^[1] His death was announced eight days later on Nitro, where he was honored with an "In Memory..." graphic at the beginning of the show and given a ten-bell salute.^[17]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Backbreaker^[18][19][20] – 1997–1998
  • DDT^[21] – 1997
  • Front powerslam^[8][9][22] – 1997; used as a regular move from 1995–1996
  • Renegade Splash (Diving splash)^[23][24]

• Signature moves
  • Cartwheel hip attack^[9][8]
  • Clothesline^[8][9]
  • Diving crossbody^[8]
  • Diving double axe handle^[8]
  • Handspring back elbow^[25]
  • Hangman^[19]
  • Headlock^[8]
  • Knee drop^[26]
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Belly to belly^[25]
    • Dragon^[25]
    • Vertical^[26]
  • Plancha^[25]
  • Pumphandle backbreaker submission^[19]
  • Roll-up^[8]
  • Running splash^[25]
  • Scoop powerslam^{[8][9][25][26]}
  • Stinger splash^[26]

• Managers
  • Jimmy Hart^[8][27]

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #245 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1995^[28]

• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW World Television Championship (1 time)^[29]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Worst Wrestler, after death (1999)

References

External links

Professional wrestling portal

• Online World of Wrestling Profile