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AEW has a strong mix of rising stars and experienced veterans in its locker room. Tony Khan often allows certain All Elite wrestlers to deliver their promos without a lot of scripting, and that can be a gift and a curse. A former World Heavyweight Champion is now weighing in on recent Dynamite controversies, and how they may have impacted Dustin Rhodes.
The Natural will turn 56 on April 11 and is currently enjoying a major career resurgence in AEW and ROH. Currently holding ROH's World Tag Team Championship with Sammy Guevara, and the World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with The Von Erichs, the erstwhile Goldust recently became involved in Jeff Jarrett's war with Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Their viral exchange on Dynamite included age-related insults, and MJF accusing Dustin of spending most of his career in the shadows of his father and brother.
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Vince Russo knows both Jarrett and Rhodes well and believes they are handling the creative aspects of the program much differently. Speaking to co-host Dr. Chris Featherstone on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo, the erstwhile Vic Venom explained how in some eras you never mentioned an older wrestler's age, no matter what. Russo was then asked how he thinks Rhodes handled the controversial comments, and how he felt backstage.
"You know, it's funny, bro, because that's a great question that you asked, because when I look at Elder Statesmen over there... I mean, Chris Jericho's an elder statesman, but the two oldest are probably Dustin and Jeff, they're probably the two oldest, and bro... I think both of those would receive it completely differently. I don't think Dustin would care at all, I think it would p*ss Jeff Jarrett off because Jeff's from the old school that I'm telling you about. You never hit anybody's age when they hit a certain point, but Dustin's not like that, man. Dustin just kind of rolls with the punches, I don't think that bothered him at all," Vince Russo said. [From 5:00 to 5:41]
See who is stunned by Hulk Hogan's words HERE
The only time Rhodes and Friedman have shared the ring before now came on January 15, 2020, during the Bash at The Beach Dynamite. The trios match saw MJF, The Butcher, and The Blade defeat Dustin, QT Marshall, and Diamond Dallas Page in what was DDP's final match.
Updated lineup for AEW Dynamite
AEW Dynamite will air live from the H-E-B Center in Austin, TX on Wednesday. Below is the updated lineup:
- Max Caster issues Best Wrestler Alive Open Challenge
- Dustin Rhodes vs. MJF
- World Tag Team Championship: The Hurt Syndicate (c) vs. The Gunns
- World Trios Championship: PAC, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong
Wednesday's Dynamite will feature the go-home build for Grand Slam: Australia, set for Saturday in Brisbane. AEW will return to the United States on February 19 for Dynamite and Collision tapings at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix.
