Dustin Runnels > Dusty Rhodes

[Y 2 Jake]

Easily. Certainly from a fan of my ages perspective. A fan of around my age wouldn't remember the Dusty Rhodes from that days of his Flair, Graham & Race matches. They'll remember him from his time in WWF in the late 90's. A time when he sucked. A time when he's only remembered for wearing polka dots. He feuded with Savage & Dibiase notably around that time. But the only thing that was even remotley memorable from then is Sapphire. And not for good reasons.

Dustin on the other hand, was Goldust. One of the most intresting gimmicks of all time. His matches weren't always great. But he did have the Hollywood Backlot Brawl with Piper at Mania 12. Which is by far the best match on that card. He also had a pretty intresting feud with Undertaker. He's also more of a main eventer that Rhodes ever was in WWE. Sure he'll not be remembered as fondly as his father. But he's oodles better.

 

[Kyphael]

Agreed, I have always been a fan of Dustin Rhodes, especially since Dusty was before my time. Anyway, I absolutely loved the Goldust character, it was hilarious but above comic shtick, I always felt he was underappreciated as a performer, especially when he was in good shape (2002 return was his best in-ring shape run.) In his first heel run, he had enough momentum and heat to have made a transitional World Champion, especially since during his good run, the company was still struggling to find a champion that would draw and be the face of the WWF during the "New Generation."

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I've been so torn on the Dustin Runnels/Goldust character that its no longer even funny. While I think the character was one of the most unique characters ever, and it certainly received a lot of attention.. I still don't know what to think on whether Dustin was over as Goldust, or if the character was alone to itself.

Dusty was over huge before the W.W.F., and his only memorable moments (as Jake said) were his feuds with Randy "The King" Savage, and Ted Dibiase. Again, Sapphire was almost more highly remembered and over than Dusty was. So when you look at the two of them, then yes.. Dustin as Goldust was definately by leaps and bounds over his Father. Yet not because of him being him, yet instead of him being a character. (meaning not him using his name)

I think a lot of people felt Dusty was held down from the Main Event, and that hurt him. Well, I've never seen Dusty as Main Event material to begin with. He was always viewed by me, as the guy who should go on first, or in the middle of the show, to hype the crowd. He was the entertainment aspect of the show, who made you get into the event, and laugh. Hell, consider him a very upgraded Doink The Clown for what its worth.

Meanwhile, Dustin came in as Goldust and I don't originally think the character was meant to take a "gay-ish" role turn. Yet for some reason, people started seeing him like that.. so he turned his character to it. And it WORKED! No other character has been capable of matching what Goldust was, and to add to it.. they're still trying to market the Goldust look, through Black Reign. So obviously it was majorly over in selective aspects.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Goldust was certainly gay. When he made his debut he came on to Razor Ramon. Or maybe he was just pretending to be a Hollywood superstar.

Rhodes shouldn't have been pushed as a main eventer when he entered WWE. Imagine him, with his JBL inspiring belly. Up against the likes of Hogan. Warrior and others. He was mid card material only. He would have looked ridiculous in the main events. It's the same reason Harley Race was nothing more than an opening card act.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Goldust was certainly gay. When he made his debut he came on to Razor Ramon. Or maybe he was just pretending to be a Hollywood superstar.

Actually, the storyline with Razor Ramon didn't happen until close to 2-3 monthes after he debuted. He debuted against Marty Jannetty at an In Your House p.p.v., then had a match against Bam Bam Bigelow at Survivor Series. (I could have the two matches reversed.)

The Ramon storyline didn't happen until mid-December to my knowledge, leading into the Royal Rumble. So he didn't debut "gay" but he "turned".

Rhodes shouldn't have been pushed as a main eventer when he entered WWE. Imagine him, with his JBL inspiring belly. Up against the likes of Hogan. Warrior and others. He was mid card material only. He would have looked ridiculous in the main events. It's the same reason Harley Race was nothing more than an opening card act.

I agree. But again, I stand by what I said previously. Rhodes was only brought in because he had huge fan ovations due to interacting with them. The Main Event had Hulk Hogan to do that, so the midcard had Rhodes.

Rhodes couldn't handle Main Eventing against guys like Hogan, Warrior, and barely handled Savage.

 

[wrestlingfanart]

Dustin Rhodes (as his name in the old WCW would tell you) is a natural in-ring talent and a good talker. Goldust was great back in the day. Goldust was before it's time. If things would work out right, I think that Dustin and Cody Rhodes would make a great tag team. Think of all the story lines you could come up with there. It could bridge the gap between Dusty-Dustin"Goldust"-Cody. Makes sense to me.

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

Okay, it's time for the old fart of this discussion to chime in.

As someone who has seen both Dusty Rhodes during his days in the NWA in memorable feuds with the Horsemen as well as in the WWF with Ted Debiase, and who has seem Dustin Runnels(Rhode) during both his debut days in the NWA and throughout his time as Godldust I gotta vote this way.

Dusty Rhodes was a one dimensional character. That whole "cool enough to be black" type of country boy thing was always something that he has used. Even when he would to the whole "suspended" gimmick where he came back as the Midnight Rider, you could see that it was Dusty. And not just by his body type either.

Dustin, on the other hand, has shown that he has a creative range that far transcends some of the best the the business has ever seen. I mean when I first started seeing promos for Goldust, I would never have thought that to be Dustin. His wrestling skills leave something to be desired, but he is one hell of a skillful actor. I recently saw a clip on youtube of him on Howard Stern, doing an interview as Goldust with turrets and he did an immaculate job to stay in character.

So what it comes down to is this. Dusty Rhodes will be a bigger name because he was big during a time when you didn't have to to much to get over except be a hard worker. Dustin came along during a time when a second generation star MIGHT be able to get over, given the right push. But he went above and beyond the level of expectations with characters like Goldust and Black Reign. He showed that he was not just his father's son.

So in the end, I give the nod to Dustin as he looked the most like his father and could have easily just rode his coattails to a career, but chose to do his own thing. No matter how controversial it will be viewed as having been.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm not huge on either of these two, but I'll take the younger version over Dusty. Dusty to me is the most overrated wrestler ever. He could talk well, but as far as in ring, there was nothing that ever appealed to me. Dustin was an amazingly complex character and great at what he did. He was Dusty's son, and then he was able to break out on his own. When I was a kid he was flat out creepy to me, which I guess is what they were going for with him. Now as Black Reign, he's just taking up space on the roster. Dusty was famous in WWE/F for being a joke, who won nothing. Dustin won a few intercontinental titles and I believe some tag titles. Better than nothing, so it goes to the younger Rhodes.

 

[wrestlingfanart]

Are you all smoking something? Dusty a bad worker? Ask Harley Race and Ric Flair how good Dusty was. This man went sixty minutes every night for years, even tho he was a heavy guy. Dusty was quick, had great balance and could go move for move with the best. He IS without a doubt one of, if not THE most charismatic sport entertainers ever. If you think Dusty wasn't an all-time great, then I have to assume you don't know what the hell you are talking about. The man got Polka Dots over for goodness sakes. Dustin was also a great worker, even better than his father. Dustin also has great charisma. Dustin remind me of a great character actor like Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken and Joe Pesci. Dusty will always be remembered as an all-time great and legend, Dustin (as Goldust) will always be remembered well.

Remember - Dusty sold out MSG, won the NWA title (back when it meant something) and is a Hall of Famer in anyones book

Dustin was IC champ, WCW and WWE tag team champ and got over a gimmick that no one else would even touch.

 

[klunderbunker]

Don't get me wrong, Dusty is charasmatic, on a very high level. I just mean in the ring itself. His promos were always solid and funny when they were supposed to be. I jsut never really saw what was so great about his in ring work. It reminds me a bit of Hogan. He was good at the basics and a few moves, but his charisma was the majority of his appeal. He's definitely a HOFer that's true, and he is a (I believe) 3 time world champion. I think part of the problem is that he was in there with Flair and Race, who are two of the best all around workers and entertainers ever. His level of praise all over has to mean something though.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Definitly. While Dusty had a lot of charisma and a ton of fan backing, he was given a very generic persona to portray. Anybody could be given that "every man" gimmick and do well with it. Dustin on the other hand was given a far out character and made it work. I don't think anybody couldve pulled off the Goldust character any better than Dustin did.

I'm not discrediting Dusty's accomplishments. Its just that Dustin was alot better at what he did.

 

[FoleyIsGod]

I would have agreed with you back in the Attitude days as Dusty Rhodes was Mister Pokadots and a godawful announcer when he moved back to WCW.

But since the company merger and with all the classic matches in the tape library that the WWE own, I would have to choose Dusty. He had awsome matchups with Flair and Harley Race etc. He was charismatic and the crowd were clearly behind him.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Are you all smoking something? Dusty a bad worker? Ask Harley Race and Ric Flair how good Dusty was. This man went sixty minutes every night for years, even tho he was a heavy guy.

I think I've missed all of those 60 minute matches. You would think they would be on the Dusty Rhodes DVD. But they're not. Probably because he was too fat to go 60 minutes. Somebody like Umaga is fit, but fat. As I'm sure Dusty was. But I doubt he could go an hour. From the looks of his DVD he always gassed at about the 12 minute mark. That'll be why most of the matches are short, and have a lot of blood.

Dustin was IC champ, WCW and WWE tag team champ and got over a gimmick that no one else would even touch.

Plenty of wrestlers would have touched it. There are millions of guys who would do anything for the oppertunity to work in WWE.

 

[wrestlingfanart]

King Jake said abut Dusty going 60 minutes back in the day--- "I think I've missed all of those 60 minute matches. You would think they would be on the Dusty Rhodes DVD. But they're not. Probably because he was too fat to go 60 minutes. Somebody like Umaga is fit, but fat. As I'm sure Dusty was. But I doubt he could go an hour. From the looks of his DVD he always gassed at about the 12 minute mark. That'll be why most of the matches are short, and have a lot of blood."

And I Reply --- Watch that Dusty Rhodes DVD again and this time listen to it and you will hear them clearly say that Dusty went 60 minutes. I've heard both Harley and Flair say in other interviews that Dusty went 60 minutes. The NWA Champ at the time had to go 60 minutes at most shows. It was required to do sixty minute broadways. FACT is, Dusty was a 60 minute man back in the day.


King Jake also said about Goldust and wrestlers not wanting to do the gimmick--- "Plenty of wrestlers would have touched it. There are millions of guys who would do anything for the oppertunity to work in WWE."

And I Reply --- You are right,,, sort of... Most new-comers and rookies would have done it, but not a solid, well-known wrestler such as Dustin(which was required for that role and that kind of push). Heck, Scott Hall refused to wrestle him for the longest time. Hulkamania runs wild, and so does Homophobia. If everyone would be honest with themselves, they would have to say that BOTH Dusty and Dustin/Goldust were great and respected talents who will be remembered for longer than most in the wrestling business.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

And I Reply --- Watch that Dusty Rhodes DVD again and this time listen to it and you will hear them clearly say that Dusty went 60 minutes. I've heard both Harley and Flair say in other interviews that Dusty went 60 minutes. The NWA Champ at the time had to go 60 minutes at most shows. It was required to do sixty minute broadways. FACT is, Dusty was a 60 minute man back in the day.

Where are these 60 minute matches on the DVD? I watched it yesterday. If it's a 8 hour DVD. Has an hour and a half long documentary, and about 15 matches. Where are the hour long ones? If he had any, even bad ones, I'm sure they would have added them. Instead they added lots of worthless 10 minutes and less matches. I'm sure he has been in an hour long match. Just not many, and none worth watching.

And I Reply --- You are right,,, sort of... Most new-comers and rookies would have done it, but not a solid, well-known wrestler such as Dustin(which was required for that role and that kind of push). Heck, Scott Hall refused to wrestle him for the longest time. Hulkamania runs wild, and so does Homophobia.

The only thing Dustin was known for was being Dusty's son. Nothing else. He was a minor player in his first run in WWE, then in WCW. It was the Goldust gimmick that made fans care about him. It's also that gimmick that gave him longevity in the sport.

 

[klunderbunker]

Dustin was stuck in his father's shadow, and in WCW he had about the most generic gimmick there could be. How many wrestlers in indy feds etc have been called "the Natural"? The gimmick basically was, he's young, and talented. 80% of the roster have that attribute. Giving him Goldust was something totally new. The only thing that I can think of anywhere close to this would be Adrian Adonis in the mid to late 80s. It was still very taboo to think of a gay wrestler/athlete, and still is to an extent today, 13 years later. For Dustin to take on something like this, a completely original gimmick and make it work for this long, because face it, Black Reign is more than similar to Goldust, is truly impressive. As someoen else said, it's not like Dusty's gimmick was really that special. He was a common man that wrestled. That's fine, and I'm not sure how many people could do it at the level he did. He has more charisma than everyone in history other than maybe 5 people, but I'd say Dustin is better overall, for his in ring skills and taking such a crazy gimmick and making it work for so long.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Hell fucking yes. Goldust was so ridiculously great, and just revolutionary for its time. It was SO over the top when it came out, and just a total and utter complete CHARACTER. I think it could be said, that with the exception of the Undertaker, no one has played a character better EVER. This guy DRIPPED heel heat when he first arrived, playing on the things that make people uncomfortable in life.

Dusty, on the other hand, while great, didnt make nearly the impact that Goldust did (if we are speaking just purely on WWE work that is) and even outside of that, I think it could be argued that Dustin was still overall better.