411’s Dark Side of The Ring Report: ‘The Ultimate Fantasy – The Fall of Renegade’

-Dark Side of the Ring: “The Ultimate Fantasy – The Fall of Renegade”
-Written: 8.4.26
-Source: Vice
-Run Time: 1 Hour (w/ commercials)

-I just started my run through 1995 PPVs (will be dropping soon), and the last show I did was Renegade’s debut at Uncensored. This obviously covers that and a lot more.

-Chris Jericho is our narrator

-“The Following Episode Contains Content About Suicide and Suicide Ideation. View Discretion Is Advised.”

-Preview shows that Eric Bischoff is one of the talking heads. I know he has been part of this show, but I was curious if he would be part of this one.

-Show opening!

-We start with WCW in 1994, and Eric Bischoff talks about what they were doing creatively. They were limping along, and he felt he needed to shift the focus to compete with WWF. That leads to Hulk Hogan being brought to WCW. He notes people were critical because they felt Hogan was washed. Eric: “It worked out pretty good.”

-John Pollock, wrestling journalist, covers that friends and enemies of Hogan’s past showed up in WCW. People were just assuming The Ultimate Warrior would make his way over as well. You know, I never thought that watching back then. He talks about Warrior’s rise and beating Hogan at Mania VI. He talks about how, in theory, it made sense for WCW to have Hogan getting the win back from Warrior.

-James Mitchell is next as he worked with Rick Wilson (Renegade) in WCW. Hogan promised an Ultimate Surprise at Uncensored. They had a mystery match hiding in smoke, but he looked like The Ultimate Warrior. Mitchell: “The entire world was expecting The Ultimate Warrior.” Instead, the music hits, and it’s Renegade. Mitchell calls it bait-and-switch advertising, and the crowd knew something wasn’t right.

-Kimberly Morrison, the ex-wife of Rick Wilson, shows us wedding photos. She says Rick wanted to be a wrestler and famous from the day she met him. She isn’t sure if he felt unwanted and needed to be validated. His mom was 15 years old when he was born, and he never had an idea who his biological father was. He was told it was a pro golfer, but was never sure. Coach Wes Harrison was a father figure to him, and we get old audio of him learning that Rick’s stepfather abused him.

-Eric Henderson is a friend and knew Rick as Rio The Dancer. Eric had a dance group in Panama City called Ultimate Fantasy. That’s why WCW was at that Club in Panama City so much. They weren’t strippers and gave the women a classy show. Eric saw Rick on the beach and saw he had a tight body and needed him. “Six foot four and hung to the floor, let’s let it rock for Rio.” He notes Rio loved being a showman and would do a warrior routine with a fur cape.

-Kimberly says he was sexy, but was a different person at home. They were married on June 2, 1992. She says Rick had trust issues. He started writing in a journal while on the road with the dance team. Dancing just provided an income to pay for wrestling, as that is where he wanted to be.

-He trained at Oates Gym in Columbus and with Kowalski in Boston. He made it to Japan and could never get his big break. His character was Rio Lord of the Jungle. He would come out like Warrior, but didn’t have the paint. People would call him a wannabe Warrior. He worked a show where Warrior was there, and Warrior gave his blessing on the mic. Yes, we have footage!

-Jimmy Hart hears word about this kid that looks like The Ultimate Warrior. Eric says Warrior had a lawsuit with WWF and they had no way to know how that was going to end. So they bring in Rick Wilson, and Jimmy had the idea to use him as a Warrior clone to recreate some of the magic. Mitchell always believed you should never steal someone’s gimmick, or you are seen as a knockoff. That is true, but there have been a few that made it work. Demolition would be one of the main examples. The Rockers as well.

-Joe Gomez is next, and it’s good to see him. We see Renegade’s debut at Uncensored, and they note he would have taken any character they offered. Mitchell says being Hogan’s best friend is a great spot, but not everyone has the wisdom to realize they weren’t ready for that spot.

-Commercials!

-Eric H says when you are on screen with Hogan, you have made it. Marty Jannetty is here, and he met Renegade when he first got into wrestling. Marty says if he was in that spot when he started, he would be scared to death. He knew he would be protected, but also knew there would be a lot of jealousy. Mitchell notes wrestlers are like teenage girls as they can be catty and talk about people behind their backs. No kidding!

-Kimberly found alcohol under the kitchen cabinet, and that was weird as they never drank. She found a card that read, “I can’t wait to swing from your ten-inch vine.” She went crazy and destroyed things in their apartment. She met him at a hotel, and they fought. She left her wedding ring, and that was it. She thinks they would have lasted if he never got into the wrestling business.

-Back to his career as Mitchell notes Rick was doing what he was told in trying to be like Warrior. They followed through with the push and put him in a World TV Title program with Arn Anderson. Here’s Arn, and he says Renegade was a “dick dancer in Boston.” He expected to be in the ring with a pro-wrestler and not a “dick dancer.” Well, that’s kind of unfair, as they have put people from all walks of life in the ring. Arn notes he was a blank slate and didn’t know much yet. He says there was no fire or intensity and Renegade was just going through the moves. Arn is watching the match and says it is hard to watch. “I have never been so glad for a match to be over in my life.” Arn walks back through the curtain, and Paul Orndorff told Arn that it sucked. Arn notes he has respected Paul his whole career and calls him a real bad ass. Arn told him he was aware that it sucked.

-Bash at The Beach 95: Renegade defends the TV Title against Paul Orndorff. They cover the spot where Paul hits the piledriver and the people on the beach pop. They then boo Renegade after he gets the win. Pollock says it was a lesson that it is the person that makes the character. Well, WWF didn’t learn that as we got Fake Razor and Fake Diesel.

-WCW started backing off, and they point out he lost Hogan as an ally. Arn says that Hogan is self-centered and left Renegade on his own. We jump to November of 95 where Kevin Sullivan SQUASHES Renegade on Nitro. Jimmy Hart pours water on Renegade’s face, and they wipe off the makeup and yell that he is “just plain old Rick.” Mitchell says they had to know that there was no coming back after that humiliation.

-Commercials!

-It was an admission by WCW that it was a failed character. Arn says there was no heat from the Sullivan angle because the fans already gave up on him. He disappears from television, but returns as The Renegade without the face paint. They tried to hide his limitations by putting him into a tag team with Joe Gomez. Joe says they were both excited as they felt WCW wanted it to work. He admits they were both green. He got along great with Rick. He admits he was taking it for granted, and he didn’t think Rick caught on. They didn’t take it seriously enough to get better and say they had every opportunity and didn’t take advantage.

-Kimberly could see that he was bloated and his hair wasn’t as nice. Eric H says Rick never drank or did drugs, so he was shocked when he came to visit with a big belly and missing hair. Rick came to drink, and they did “purple hooters.” They had so many that Eric says he was talking Russian, didn’t know his name, and shit and pissed in his bed. Rick kept drinking.

-We are up to the summer of 1998 as WCW in a bitter war with The WWF. That leads to them finally bringing in The Ultimate Warrior.

-Commercials!

-Back to Warrior showing up in WCW. Gomez: “Eric paid him a lot of money to come in. Warrior did nothing cheap.” Bischoff says Warrior was a name player and they had the story of Hogan losing the only match he had against Warrior. That story was fresh for WCW.

-We learn that Renegade played Warrior’s body double at Fall Brawl. I never realized that, but it makes all the sense in the world. Hogan vs. Warrior happens, and they have one of the worst matches of all time. Mitchell notes that Rick was a nicer guy than Warrior and wasn’t any worse than Warrior. Pollock says bringing in Warrior cost them more than bringing in Renegade.

-Mitchell tells a story of them drinking together and thinking Rick would be bitter, but he was a genuine guy. He knew he was put in a spot he wasn’t ready for, but couldn’t turn it down. Yeah, that’s about right. Mitchell assumed he was making big money, but says Renegade told him $5-$600. We see video of Goldberg smashing him, and Mitchell places the blame on WCW.

-Bischoff says even if Rick had done the best job possible, the audience would not have bought into the character, so he can’t blame him. Rick gets popped for steroids, and Pollock notes pretty much everyone on the roster would have failed. It was selective testing to get Renegade out of there. Mitchell says it is common in wrestling. Renegade had his contract rescinded.

-Commercials!

-Rick was fired from WCW and spiraled into depression. Kimberly notes 100% of his identity was wrapped up in his WCW character. Pollock says WCW mishandled the character, but that is the industry. There are stars, and there are those who don’t pan out. Eric H asks about WWF, and Rick says his reputation is gone.

-Rick was in financial debt and just internalized instead of talking to people. He leaves wrestling behind and gets into working with horses. He was out in the country and started to find himself. Kimberly notes Rick became his friend again. They talked on the phone as Rick always called her. She thinks she was his best friend. Shortly after, he met Suci. We get a graphic noting they attempted to contact Suci Squires for comment, but they went unreturned.

-Suci was a stripper, and Coach Wes says she was one of the most beautiful women on the face of the Earth. She worked at The Gold in Atlanta and was the life of the party, which Gomez notes is the opposite of Rick. He called Kimberly, and she could tell he was on something and thinks it could have been cocaine. She had never heard him like that. Mitchell isn’t sure, as he doesn’t know what happens behind closed doors.

-Up to 1999, as Rick seems to be back to himself and tells Kimberly that he is no longer with Suci. She invites him to meet her in Charlotte. She gets a phone call from Wes saying that Rick had died. She thought a car accident, and Wes informs her that he took his life.

-Commercials!

-Next week it’s Mr. Wonderful!

-Feb. 23, 1999: Police respond to Rick’s house as he is found dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Kimberly calls it shocking, and Mitchell isn’t sure what happened. Eric H and Kimberly didn’t recognize the man in the casket. Eric told him to “go fuck yourself,” and called him an “asshole,” who took the coward’s way out.

-Suci shows up to the funeral and is wearing a short, spandex dress with high heels that looked like club wear according to Kimberly. She was told that Suci had his drugs and Rick wanted them, so he shot himself. That was all she knew until she read the police report. She pulls out a copy and reads the testimony from Suci. She notes that Rick abused her and went to get a gun. Rick took the gun from her, put it in his mouth, and pulled the trigger. She wouldn’t think Rick would hit a woman, but with all the drugs in his system, she thinks he may have done it.

-Marty says he viewed Ricky as one of them. Joe wishes he had reached out to him to this day. Pollock says far more guys will fail to become wrestling stars and can’t handle it. I am hoping in this day we are seeing less and less of that in the wrestling business. Marty says that you need to let people know how you are feeling.

-Joe says Renegade needs to be remembered as a good man with a good heart. Kimberly remembers him as Rio, the person at the best in a thong. Eric H notes he was a good wrestler, but a better dancer. Kimberly remembers the good times and hopes he is at peace.

-This was a lot, and I can see arguments from both sides. Some will blame WCW, Hogan, and Bischoff for putting him in a spot where he can’t win. Others will note that hundreds of others would have taken that same spot and would have handled it not working out the way they wanted better. It was a crappy situation for him, and he was pushed too soon, but as noted, we get that a lot in wrestling. His upbringing may have led to him not being able to handle it when it went the other direction. The wrestling lifestyle taking over also didn’t help. I thought the episode was paced well and they covered the highs and lows of his career before getting to the darker post WCW stuff. Credit to Eric Bischoff for being part of this show and answering any questions. As always, the family and friends are the heart of this show, and his ex, Kimberly, came off well. I feel for her, as you could sense she loved Rick, and I can see why she may feel that wrestling took him away from her. A good episode this week and another cautionary tale in the business. I keep hoping people will learn, and it seems this newer generation is getting the idea. As Marty also noted, if you are in need of someone to talk to, please reach out.

-Thanks for reading!