Rick Rude (WWE.com)

The WWE Hall of Fame just got a little more… Ravishing. WWE announced that Rick Rude will become the latest inductee into the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame. Bleacher Report was the first to break the news. Rude was one of the rumored names that were considered for the honor.

I can agree with the rest of the wrestling world in saying this was a long time coming. Rick Rude was one of the most dominant heel wrestlers for the WWE in the 80’s, and had one of the most entertaining gimmicks of his time. As a true showman, ladies wanted him and men wanted to be him. Rude had a great feud with Jake “The Snake” Roberts, while also winning the WWE Intercontinental Title from The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania V.

Always one looking for more to do, Rude joined WCW in the early 90’s. He performed great matches against various wrestlers, including Ric Flair, Vader and Ricky Steamboat. A back injury forced him to retire in 1994, but he still found ways to entertain. He returned to WWE in 1997, where he became one of the founding members of Degeneration-X. That same year, he appeared on Monday Night Raw and WCW Monday Nitro on the same night. It was a shocking moment to witness back then, and it helped lay the foundation of the Monday Night Wars

“The Ravishing One” will be going into the Hall of Fame as a posthumous inductee, as he died in 1999 due to heart failure. He was 40-years old. One of his greatest opponents, Ricky Steamboat, will induct him this year. While Rude never won the WWE Title, Steamboat praised him in the Bleacher Report piece. He stated:

“If you looked at all the boxes you would check to make a main event guy that would go down in history as one of the best, Rude checked all the boxes. He was an all-around package. He looked good, he could play the part, he knew what to do. He could take great bumps, feed the babyface when it was time to feed, and he would never run out of gas.”

A man who was larger than life will finally be honored for his achievements by WWE. This year’s class is already stacked. It will include Kurt Angle, Teddy Long, Beth Phoenix, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and DDP. The class just got better looking, thanks to “Ravishing” Rick Rude. You won’t be able to look away.

The 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Friday, March 31, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.