Dusty was born Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. on October 12, 1945 in Smyrna Georgia. Dusty was never an amazing athlete. Standing at just over 6 feet his weight reached well into the 300s. There have been many wrestlers who weighed more, much more, but most of them were treated as gimmick/freak wrestlers. They were not champion material. Dusty was different.
While not being the most athletically gifted man he was a consummate performer. He could work in the ring and more importantly talk outside it. A large part of being successful in the Professional Wrestling world comes from being able to cut a decent promo. Dusty had that ability in spades.
His unique look and skill on the microphone allowed him to achieve huge amounts of success. In the late 70's and early 80's if you lived in the mid west and south you knew who Dusty Rhodes was. He was the man who stood up for the common man, and became a multiple time champion doing so.
Dusty was paired up with many other greats in a number of memorable feuds. In his career he has feuded with men like Abdullah the Butcher, Terry Funk, Blackjack Mulligan, Nikita Koloff, Harley Race, and "Superstar" Billy Graham.
His most famous feuds were with the group known as the The Four Horsemen. Especially their leader Ric Flair. Flair stood for everything that Dusty didn't. Flair portrayed himself as a rich playboy who was better than every body else. It was a perfect pairing. The two characters meshed and the two men had amazing chemistry in the ring.
As the years went on Dusty eventually found himself working for the WWF now the WWE. He joined, what would be come the largest Professional Wrestling organization, in 1989. He was given a slightly retooled gimmick. Dusty was dressed in a black and yellow polka dot outfit and was billed as the "common man". Some feel that this change was made to humiliate the man. When you consider that he was given a manger in "Sapphire" the "common woman" and made to dance, badly at that, it is hard to argue the point.
However Dusty was able to make the gimmick work. The man has so much natural charisma that he could still connect with the audience. He also has an unrivaled intensity in the ring that helped him push past his limitations.
After his relatively short stint in the WWF Dusty moved to it's main rival WCW. At first he worked mainly behind the scenes as a "booker". This meant he was one of people in charge of who fought who, how the match would go, and who would win. Dusty also worked as a manager for Ron Simmons. A man whose catchphrase I borrowed for this weekly post. Dusty was in Ron's corner when he defeated Leon "Big Van Vader" White to win the WCW Heavyweight Championship. He was the first black man to do so.
A few years later Dusty would return to the ring. This time along side his sun Dustin Rhodes or as he is more well know Goldust. Dusty would help his son gain revenge on his former tag team partner. After his short return to action he would return to his role as manager.
After a number of years with WCW Rhodes left and ended up in ECW. ECW was known for it's extreme wrestling, which often included foreign object used as weapons. While with the promotion Dusty would feud with Steve Corino. A feud he would reignite when he returned to WCW a short while later.
When WCW was bought by WWE Rhodes left the promotion to spend time on the independent circuit. Working for much smaller companies. First he would spend some time at TNA, which became the second largest Professional Wrestling promotion after the death of WCW, working as an authority figure in front of the cameras and head booker behind the scenes. He eventually joined the creative team before letting his contract expire.
For the next few year Dusty spent his time working with many of the smaller promotions and in Japan. During this time he revisted old feuds with Abdullah the Butcher, Terry Funk, and Steve Corino. He also wrestled along side his son once again for CCW.
In 2005 Dusty resigned with WWE and joined the Creative Team. He made a number of appearances as a backstage character. He even returned to the ring to feud with then up and coming star Randy Orton. On March 31, 2007 Dusty was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his sons Dustin Rhodes and Cody Rhodes.
Following this Dusty would appear, sporadically, at the WWE's developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling. He is currently the head creative writer for FCW and appears on WWE's television shows.
During his career Dusty has amassed an amazing collection of championships. Far too many for me name here. I will say that Dusty is a multiple NWA World Heavyweight Champion as well as dozens of regional titles. He also has another notable distinction. He, along with five other men, is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, the WCW Hall of Fame, the Professional Wrestling Hall of FameWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Say what you want about the world of Professional Wrestling but it is a hard business. One that destroys family's, marriages, and lives. It is an amazing feat to survive a wrestling career in one piece let alone excel at it. Dusty is one of the all time greats. He did what few men have. Survived and thrived in the world of Professional wrestling. That is an Awesome thing fit for an Awesome Fat Guy.
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