The Dusty Rhodes appreciation thread

"Hard Times" is one of the best promos in Wrestling history. Great promo creator, Great wrestler, and just an incredible entertainer.
R.I.P American Dream. We will miss you.

I'm gonna miss the dream, He was always one of the greatest of all time.

As I am typing this, I am listening to "Common Man Boogie". Dusty Rhodes will forever go down as one of the all-time greats. My heart just hurts knowing that we won't see him ever on TV again.

I can already see the Mixed Tag Match from WrestleMania VI being recreated on heaven.

I wasn't even that big of a fan of his, but this news hit me. That to me shows the impact this man had. It was just an elbow to the head, but when you see it's his elbow.. boy it meant something. I really hope Cody and Goldust are coping with this and see all the love pouring in from everyone. A true, true great.

For me, my first experience of Dusty Rhodes, was the polka dot run in the WWF. Like anyone that's part of the business or a fan of it will say, any one else, that would have been a low point, but for Dusty, he made the look work, he pulled it off. Once, I was able to then find out more of his career outside of the WWF run, I got to realize, how great he really was. Then when his DVD came out, I learned of his early run in the company, and the matches with Superstar Billy Graham.
He really was the example of how a successful wrestling character is just an extension of the wrestler himself. He worked as 'the common man,' because that's what he was. Even at his height of fame, he was still, that common man, and a big part in why people loved him. I loved his run in ECW too, when he feuded with Steve Corino, culminating in the bullrope match. While the feud was all Dusty, I think it helped play a good role, and making Corino a star.
He's another talent from an era where wrestlers could shoot from the hip, come up with gold, from nothing more than their wit, and quick thinking. He could could pull off the serious promo like hard times one minute, and the very next, having your sides hurting from laughing.

I haven't seen a lot of his in ring work. That said, on the tag team DVD they did a few years ago they have a match from The Crockett Cup between Rhodes/Koloff and Blanchard/Liger that's pretty good and has the emotional moment of the faces hugging Magnum TA before the match.

I wasn't exactly a fan of his because he was just way before my time but I wanted to post this video of Battleground 2013 The Rhodes Family vs The Shield it was a great moment for the Rhodes Family.

Dusty truly was ahead of his time. He created my most favourite gimmick match - War Games the Match Beyond - and it was legendary!

Hard to believe a young impressionable Ric Flair was his bag boy back in the mid 70s What a legend.

Was not the biggest fan, however I do agree that he left his thumb print on the wrestling business. RIP