Magazine

April 1988-November 1989

It's the name of the game. In the competitive, combative realm of the World Wrestling Federation, strong men play for keeps. Confined within the arena of the squared circle, superb athletes, with power and skill far beyond that of ordinary men, strive for dominance. WWF matches are primal combat. The gladiators wear no pads or gloves. Their weapons are their bodies. Naturally, with the keen competition and hard knocks,animosities develop. Sometimes the antagonism between contending grapplers becomes bitter, even vicious. Now, however, a grudge has developed between two premier wrestlers that threatens to explode into one of the most bitter duels ever fought between the ring ropes.

Everything started because of the incredible arrogance of Ravishing Rick Rude.

With manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan feeding his ego, Rude himself has become so entranced with himself that he believes every woman in the world wants him, above all other men. Fullof himself, he initiated a procedure of picking out women in arena crowds and allowing them to pucker up and kiss him.. Some ladies went for it. But one did not. She just happened to be the wife of Jake "The Snake" Roberts. And Rude's vicious response to her--and his attack upon Jake when he came to her aid--has set off events that could result in the destruction of one or both of the two wrestlers.

Fans saw it all on WWF television. Angered at Mrs. Roberts' refusal to smooch and her revelation of who her husband was, Rude reviled Roberts. Jake's spouse retaliated by smacking Rude smartly across his leering puss. He grabbed her wrist. Jake, coming from the dressing room area, went to intervene and was brutally Pearl Harbored by the prince of arrogance.

Cold as a cobra, Jake promises terrible vengeance against Rude. The Snake's demeanor is chilling when he talks about it. Watching him and hearing what he says is enough to give you goosebumps.

"I've had men try to take me out," says Jake, with venom in each word. "I've met the backstabbers. I settled with them. But, now, it's different. What Rick Rude did to me and my wife demands a different kind of punishment. Of a most terrifying kind. Remember that, Rick Rude. Never forget that the Snake is going to bring the world down on your head. What I will do to you will be unique. So think about it. The time of the serpent is near."

Rude says he is unmoved by Jake's threats. "He got a wife with no taste," says the Ravishing One of Jake. "She had the chance of a lifetime and didn't take it. When she's 60 years old, she'll wake up and never forgive herself."

Behind the scenes, however, Rude is acting in a different manner. He is training like a man possessed, perhaps possessed by fear. He knows that he will have to face Roberts in the ring and that few men have survived when the Snake owes them a payback--and this time the payback will be greater than ever before.

When Rude and Jake do meet in their final confrontation, the match could be not only one of the most bitter ever, but also an extremely interesting one for fans who study wrestling styles. Different in temperament--Jake underplays, Rude overplays--the two men are remarkably alike in ring abilities and styles.

Both are lean and mean. While Jake is the more fluid, they both rely on crisp, quick moves and slashing blows. Their strategy is not to overwhelm opponents by size and strength, but to stick and stick again, until the adversary is confused and exhausted. The they move in for the final assault.

In Jake's case, of course, the ultimate weapon is the DDT. This classic finisher propels the opponent headfirst to the mat, with the Snake's weight adding to the horrendous impact. When executed properly, which is almost always the case, the victim's lights go out immediately.

Rude recently has unveiled a hold that seems almost the mirror image of the DDT, just as he and the Snake are alike but opposites. After rendering his victim groggy, Rude stands back-to-back with the poor unfortunate and hooks him under the hin with the right hand. Head bent back, body arched against Rude's rippling shoulders, the opponent is ridden with pulverizing force, so his head smashes the canvas. Before he goes for the kill, Rude waggles his hips for the apparent excitement of the ladies in the crowd. This movement also seems to wind him up so he performs his "Rude Awakening" with even more power.

Both the DDT an dRude Awakening are the kinds of holds that could leave a victim seriously injured. The impact of both is crushing. Considering the hatred between the two men, the consequences could be frightening.

Jake has every reason to hate Rude. And, insiders say, Rude is seething at Jake. Why, when the Ravishing One was the aggressor? It has to do with Rude's arrogance. Jake's wife, by her refusal and with words that proclaimed love for her husband, told Rude that she preferred another man. For Rude, it was an insult worse than any other. She hit at the very foundation of his massive ego.

So, now Rude figures to erase the insult by erasing the Snake. By humbling Jake, Rude will prove his superiority. It is all a question of proving his manhood.

It is manhood for Jake, too. "Anyone who lets somebody do to him and his woman what Rick Rude did and get away with it," hisses Jake, "is no man. No, he's no man at all. I have no choice. Rick RUe will rue the day when he tried to come between Jake 'the Snake' Roberts and his woman."