Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation, later known as WWE. Rhodes was considered a star wrestler and presented the persona of an American everyman: the American Dream personified. Rhodes is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
Rhodes was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, he was a United States Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time World Television, World Tag Team and World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He also won many regional championships, and is one of seven men inducted into each of the WWE, WCW, Professional Wrestling, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Halls of Fame. His sons, Dustin and Cody, both pursued careers in professional wrestling, currently performing for All Elite Wrestling and WWE, respectively.
Following his retirement from wrestling, he made occasional on-air appearances on WWE television and pay-per-views and worked as a backstage booker and producer in WWE's NXT developmental territory. Billed as "the son of a plumber", Rhodes did not have a typical wrestler's physique; his character was that of the "common man", known for the personality exhibited in his interviews. WWE chairman Vince McMahon remarked that no wrestler "personified the essence of charisma quite like Dusty Rhodes".
Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. was born on October 11, 1945, in Austin, Texas.
After graduating from Albert Sidney Johnston High School in Austin, Rhodes played baseball and football at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, before transferring to West Texas State (now known as West Texas A&M University). Turning professional, he then played for the Hartford Charter Oaks in the Continental Football League until the team folded.
In 1967, Rhodes saw an advertisement in the newspaper for Tony Santos' professional wrestling promotion Big Time Wrestling based in Boston. Rhodes drove to Boston, and despite not having any wrestling experience, bluffed his way into working for the company by using his real life friendships with Bobby Duncum and the Funk brothers. Billed as Dusty Runnels, one of his first matches was for the BTW World Heavyweight title against champion Frank Scarpa in the Boston Arena. Having little money, Rhodes slept in his car and spent Thanksgiving with Rufus R. Jones in a Boston soup kitchen.
Rhodes moved on to Fritz Von Erich's Texas territory World Class Championship Wrestling in 1968, at that time also called Big Time Wrestling. It was in Texas where Rhodes first adopted the ring name "Dusty Rhodes". Upon meeting Rhodes, Gary Hart suggested that he change his ring name to "Lonesome Rhodes", a character Andy Griffith portrayed in the film A Face in the Crowd. Rhodes reportedly replied: "Well ... I don't plan on being 'Lonesome'. I think I'll stick with Dusty." Hart took an immediate liking to Rhodes and convinced Von Erich of the young wrestler's potential. Rhodes became a rule-breaking heel with Hart as his manager, teaming with Don Jardine, better known as The Spoiler.
In 1968, Rhodes left Texas and entered the Kansas City territory, tagging with fellow Texan Dick Murdoch to form the tag team The Texas Outlaws. The team traveled both nationally and internationally, appearing in Big Time Wrestling (Texas), NWA Western States Sports (Texas), NWA Detroit, National Wrestling Federation (NWF), Championship Wrestling from Florida, World Championship Wrestling (Australia), Tri-State Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), and International Wrestling Enterprise (Japan).
National Wrestling Alliance territories (1974–1984)
Rhodes did not have a typical wrestler's physique, but he was well known for his personality, charisma and interviews. In 1974, Rhodes's character became a hero after he turned on tag team partner Pak Song and manager Gary Hart after Song accidentally hit Rhodes during a match in Florida against Eddie and Mike Graham. This led him to break out as a solo wrestler, primarily in Florida, referring to himself as the "American Dream", a working class hero, aligning himself with Eddie Graham and becoming one of the most beloved and in demand wrestlers in the entire business.
On August 21, 1979, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes defeated Harley Race to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. His reign was brief — Race regained the title just days later.
Following that, Rhodes continued to work in NWA territories (especially Florida and the Mid-Atlantic) as a top babyface. He eventually reacquired the NWA World title in later years (he became a three-time champion overall) as his status grew.
By the mid-1980s, Dusty had begun transitioning into a behind-the-scenes role in Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) as a booker / creative force. He is credited with conceiving or helping name key “supercard” events and gimmicks (e.g. WarGames, BattleBowl) and popularizing what came to be called the “Dusty finish” — matches ending in controversial referee situations.
In 1983, Dusty Rhodes was the driving force behind the first Starrcade event (titled Starrcade ’83: A Flare for the Gold) under the NWA/JCP banner. He helped originate the idea, named the show, and booked its matches. The headline was a rematch between Ric Flair and Harley Race, with the narrative of Race’s ruthless tactics and Flair’s underdog status establishing the drama.
Starrcade ’83 was a success: it drew about 15,447 in attendance at the Greensboro Coliseum (plus closed-circuit audiences) and cemented the concept of an annual “supercard” event for JCP/NWA.
Thus, between 1979 and Starrcade ’83, Rhodes went from a major champion to influential architect of the NWA/JCP promotional direction and helped lay the foundation for what would become their flagship annual event.
In 1977, Rhodes wrestled for Vince McMahon Sr.'s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) on and off for lengthy periods of time until 1983. During that time, Rhodes main-evented twice in Madison Square Garden, both times challenging for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship against reigning champion Superstar Billy Graham. Rhodes won the first match on September 26 via countout, and lost the second, a Texas Death match, on October 24. Graham won after a mid-ring collision, falling on Rhodes for the three count.
Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1989)