Latest / Gil I Am / DUSTY RHODES: 3 WORLD TITLES, WARGAMES & THE PROMO THAT CHANGED WRESTLING!

Transcript

DUSTY RHODES: 3 WORLD TITLES, WARGAMES & THE PROMO THAT CHANGED WRESTLING! · Gil I Am

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  Speaker 1: He wasn't supposed to be a superstar. He didn't have
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  Speaker 1: Hulk Hogan's muscles. He didn't have Ric Flair's million-dollar lifestyle.
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  Speaker 1: And he certainly didn't have the body that wrestling promoters
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  Speaker 1: traditionally wanted in a world champion. But what he did
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  Speaker 1: have was something you couldn't manufacture. Charisma. He could walk
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  Speaker 1: into an arena, raise one finger, shake his hips, and
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  Speaker 1: have 20,000 people eating out of the palm of his hand.
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  Speaker 1: He became a three-time NWA world heavyweight champion. He battled legends.
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  Speaker 1: He helped create some of the most unforgettable events in
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  Speaker 1: wrestling history, and he delivered a television interview so powerful
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  Speaker 1: that wrestling fans are still talking about it more than
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  Speaker 1: 40 years later. But here's what makes his story incredible.
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  Speaker 1: This man began as the son of a plumber in Austin, Texas,
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  Speaker 1: and he became one of the biggest attractions in professional wrestling,
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  Speaker 1: the American dream, Dusty Rhodes. Welcome to Gil I Am,
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  Speaker 1: and today we're revealing the extraordinary career accomplishments of one
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  Speaker 1: of wrestling's most influential personalities, the son of a plumber.
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  Speaker 1: Dusty Rhodes was born Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. in Austin, Texas,
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  Speaker 1: in October 1945. His father was a plumber. The family
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  Speaker 1: understood the value of hard work, and those working-class roots
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  Speaker 1: would eventually become the foundation of Dusty's wrestling persona. But
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  Speaker 1: the American dream wasn't always the beloved hero people remember.
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  Speaker 1: When he broke into wrestling in the late 1960s, he
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  Speaker 1: was a villain, and one of his earliest important partnerships
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  Speaker 1: came alongside a tough young wrestler named Dick Murdock. Together,
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  Speaker 1: they became known as the Texas Outlaws. They were rough,
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  Speaker 1: they cheated, and they knew how to get an audience
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  Speaker 1: angry enough to pay good money to watch somebody beat
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  Speaker 1: them up. Dusty was learning a valuable lesson. Professional wrestling
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  Speaker 1: wasn't just about moves. It was about making people feel something,
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  Speaker 1: and that lesson would eventually make him one of the
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  Speaker 1: greatest talkers in wrestling history, to moments the American dream
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  Speaker 1: was born. Now, here's something younger wrestling fans might not know.
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  Speaker 1: In 1974, Dusty Rhodes experienced a career-changing moment in championship
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  Speaker 1: wrestling from Florida. He was associated with manager Gary Hart
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  Speaker 1: and wrestler Pac Song. But during a match involving Eddie
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  Speaker 1: and Mike Graham, tensions exploded. Dusty turned against his villainous associates,
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  Speaker 1: and something remarkable happened. The fans went crazy. The same
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  Speaker 1: audiences that once wanted to see Dusty beaten were suddenly
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  Speaker 1: cheering for him. The American dream was born. He wasn't
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  Speaker 1: presented as some perfect superhero. He had a big belly.
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  Speaker 1: He had bleach blonde hair. He talked with a Texas drawl.
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  Speaker 1: And when he threw that famous bionic elbow, the entire
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  Speaker 1: building came alive. Dusty didn't represent the wealthy and powerful.
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  Speaker 1: He represented the mechanic, the truck driver, the construction worker,
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  Speaker 1: and the factory employee, the guy working overtime to keep
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  Speaker 1: food on the table. And that's why people loved him.
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  Speaker 1: Dusty Rhodes didn't just have fans. He had people who
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  Speaker 1: believed in him. 1979, the first world championships. August 21st, 1979, Tampa, Florida.
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  Speaker 1: Dusty Rhodes stepped into the ring against one of the
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  Speaker 1: toughest professional wrestlers who ever lived, Harley Race. Race wasn't
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  Speaker 1: just the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He was a feared competitor,
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  Speaker 1: respected throughout the wrestling business. And remember, the NWA World
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  Speaker 1: Championship in those days carried enormous prestige. The champion traveled
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  Speaker 1: from territory to territory, defending the title against the best
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  Speaker 1: wrestlers in the world. But on this night, something extraordinary happened.
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  Speaker 1: Dusty Rhodes defeated Harley Race, the son of a plumber
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  Speaker 1: had become the heavyweight champion of the world. His reign
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  Speaker 1: lasted only five days before Race regained the championship. But
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  Speaker 1: don't overlook the significance. In an era when the NWA
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  Speaker 1: championship was protected like a crown jewel, Dusty Rhodes had
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  Speaker 1: reached the top. And here's the surprising part. He wasn't finished,
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  Speaker 1: not even close. 1981, The Dream becomes a two-time champion
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  Speaker 1: June 21, 1981. The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia, one of professional
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  Speaker 1: wrestling's most legendary arenas. And once again, Dusty Rhodes found
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  Speaker 1: himself standing across the ring from Harley Race. The championship
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  Speaker 1: was on the line. The stakes couldn't have been higher.
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  Speaker 1: And this time, Dusty did it again. He defeated Harley
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  Speaker 1: Race for the second time to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
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  Speaker 1: Think about that. Two world championships, both won against the
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  Speaker 1: same legendary opponent. But the second reign didn't last forever.
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  Speaker 1: In September 1981, a young champion in the making defeated
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  Speaker 1: Dusty Rhodes. His name? Ric Flair. And with that victory,
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  Speaker 1: a new era was beginning. Because the rivalry between Ric
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  Speaker 1: Flair and Dusty Rhodes would eventually become one of professional
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  Speaker 1: wrestling's defining conflicts. The common man versus the limousine-riding millionaire.
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  Speaker 1: Blue-collar pride versus expensive suits and championship gold. Brother, wrestling
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  Speaker 1: was about to get personal. Five seconds more than just
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  Speaker 1: a world champion. Now, before we get to the legendary
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  Speaker 1: feud with Flair... Consider everything else Dusty accomplished. He wasn't
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  Speaker 1: merely a three-time world champion. He collected championships throughout the
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  Speaker 1: National Wrestling Alliance. He held the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship.
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  Speaker 1: He won the NWA World Television Championship three times. He
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  Speaker 1: captured world tag team championships. He also held the NWA
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  Speaker 1: World Six-Man Tag Team Championship alongside the Road Warriors, Hawk, Animal,
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  Speaker 1: and the American Dream. Imagine standing across the ring from
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  Speaker 1: that combination. Dusty also found championship success across the old
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  Speaker 1: territorial wrestling system, including multiple reigns as Florida heavyweight champion.
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  Speaker 1: And in 1987, he teamed with Nikita Koloff to win
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  Speaker 1: the prestigious Jim Crockett Senior Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament.
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  Speaker 1: Their opponents in the final? Lex Luger and Tully Blanchard.
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  Speaker 1: That's another major accomplishment for a man already loaded with
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  Speaker 1: championship credentials. But there was one achievement that didn't involve
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  Speaker 1: wearing a belt. Dusty Rhodes could sell an entire arena
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  Speaker 1: with nothing but a microphone. And in 1985, he proved it.
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  Speaker 1: Six Week, the greatest promo of his career. October 29th, 1985,
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  Speaker 1: Dusty Rhodes appeared on Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Television. His leg had
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  Speaker 1: been injured as part of the storyline, and now he
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  Speaker 1: had something to say. What followed became known as the
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  Speaker 1: legendary Hard Times promo. But this wasn't simply a wrestler
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  Speaker 1: threatening another wrestler. Dusty spoke about ordinary people losing their jobs.
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  Speaker 1: He talked about workers being replaced, families struggling, parents trying
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  Speaker 1: to support their children, and people discovering that the world
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  Speaker 1: wasn't always fair. Then he connected those everyday struggles to
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  Speaker 1: his own battle against Ric Flair. It was absolutely brilliant.
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  Speaker 1: He wasn't just selling a wrestling match, he was selling
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  Speaker 1: a story millions of Americans understood. Flair had the money.
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  Speaker 1: Flair had the championship. Flair had the four horsemen. But
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  Speaker 1: Dusty had something more powerful. The people. And that's why
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  Speaker 1: that promo remains a masterclass in professional wrestling storytelling. 7-8-19
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  Speaker 1: the third world championship July 1986, the Great American Bash Tour, Greensboro,
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  Speaker 1: North Carolina. Dusty Rhodes faced Ric Flair inside a steel
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  Speaker 1: cage for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This wasn't just
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  Speaker 1: another championship match. This was the culmination of years of rivalry.
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  Speaker 1: The Four Horsemen had tormented Dusty, Flair had mocked him,
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  Speaker 1: and fans had watched their hero fight through one setback
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  Speaker 1: after another. But inside that cage, everything came together. Dusty
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  Speaker 1: Rhodes defeated Ric Flair, and the American Dream became a
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  Speaker 1: three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. The building erupted. It was
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  Speaker 1: the kind of emotional payoff that professional wrestling does better
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  Speaker 1: than almost any other form of entertainment. Dusty's third championship
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  Speaker 1: reign was brief. Ric Flair eventually reclaimed the title. But
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  Speaker 1: nobody could take away that night in Greensboro. And there's
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  Speaker 1: another reason this era is so important. Dusty wasn't just
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  Speaker 1: performing inside the ring. He was helping create the stories
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  Speaker 1: happening around it. 819, the creative genius behind war games.
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  Speaker 1: Now here is an accomplishment that deserves its own chapter.
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  Speaker 1: Dusty Rhodes helped create war games. That's right, the brutal
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  Speaker 1: two-ring enclosed cage battle that became one of wrestling's most
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  Speaker 1: famous match concepts came from the creative mind of the
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  Speaker 1: American dream. July 4th, 1987, the Omni in Atlanta, the
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  Speaker 1: first ever war games match. On one side, Dusty Rhodes,
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  Speaker 1: Nikita Koloff, the Road Warriors, and Paul Ellering. On the
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  Speaker 1: other side, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger,
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  Speaker 1: and J.J. Dillon. Two rings, one enormous cage, teams entering
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  Speaker 1: at timed intervals, and no escape from the punishment. This
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  Speaker 1: was wrestling spectacle on an entirely different level. Dusty was
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  Speaker 1: also a driving creative force behind the Great American Bash
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  Speaker 1: and the Bunkhouse Stampede concept. These weren't simply wrestling matches.
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  Speaker 1: They were major attractions designed to give fans something spectacular.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, Not every Dusty booking decision was universally praised.
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  Speaker 1: Wrestling even developed the expression Dusty Finish for the controversial
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  Speaker 1: kind of apparent victory that gets reversed on a technicality.
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  Speaker 1: But love his decisions or criticize them, one thing is undeniable.
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  Speaker 1: Dusty Rhodes understood how to create moments fans would remember.
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  Speaker 1: 9-10 the Polka Dots, WWE, and the Hall of Fame.
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  Speaker 1: Then came 1989. Dusty Rhodes arrived in the World Wrestling Federation.
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  Speaker 1: and suddenly the hard-fighting NWA legend appeared in something nobody expected.
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  Speaker 1: Black and yellow polka dots. I'm talking polka dots everywhere.
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  Speaker 1: On the tights, on the knee pads, even dancing around
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  Speaker 1: the ring. Some fans couldn't believe it, but Dusty embraced
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  Speaker 1: the character. He brought the American dream to a new
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  Speaker 1: national audience. With Sapphire by his side, he battled stars
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  Speaker 1: such as Randy Savage, the Honky Tonk Man, and Ted DiBiase.
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  Speaker 1: At WrestleMania 6, Dusty and Sapphire defeated Randy Savage and
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  Speaker 1: Sensational Sherry, and years later, Dusty would receive one of
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  Speaker 1: wrestling's highest honors. In 2007, he entered the WWE Hall
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  Speaker 1: of Fame. But here's what made that night unforgettable. His sons,
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  Speaker 1: Dustin and Cody Rhodes, inducted him. The American Dream wasn't
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  Speaker 1: simply celebrating championships. He was celebrating a family legacy. 10-11,
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  Speaker 1: final greatest accomplishment. Some of Dusty Rhodes' most important work
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  Speaker 1: happened after his days as a main event wrestler. He
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  Speaker 1: became a mentor to the next generation. At WWE's Developmental
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  Speaker 1: System and Performance Center, he taught wrestlers how to speak,
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  Speaker 1: how to create characters, and how to connect emotionally with
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  Speaker 1: an audience. Young talents including Sasha Banks, Bayley, and many
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  Speaker 1: others benefited from his guidance. He didn't just teach people
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  Speaker 1: how to memorize words. He taught them how to make
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  Speaker 1: audiences believe those words. On June 11, 2015, Dusty Rhodes
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  Speaker 1: passed away at age 69. The wrestling world lost an
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  Speaker 1: extraordinary performer, creative mind, and teacher. But his influence continued.
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  Speaker 1: Through the wrestlers he mentored, through the match concepts he
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  Speaker 1: helped create, and through his sons, Dustin Rhodes and Cody Rhodes,
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  Speaker 1: who carried the family's wrestling heritage into another generation. So
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  Speaker 1: when we count Dusty Rhodes' accomplishments, remember this, three NWA
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  Speaker 1: World Heavyweight Championships, multiple United States Television and Tag Team Championships,
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  Speaker 1: a Crockett Cup victory, the first War Games, the Great
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  Speaker 1: American Bash, the unforgettable Hard Times promo, and an induction
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  Speaker 1: into the WWE Hall of Fame. But perhaps his greatest
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  Speaker 1: accomplishment was proving that you didn't need to look like
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  Speaker 1: a superhero to become one to the fans. You just
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  Speaker 1: had to make them care. Dusty Rhodes wasn't just the
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  Speaker 1: American dream. He made millions of wrestling fans believe in
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  Speaker 1: the dream. This is Gil I Am, and I want
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  Speaker 1: to know something. Was Dusty Rhodes the greatest wrestling personality
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  Speaker 1: of all time, or was there someone better? Tell me
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  Speaker 1: in the comments. And if you love professional wrestling history,
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  Speaker 1: follow Gil I Am for more legendary stories. Because the
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  Speaker 1: championships may change hands, the arenas may close, and the
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  Speaker 1: generations may come and go, but the American dream will
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  Speaker 1: never die.