The Incredible Career of Dustin Rhodes
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In this Blog, I want to show you more than just the career of the greatest Superstar of all time.
I want to show you why I believe he is exactly that. Behind the golden facade is a golden persona that wants to be celebrated.
To understand the myth we have to back in time:
We are writing the year November 7th, 1968. WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA North American Tag Team Titles (Central-States-Version) with Dick Murdoch. This was the start of one of the greatest careers in the business. For years to come, everybody knew: When Dusty Rhodes raises his arm, the crowd will go nuts. Around this time his partner was pregnant. Dusty Rhodes wasn't home often, but on April 11th, 1969 he was because this was the day when a legend was born.
People to this day are saying they saw a star above Dusty Rhodes' house this day. We don't know if this is true, but we know that is the birthday of one Dustin Patrick Runnels.
His childhood wasn't always to shiny as that star, though. Soon his father and his mother separated. His mother's new relationships often turned out to be beaters. Little Dustin wished he could protect his mother. The wish to follow in his father's footsteps grew inside of him. For Dustin, his father was 'lager-than-life'.
But after the divorce, Dustin had to struggle through life for many years without seeing his father. He had to witness things, no small child should ever see. For example, he had to watch his mother get a broken ring finger and he couldn't anything about it.
In search of a way out they turned on the TV and found WCCW - the Van-Erich-Promotion from Texas. Dustin's dream of becoming a wrestler grew and grew by the day. He wanted to see his dad live in a wrestling ring and followed him to Austin, Texas.
After he saw his father wrestler, he walked straight to the ring. Not knowing this wasn't allowed. Security was trying to get little Dustin off the ring, Dusty Rhodes stepped into the scene and instructed his son to 'never ever go inside this ring again'. Nobody could suspect back then, that Dustin would not listen to his father back then.
Ten years went by - in school all he was was 'Dusty Rhodes' kid'. But now it was time for him to get his first experiences inside the ropes. This came around 1988 when Dustin, after frequently asking his father for some action, got his shot. His father instructed him to buy a referee shirt. His first match as the referee went absolutely fine. But on the second try that night his pants ripped off and people were able to see his 'Golden Globes' as he was lifting the winner's arm. This little nude show would get him 20 bucks.
A few years later it was time for his first real match. Kendall Windham, James Wehbau, and his father have prepared him for this moment. Dusty, who was now wrestling for WCW, was really proud of his son.
Dustin Rhodes lost his first match in a WCW ring, but for him, this was a win, because he had arrived.
Between 1990 and 1991 he and his father come to WWE to feud with Virgil and The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. They lost the feud and went back to WCW. Back there the bookers quickly decided that 'the son of Dusty Rhodes' alone was not getting him anywhere. And that led to the creation of 'The Natural' Dustin Rhodes. People really liked the new character and this is why
Dustin was booked with huge names at the time. He had great matches with Vader and 'Stunning' Steve Austin for example.
But he also had Tag Team Matches with his father. For example against Jeff Jarrett and Ric Flair.
He then won the NWA Flordia Tag Team Titles, FCW Heavyweight Title, WCW World 6 Men Tag Team Titles, WCW World Tag Team Titles, and the WCW United States Title multiple times.
He was able to hold NWA & FCW gold because Dusty Rhodes helped Dustin Rhodes to get booked for FCW and WCW. Shortly before Dustin had his final match for WCW he met his future wife Terri for the first time.
Shortly after that Terri got pregnant and the two got married. Dustin had the time of his life (for now). His daughter was named Dakota. He describes her as his angel.
Around that time Dustin Rhodes got a call that would change everything. It was Vince McMahon that called and he invited the former 'Natural' to the WWF. Right before that Dustin was fired from WCW to cut costs. It was right there and then when Dustin said to himself: 'One day I will ensure the future of wrestling and I will help rookies to get further in their careers'. But it wasn't time yet to hang up the boots for Dustin. Vince McMahon and Dustin Rhodes were not alone during their meeting in Stamford. A certain Vince Russo was also there. A man that would play a huge role in the career of Rhodes for years to come.
McMahon told Dustin that they have got this idea of a new character and they wanted Dustin to play it. In fact, they thought he was the only man to be able to play this role. McMahon said they would scratch the idea if Dustin would have said no. Dustin wanted to hear more about the character and so Vince & Vince unveiled that they wanted to call him 'The Bizarre One'. The character should wear a gold outfit to the ring with face paint. He was supposed to hail from Hollywood while wearing a wig. Dusty Rhodes will not be mentioned around the character and would also have a special voice. But most important was the idea to get rid of the anti-gay movement in the WWF audience and the locker room. He was aware that all of this won't be an easy task, but he agreed to do it. All three involved began further developing the gimmick. Shortly after that, they used Rhodes' first name to create the name we all know now: GOLDUST.
The only thing missing now was the voice now and a fitting catchphrase. This took a while. But right before Goldust was set to debut they came up with 'You will never....forget the name of....Goldusssst!'. Now the classic Goldust-Vignettes were aired on WWF-TV. During that time Goldust also added breathing and some other character traits. During one vignette he said: 'The Undertaker lives in the darkness, but gold sheets no darkness!'. Bone-chilling!
Savio Vega was the first victim of the Bizarre One. The Hollywood Star would shine on the floor as Goldust made his way down the aisle. Curtain Call for Goldust!
As Goldust made his way down the audience was confused. Nobody was sure what to make out of this. Only Vince McMahon coined the phrase 'bizarre' in a search of a description. Savio Vega and Goldust did all the could to make the Goldust-Character explode onto the scene. But because Goldust was a heel character and Dustin never played a heel before it was hard for him to work the crowd that way.
Jim Johnston's 'Golden', which was Goldust's first theme song, played for a second time that night when Goldust and Savio Vega had done it. The crowd was on fire and Vince McMahon very pleased with the result. Everyone was 'on fire' now and everyone wanted to push Goldust to the moon. But Vince feared an early and fast push to the top. Vince began perfecting the Goldust Move-Set while Goldust himself began feeling more and more pain during his wrestling matches. He was struggling with the more and more match-time he was receiving. And so Goldust began taking painkillers to work through the pain. He thought he easily drop them as soon as the pain goes away. Vince McMahon thought he could boost the mood of his new star if his family is involved and so Dustin's real-life wife Terri Runnels was introduced as Goldust's valet 'Marlena', always smoking a cigar, watching her husband matches from a director's chair.
That same night of Marlena's debut Goldust won his first Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon with the help of the 1-2-3-Kid. Goldust stalked Ramon with letters and the feud was extended. Ramon complained about the Goldust Character numerous times. He did not like the character and felt molested. But 'The Bad Guy' was alone with the mindset. Even Bret Hart was behind Goldust. Shortly before WrestleMania XII Roman got himself suspended. Therefore Goldust needed a new opponent and that was when 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper was chosen to push Goldust even further. The Hollywood Backlot Brawl was born. A historic match that, so many believe, sparked the Attitude Era. Goldust even went out shopping before the match to buy himself women's lingerie for the final minutes of the match, where his suit got ripped off by the hands of Roddy Piper.
After that highlight, Goldust found himself again inside the ropes with Savio Vega. The two brawled for the Intercontinental Championship which resulted in a No Contest and the title was declared vacant. The two faced off again for the title and Goldust came out as the victor, which led to Goldust's second title reign. Vince McMahon now was so hyped for Goldust he put him in a feud with the Ultimate Warrior. Goldust also beat him.
What followed was a program with the newly introduced Ahmed Johnson. Johnson was mad at Goldust because he gave him mouth-to-mouth after Johnson collapsed after a match. This resulted in a title match which Johnson won. During the same time, Goldust was also feuding with Mankind and later with The Undertaker. Goldust cost Undertaker's Intercontinental Title match which caused the Main Event Push of the Golden One. Marlena and Goldust came up with a plan to take down WWF's Phenom. They targeted his manager, Paul Bearer. Bearer escaped which left Undertaker all on his own. The two tall men brawled around the ring when Bearer reappeared. Now with a Golden Casket. A Casket Match between the two was announced. Brightness vs. Darkness.
Goldust made history during this match. He was the first to ever tombstone The Undertaker and the first to beat Undertaker in a casket match (although it was with a little bit of help by Mankind).
Undertaker began feuding with Mankind instead and Goldust went on feuding with Jeff Lawler and Marc Mero. Goldust began hitting on Mero's valet Sable, not to the delight of Lawler. Lawler felt offended by the un-orthodox behavior of Goldust and got him a match with Hunter Hearst Helmsley to punish him. During that match, Goldust turned babyface. He had some WWF Title matches against Shawn Michaels after that, but the feud was translated to television because people began contacting WWF that were not keen on the behavior of Goldust and the way he was touching other men for example. WWF soon gave in and decided not to give Goldust a World Title program.
Vince McMahon decided to end the Goldust project. His final feud was with Brian Pillman, who passed away during it, which makes Goldust Pillman's final opponent ever. In November 1997 Marlena and Goldust were split in an uncomfortable interview with Jim Ross, only weeks before their daughter Dakota made an appearance in the WWF ring. Goldust turned heel again and became a different person. This storyline reflected his real-life pretty good because he was struggeling hard with his demons and began arguing with his wife. Dusty Rhodes also felt disappointed and distanced himself from his son. Dustin said he wanted to fight his father, but Vince McMahon and Dusty Rhodes would not let it happen.
On TV Dustin Rhodes burned his Goldust Suit and announced his new valet would be Luna Vachon. The new duo pushed the boundaries of' good television' when Dustin Rhodes declared himself 'The Artist formerly known as Goldust'.
The question every week: What would Goldust wear next? The character was completely off the hook and can't be described. He showed up dressed as a baby, a slave, and many other weird things. He acted like an animal in the ring and made awful noises. During this time a lot of Cable Providers won't air the segments of the USA Network and many parents complained about the angle.
The gimmick was gone as quickly as it came around. Dustin Rhodes then took on his normal name and began reading from the bible, which wasn't working either.
The change came when Val Venis beat Dustin Rhodes. Rhodes would do anything to beat Venis. And so Goldust returned to finally take down the Ladies' Man. Val Venis had no chance. The new and improved Goldust took down every challenger put in front of him.
Goldust was turned into a tweener when The Blue Meanie from ECW ruined his match with Al Snow. The ECW Original came to take Goldust's bizarre spot in the WWF. But after their Goldust vs. Bluedust match, it turned out that Meanie only wanted to be close to Goldust. He became Goldust's assistant. Because of the help of The Blue Meanie Goldust was able to win the Intercontinental Title for the third time. But also because of the Blue Meanie, he lost the title two weeks later to The Godfather. Ryan Shamrock, sister of Ken Shamrock, was added to the odd stable. But after Shamrock cost Goldust his title rematch he left her. Right after that Goldust's contract expired and he left the WWF. In addition to that Terri Runnels and Goldust divorced and Goldust fell into a deep hole full of demons. But he got no chance to fight them because his phone again. This time it was Eric Bischoff who wanted Rhodes on board for his new and improved WCW. Vince Russo, who also went to WCW, got in touch with Dustin and the two developed a new gimmick for him called 'Se7en'. A dark character that haunted children. WCW paid a lot of money for the character development and vignettes. But on his debut evening in 1999 was forced the cut a promo hate-promo on the WWF and Goldust. The Se7en-Character never was seen again. A fact that Dustin hated.
Russo tried to kill Dustin's career with that move.
WCW used him as a jobber after that. After WCW was sold to the WWF, Dustin began wrestling for Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, a promotion his father put together. He won their Heavyweight Title.
WWF then offered him to come back in 2001, which he did. He began a program with the new Tough Enough star Maven and feuded with him over the Hardcore Title at WrestleMania. Goldust was able to win the Hardcore Title seven times.
After a feud with Rob Van Dam died down quickly, the promotion began searching for a new story for Goldust. They decided to team him with Booker T. After the two had a Tag Team Match it was decided the two would have another one. And then another one. Everyone quickly realized the two surprisingly had amazing chemistry. Goldust turned babyface and BookDust was born. In his book, Goldust called this the best time of his career and Booker T agreed with that.
The two got a comedy segment in which they laughed about The Rock's first attempt at a Hollywood movie. Booker T then decided to be a part of the NWO. Goldust hated the idea. Every Goldust would dress up as a different character from TV or Cinema to get Booker T out of the NWO. From Steve Irwin to Darth Vader he tried it all. Even Stone Cold Steve Austin and Goldberg were involved in these segments. Goldust finally made it and Booker T left the NWO and the duo went on to win the World Tag Team Titles from Chris Jericho & Christian. Goldust thought he wasn't worthy to win a championship but Booker T proved him wrong. Unfortunately they lost the title quickly. The reason for that was the plan to push Booker T as a singles star. Goldust did not understand how you can split a team that was working so well. But there was no turn between the two. Both shook hands and walked different paths after they lost their final match. Goldust was attacked by Batista and Randy Orton after that and got electrocuted which led to him stuttering. In 2003 Goldust left the WWE again.
For several years Goldust worked independently, winning the CCW Heavyweight Title and the CWA Television Title.
He was having bad troubles with his demons. It was getting worse and worse by the day.
He had a short appearance for TNA at the time as 'Lonestar' Dustin Rhodes.
In 2005 Goldust returned to the WWE as a heel alongside Vader to attack Batista. But that return did not last for long because Goldust no-showed a match and he got let go.
Dustin Rhodes got lost in his drug abuse after that. He did not know what daytime it is. The only thing he knew during that time was Dakota was his daughter. And it was for her, as Dustin made a decision that could be called his darkest moment, but it turned out not to be:
It was April 2005. Dustin was able to see his daughter again as he was on tour. He invited her into his hotel room. With them was Dustin's girlfriend at the time. Both fought their demons. As Dustin wasn't in the room it came to an argument between his girlfriend and Dakota and Dakota got slapped.
As Dustin realized what is happening he did to his girlfriend what his girlfriend did to Dakota. In front of his daughter's eyes, he went to jail. He was released soon, but he was not able to see his daughter again until he fixed his life. Dusty Rhodes and Terri broke up the contact with Dustin.
Dustin tried to work in Japan, but that wasn't a success. Dustin tried to get in contact with his father, but he feared his father was hating him for his actions.
Dusty Rhodes, who was training his other son, Cody Rhodes at the time, got Dustin a job at TNA. A promotion where Vince Russo also got hired before him. Dustin and Vince got together again and created another gimmick. This time the persona was called 'Black Reign' and billed to be everything bad about Goldust/Dustin Rhodes. It was believed Russo tried to ruin Goldust's career again.
Black Reigns wore silver and black attire and carried a rat with him. The Wrestling Observer gave this gimmick 'The Worst Gimmick' Award of the year. Rhodes was released soon.
He was still fighting the drugs. So his sister told him that WWE is providing a service that helps you get rid of the drugs in your life. Dustin took all of his courage and dialed the number he got from her.
In 2007 Dusty Rhodes was promoted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The speech was conducted by his two sons, Dustin and Cody Rhodes. Cody took the microphone and said:
During the same time Booker T and Cody Rhodes began a feud on SmackDown. Goldust just had to appear here and he did. As 'Dustin Rhodes' he stood up for Booker, but Cody attacked his brother right after that. After a backstage segment the following week the WWE did not follow up on this. Cody did not wrestle Goldust at WrestleMania. He was challenged by Big Show for the Intercontinental Title instead.
Stardust looked almost like Goldust but acted even stranger. The 'Cosmic Duo' turned heel in search of the 'Cosmic Key' which turned out to be the Tag Team Titles. Gold- and Stardust won the WWE Tag Team Titles again from The Usos at Night of Champions 2014. They lost the titles quickly after the gimmick wasn't taking off.
The team was used as enhancement talent for months after Stardust finally snapped on Goldust and turned on him in February 2015. Of course, Dusty Rhodes was involved in the feud between his sons. Stardust claimed he had no father. Rumors of finally getting the Cody Rhodes vs. Goldust match at WrestleMania came back during that time.
Stardust vs. Goldust was set to be their first encounter at WWE Fastlane. Dusty Rhodes instructed Goldust to be gentle on Stardust and so the match was worked that way. This was not well received by the audience. Goldust won the match, but after that Stardust attacked Goldust again. The Mania Match was thought to be saved, but nothing happened after that. Vince McMahon deemed the match 'not WrestleMania worthy', it was said. Goldust went into shoulder surgery after being part of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania.
In 2016 he stalked R-truth for many months to get them to be a Tag Team called 'The Golden Truth'. This led to some funny comedy segments. The team eventually formed to take down the new duo of Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze) and won. The team mainly was used for comedy segments and as an enhancement team for other Tag Teams.
In May 2017 Goldust turned heel on R-truth after various lost opportunities due to Truth's unintelligent actions. Goldust announced 'The Golden Age is back' and cut promos like he did when he became Goldust for the first time. He brought back his robe and also hired a cameraman always looking for his next 'blockbuster'. Goldust won the feud between him and Truth eventually.
Later that year Goldust was used by Bray Wyatt in his feud with Finn Balor, where he beat Goldust in a match and began rubbing off the Golden One's face paint. Goldust turned into Dustin Rhodes and challenged Wyatt again, only losing for a second time. As Balor tried to save Goldust he replied, that he doesn't need any help and attacked Finn Balor in the process. Balor also defeated Goldust.
In November 2017 held a special 'Starrcade' event (untelevised) in which Goldust brought back 'The Natural' Dustin Rhodes to beat Dash Wilder.
At the beginning of 2018, Goldust was involved in the Cruiserweight Division despite weighing over the 205-pound limit. He helped Cedric Alexander in his Cruiserweight Title pursuit. After 205live got taken over by Triple H to relaunch it, Goldust was scratched from the show.
He was booked to be part of the Mixed Match Challenge, a new show which included a tournament for Mixed Teams. Goldust and Alicia Fox were announced to be a team, but after Fox got injured Goldust found a replacement in Mandy Rose. The team of 'RoseGold' lost their match in the first round but was well received, unfortunately, we never saw a comeback.
Goldust injured both knees in July 2018. Until March 2019 he has not returned. A release and move to AEW, a promotion his brother Cody was heavily involved with, was rumored.
The rumor was confirmed on April 21st, 2019 with All Elite Wrestling announcing Dustin Rhodes as the opponent of Cody Rhodes for their Double or Nothing show. Probably the biggest match in wrestling possible was announced to take place on May 25th, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. Effectively ending Goldust's relationship with WWE once more, but opens up an entirely new chapter for him.
Goldust's official statement:
https://twitter.com/dustinrhodes/status/1120055239577669635here
On May 25th, 2019 Dustin Rhodes made pro-wrestling history once again, wrestling his brother Cody at the first ever AEW Pay-Per-View 'Double or Nothing' in what would go down as one of the greatest matches ever wrestled. Dustin, now wrestling at the age of 50, and his brother received a 5-star rating that night and was celebrated around the globe for their outstanding performance. The match is regarded as one of the greatest pro wrestling matches of all time and has won that year's "Match Of The Year" award.
After the match Cody announced that her would team up with his brother one more time, to take on the best tag team in the world right now, The Young Bucks.
Post that storyline Rhodes was used in multiple storylines and high-caliber matches, notably against the late great Brodie Lee for the TNT Championship which drew 1 million in viewership for AEW Dynamite.
On December 4th, 2022, 30 years in the wrestling business, Dustin Rhodes announced that he seeks to end his in-ring career after 2023.
For me, Dustin Patrick Runnels aka Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust will forever be the biggest icon in wrestling. Nobody else ever was so perfect for a role and played it with so much dedication. Goldust did rise like Pheonix from the ashes and took his second chance. It doesn't matter he never was able the capture the World Title. He is surrounded by gold every day. Others can only dream for that. In addition to that, he made sure that his gimmick survived during all this time. He is still one of the best wrestlers, especially at his age. As he said - he NEVER lost it. He is beloved around the world for all he did to entertain us. To say it with the words of Cody Rhodes again: He deserves more credit than he will ever know. He is a person that needs to be respected. One thing will forever be true:
You will never.....forget the name of...GOLDUST!!!!
Nicknames:
-"The Natural"
-"The American Nightmare"
-"The Lonestar"
-"The Prince of Perversion"
-"The Bizarre One"
Themes:
- "Dustin Runnels" by Jim Johnston
- "The Natural" by D. Conort, M. Seitz and J. Papa
- "Golden" by Jim Johnston
- "Goldust" by Jim Johnston
- "Black Reign" by Dale Oliver
- "Gold-Lust" by Jim Johnston
- "Gold & Smoke" by Jim Johnston
- "Written in the Stars" by Jim Johnston
- "What's Up? (The Golden Truth Remix) by Jim Johnston
Finishers:
-Curtain Call / Lonestar State Of Mind (Lifting falling inverted DDT or a hangman's neckbreaker, sometimes transitioned from a scoop lift)
-Final Cut / Schizophrenic / Final Reckoning (Vertical suplex lifted and dropped into a snap swinging neckbreaker)
-Shattered Dreams / Golden Globes / Unnatural Kick
-Lone Star State of Mind (Lifting falling inverted DDT)
-Blackout (Kneeling facebuster)
- Cross Rhodes
Thank you for reading, Daniel.
