Line #9 Wrestling/DustyRhodes


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duthteh.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:"[[BadassBoast I have wined and dined with kings and queens, and slept in alleys and dined on pork-n-beans]]."]]
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4	[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRATbL8eI18 cue cowbell]]
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6	Trained by Joe Blanchard, Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as ("The American Dream") '''Dusty Rhodes''' was just a common man, workin' hard with his hands. He was also a American Football player turned {{professional wrestl\|ing}}er who, throughout his forty year career, portrayed a happy-go-lucky schlub facing off against [[SlobsVersusSnobs more elegant and physically fit]] competitors. Contrary to his underdog image, Dusty [[{{Kevlard}} was a tank]] in his prime, known and feared throughout various permutations of the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance.
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8	Working in various wrestling organizations since the late sixties, Dusty joined Jim Crockett Promotions in 1978. Throughout the late seventies and eighties, he would engage in a number of high profile feuds, facing off against the likes of Wrestling/TerryFunk, Wrestling/HarleyRace, Wrestling/AbdullahTheButcher, and especially Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen; particularly their leader, the elitist braggart Wrestling/RicFlair. Dusty would win the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h.html NWA World Heavyweight Championship]] a total of three times, and in 1985, he delivered what became known as the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9py4aMK3aIU "Hard Times"]] promo, considered Dusty's finest, and definitely in the running for greatest wrestling promo of all time.
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10	In 1985, Dusty transitioned into booking what would eventually become [[{{Wrestling/WCW}} World Championship Wrestling]]. As booker, Rhodes would develop a number of creative feuds and {{gimmick matches}}, including the WCW standard ''[=WarGames=]'' match. After openly defying a "no bloodshed" edict from TBS censors at ''[=Starrcade=] '88'', Rhodes was fired from WCW. He would join the [[{{Wrestling/WWE}} WWF]] in 1989, where he wrestled as "Common Man" Dusty Rhodes for two years, feuding with [[Wrestling/RandySavage "Macho Man" Randy Savage]]. The most notable aspect of this period was the god-awful ugly yellow-polkadot unitard he would wear in the role. Some thought the costume choice was WWF owner Wrestling/VinceMcMahon's way of [[BadJobWorseUniform humiliating one of his former competitors]], but Dusty has always maintained [[IMeantToDoThat the whole thing was his idea.]]
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12	Rhodes would soon return to WCW as a booker (until he was supplanted by Wrestling/EricBischoff) and on-screen manager, and would join the commentating team for much of the 90s. Near the end of WCW's lifespan, Rhodes would briefly leave for a stint in {{Wrestling/ECW}}, before returning for one last feud with Flair.
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14	After WCW's purchase and dissolution by the WWF in 2001, Rhodes would work for [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]], [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor ROH]], and various other indie wrestling leagues for the next five years, including Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, a promotion founded by Rhodes himself. He was inducted into the NWA, Professional Wrestling and Wrestling/LouThesz Halls Of Fame. In late 2005, he would sign a WWE Legends deal, making occasional appearances on WWE programming from then on.
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16	In his later years, Dusty worked on NXT as a promo coach, mentoring and inspiring a whole new generation of wrestlers. He called the developmental wrestlers his "kids" and many of them cite Dusty as a major influence in their character work and improved promo skills.
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18	He is the [[WrestlingFamily father of fellow wrestlers]], [[Wrestling/{{Goldust}} Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes]] and [[Wrestling/CodyRhodes Cody "Stardust" Rhodes]]. He's raised some weird kids.
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20	On June 10, 2015, paramedics responded to Rhodes's home in Orlando, Florida, after getting a call reporting that he had fallen. They drove him to a nearby hospital, where he died the next day. He was 69 years old. Following his death, NXT implemented the annual[[note]]They missed 2017 because of a scheduling change, moving it from the end of the year to the beginning in 2018.[[/note]] Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament in his memory.
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22	----
23	!! "Lissen heah behbeh, Theese Tropes a' associated with Dusteh Rhodes, o' Da Amereecan Dreem... eef you weel!"
24	* {{Acrofatic}}: He’s just a common man, eatin’ cake with both hands. While just shy of "[[TheGiant giant]]" status (he's 6'1), Dusty was stout enough to shrug off any offense, while nimble enough to counter his opponent's attacks two-fold. In his prime, he was almost a LightningBruiser due to how shockingly mobile he was. As Dusty put it himself during the famous "Hard Times" promo:
25	--> I admit I don't look like the athlete of the day's supposed to look. My belly's just a little big, my hiney's just a little big, but brother I am bad, and they know I'm bad.
26	* AllAmericanFace: "He's just a common man", "Son of a Plumber", etc. (These are both true.) He and Wrestling/{{MagnumTA}} called themselves "America's Team"
27	* BadassNormal: An average working class guy in the ring with the strange, otherworldly and larger than life characters of pro wrestling.
28	* BashBrothers: with The Spoiler(one of the first), Dick Murdoch(probably the most frequent), [[Wrestling/TheBlackjacks Blackjack Mulligan]], Magnum T.A., Wrestling/AndreTheGiant, Mike Graham, Bugsy [=McGraw=], Nikita Koloff, Buff Bagwell, Dustin Rhodes
29	* BastardBastard: Describes [[Wrestling/JimCornette Cornette]] this way, saying it was why he never talked about his daddy.
30	* BigFun: He's about the right size and to smile unironically with that polka dot headband, how could he be anything but?
31	* BigGood: In TNA as "The Director Of Authority". Obviously Jerry Jarrett and Panda were behind him but Dusty was in charge of most of the visible company running.
32	* CharacterShilling: Dusty always generated a got a positive fan response in Ring Of Honor, but not even he could make The Carnage Crew baby faces.
33	* CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown: He LOVED this trope:
34	** Uvalde Slim!
35	** The Midnight Rider (easily his most famous version)!
36	** The James Boys! (w/Magnum T.A.)
37	* CoveredInScars: He had a heavily scarred forehead from years of blading.
38	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Armed only with a policeman's cap, mixed metaphors, and a mouthful of marbles, he completes the burial of the Wrestling/HonkyTonkMan:
39	-->''I ain't been so excited since mah first date wit' Sally Goode! An' befize dat, the fax are een: da man say, 'Dusteh! I AM thee proprietor of Heartbreak Hotel! I AM da man dat wears da blue suede shoes! You can't sing!" Hya-ha! Proved ya wrong! "You can't dance!" You '''know''' I can dance circles 'round you! An' now you say, "prove to me in pu'lick, eef you weel: Come 'n get it at [[Wrestling/SummerSlam Summa'Slam]]!"''
40	* CuckoolanderCommentator
41	** A living drunk post. Dusty's thick accent and bizarre speaking pattern makes it almost impossible to understand him, especially in the late 80's onwards. As WCW commentator, he gained quite the reputation for verbal diarrhea, so much so that "Insane Dusty Commentary" is a regular feature of ''{{Website/Botchamania}}''.
42	** They didn't even bother with MediaNotes/ClosedCaptioning when Dusty Rhodes was on commentary. We haven't yet invented a machine that can understand him.
43	** The Belfast Bruiser (Dave Finlay) v. [[Wrestling/WilliamRegal Lord Steven Regal]] match is great, too, mostly Dusty’s insane commentary about fighting a bear to the death. (''"A big ol’ kodiak bear!"'') He means he had a few matches with Victor the Wrestling Bear in 1968. We apologize for ever doubting [[TallTale your bear-fighting prowess]], Dusty.
44	** Come full circle when WWE revived CWF Florida, once Dusty's home promotion, as FCW and put him on the commentary table...and then apparently had second thoughts.
45	* DanceBattler: Of a sort. Dusty often used his quick feet to create momentum for himself or to mess with his opponent, and usually punctuated the Bionic Elbow with a little bit of funky dancing before impact.
46	* DiabolusExMachina: So the wrestler that everyone loves has just won against his rival no one wants to see win. Hurray! Wait, sosandso interfered on the the fan favorite's behalf? That guy we all wanted to see win had his foot under the rope? The referee involved was obviously crooked? Accuracy of these claims be damned, the decision is reversed! Your hero is now the loser! You have just witnessed a Dusty Finish!
47	* DistractedByTheSexy: During the Harlem Heat (Wrestling/BookerT and Stevie Ray)-The Faces of Fear (Wrestling/{{Meng}} and Wrestling/TheBarbarian)-[[Wrestling/{{TPE}} The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Flyboy Rocco Rock)]] match at ''WCW [=SuperBrawl=] VII'', February 23, 1997, the camera panned the crowd and showed a woman with enormous breasts, prompting Dusty to say, "Oh my goodness gracious."
48	* EtTuBrute: [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase Dibiase]] buying Sapphire. Dusty was devastated.
49	* EverythingIsBigInTexas: Born in Austin.
50	* {{Expy}}: Not his ring work, but listening to his promos reveals that Dusty was clearly listening to Thunderbolt Patterson and Rufus R Jones.
51	* EyeScream: The spot that ended his JCP career involved Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors stabbing him with one of their broken spikes here.
52	* FashionableAsymmetry: A pad for his elbow, of course
53	* FinishingMove: The Bionic Elbow.
54	* FireForgedFriends: With The Russian Team in Jim Crockett Promotions, which lead to Nikita Koloff becoming Dusty's tag team partner after Magnum T.A. suffered a {{career ending injury}} in a car accident.
55	* GarbageWrestler: Not what he's best known for, but Rhodes ''was'' a five time brass knuckles champion between the Wrestling/{{Von Erich\|Family}}'s Big Time Wrestling in Texas and Championship Wrestling From Florida. He also had a reputation for winning bunkhouse brawls.
56	* GoodOlBoy: Played this to the hilt; complete with a ten-gallon hat, a ranch, and a faithful ass named Zeb who followed him to the ring [!].
57	* HeelFaceTurn: Dusty was a heel for a long time, teaming with Dick Murdoch as the Texas Outlaws. He was also a blink-and-you'll-miss it member of the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]].
58	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: In 1974, when Manager Gary Hart turned on him, Dusty turned face and never looked back...until he randomly turned on Larry Zbyszko during Zbyszko's match with Wrestling/ScottHall at ''nWo Souled Out 98'', January 24, 1998. Of course, after disappearing following the Outsiders' split in May at ''WCW [=Slamboree=] 98,'' he returned following Wrestling/RicFlair's victory over Wrestling/EricBischoff on the ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' after ''[=Starrcade=]'' on December 28 to celebrate the win.
59	** During Cody's heel run, Dusty would occasionally turn up & act as a face, until he turned heel to help Cody. Since these were only one-shot appearances, Dusty was back to being a face the next time he turned up.
60	** You may also discount Dusty in TNA as well, as that is what people who collect data would call negligible. It was more an angle than part of his career.
61	* HumiliatingWager
62	** The Midnight Rider [[DramaticUnmask revealed]] "Lucifer" to be Kevin Sullivan after defeating him in a LoserLeavesTown Cage match for CWF Florida in 1983
63	** The next year in CWF Florida the Midnight Rider defeated a CostumeCopycat in a mask vs mask match, after a cage match victory wasn't enough to make him go away. It turned out to be Kharma(FKA Gene Lewis or Molokai when in Sullivan's Army Of Darkness), whom Rhodes had been feuding with for awhile when not wearing the Midnight Rider mask.
64	* IWasJustJoking: ''TNA Lockdown'' was the brainchild of Dusty Rhodes, though the more accurate term may be brain fart. One of the bookers in the Creative meeting got flustered and said something along the line of, ''"why don’t we put ''this'' in a cage too?! So stupid..."'' Rhodes jumped at it, saying, ''"Weh hell lez jus' put '''E'RY''' mash inna cage, daddeh!"'' The TNA President, Dixie Carter, leapt from her chair saying it was the greatest idea anyone's ever had. She [[PointyHairedBoss knew so little about wrestling]] that she didn’t know it was a joke. And that’s how ''Lockdown'' came to have wall-to-wall cage matches -- because Dusty opened his pie hole during a meeting and laughed at it.
65	* InsufferableGenius[=/=]SouthernFriedGenius: "A bit of a bellend, but scary-talented in certain areas" sums up his time as booker.
66	* ItsPersonal
67	** Against Wrestling/JimCornette and Wrestling/TheMidnightExpress in Jim Crockett Promotions. He held onto his grudge with all incarnations of the Midnights well into his independent circuit career.
68	** Against Terry Funk in Carolina Championship Wrestling for costing Rhodes what was his final chance to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion again against Wrestling/JeffJarrett.
69	* JiveTurkey: The single biggest influence on Dusty was UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli.
70	* LegacyCharacter: He has a few, not just Dustin and Cody.
71	** Memphis legend Troy Graham (1949-2002)'s masked [[TheGimmick gimmick]] the Dream Machine involved him blatantly imitating Dusty, with the idea being that the fans were supposed to think Dusty was under the mask.
72	** The Japanese wrestler [=Gedo=] (Keiji Takayama) is a huge fan of Dusty and of 1970s southern-style wrestling and has been called "The Dusty Rhodes of Japan." Gedo defeated Evan Karagias on the April 25, 1998 ''WCW [={Pro}=]'', and announcer Mike Tenay called him "The Japanese American Dream."
73	** Willie "Da Bomb" Richardson - best known for his appearances in CHIKARA with Da Soul Touchaz - calls himself [[RedBaron "The Urban-American Dream"]], is [=Acrofatic=] like Dusty was and sometimes uses the Bionic Elbow.
74	* {{Leitmotif}}
75	** ''You Can't Judge a book by the Cover'', his general NWA
76	** A piece by Ryuichi Sakamoto called ''Kakutougi Theme'' in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, which was also used by Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE. NJPW later used ''American Dream'' by Freedom
77	** ''Old Time Rock and Roll'' by Bob Seger in WCW, later used the Wrestling/JimmyHart piece ''Rockhouse''
78	** ''Common Man Boogie'' in the WWF. This one became ''synonymous'' with Dusty by the time he passed, and crowds always exploded the instant they heard it. "American Dream" was as perfect an opening for the song as you could get, and to this day it remains one of the most memorable wrestling themes ever recorded.
79	** ''This Is Why'' by Reckless Fortune by reckless fortune in ECW
80	** ''Midnight Rider'' by Willie Nelson in Ring Of Honor
81	* LeotardOfPower: With polka dots.
82	* TheManIsStickingItToTheMan: Ole Anderson accused Jim Crockett of such when he got an airplane to fly "the common man" around in.
83	* MartialArtsHeadBand: In the WWF
84	* NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat: He accused Cornette and the Midnight Express of being more than just business partners but said he was content to say to each his own until they got in his business.
85	* OlderSidekick: Sapphire was ten years his senior.
86	* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: The tag team the New Breed (Chris Champion and Sean Royal), in 1987, were billed from [[PartsUnknown "The Future"]]. They claimed that, in the year 2002, robots were common and, apparently, Dusty was President of the United States.
87	* PartsUnknown (as the Midnight Rider): "Diablo Canyon, CO"
88	* PerkyFemaleMinion
89	** Baby Doll, after she stopped wrestling
90	** Sapphire in the WWF, who even tagged with him at Wrestlemania VI against Wrestling/RandySavage and Wrestling/SherriMartel.
91	** His assistant, Traci Brooks, while he was an authority figure in TNA.
92	* PowerStable: Dusty Rhodes' Family (Florida), with Blackjack Mulligan, Wrestling/BarryWindham, [[Wrestling/OutlawRonBass "Cowboy" Ron Bass]], Wrestling/TheOneManGang and Wrestling/MikeRotunda.
93	** As a heel in the 1970s, he was a member of Gary Hart's Army.
94	** Then there was his short-lived run with the nWo.
95	* PowerTrio: Dusty and his former enemies, Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors, won the NWA World Six Man Tag Team Titles twice.
96	* PrecisionFStrike: From the Harlem Heat-The Public Enemy Texas Tornado Match at ''WCW Uncensored 97'', when one of the Heat had been laid out:
97	-->"They laid his old tired ass out! Oh, excuse me at home, everybody!"
98	* PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy
99	** Joining the WWF had the added effect of turning Dusty black: He gained a Jheri curled female valet (Sapphire) who was selected from the crowd -- the joke being that he’s just a common man, so he should have a common valet -- and a funk entrance theme ("The Common Man Boogie") which he still had towards the end of his life. Move over, Isaac Hayes. This angle might have a kernel of truth: Dusty wanted to bring in a black prostitute to be Sapphire, and already had one in mind.
100	** Revisited in WWE's FCW Revival, where Dusty was the blackest commentator besides Abraham Washington.
101	* RagsToRiches[=/=]RichesToRags: Discussed in his promos, most famously his "wined and dined with kings and queens" promo. Which is also true, although he had a car to sleep in after turning to pro sports his football career stalled and it would be a few years before his wrestling career took off.
102	* RedBaron: "UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream," "The Bull of the Woods," "Stardust."
103	** His son Cody would take Stardust as his own moniker for awhile in WWE, possibly as a tribute to Dusty, becoming a counterpart to Wrestling/{{Goldust}}, and the two briefly had Dusty as their manager in both their 'dust' characters and under their real names.
104	* ResetButton: During his initial stint at WCW, Rhodes, burnt out by constant competition with the WWF, became notorious for an over-reliance on ambiguous endings to matches; particularly ones in which a face had scored a major victory against a heel, that would later be [[AssPull overturned for trivial reasons]]. These sorts of unsatisfying wrap-ups are referred to in the wrestling community as "Dusty Finishes" to this day.
105	* RingOldies: He was still wrestling from time to time in his early 60s.
106	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Of a sports variety. His classic rivalry with Wrestling/RicFlair was designed to mirror the Lakers-Celtics rivalry that was huge at the time, pitting the flashy, stylish and flamboyant (Flair/Lakers) against the no-nonsense, workmanlike, determined style (Rhodes/Celtics). As history can tell, it achieved massive success for both the [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] and the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]].
107	* TheRival:
108	** Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham
109	** Wrestling/RicFlair and [[Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen "THE FAW HAWTHMEN!"]]
110	** Wrestling/KevinSullivan
111	** Wrestling/TerryFunk
112	** Wrestling/RandySavage in the WWF.
113	* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: According to Kevin Sullivan, "People get upset because Dusty Rhodes had a favorite talent... and it was Dusty Rhodes."
114	* SpringtimeForHitler: Vince probably had a good belly laugh at that outfit. Dusty stuck it to the WWF and got himself over despite their "help".
115	* StartMyOwn: His Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling promotion in Marietta, GA, which ran from 2000 to 2003.
116	* StoutStrength
117	* TagTeam
118	** The Texas Outlaws, with Dick Murdoch
119	** America's Team, with Magnum T.A.
120	** The [=Superpowers=], with [[Wrestling/NikitaKoloff "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff]]
121	* TakeThat: To rival booker Vince [=McMahon=]. While not exactly enemies, they had a pretty subtle and jabbing relationship over the years which was settled when Steph gave him a job in the [=90s.=]
122	** {{Wrestling/Virgil}}'s name was a parody of Dusty's real name, Virgil Runnels, and a subtle jab at how he would constantly "talk black."
123	** The Akeem character was also a rib on Dusty. They turned One Man Gang into a character who thought he lived under the delusion that he black and nicknamed himself the "African Dream." Apparently nobody told Vince that there were white people who were natively born in Africa. The gimmick worked for awhile before he returned to being the One Man Gang. Dusty didn't seem to take it personally, and even booked the Gang pretty well when he got to WCW.
124	** There's a persistent, possibly true rumor that when his son debuted in the ''WWF'', he was given [[{{Wrestling/Goldust}} a gimmick so bad it might've been a career killer]] out of some twisted hybrid of yet another joke and outright revenge on Dusty. Fortunately for everyone involved, [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously Dustin learned to revel in the gimmick, made it his own, and transformed into a beloved elder statesman of the business]].
125	* TalkShowWithFists: "The Dew Drop Inn".
126	* TournamentArc
127	** Won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship Tournament of 1978
128	** In 1980 he won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship Tournament with Bugsy [=McGraw=], also while in CWF Florida.
129	** Won the 1984 Cadillac Cup while in Georgia Championship Wrestling.
130	** Won the Bunkhouse Stampede, as series of [[GimmickMatches bunkhouse brawls]], four years in a row while in Jim Crockett Promotions... that is to say he won every last one they held
131	** He won the Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament in 1987 with Nikita Koloff as his partner
132	* TropeCodifier: Along with Wrestling/TheCrusher, Dusty was the original "working mans hero", a gimmick that would eventually reach even bigger popularity with Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, as well as [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] (who proudly called himself "The People's Champion").
133	* TheUnintelligible: In his later years, Dusty became just about impossible to understand, as his already thick southern accent combined with what might possibly be concussion damage essentially turned his speech into word slurry.
134	* VerbalTic: "Daddy-O", "lissen heah", "eef you weel", "behbeh", "jack!"
135	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: At the start of his career, he had what could be charitably described as a thick Texas accent with a heavy lisp. By the end of a long career of hard living and harder knocks, exactly ''what'' he had was anyone's guess.
136	* WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs: Wasn't just a wrestler, booker, manager, commentator, "director of authority", and coach but his WWF gimmick saw him return to his working class roots in a different odd job every other month, or even week.
137	* WorkingClassHero: Referenced in his legendary "Hard Times" promo:
138	-->''"...And hard times, are when a man been working the job thirty years—thirty years!—they give him a watch, they kick him in the butt, and say, 'Hey, [[JobStealingRobot a computer took your place]], daddy'! '''That's''' hard times!"''
139	* WrestlingFamily: His sons are Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes and Cody "Stardust" Rhodes. His daughter-in-law for a while was [[Wrestling/TerriRunnels Terri "Marlena" Runnels]]. He can also count Wrestling/FredOttman and [[Wrestling/TheNastyBoys Jerry Sags]] among his brothers-in-law.
140	* WroteTheBook: The Texas Death match with Billy Graham was a classic example of what would become "[[GarbageWrestling hardcore]]" wrestling long before that was a thing, and his later bullrope matches would lend further credence to {{gimmick matches}} (for better or worse).
141	* YourMom: Made fun of Cornette's momma when he learned Jim was a MommasBoy.

Context Wrestling / DustyRhodes