Rude Awakening
By Scott Keith on 13 February 2020
Playing off the Rick Rude question the other day, one of my favorite finishers from the Hogan Era was the Rude Awakening. I remember then, he did it like a traditional Hangman Neckbreaker and it looked great and devastating and Rude did it well.
When he went to WCW, the Rude Awakening became more of a Swinging Neckbreaker.
Was there a reason for this? Rude's health? Other guys not wanting to bump the original way? A specific choice to make it more of an "out of nowhere" quicker move?
That is quite a specific question. I never actually noticed a change in the move but I guess I just wasn’t paying attention.