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The Professional 3 4.14.13: Top 3 Dude Love Moments
Welcome everyone to another edition of the Professional 3 here on 411wrestling.com! I’m Jon Harder and although last week’s P3 was posted a few days late, it’s great to see the support all around for the column. The Scotty Goldman stuff was hard to find and do research on within the span of a few days, but it most definitely was worth it. Again, the most unique aspect of this column is that I could write about…ANYTHING. That’s the excitement of the P3. And this week will be no different.
Before we go any further, check out this week’s Hardway Podcast on TheJonHarder.com with the LIVE from WrestleCon edition. Guests include Bill Carr and Smith “Big Game” James, Tom Filsinger from Filsinger Games, the WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, and Fredo Majors from RIOT Pro Wrestling. Honestly, WrestleCon was such an incredible experience and I would whole-heartedly tell everyone to go to a wrestling convention, especially of this magnitude. So many wrestlers, so much good wrestling, and most of all, just a grand time. With the entire wrestling business literally holding down base in the New York/New Jersey area, it was such an amazing weekend for everyone.
The one spot I truly wish I was able to check out was the WWE Hall of Fame in Madison Square Garden. Everyone who I know went told me it was a great environment to be in and respect the wrestlers and personalities that came before our time. So many great speeches and stories were told, but none were as brighter, according to my friends and confidants, and as funny as the opening act of the Hall of Fame: Mick Foley.
I have always been a huge fan of Mick Foley ever since the early days of his career in WCW. His style was reminiscent of a demolition derby, yet masterful and genius at the same time. Although others were built as “superstars”, Foley truly looked like a normal guy living his dream. His promos were second-to-none. His look was a throwback to the brawlers of yesteryear with long hair and a scraggly beard. Most of all, Mick Foley was a master of psychology within wrestling. Foley could seamlessly switch from character to character and make them incredibly distinctive from one another. Some might be partial to Cactus Jack; others might latch onto the Attitude Era’s variation of Mankind, but this writer has always preferred the magic of “the Hippest Cat in the Land”. That’s right. I’m a Dude Love guy.
For some reason, as a 12 year in 1997, there was something cool about Dude Love. He might have had the worst dance moves of all time. He might have looked like a younger version of Jerry Garcia. Hell, he might have been a tad “nerdy”. Regardless, I just connected with Dude Love. As a child, it was Mick Foley’s biggest dream to make it in wrestling as Dude Love. Dude was suave, hip, a cool cat, and most importantly, a ladies’ man. Everything Mick Foley wanted to be was what Dude Love was. The Dude was Mick’s alter-ego and as a kid, I believe we all had an alternate person inside of us that we all wished we could be. Maybe it’s just me, but the Dude was a dream come to life, and that was something I one day wished to have.
Dude Love had a positive influence on my tastes in wrestling growing up, and although Dude only existed as a WWF superstar for little under a year, I feel it is love overdue to showcase the most underrated “Face of Foley”. I PROUDLY PRESENT…
THE PROFESSIONAL 3: DUDE LOVE
1) DUDE’S DEBUT: Winning the WWF Tag Team Titles Suddenly, as Austin, alone, faced Owen Hart and the British Bulldog, the tournament winners, in a main event on Monday Night Raw, a beat hit the PA. A tie-dyed man hit the Titantron and more or less, stated he would team up with Stone Cold and finish the match. DUDE LOVE HAD DEBUTED ON RAW! A dream came true as well, as Dude pinned the Bulldog to win the match and the championships!
Prior to the Dude making his debut, Jim Ross and Mankind had a very in-depth interview series on Monday Night Raw in the summer of 1997. Within the interview, it was uncovered that Mick Foley had dreamed up a character when he was in college that would be the complete opposite of who Mick Foley truly was: Dude Love. Meanwhile, as the interview series transgressed on Raw, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was in the midst of looking for a tag team partner to face the winners of the WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament. After weeks of annoying Stone Cold as Mankind to be his partner, Austin had enough and beat the Holy Hell out of the deranged superstar.
2) THE LOVE SHACK
In April of 1998, Dude Love had inexplicably turned his back on his former tag team partner “Stone Cold” and had become the hand-picked corporate wrestler that Vince McMahon wanted to be champion. The Day after Unforgiven 1998, when Dude won via disqualification, “the hippest cat in the land” debuted his new talk show segment, “The Love Shack”. Although it was a short term segment on WWF TV, it showed an evolved variation of Dude Love. No longer a “safe-sex symbol”, Dude had two very provocative dancers in nothing more than a g-string. Blow-up chairs, a cheesy background, and a lava lamp were all that was needed to make the Love Shack work. It even had its own THEME SONG! Again, it was short-term, for this fan right here, it was pretty cool. I never could be too sure, but Mike Awesome’s “Lava Lamp Lounge” in WCW could have been a direct rip-off of the Love Shack. Bottom line, just another way for the Dude to establish his hippie persona.
3) DUDE’S BIGGEST MATCH EVER: The WWE Championship vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
Over the Edge 1998 was a huge night in the Harder household. It was the night that my brother and I were banking on a miracle. Yes, we were probably the only two kids in America that hoped Dude Love would become the WWF champion that night. In a match that seemingly looked stacked in Dude’s favor, with Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco at ringside, and Vince McMahon as special guest referee, Stone Cold was a sitting duck. However, as the Undertaker enforced a clean, one-on-one battle, Dude was the victim, taking multiple Stone Cold Stunners en route to a loss for the championship in a Falls-Count-Anywhere match. Both my brother and I went to bed more than a little ticked off, and the Dude left without the championship.
The next night, Dude Love was fired by Mr. McMahon to kick off Raw, and the Dude never wrestled in another match ever again. For almost ten months, I truly felt that Dude Love was something more than just a wrestler. He was an inspiration and proved that dreams can come true. I never thought Dude would appear on WWE television again. UNTIL…
BONUS: DUDE LOVE’S RETURN AT RAW 1000
…the monumental 1000th Raw. Right before Brodus Clay went one-on-one with Jack Swagger; “the Funkasaurus” grabbed the microphone and proceeded to call out his “brother from another mother”. All of a sudden, the faux disco beat hit the PA and out walks “the hippest cat in the land”! Dude Love was back! And after Swagger got dominated within 30 seconds, Clay, Cameron, Naomi, and the Dude had a dance-off inside the ring. Dude proceeded to hit us with the “23-Skidoo” crossover knee dance and the fans loved it.
I was 27 years old, grinning like a little kid. Dude Love was back for one night only.
Dude Love might not have been around for a long period of time, but he made an incredible impact on me within wrestling and life. Mick Foley showed that your dreams can come true. Dude Love was supposed to be his fantasy; however, a simple creation as a college student became a cult phenomenon within the World Wrestling Federation. I’m happy to have been inspired by the Dude in a multitude of ways. Now, I know you want to hear it…
OWW! Have Mercy!
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