Should Goldust Have Returned As Dustin?

[The Brain]

I think most of us agree that the storyline involving the Rhodes family has been one of the best things going in WWE recently. The fans have really gotten behind the Rhodes’ as they’ve battled against the odds to get the best of Triple H and The Shield. It has been pretty much a perfect story but there’s one little thing I would have changed. For this particular storyline Dustin looks a little out of place as Goldust.

I know for pretty much his entire WWE career Dustin Rhodes has played the role of Goldust and the fans love the gimmick. Considering he wasn’t even on the roster at the beginning of this angle and hadn’t played Goldust for a couple years Dustin probably would have been better off leaving the wig and face paint behind. I think coming back as just Dustin Rhodes instead of Goldust would have served a couple purposes. First of all Dustin would just look more natural (no pun intended WCW fans) just being himself standing with Dusty and Cody. This angle doesn’t require such an over the top character. Dustin just being himself would have sold the more serious nature of this angle.

The other reason is Dustin could have brought Goldust back later. For years people have wanted a match between Goldust and Cody. I never really got the appeal of that but we’re at the point where it finally may happen. Michael Cole told the story before the match at Battleground. Dusty was never there for Dustin. They had a strained relationship for years. Dustin always strived for Dusty’s approval but only got criticism. Dustin created Goldust just to get out of Dusty’s shadow and create his own identity. On the other hand Dusty was the ideal father for Cody. He was always there for Cody and was always proud and encouraging. Cody was proud to wrestle under the Rhodes name as he always had Dusty’s full support. The story is simple so eventually the brothers are going to drop the titles and have an ugly falling out. After Dustin turns on Cody would have been the perfect time to bring back Goldust. Jealousy causes Dustin to turn on his brother and Goldust returns as Dustin once again tries to distance himself from the family he feels he doesn’t fit with.

What do you guys think? Did WWE make a mistake by bringing Dustin back as Goldust right away? We’ve all seen Goldust wrestle as Dustin many times so it’s not like it would have been unusual to see him without the paint. Don’t misunderstand me. I have enjoyed the angle and loved the match at Battleground. I just think Dustin is a better fit for this angle and they could have had more drama by saving the Goldust return for the feud with Cody.

 

[Slash-LN]

I think he should have come back as Dustin.
It's a minor thing but I think it was kind of dumb when they came out of the crowd that one week on Raw and Dustin was in full makeup. Then the next week they come down in suits or nice clothes at least and sure enough there's the face paint.
It's supposed to be the Rhodes family. It is a little odd.

I get that most WWE fans that even know who he is would know him as Goldust but like you said they could have brought him back later as a way to separate himself from the Rhodes name.

 

[HBsam31]

Slash I don't think that was a minor thing at all. Dustin coming out of the crowd in full facepaint was absurd. We know it is all a work, but it would have been so much better if he would have came down minus the facepaint to beat the hell out of The Shield. With the story that is going he could have easily said he wasn't playing that part this time, and he is Dustin Rhodes. I know Goldust gets a pop from the fans, but the timing would have been perfect for Dustin just to be Dustin.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Part of his "arc" is that it's ok to be yourself, but he is now Goldust... so on that score I think it works.

At the end of the day Dustin has never worked as a character other than that very early WCW stint with the US title, even then he was bland as hell and only got away with it because he was "Dusty lite". Right or wrong Goldust gave him an identity in the business that was his own and this version is more serious than previous ones... but not hating having him there, just think it's a typical stupid E decision based on their age difference and trying to hide that rather than anything else.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think that "Dustin" will ultimately make an appearance, but I think it'll happen due to Goldust turning on Cody. Over the next couple of months, I think we'll see the Rhodes boys successfully defend the titles and I think Goldust will ultimately turn on Cody at the Royal Rumble, or the seeds will be planted at least. There's usually not a tag title match at the Rumble and the champs are often in the Rumble match itself. Cody could wind up eliminating Goldust, leading to friction between them that ultimately leads to Goldust turning on Cody. Goldust could eliminate Cody from the Rumble, possibly developing a superiority complex in which he feels he's the "better Rhodes" or something, leading to a turn.

It's just a feeling I have, but I think that "Goldust" will disappear shortly before or after a heel turn. I simply don't see WWE walking away from an opportunity to do a brother vs. brother feud when you take into account the history of both brothers. Dusty was on the road a whole lot when Dustin was growing up and they could go the route of Dustin being resentful of Cody & his old man for that. By the time Cody was born in 1985, Dusty was in the twilight years of his in-ring career. As a result, Dusty was around for Cody FAR more than he was for Dustin, something that could be used in the feud with Dustin going the route of believing that his life & career would have turned out differently had his father been there for him like he'd been for Cody, wouldn't have made the mistakes that he made both personally and professionally, etc. As a result, I see it leading to a match between them at WrestleMania XXX.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

Dustin will always be Goldust as long as he's in WWE. He didn't get over as Dustin in the 90s why would it work now? It's the gimmick that got him over and made him a star that he is today. They have done a good job building him back up these last few months with the vignettes and some high profile matches. He actually has some credibility again and is not the comedic jobber he was in his last run. He might not even be around in a year so just enjoy the ride while it lasts.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I was thinking about this the other day and yes, I think he should have returned as "Dustin Rhodes", the fact they are all referred to as the "Rhodes family" makes Goldust feel a little out of place to me. I know alot of the fans may not have realised that Dustin Rhodes was Goldust, but that is where the vast WWE video library would come in handy, to show the newer fans of Dustin's earlier persona and the story behind it.

I just think him coming out of the crowd in face paint just looks a bit silly. I know wrestling is a work, but come on, make it feel at least a bit realistic. As if Dustin Rhodes would have painted his face before coming out to help his brother. It's only a small thing, but it is definitely something I feel strongly about.

With them fighting together as Dustin and Cody, there is still the opportunity to bring back the Goldust persona when the brothers inevitably fall out and have their long-awaited match against each other. That would have been the perfect time for Dustin to revert back to his "Bizarre One" character.

 

[Theo Mays]

From a wrestling standpoint I'm more than ok with Dustin portraying Goldust as that is what he is known widely as. That is his biggest claim to fame. As for other purposes like the coming in from the crowd or promos, I'd rather him play Dustin. The face paint looked silly when jumping the barricade and beating the Shield. I couldn't take him seriously. Honestly he should have went the Sting approach. Sting is seen nowadays without the face paint and he'll cover up with a pair of sunglasses. That is how I would've handle the situation with Goldust. As a wrestler stay with Goldust, that's your bread and butter. Outside the ring, stick with Dustin.

 

[A11oftheLights]

I wouldn't have him as dustin but still put the face paint on for a match like what sting did when he was in men and at other various stages

 

[Mustang Sally]

The story is simple so eventually the brothers are going to drop the titles and have an ugly falling out. After Dustin turns on Cody would have been the perfect time to bring back Goldust.

Hadn't even thought of this, but it's a great idea. Fundamentally, it's understandable that WWE management would want to bring back Goldust. He was a prime figure from another era, which is something the company likes to put before the fans, as with Rock and Brock Lesnar. And like them, Goldust can still actually work, as opposed to some of the fossils brought in to face Heath Slater some time back. In fact, it's surprising and pleasing to see how smoothly Dustin still works a match.

Thing is, he could do that as Dustin Rhodes, too. It does seem somehow incongruous to see the brothers walking down the ramp together, given that the nature of Goldust almost requires him to walk alone; that was his whole schtick in the old days. Notice that the two stand together when first appearing, and Cody walks ahead of Goldust the rest of the way.

I like the Goldust gimmick and always did. His battles with Roddy Piper and Razor Ramon back in the day were dramatic, funny and significant. But I like Brain's idea. If he and Cody could have held the tag titles together and, upon losing them, cause Cody to stay good and Dustin go bad, I can just imagine watching a pissed-off Goldust standing by the curtain, ready to do God-knows-what.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

No way. I'd like to think that much like Cody's Dashing and Horrifying Mess gimmicks, Dustin is still to damaged of a human being to be completely himself. But let's face it, he's come a long way. This is not your younger self's Golddust. The costume and some of the moves are the same but there's no Marlena or Luna, no Hollywood glitter, no lingerie, no blond wig, no hyper sexuality, no DQ second rope nut kicks, no GTV, no cigars, no cape, and no stuttering. This has really just been a more mature Dustin not able to break completely away from what made him special and different from his daddy.

And it's worked for me. He doesn't fit the suit so well anymore. His paint wearing off further expresses to the viewer of how he is wearing down during a match. Brain's idea of going from Dustin straight to Golddust is a good one to get a deep emotional feud out of Cody and Dustin. But I'd like to see it brew a little slower. Over the next few months let the Rhodes brothers continue to be successful. Let the Golddust character start to get a big head and take over Dustin completely a little bit week by week. Start with the wig, then the rope, then have glitter drop from the ceiling, then let him get a little more sexual, and then have him bring out a sexy valet or even bring back Marlena.

This is a good thing they have going on right now. If they are going to go the brother v brother route stretch it out and let it climax at Mania. Brain put together a very well written thread about heel and face turns and the art of it. I think this story has a great opportunity to be entertaining and have that "art". Golddust doesn't have to simply turn on Cody, Cody could have conflict in a brotherly way of watching his brother slowly become something that isn't healthy.

And if WWE doesn't do it my way, they didn't do it right because I am a dude on the internet who knows everything.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

I agree with the way WWE did things - it's just simply business when it comes down to this kind of decisions. Obviously Goldust is a much more popular character and he's being pushed as one of the most proficient members of the Attitude Era which is the reason he's so over with most of casual fans and little kids too. The way he was brought back was as Goldust, but they refereed him as Cody Rhodes's brother which they never did and slowly but surely they are presenting him as Dustin Rhodes, so when a feud between the two brothers end up happening, the fans will be a lot more into it and in that way I see a lot more sense using Dustin Rhodes and not Goldust.

I've been really enjoying this storyline too, it has all kinds of feelings. It's nostalgic, it's very smart and personal, it's something that started unfair and ended up right - I have no doubt in my mind that this is some of the best work they (Dustin & Cody) have ever done. In reality everyone is winning with it, even The Shield looked strong as hell despite their loss - the booking committee is doing a fairly good job.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

In a sense Goldust has now become more of "war paint" for Dustin, so I can see why he is keeping it. At the end of the day Goldust IS Dustin and vice versa so killing it would need to be for quite a special reason.

I am sure there will be a match stip that involved Dustin "unmasking" and to the turn... If it's a Shield rematch (or even the Wyatts more likely as Kane will probably be in the mix) then I can see Cody losing and him being forced to abandon Goldust forever as a result... That would lead to Dustin turning on Cody and the Mania match being true "Brother v Brother" with Dusty as referee.

I think Triple H has finally convinced Vinny that they don't get the chance to do these kind of feuds often enough to be able to throw this one away.

 

[lifelongfan]

golddust is some one younger ppl no. Im 29 and outher than his wCw days wich i missed most of watching wwe instead ive never seen him work as Dustin. as long s he is never Black Rain agin im ok. gotta take a min to say how impessed i am with his inring work. he looks great. proops dustin or golddust or whatever u call him u got mad respect

 

[daddyJ_t]

dustin is more fundamentally sound then the goldust character and there fore a little bland per se. dustins best fued was with val venus which lead to the return of goldust. i dont think dustinb will return until a really good twist happens or perhaps after a potential heel turn and bring back marlena and go old school heel on cody

 

[Borck Lesnar]

Goldust is way more over as goldust than dustin, the dustin could've been more serious but as far as now dustin would be stale, dustin is very plain thats why goldust is such a good fit for him it gives dustin a spark

 

[TheNew_ApexPredator]

I agree. WWE should of brang back Dustin not Goldust (Well not yet) Bring Goldust when Dustin turns heel would of been awesome! Seeing Goldust come out with a suit and his gold face paint looks ridiculous! It would make a good storyline for Goldust to return after Dustin turns heel and goes against Cody! WWE dont think this through sometimes

 

[Spidey Revivey]

This is Goldust we are talking about. Calling his face paint + business suit "ridiculous" kind've seems weird when we've seem him do way more bizarre shit than that.

I think what they are doing is fine. They seem to be slowly transitioning the Goldust we know into the Dustin Rhodes that we don't know much about. His antics are dying out, his appearance is reminiscent but has changed to a more mature gimmick. Instead of wondering if they should've introduced him as Dustin and had him change over, it looks like we are getting the reverse, "Gregory Helms"-esque angle.

I look forward to a very possible bout between the brothers. I haven't been this excited about Cody since he handed out paper bags to the front row.

 

[Borck Lesnar]

I think that "Dustin" will ultimately make an appearance, but I think it'll happen due to Goldust turning on Cody. Over the next couple of months, I think we'll see the Rhodes boys successfully defend the titles and I think Goldust will ultimately turn on Cody at the Royal Rumble, or the seeds will be planted at least. There's usually not a tag title match at the Rumble and the champs are often in the Rumble match itself. Cody could wind up eliminating Goldust, leading to friction between them that ultimately leads to Goldust turning on Cody. Goldust could eliminate Cody from the Rumble, possibly developing a superiority complex in which he feels he's the "better Rhodes" or something, leading to a turn.

It's just a feeling I have, but I think that "Goldust" will disappear shortly before or after a heel turn. I simply don't see WWE walking away from an opportunity to do a brother vs. brother feud when you take into account the history of both brothers. Dusty was on the road a whole lot when Dustin was growing up and they could go the route of Dustin being resentful of Cody & his old man for that. By the time Cody was born in 1985, Dusty was in the twilight years of his in-ring career. As a result, Dusty was around for Cody FAR more than he was for Dustin, something that could be used in the feud with Dustin going the route of believing that his life & career would have turned out differently had his father been there for him like he'd been for Cody, wouldn't have made the mistakes that he made both personally and professionally, etc. As a result, I see it leading to a match between them at WrestleMania XXX.

Goldust is just way to good to be dustin again, and like you said it's a short time deal, or at least thats what is being reported.

 

[WWFHallOffamer]

He did he's known as Dustin "Goldust" Runnels like how The Rock is DWayne "The Rock" Johnson

 

[WWFHallOffamer]

I see Dustin facing Cody at Mania he loses they make up Cody goes to feud for the wwe title as Dustin feuds for the WHC Cody becomes face of company as Dustin puts over young stars (never mind he made a career out of that) holds the title and breaks a record then loses it to a young star with Cody returning the favor of Dustin turning on him then Runnels vs Runnels 2 winner Goldust after Cena want's his spot back and start's a feud with him

 

[Rooster Smith]

Nah, I think Golddust is better.

But they should have gone all the way and went "Full Golddust." Won't see that in the PG era, I reckon.

 

[Pivel]

From a musical Stanpoint, Dustin musical theme totaly rock, 10 times better that the generic rock music of his brother.

Once the first few notes hit, and the Golden flash, the weirdo that come out of it. The crow errupt, Dustin have a unique entrance.
it would make no sense to use it without the Goldust persona, this is the flashy Goldust theme, and it suppose to represent part of the Rhode family for you also because at the end of the day, they're all a little bit weirdo like Goldust anyway.

Dustin did a hell lot out of that strange mid 90's gimmick. It strange too how comfortable he seem to be in. Probably should have won more along the way too, he have a knack to score some memorable momment.

 

[Rooster Smith]

From a musical Stanpoint, Dustin musical theme totaly rock, 10 times better that the generic rock music of his brother.

Once the first few notes hit, and the Golden flash, the weirdo that come out of it. The crow errupt, Dustin have a unique entrance.
it would make no sense to use it without the Goldust persona, this is the flashy Goldust theme, and it suppose to represent part of the Rhode family for you also because at the end of the day, they're all a little bit weirdo like Goldust anyway.

Dustin did a hell lot out of that strange mid 90's gimmick. It strange too how comfortable he seem to be in. Probably should have won more along the way too, he have a knack to score some memorable momment.

Agreed. I was surprised he never won the championship.

That's the problem with the WWE, they'll only push you so far, then you need to push yourself.

They can make you a star, but you have to be a Stone Cold, Rock or Roddy Piper type. You gotta be coming up with stuff that works yourself.

I feel like Golddust was more of an executer. He wasn't a writer, he wasn't an idea guy. But he could take other ideas and kill with them.

Unfortunately, no matter how good the idea is, those guys don't seem to win world titles that much.