Professional wrestling is full of larger-than-life, colorful, and entertaining characters. Some we like to cheer, others we love to hate, but the over-the-top personas of these individuals often bring us back for more. However, it is far from a secret that this crazy world we adore also has more than its fair share of darkness.
Richard "Rick" C. Williams (October 16, 1965 - February 23, 1999) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring name (The) Renegade, where he was a one time WCW World Television Champion.
Richard Wilson as The Renegade
Early Career
The Renegade was born Richard Wilson on October 16, 1965, in Marietta, Georgia. Before entering the business of professional wrestling, Wilson worked as an exotic dancer. After a stint as a male stripper, Williams began training under Killer Kowalski in order to become a professional wrestler.
Wilson debuted on May 26, 1990 for a television taping for the North Carolina-based North American Wrestling Association, losing a match to Robert Fuller, which aired on July 14. In 1993, Rio would find work in Japan for the WAR promotion ran by Genichiro Tenryu, where he would wrestle various known names such as Meng and John.
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While working the “Lord of the Jungle” character, Wilson would wear loincloths and beat his chest. The similarities with Jim Hellwig’s “Warrior” creation did not end there, as Wilson sported a very muscular physique alongside an almost duplicated hairstyle.
WCW Career
In early 1995, the still very inexperienced Wilson signed for World Championship Wrestling. At this point, WCW was heavily promoting the showdown between Hulk Hogan and super-sized villain Vader at the upcoming Uncensored pay-per-view. 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" 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.
Often cited as challenging to work with, the abrasive Warrior was no longer under contract in McMahon’s promotion and effectively a free agent. Instead, Wilson was signed and bought to the Atlanta promotion to assist Savage and Hogan at a much lower pay rate. The similarities in appearance between The Renegade and Ultimate Warrior, at first glance especially, could not be ignored.
The hype around this debut ended up so misleading that WCW decided to be more transparent before the Uncensored show. However, this potential disappointment did not hinder the night’s crowd reaction, as Wilson made his first appearance. With Tony Schiavone instilling as much excitement as he could muster, The Renegade ran to the ring just before starting the Hogan vs. As fast-paced rock music blared, the similarities between Wilson and The Ultimate Warrior were even more apparent.
The Mississippi crowd lapped it up and cheered the high-energy entrance of this eye-catching character. Soon after his debut, The Renegade acquired Jimmy Hart as his manager and soon overran many opponents while utilizing mannerisms, moves and entrance music very similar to the Ultimate Warrior's.
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After his impressive debut and experiencing the star rub of standing shoulder to shoulder with Hulk Hogan, The Renegade worked a few short television matches. While the match was not completely terrible, alarm bells must have been ringing backstage as Wilson’s inexperience in the ring came to the forefront on a few occasions.
The Renegade continued to be undefeated in the coming weeks, again working relatively quick matches. The next big name challenge for the TV Title came in the form of “Mr. The match itself was abysmal, with timing issues between the competitors along with a very odd finish. Granted, Orndorff was no longer in his more youthful prime, but other “Mr.
Another potential problem for WCW and The Renegade himself was that the timid yet mainly positive crowd reactions were waning further. Perhaps even worse, Orndorff’s post-match attack on his victorious opponent was welcomed with some audible cheers.
On June 18, 1995, Renegade defeated Arn Anderson for the WCW World Television Championship at The Great American Bash, his first and only championship. The following month at Bash at the Beach, Renegade defeated "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff to retain his title for the first time. Under a month later on Clash of the Champions XXI, Renegade again retained his title in a rematch with Orndorff.
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.
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The Renegade would defeat “Mr. With “Mr. Having been undefeated since his debut, The Renegade followed his title loss up by losing to Paul Orndorff on WCW Saturday Night in less than two minutes.
Around this time, another nail was added to The Renegade career coffin. Whether The Warriors’ comments contributed to this fan disinterest or it was just the lackluster matches and character direction of The Renegade at this time is open for debate.
The Tragic Story Of WCW's The Renegade With Lamont At Large
Dropping championships to other wrestlers are, of course, part of the business. On the November 6th, 1995 episode of Monday Nitro, another step in the perceived burial of The Renegade took place.
On the November 6 edition of Nitro, after losing to Kevin Sullivan, Jimmy Hart turned on Renegade before ultimately burying him by "re-possessing" the gimmick before saying "You're not a Renegade! You're just plain Rick!". Upon losing a short contest to Kevin Sullivan, Wilson’s former manager Jimmy Hart attacked The Renegade. Pouring a drink in his face and wiping off his face paint, Hart yelled: “You’re nothing! You’re not a Renegade! You’re just plain old Rick!
Jimmy Hart would carry on his tirade by shouting how his former charge should have listened to him and that he could have been as big as Hulk Hogan. No Hogan, no Savage, no main event talent. The Renegade stood alongside only a few short months previously. The Renegade would spend several months off television after this attack.
On February 26, 1996’s Monday Nitro episode, there were a few surprises upon his return. On the July 1, 1996 edition of Nitro, Williams returned to television under his Renegade ring name but without the character's signature facepaint and singlet attire, instead sporting short trunks with tribal armbands, as he teamed up with Joe Gomez and The Rock 'n' Roll Express in a losing effort to The Four Horsemen.
Wilson was also sporting trunks and armbands, as opposed to his previous singlet and tassels. The returning babyface, coming back to the world in which he suffered a vast (if scripted) injustice, made no impression of wanting revenge. The outcome of The Renegade’s return match was also disappointing, considering the position on the card he had been in previously, as Wilson lost via submission to Lex Luger.
Williams again disappeared from television until he returned to compete in the World War 3 battle royal, which was won by The Giant. Following this, The Renegade formed a short-lived tag team with Joe Gomez that spanned from late 1996 to early 1997, though the team was not successful as they lost every match they were placed in.
The Renegade never rose above this level again for the duration of his WCW run. Firmly relegated to “enhancement talent” status, Wilson regularly lost on Nitro, Thunder, and WCW Saturday Night. Renegade was then relegated to being an undercard talent on the WCW "B-shows" Thunder and Saturday Night before he was later put into a minor feud with former tag team partner and enhancement talent Joe Gomez. Following this, he again disappeared from television and only competed in two pay-per-view matches between 1997 and 1998, both of which were the World War 3 battle royals of both years.
When the Ultimate Warrior arrived in WCW in 1998, Williams was used as his stunt double until the Warrior departed from the promotion soon after his debut.
Richard Wilson, as The Renegade, wrestled the final match of his career on December 7, 1998’s episode of Monday Nitro.
Legacy
Wilson, still wanting to work in the wrestling business, struggled as he failed to find work. On February 23rd, 1999, Richard Wilson took his own life.
When looking back on his life, many former colleagues agree that he was pleasant, if a touch quiet. Ray stated that Rick Wilson was “his buddy,” explaining, “[you’re] the guy beating and going over on top guys, then all of a sudden you are just a guy that’s just there. I know that can be disheartening for a young man that got that push so quick. God rest his soul, man.
The Renegade’s opponent in his only title win for WCW, Arn Anderson, spoke of Wilson on his podcast. “Then, everything caved in on him, and he just had to be himself… He wasn’t ready for that spot. He was very green.
The story of The Renegade is one of an enthusiastic individual, maybe handed too much too soon.