When wrestling fans think of Texas wrestling, generally the first two names that pop up are the Fabulous Freebirds and the Von Erichs who had a legendary feud that lasted for a majority of the 1970s and 1980s. When it comes to singles wrestling, the biggest name most wrestling fans think of is Virgil Runnels Jr. or as he went by in the ring, Dusty Rhodes. He was an active member of wrestling from 1967 until he retired in 2007. But when he retired, he didn’t leave wrestling altogether as he would become a teacher at NXT for the WWE and help mold some of the newest WWE talents like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, etc.
From the time that Dusty Rhodes first appeared in a professional ring in 1967, he would end up working the territories and Jim Crockett Promotions until 1989 when he would join WWF as the common man. It should be noted that Dusty Rhodes was not in the typical wrestling shape as he was not over 6 feet tall and was in shape. He was not in the best of form and was able to work it well as he used his weight for good. It should also be noted that during Dusty’s wrestling run he was a main event level wrestler as he held the highest championships in many wrestling promotions.
It should be mentioned that Dusty Rhodes’ territory run came to an end in 1986 when he would join Jim Crockett Promotions that would later become WCW as a booker and a wrestler. It was here that he made his famous Hard Times Promo on one of his long-time rivals Ric Flair. Here is the promo as a whole as it was seen that night.
There are many people who have said that the feud between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes was one of the best feuds in wrestling. He would later join WWF on a regular basis and wore polka dots to the ring and was being billed as the common man. There are so many wrestlers who have gone on record to saying that Dusty Rhodes was a huge part of their career. Also, it should be noted that he became synonymous with the term called “Dusty Finish” where a wrestling match would have a sketchy end. He is also part of a small group as he had both of his sons in wrestling.
They are Goldust and Cody Rhodes. Goldust is still in WWE as he teams with R-Truth. Cody Rhodes left WWE in May and has been working the independent scene as he is facing some of the best in the independent scene. It was reported recently that Cody Rhodes would be working in both Ring of Honor and TNA. It is safe to say that Dusty Rhodes had a lot of say with the current wrestlers that are in NXT and on the main roster in WWE.