Forgotten legends of WWE - Dusty Rhodes

RIP Dream

A perfect example of the character of a ‘Working man’ was Dusty Rhodes, perhaps the most happy go lucky wrestler to step foot in the ring.

Wrestling as early as 23 years of age, Rhodes initially started with the AWA , wrestling as one half of ‘The Texas Outlaws’ along with partner Dick Murdoch. Initially starting out as a rebellious ‘heel’, he then became a ‘face’ character, making his way to the top of many wrestling promotional companies, including Florida region, where he played a masked character known as “The Midnight Rider” and won the Heavyweight championship.

Rhodes soon switched companies to the NWA and continued focusing on the tag team division forming teams with Manny Fernandez and Magnum T.A, feuding with the likes of Four Horsemen and the Russian Team. Rhodes was also a World Six-Man Tag Team Champion with the Road Warriors. During his time with the company, Rhodes won the NWA World Title three times, feuding with the top stars in the business including Ric Flair and Harley Race.

Rhodes then took up the role of a booker for the WCW, and also coined many pay-per-view names and gimmicks for them. He teamed up with Sting and defeated the Road Warriors, which turned out to his last match for the WCW following a fall out with the company over an apparent on screen taboo.

In late 1989 Rhodes came to the WWF as the yellow polka-dotted “Common Man” Dusty Rhodes. It was here, that he came to be known as the ‘American Dream’. He was managed by Sapphire, who was intended to represent the “common woman”. Rhodes was involved in a heated feud with “Macho King” Randy Savage and his manager/partner Sensational Queen Sherri, who in turn found a rival in Sapphire. After a particularly intense confrontation between the two couples, Savage’s ex-manager Miss Elizabeth allied herself with Rhodes and Sapphire and was instrumental in helping them win the WWF’s first mixed tag-team match during WrestleMania VI.

Eventually Rhodes dropped the Polka dots and feuded with Dibiase and Virgil, which also resulted in the national debut of his son Dustin (Goldust) at the 1991 Royal Rumble. Both departed the WWF shortly after, marking the end of Dusty Rhodes’ career as a full-time in-ring competitor.

Rhodes served as Ron Simmons’s (Farooq) manager in the early 1990′s and as a broadcaster before returning to compete in the ring once again to team up with his son Dustin along with The Nasty Boys versus Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck, Terry Funk, and Col. Rob Parker.

He also was involved in the NWO storyline serving as the manager of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash after turning his back on the WCW. He soon departed the company, and returned once again to the WWE in 2005 after stints with ECW and TNA. He worked with the WWE in their creative team for sometime under a ‘Legends’ contract and was honoured and inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by an emotional Dustin and Cody Rhodes.

He then wrestled in bits and pieces for the WWE, feuding with the likes of Randy Orton at the Great American Bash in a ‘Texas Bullrope’ match. Orton disrespected Rhodes and his son Cody , which culminated in a match between the two. Orton won the match after hitting Rhodes with the cowbell.

He made occasional appearances in ringside and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and was an integral part of the WWE backstage team. He was also involved in a feud between his sons Goldust and Dusty Rhodes before appearing on WWE’s NXT show and was one time its commissioner.

Whether it was playing the ‘The Midnight Rider’ or the ‘Common man’ gimmick, Rhodes always brought his ‘A’ game to the party. He was loved by the fans for what he did both in the ring and outside it. From uncanny moves to cool promo’s to his outrageous outfits, Rhodes made a name for himself in this business like no other, and we are proud to remember this legend we dearly call ‘ ‘The American Dream’.

Read more about the Forgotten Legends of WWE.