Remembering Dusty Rhodes: Classic moments from his career

The tape that was burned by NWA

Ernie Ladd and Dusty Rhodes had an epic feud in 1977. It all started when the friendship of Ernie and Dusty came crashing down due to egos. Ernie claimed that Dusty always overshadowed him, but Dusty felt that Ernie double-crossed him. After all those exchanges, it ended up being the hottest angle across the United States.

The territories banked in on the same and the wrestlers started having a series of matches. The most prominent one came on July 15. Dusty and Ernie were having a solid match when two masked men came in. This distraction helped Ernie to get the win and made him the new Florida Champion. The win changed Ladd and he wanted to defend the title when he wanted.

NWA later destroyed the tapes of this match claiming that Ladd should have never won the title. The title was returned to Dusty afterward while Ladd exited the state.

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Maria Menounos does a Dusty Impression

Trying to do a Dusty Rhodes impression is not a cake walk. Maria Menounos managed to pull this off during the 2015 Hall of Fame ceremony. And the best part was that she did it while Dusty was standing right next to you. The way in which Dusty added his expressions made the whole thing more entertaining.

Along with this, Dusty added his own punch lines as well. It was a great example of how legendary Dusty’s promo is. Dusty was entertaining just months before his eventual death, and that everyone is a man who dedicated his life to the business.