_portrait.jpg) Portrait of The Renegade | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Wilson (1965-10-16)October 16, 1965[1][2] Marietta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | February 23, 1999(1999-02-23) (aged 33) Marietta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Renegade[1] Rio, Lord of the Jungle[1][2] Rick Wilson |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 255 lb (116 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Parts Unknown Macon, Georgia Columbus, Georgia Los Angeles, California |
| Trained by | Killer Kowalski[1] |
| Debut | May 26, 1990 |
Richard L. Wilson[3][4] (October 16, 1965 – February 23, 1999) was an Americanprofessional wrestler. He was best known for his tenure inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) under thering nameThe Renegade, where he was aone-timeWCW World Television Champion.
Wilson was born inMarietta, Georgia, and lived an abusive childhood; his father was in jail for his involvement in a car accident, and his stepfather frequently beat him.[5] He worked as a male exotic dancer in the New England area.[5]
Wilson went toBoston to train for a wrestling career under the tutelage ofKiller Kowalski, but Kowalski never trained him, so Richard Byrne, one of Kowalski's students, continued his in-ring education.[5] Wilson debuted on May 26, 1990 for a television taping for the North Carolina–basedNorth American Wrestling Association, losing a match toRobert Fuller, which aired on July 14. In 1992, he joined Killer Kowalski'sInternational Wrestling Federation under the ring name "Rio, Lord of the Jungle"; the character included him banging on his chest like a gorilla and wearing a loincloth.[5] During his early career, Wilson wrestled for the JapanesepromotionWAR and the New England independent circuit.[5][6] Wilson worked a try-out match for theWorld Wrestling Federation on an August 18, 1993, taping ofWWF Superstars, facingThe Brooklyn Brawler.[5]
In 1995, Wilson was signed byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).Hulk Hogan andRandy Savage were involved in the main event feud with Ric Flair and Vader.[5] Leading up toUncensored, in which Hogan was scheduled to faceVader in a strap match in the main event, Hogan began hyping an "Ultimate Surprise"[7] and showed a silhouette of a man with long hair and tassels tied to his arms, implying thatthe Ultimate Warrior was the man in question.[5] On March 19 at Uncensored, Wilson, under the ring name The Renegade, was billed by Hogan as "the man that's gonna bring Hulkamania into the 21st Century."[7][8][9]
Soon after his debut, The Renegade acquiredJimmy Hart as hismanager and soon defeated severalheels while utilizing mannerisms, moves andentrance music very similar to the Ultimate Warrior's. On June 18, 1995, Renegade defeatedArn Anderson for theWorld Television Championship atThe Great American Bash, his first and onlychampionship.[2] The following month atBash at the Beach, Renegade defeated"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff to retain his title for the first time.[2] Under a month later onClash of the Champions XXI, Renegade again retained his title in a rematch with Orndorff.[2] He would continue to defend his title in matches (mostly against enhancement talent)[5] until he lost the World Television Title toDiamond Dallas Page on September 17 atFall Brawl.[10]
He then went on to lose to Orndorff on an episode ofMain Event precedingHalloween Havoc the next month in less than two minutes.[2] On the November 6 episode ofNitro, after losing toKevin Sullivan, Jimmy Hart who had just turned on Hulk Hogan alsoturned on Renegade before ultimatelyburying him by splashing water in his face to remove his facepaint before saying, "You're not a Renegade! You're just plain old Rick! A nobody! You're nothing!"[5][11]
Over the next few month's Wilson's career went into a gradual decline. He returned to television on the February 26, 1996 episode ofNitro as The Renegade, in a losing effort toLex Luger.[7] Upon returning, Renegade's signature facepaint and singlet were replaced with trunks and tribal armbands; his physique was also shrinking.[12] After wrestling sporadically throughouthouse shows, Renegade returned on the July 1 episode ofNitro, where he teamed up withJoe Gomez andThe Rock 'n' Roll Express in a losing effort toThe Four Horsemen.[13] After competing in theWorld War 3 battle royal, which was won byThe Giant,[2] Renegade formed a short-livedtag team with Joe Gomez in late 1996. The team was not successful, as they were relegated to beingjobbers.[9][14][15]
After their team ended in early 1997, Renegadeturnedheel during a match withScotty Riggs on the March 22 episode ofSaturday Night, which he lost.[16] Renegade remained a jobber while competing sporadically onNitro,Thunder, andSaturday Night.[5][8][16][17] After a five-month hiatus, Renegade returned on the August 12 episode ofSaturday Night, losing toSuper Caló.[18] Renegade would remain utilized as a jobber throughout the rest of 1997 and 1998 (as well as being used as astunt double for the actual Ultimate Warrior during his 1998 WCW run)[19] before wrestling the final match of his career on the December 7 episode ofNitro, which he lost toWrath.[20] He was released from WCW soon after.[5] He then worked as a bouncer and was training to be afarrier.[5]
Severe depression continued to increase for Wilson after being released from WCW as well as a bad financial situation, and the fact that no other wrestling companies had made any offers to him.[4] Wilson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on February 23, 1999, at the age of 33.[5] Police said that he was arguing with his girlfriend, who lived with him in the home, when he suddenly pulled out a .380 caliber pistol in the kitchen and shot himself with it.[4][5] Wilson's grave site is located at Parkhill Cemetery in Muscogee County, Georgia, United States.[2]
,Internet Wrestling Database