Ricky Rice is an American retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He is best known for his appearance with the Minneapolis-based promotions

Pro Wrestling America Pro Wrestling America is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the 1980s and early 1990s. Founded and promoted by retired wrestler Eddie Sharkey, a longtime veteran of the American Wrestling Association ...

and the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Trained by Eddie Sharkey, Rice spent much of his early career in Sharkey's

promotion defeating

Mad Dog Vachon Joseph Maurice Régis Vachon (September 14, 1929 − November 21, 2013) was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Mad Dog Vachon. He was the older brother of wrestlers Paul and Vivian Vachon, and the uncle of wrestle ...

for the heavyweight title in March 1986 and, with

Derrick Dukes Derrick Dukes (born January 4, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and boxer. He best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association in the late-1980s as one-half of the tag team "The Top Guns" with Ricky Rice. Pr ...

, defeating The Terminators for the tag team title in June 1987 before jumping to the American Wrestling Association in early 1988.

American Wrestling Association

Although having a somewhat successful singles career feuding with

The Nasty Boys The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawl ...

, he would have more success in tag team competition teaming with Dukes,

Mando Guerrero Armando Guerrero Llanes (born June 9, 1950), better known as Mando Guerrero, is a retired Mexican American professional wrestler. He also was the trainer for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, an all-female professional wrestling promotion. He ...

and

Baron von Raschke James Donald Raschke (born July 30, 1940) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Baron von Raschke. Early life Raschke was a three-year letterman with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhuskers wrest ...

. He would also team with Jon Paul as the Top Guns during his feud with

Teijho Khan Thomas Leroy Kasat (March 24, 1956 – April 10, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Teijo Khan/Teijho Khan. As Kahn, Kasat portrayed an Asian savage despite being Caucasian. He worked as part of Paul Jones' ...

and

Soldat Ustinov Jim Lanning (born October 10, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Soldat Ustinov, who competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and the American Wres ...

and later

Badd Company Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. They used the song "Bad Company", by the band of the same name as their theme song. His ...

, defeating the then AWA tag team champions by disqualification in

Columbus, Nevada Columbus was a borax mining boom town in Esmeralda County. Its remnants are located on the edge of the Columbus Salt Marsh. History In 1863, a group of Spanish miners discovered silver in the area. The Columbus mining camp was established two ye ...

on July 9, 1988. After losing to Badd Company in a rematch in

Two Rivers, Wisconsin Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,712 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (though other cities, such as Ithaca, New York, make the same claim). The city's advert ...

on July 29, they became involved in a short-lived feud with Beauty & The Beast although John Paul would eventually leave the team by late 1988. Reuniting with Dukes, they later won a mixed tag team match while teaming with

Wendi Richter Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she ...

against AWA tag team champions Badd Company and AWA Woman's champion

Madusa Miceli Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1964), better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is currently working for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In 2015, she has ...

AWA SuperClash III SuperClash III was the third SuperClash professional wrestling event produced by American Wrestling Association (AWA). The event was held on December 13, 1988 from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. It was the only AWA show to be broadcast on pay-per-vi ...

on December 13, 1988. Making regular appearances on the promotion's syndicated television program on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

during early 1989, the two eventually worked their way back up the tag team ranks although failed to unseat the AWA tag team champions

The Destruction Crew The Beverly Brothers were a professional wrestling tag team comprising Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom in the World Wrestling Federation. They were also known as The Destruction Crew in the American Wrestling Association and the Minnesota Wrecking Crew ...

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

on February 7, 1989. Before leaving the AWA, Rice wrestled as the Unknown Soldier, a masked wrestler in military fatigues. He participated in the very first

Team Challenge Series The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part of ...

match, defeating

Mike Enos Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

(he would later lose to Enos in a NWA Central States championship tournament in March 1989).

Later career

Wrestling for

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

promotion during early 1989, Rice returned to PWA within several months defeating Larry Cameron to regain the heavyweight championship on July 8, 1989. Although trading the belt with

Charlie Norris Charles Norris (born October 21, 1965) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993. He spent the majority of his career in Minnesota-based Pro Wrestling America (PWA), w ...

and

Jerry Lynn Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. He has worked for promotions such as World Championship ...

, he finally lost the heavyweight title for a fourth and final time to his old tag team rival Terminator Riggs on September 22, 1990. After a short stint in

Windy City Pro Wrestling Windy City Pro Wrestling is an American regional professional wrestling promotion originally based in Chicago, Illinois. Established as Windy City Wrestling by retired wrestler Sam DeCero in 1988, the promotion was one of several major regiona ...

in which he defeated Jerry Lynn in

Sullivan, Illinois Sullivan is a city in Moultrie County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,413 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat and largest city of Moultrie County. Sullivan is named after Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, where ...

on October 6, he returned to the AWA for a one-time appearance losing to Steve O on May 3, 1991. Rice enjoyed a brief seven-day reign as the PWA Light Heavyweight champion before losing the title to Jerry Lynn on December 29. Rice remained with the promotion until its close in 1990. In 1990 and 1991, Rice made several appearances for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

as an

enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...

on their weekly syndicated programs, working with such stars as Ted DiBiase, Ricky Steamboat,

The Big Boss Man Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Big Boss Man, as well as for his appearances with ...

, Kerry Von Erich, The Mountie and Bret Hart. Inactive for much of the mid-90s, he returned to professional wrestling competing for St. Paul Championship Wrestling in 1998.

Championships and accomplishments

PWA Heavyweight Championship PWA may refer to: Aviation * Wiley Post Airport (IATA airport code), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. * Pacific Western Airlines Computing * Pirates with Attitudes, a warez release group * Picasa Web Albums * Progressive web app * Project Web Acces ...

(4 times) ** PWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **

PWA Tag Team Championship PWA may refer to: Aviation * Wiley Post Airport (IATA airport code), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. * Pacific Western Airlines Computing * Pirates with Attitudes, a warez release group * Picasa Web Albums * Progressive web app * Project Web Acces ...

(1 time) – with Derrick Dukes *'' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' **PWI ranked him # 150 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1991

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Ricky American male professional wrestlers Living people People from Edina, Minnesota Professional wrestlers from Minnesota Stampede Wrestling alumni 1951 births