When I came into my office this morning here at wwe.com, I received an e-mail informing me of the passing yesterday of Playboy Buddy Rose, at the way too young age of 56. Now I know that a lot of you probably are unaware of this individual from a standpoint of prominence and performance, but for those of you who do remember, the Playboy was one of a kind.
He flaunted his lifestyle when he entered WWE rings in 1982. If it was wine, women, and song, the Playboy was right there, and he knew how to tug on the emotional strings of our fans back then. And his body composition was the exact opposite of what a playboy should look like; that definitely was a key to his getting over with our fans from a "negatively positive" standpoint.
Yet in the ring, he could move with the best of them. Deceivingly quick and cat like, Rose could go toe to toe with the best of them. His first meeting against Bob Backlund in Madison Square Garden even had my jaw dropping in amazement. This man gave the then WWE Champion a run for his money, in addition to the great Pedro Morales, and others as well. And the night that Buddy faced Bob for the first time in MSG, there were two of the Playboy's fine ladies by his side, accompanying him. They wore top hats, tuxes, and tails, pretty classy. One of those ladies was a very young Sensational Sherri Martel, who of course would go on to manage the Playboy and Doug Summers in the AWA in 1986.
When Buddy returned back to WWE around 1990, he was carrying a little more "excess baggage" around his midsection, and he took that supposed "handicap" and capitalized on that as well. Remember the Blow Away Diet? He was the subject. And in the ring, I would introduce him at his weight of 317 pounds, to which he would come up to me, as cool as a cucumber, take the microphone from me, and say: "Correction. Tonight I weigh in at a slim and trim 217 pounds." Boy, did he ever get booed for that. But that was the secret to his success. He knew what his role was, and he always seemed to press the right buttons to make himself a most unique character that stood out from the rest of the pack.
Playboy Buddy Rose was one of my favorites, and I'm saddened by the fact that he had to leave us so soon. Godspeed my friend, and the "wrestling arena up above" will now be welcoming one heck of a performer!!!
He was often unappreciated for his talent. I think the reason for this was that being in the AWA for many years really hurt his character. The AWA did not give mainstream television exposure to many of its biggest stars the way that both WWE and WCW did.
The Man02:41 PM EST