Posts Tagged ‘Dusty Rhodes’

Ted DiBiase Interview: Dusty Rhodes’ Passing, Working With Jake Roberts & More

WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase recently appeared on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast to discuss the passing of Dusty Rhodes, Mid-South Wrestling and more. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Memories of working in Mid-South:

“Mid-South is what started my whole career. The owner of Mid-South Wrestling, “Cowboy’ Bill Watts was and is extremely intelligent and unbelievable at understanding the psychology of our industry and I probably learned more from him then just about anybody. Naming all the guys that came from Mid-South (Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, Junkyard Dog), they didn’t just come out wrestlers they came out as Superstars. I never actually got a chance to wrestle Jake in Mid-South but my biggest move is when I finally turned from “good” guy to “bad” guy on Junkyard Dog. JYD had a tremendous run down there. JYD really is what started me into becoming an accomplished heel.”

His “Loser Leaves Town” match against “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan:

“Me, Duggan and (Matt) Borne had the Rat Pack. Duggan became a baby face and I had a great run with Hacksaw. The “Loser Leaves Town” Match was like the Gimmick Matches of all Gimmick Matches. We were dressed in tuxedos, we were inside of a steel cage, there was a 12 ft. pole attached to the ring with a loaded coal miners glove that if you got it you could use and on top of all that it was a “Loser Leaves Town” Match.”

Bill Watts and Mid-South being the first to run in a dome:

“When you talk about running big venues, obviously the WWE has sold out arenas all over the world throughout the years and it seems like every WrestleMania sets a new record. But, I believe l and I’m not mistaken that the first guy to run a dome was Bill Watts when he ran The Superdome. Obviously he didn’t sell it out but that is probably the largest crowd that I remember wrestling in front of at that time.”

His match against Jake Roberts at WrestleMania 6:

“I loved wrestling Jake all the time. He was easy. As wrestlers call it “doing the dance” and Jake and I dance well together. When you are on the same wavelength and share the same psychology of what a match should be, we had that. I was the heel and Jake was the baby face and it was actually one of the WrestleMania’s where I actually won. But the only reason I won was because post WrestleMania he and I were still going to be working all the time. WrestleMania VI I would say is my favorite WrestleMania match. My first one, WrestleMania IV was the tournament where the champion would be crowned, the last match I had with Randy Savage was a good match and I loved working Randy but Jake is one of those guys I worked so well with.”

Dusty Rhodes passing away:

“Wrestling lost an unbelievable wrestler and incredible entertainer, but I lost a close friend. My relationship with Dusty goes all the way back to the beginning of my career. I am one of the guys like Dusty that was on the football team at West Texas State. I was there with Tito Santana, Tully Blanchard and a lot of wrestlers came out of West Texas State. I had actually met Dusty at Dick Murdoch’s house in Amarillo, Texas and when I started in the business, Dusty had already had the reputation of being great. A lot of people look at him and say well he had a sloppy body but what you have to understand was Dusty could have a technical match that I’m known for having . Dusty worked his gimmick and that is “the son of a plumber” and that he was the average man and say that I look like the “common man”. When he became NWA World Champion he said to me that “there were a lot of guys that don’ t think I can carry this belt, but I can do it”. When he came to the WWE, Vince (McMahon) made him the guy in polka dots and Dusty didn’t throw a big fit about the whole thing and he took that and did it extremely well. That’s actually the only time we were able to work a real program and I had the opportunity to wrestle Dusty often. I also helped break in his son Dustin and even to this day Cody and my son (Ted Dibiase Jr.) who were tag team partners are very close friends. My heart goes out to Michelle his wife and those boys.”

Posted July 1st, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , , .

Tyrus Talks About His Issues With John Cena, Memories Of Dusty Rhodes & More

TNA star Tyrus (aka Brodus Clay) appeared on CBS Radio’s Chad Dukes Wrestling Show this past week to discuss working with Jason Albert, Dusty Rhodes, his issues with John Cena and more. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On Jason Albert: “I think my game expanded tagging with him. So deep, man he knows so much he doesn’t let anything bother him, where I’m more emotional. Everything bothers me. Like somebody says something sideways I’m like, ‘I’m gonna kill that-‘ and he’ll be like, ‘Hey man, hey, relax it’s okay forget it.’ Perfect example, when we had to do that lingerie spot, I was more upset that he had to do that and he was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to make this work.’ And we ended up being a tag team. I wanted us to turn heel together.”

“Performance-wise not seeing him is a disservice to the fans but as a trainer, I think you’re going to start seeing this next generation of guys coming up under his tutelege, you’re going to see a lot of guys that really got their stuff together. His influence, I mean he was he was in the Attitude Era and he was in after that, he was in New Japan, as far as like moves, psychology, and stuff I can’t think of anyone better to be honest with you.”

On Dusty Rhodes: “I mean, I couldn’t have done [The Funkasaurus] without Dusty Rhodes. He was so instrumental in the whole character thing.”

“I spent the whole day with Dusty and he played ‘Moves Like Jagger’ and me and him danced to it in the arena all day. I actually have the footage but I was told I was never allowed to show it but I watched it the other day because I missed him.”

“This is the same guy when I first got there and I was about four hundred sixty pounds they told me I had to wear trunks. I was like, ‘Oh my god, they hate me.’ So what does Dusty do? He comes to work with his shirt off. He walks around the arena with his shirt off. ‘If I can do it baby, you can do it.’ “

On John Cena’s mention of him on Raw recently: “Cena ran his mouth a couple weeks ago that I was lumped in with the XFL, son of a bitch, and I was like he XFL was cool. And listen, the only difference between him and P.N. News is that he got a push, because he wasn’t the first rapping gimmick. He wasn’t the first guy with a chain, he just won some titles. If he didn’t he’s just white P.N. News.”

“It’s good. He wants to do an open challenge, keep running your mouth you know, you’ll see the US Title in TNA. I’ll keep it for as long as I want to. But yeah I mean it’s one of those things where you know what my name’s being dropped in three wrestling promotions in one week, why not.”

Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.

Posted June 29th, 2015 in News, TNA, WWE. Tagged: , , .

Steve Corino Talks About Feuding With Dusty Rhodes In The Original ECW & More

ROH’s Steve Corino recently appeared as a guest on Busted Open Radio to talk in-depth about his memories of the late WWE Hall Of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On how it was like a family member passed when he found out Dusty passed: “Oh absolutely. He was bigger than life. I went from a kid that would watch him every month at the old Philadelphia Civics Center to being able to look across the ring and face him in the ring and after ECW and WCW he had started his own promotion and I would sit there and I would be his opponent and I would argue with him and he would call me bad names and it was such a fun relationship. I had to sit back sometimes and think, wait this is the American Dream Dusty Rhodes that I am arguing with. And I am sure a lot of guys would tell you that he was like a second father to a lot of the boys and a lot of the women of professional wrestling and going over the tweets from all the NXT talent and fans that were tweeting in and sending me messages and stuff like that… bigger than life is just the best way that I could describe Dream.”

On how it felt to feud with Dusty in ECW: “It sounds punished but it was like a dream come true and it’s funny that you mention that first promo because I was just talking to Tommy Dreamer about this yesterday. That promo, I didn’t even know that he was in Atlanta… he had just gotten released by WCW that week… ECW happened to be in Atlanta… I had just done the thing with Limp Bizkit and the stars were aligned and I always called Tommy Dreamer “Dream”. And we would always joke and he would talk about himself in the third person just the humor of Tommy Dreamer and myself and CW and Jack Victory … so I asked that night, I go “Hey what am I doing tonight” and he goes “Oh you’re working with The Dream”… so I looked at him and go “So what are we doing?” and he goes “No man, you’re working with the REAL Dream tonight”. And that quick “Here comes the American Dream” and it was like an aura around him, and I’m just like, “You got to be kidding me, this is Dusty Rhodes!” And I remember walking up to him and I said “Sir, is there anything you’d like to talk about or go over?” and he said (Dusty impression) “Kid, if you as good as Bill Alfonso says you is… then there is no need to talk about it beforehand” and I said “Oh… yes sir”. And what a lot of people don’t realize… that fist promo … that was a one shot. We never knew that there was gonna be another chapter to all of this. We just thought that it was something we were gonna do in Atlanta. It was originally supposed to be dark and that’s why you see Joey Styles say “Oh, we’re not gonna put this on TV!” And afterwards he was so thrilled with how the boys treated him and the atmosphere that he said “Hey, let’s do something” and Paul sat me down and said “Are you ready for this? You’re going to become a star”. And it was true because he did what no one else could do for me. At the time I was feuding with Tommy Dreamer and Taz, who were such great talents and the heart and soul of ECW, but I was talking about the old school… these guys were current stars. And when Dusty came into ECW he legitimized the King of Old School character and I just rode that star of his. Now, my wife and I just moved into the house of our dreams and there is no way we could have done that if Dusty Rhodes doesn’t come to ECW. I’ve been riding that star for 15-16 years now because of 3 guys: Dusty Rhodes, Paul Heyman and Shinuhas Moto and a lot of supporting players around me and it’s hard to believe that 2 out of 3 of those guys are gone now and it’s just crazy, just crazy.”

On how much Dusty has effected the business and his legacy: “Absolutely. People would, you know, the negative would be “Oh he was always on top, he didn’t know when to step down, but that’s not true because he was ALWAYS making guys. JR said it best… Nikita Koloff NEVER should have been the star that he was in 1984 but Dusty gave him that rub and Nikita rode that wave and got better and became a star in his own right. He just did that for so many different guys. And all 3 of his world title reigns that lasted a week to two weeks – he deserved them … he deserved a longer run but you know what? For him it was about the chase and getting the people engaged and stuff like that. I know Rick talked about traveling with him and just learning because he would talk and just tell a story and I would ask about booking things because I’m so interested in that side of the wrestling business and he would talk about it as if it was a movie and it was always the John Wayne reference. I would go watch John Wayne movies or I would listen to Bob Dylan because a match would be a Bob Dylan song. He was so complex and he was on so many different levels that creatively… one of the top I’ve ever been around and I’ve been around Heyman and Cornett and so many different great minds. Dusty was a storyteller. He knew not only how to tell his own story, but how to tell everybody else’s story and it’s a lost art I believe. I totally believe the storyteller in everybody – just, he had it. I asked him once, real quick, and this was after a few beers and I said “Dream, why did you put the NWA title on Ron Garvin?” And at first he joked around, he goes “Because you weren’t available! Do you have any other stupid questions?” I thought Barry Windham was ready. He said “Barry Windham was the chaser. People wanted to see Barry chase. But Ron Garvin deserved it. He worked hard. He worked so hard. And I would do it all again tomorrow and I thought “Wow, this is a guy that, even when people questioned his booking decisions, he stuck by his guns and that was something that taught me, you’re going to make mistakes but stick by your guns and believe in what you say, believe in what you write. I say it all the time, he was bigger than life and I’m gonna miss him.

Check out the complete interview at BustedOpenNation.com.

Posted June 20th, 2015 in News, ROH, WWE. Tagged: , .

Hogan/Gawker Lawsuit On “Good Morning America,” ESPN Honors Dusty Rhodes

– Mainstream sports news outlet ESPN paid tribute to the late, great “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes during a SportsCenter segment. The hosts of the show, Jay Harris and Robert Flores, both shared their own personal memories of Rhodes during the segment, which you can watch at ESPN.com.

– The Gawker-Hulk Hogan lawsuit was covered on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday. The segment, which featured an interview with Hogan’s attorney, was introduced by Robin Roberts. As previously reported, Hogan is suing Gawker for $100 million over the sex tape, which involved Hogan and Bubba The Love Sponge’s now ex-wife. The trial begins on July 6th.

Posted June 19th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , .

Dusty Rhodes’ Former Valet Baby Doll Talks Working With Him, His Death & More

Former wrestling valet Baby Doll (aka Nickla Roberts), who worked during the 1980s alongside the late Dusty Rhodes, recently spoke with the folks at Busted Open Radio for an interview. Below are some highlights.

On hearing the news of Dusty’s death: “It was a shock to me too. It’s one of those things that you always … it hits ya and then you think “Wow, I wish I had just one more time to see him just one more time to do one more Fan Fest or one more autograph show just to see Dusty again. He was such an icon in my life. For a lot of us, he made us stars. He made us household names. He made us legends and I am forever grateful for that.”

On her time with Dusty: “I was so young then too. I was in my early 20s and the guys were a little bit older, they were more established in wrestling, like in their early 30s, you know a little bit later, and for them to take me in and to be a girl, and to be the only girl that was working at that time in that huge area, I couldn’t ask for a better respect that was given to me and how I was treated and just everything that was given to me… it was amazing, it really was.”

On Dusty’s creative genius: “He took what was going on already and just bumped it up. That was one of the things that got me started. I had two showed left with World Class, and that was the two shows in Miami and Tampa that I had against Stella Mae, and it was Christmas Day and the day after that that was in like 1984. So I only had two shows left and I didn’t have any more bookings after that, I was done. I didn’t know quite what I was going to do. I knew that Michael Hayes was promoting Florida so I landed and I got in a rented car and stopped at the first liquor store and got a huge bottle of Jack Daniels and went to go talk to Michael Hayes… and Michael Hayes was like “Oh no honey, I’m getting ready to close down Florida, it’s slowed down a lot. Who you need to talk to is, go talk to Dusty. You know Dusty. He’s over there in the other dressing room. He’s getting ready to do big things in North Carolina. It’s already goin’, but North Carolina is literally about ready to blow up.” And Michael Hayes had put Dusty over and this was in like December of 1984 and Michael Hayes predicted it… that Dusty was getting ready to do something amazing in North Carolina and that’s where I needed to go. And I went over there and Dusty was sitting down and Tully was standing off to the side and I was kind of like “Well, here I am… I’d sure like to work some more… do you think you can use me?” They went out and watched my match and after that it was history because they were looking for the perfect 10 at the time and Dusty just saw that character in me… he just saw a lot that he could work with. But I just thought that it was so cool that back in December of 1984 that Michael Hayes predicted all of that.”

On how many young superstars that he took under his wing and got the best out of and Dusty’s lasting legacy: “It was done the right way. It showed a created part of wrestling. It was very cool what he did. He had a magic. It was just something that I will forever be grateful for. And it was the same thing with Big Momma, Jimmy Valiant’s ex-wife… the character that he brought out in her — that was fantastic. Like “Here, I’m giving you my women… I’m giving you my woman off the street to make you feel better man!” (laughs) And I’m like, “Oh my god, how are you doing this?” It was awesome. And if you look at my face in some of the promos, like when I’m standing back behind Dusty, and he’s talking, you can kind of see it on my face like “Oh my god, are you really saying this? I can’t believe you’re saying this”. It just cracks me up because he was just so much more and even with his passing it’s so cool to hear everybody talking great things about him. But even before this, I can’t even think of anybody that said anything bad about Dusty. It was always… Dusty was making a lot of money and made a lot of people money and how creative he was.”

Check out the complete interview at BustedOpenNation.com.

Posted June 19th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: .

Terry Funk On Being Inducted Into WWE HOF By Dusty Rhodes, Their Legendary Feud

WWE Hall Of Famer Terry Funk recently appeared as a guest on Busted Open Radio to talk about one of his biggest career rivals — the late, great Dusty Rhodes. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On Dusty Rhodes and the chemistry he had with the fans: “He just had a great amount of charisma. Why did I love going in the ring with him? Was it because I was his great buddy? I was his friend, was that the reason? No. What the great reason was that why I enjoyed so much going in the ring with him… and believe me, as I loved him too and everything else and I love him for those two other reasons … but I loved going in the ring with him because I made more money with him than I did with anybody else. He was a tremendous attraction. That’s why I enjoyed going with him (laughs) ya make more money with him. The Dream was something special. He was a phenomenal in-ring performer but his greatest attribute was his mind and his ability to interact and talk to the people themselves… to the fans themselves.”

On the last time he spoke to Dusty: “Oh heck, I don’t know when it was. Probably a year or two ago… that’s how we always went. Wrestlers are that way. We say we love each other and we say goodbye then we go onto the next town. We don’t ever really say goodbye … just go to the next town… the next day. And whether you see those guys … you see them again. I talked to him a few times through the years… probably a couple times a year. Telling him … whatever, you know … or just running into him. We always feel like we are going to run into each other again … we never say goodbye… it’s just like, going down the road.”

On Dusty inducting The Funks into the WWE Hall of Fame: “It was [a special moment]. Of course it was. Like I said, he was a special guy. I just had so much compassion for him. You don’t start out with somebody and go up and down the roads with em and learn together like we did. I would say that it was an education traveling with him and he would have told you the same thing about traveling with me … it was an education traveling with me.”

On Dusty’s relationship with Vince McMahon and the WWE and working deep into the NWA territory: “If going to the WWE was like going to school, he was just in his freshman year. The WWE is a wonderful, wonderful, great place. And Dusty had so much ability and they realized that too, that’s why he was there. Dusty was the best at talking and teaching people to talk. Dusty was an innovator. Dusty wasn’t just a wrestler, he was a manipulator… and that’s very true. He was great at whatever he did. He had such compassion, such love and he instilled that love into his two kids. You watch those kids, and I call them kids now and they aren’t kids anymore, but they are going into their prime now and you watch them in the next 10 years. They are going to be very well known in the business for one reason: they idolize Dusty, both of them. And they should have idolized him because he was one of the very best in the country. I truly believe both of them are just wonderful pieces of talent that are going to be pushed to a different level than what they have been … at least I’m hoping that they will… I think that’s the smart thing.”

Check out the complete interview at BustedOpenNation.com.

Posted June 18th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , , .

Goldust Releases Eulogy To His Father Dusty Rhodes

As noted earlier, Cody Rhodes released the eulogy he read at his father Dusty’s funeral on Wednesday.

Cody’s brother Dustin (Goldust) also posted his own eulogy to Dusty, which you can read below:

Posted June 18th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , .

Dusty Rhodes’ Family Releases Statement To Media At Funeral Service

Daytona Beach News-Journal reporter Jeff Wilen, who attended the funeral service for the late WWE Hall Of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes on Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, posted a statement that was given to the media by the Runnels [Rhodes] family.

The statement, which you can see pictured below courtesy of Wilen’s Twitter feed, reads as follows:

“On Behalf of the entire Runnels family, we are truly grateful for the outpouring of love and support from Dusty’s colleagues and fans around the world. Dusty had a positive impact on so many people and his legacy will never be forgotten. Our family appreciates that you continue to respect our privacy at this difficult time.”

Below is Wilen’s tweet, which includes an actual photo of the physical statement itself.

Posted June 18th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: .

Cody Rhodes Posts Eulogy He Wrote For His Father Dusty Rhodes

Cody Rhodes, better known to modern-day WWE fans as “Stardust,” the son of the late WWE Hall Of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, wrote the following eulogy for his father, which he made public via social media.

Below is the eulogy that Rhodes wrote on Wednesday evening.

cody rhodes eulogy

cody rhodes eulogy 2

https://twitter.com/StardustWWE/status/611332890568327168

Posted June 18th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , , .

Blackjack Mulligan Suffers Heart Attack, NBA Champions Use Seth Rollins’ Promo, More

– WWE Hall Of Famer Blackjack Mulligan (Bob Windham), who has dealt with a number of health issues over the years, was scheduled to undergo brain surgery on Wednesday to relieve pressure on his brain, however he reportedly suffered a heart attack on Tuesday. Currently, Windham, age 72, is in critical condition, but is conscious.

– The Sports Illustrated website notes that the NBA’s Golden State Warriors used a clip from Monday’s WWE RAW in their film session on Tuesday, just hours before winning the NBA Championship by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers. The clip featured Seth Rollins’ promo about showing Cleveland “what a real world championship looks like” and how LeBron James won’t be bringing a championship to Cleveland, which ultimately he didn’t as the Warriors beat the Cavaliers in game six on Tuesday to win the NBA Finals. For more on this story, visit SI.com.

– On the latest edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which is available now, JR reviews Sunday’s WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view and talks about the passing of WWE Hall Of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

Posted June 17th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , .

Kevin Owens vs. Samoa Joe Tonight, Jericho Interviews Vanilla Ice, Austin/Jim Ross

– 1990s hip-hop star Vanilla Ice is the guest on the latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which also features Jericho’s thoughts and memories of the late Dusty Rhodes. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross joined fellow legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on his latest “Steve Austin Show” to talk about the life and times of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. You can download that show at PodcastOne.com as well.

– WWE posted the following teaser video for tonight’s edition of NXT, which features the anticipated showdown between NXT Champion Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe.

Posted June 17th, 2015 in News, NXT, WWE. Tagged: , , , , .

Sean Waltman Blasts TMZ For Releasing Dusty Rhodes 911 Call

Sean “X-Pac” Waltman is not happy that TMZ released the 911 call from Dusty Rhodes’ wife on Tuesday.

Watlman posted the following response on Twitter, noting that he’s disgusted by their lack of discretion and the lack of respect shown to Dusty Rhodes and his family by publishing the audio.

“Dear @TMZ & @HarveyLevinTMZ,

I have defended you to critics & Twitter followers when they say you’re not a legit news source. If you weren’t, so much of the media wouldn’t be citing you as their source for stories. I never minded any story you’ve reported on me, as I take responsibility for my actions & accept the consequences. That being said, Myself & I dare say countless others are completely disgusted with your policy of releasing 911 calls from families desperately pleading for someone to save their loved one. The recent release of the 911 Call from the family of Dusty Rhodes & the release of Ric Flair’s 911 call when his son Reid died is shameful & sickening. You can defend it as being newsworthy, but in reality you’re just feeding the sickening thirst for this kind of voyeurism in today’s society. The late, great Randy Savage’s father(also deceased) Angelo Poffo, who wrestled as The Mi$er had a saying that went “Where money lies, Honor dies.” Is there really that much money made by airing these calls, so your followers can hear these people at arguably the worst moments of their lives? Maybe there is enough money in it for you to trade in your honor. I’m usually a fan, but completely disgusted by your lack of discretion.

Truly, Sean Waltman”

Posted June 17th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , .

Videos: Several Clips From WWE’s New “Celebrating The Dream” Documentary

– WWE posted the following highlight clip of the new “Celebrating The Dream” documentary that premiered on the WWE Network after RAW on Monday night.

– Below is another clip from the special, which features various WWE and NXT performers discussing Dusty Rhodes memories.

– Finally, the last of three clips from the special features John Cena talking about “The American Dream.”

Posted June 16th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , , .

Daniel Bryan Remembers Dusty Rhodes

Daniel Bryan recently spoke to App.com about the recent passing of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes. Bryan said that Dusty always saw the good in people and did not look down on the current generation of superstars, like some legends tend to do.

“It happens a lot in wrestling and a lot of other things where the older generation looks down at the younger generation and picks him apart. Instead of that, he would say, “Ooh, look at this in this person.” As opposed to looking at their negatives, he was looking at their positives.

He wasn’t afraid to tell you what was wrong with something, but he was also quick to highlight the very good aspects of your nature or things about you that you should focus on. He touched a lot — a lot — of people.”

Bryan, who lost his own father last year, said Dusty’s son Cody shares his engaging personality.

“I have fond memories of Dusty, but I also have fond memories of being in the car withCody while he was talking to his dad. You could hear the way they would banter back and forth and you can see how that vibrancy that Dusty had was passed on to Cody,” Bryan said. “And I don’t know Dustin as well as I know Cody, but you can see it in Dustin too.”

Posted June 15th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , , .

Video: Dean Ambrose Pays Tribute To Dusty Rhodes After Money In The Bank

After last night’s WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Dean Ambrose paid tribute to the late Dusty Rhodes. Ambrose cut a promo about coming up short in the main event against Seth Rollins and channeled Dusty’s legendary Hard Times promo.

“When I stole that championship belt a couple of weeks ago, it was about respect. It was about taking what you feel you earned. Now life ain’t always fair, and I’m from right here in Ohio. And you people know life ain’t always fair.

You can’t get a car loan ’cause on a technicality, you don’t have a good enough credit score, so now you gotta walk to work, your children gotta walk to school on a technicality. Your boss pushes you around even though you’re better at his job than he is, and he talks to you like you’re an idiot, but he’s the boss on a technicality.

So when I took that championship it was about screw technicalities, it was about taking what’s yours, what you deserved, what you feel that you earned, what you know in your heart and your soul that you deserve, that you earned. It was about just taking it. And I’m a grown ass man and I lost fair and square tonight. I climbed that ladder, and I didn’t like what happened when I came down. I lost fair and square and I’m man enough to admit that.

So I’m gonna fix this leg and I’m gonna stand up on my two feet again. And one day I’m going to be World Heavyweight Champion and there ain’t no paperwork, and there ain’t no technicalities, and there ain’t no bullcrap that’s gonna stop me.”

Posted June 15th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: .

Video: WWE’s Tribute To Dusty Rhodes

WWE celebrates the life and career of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.

Below, WWE’s 10-bell salute to Dusty Rhodes prior to Money in the Bank.

Posted June 14th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: .

Curtis Axel On Changing His Look, Helping The Rock, Dusty Rhodes & More

WWE Superstar Curtis Axel took part in a social media Q&A on Sunday to promote the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view. Below are some of the highlights.

On his favorite memory growing up as a kid:

On whether or not he would team with Ryback again:

On his thoughts on WWE Diva Naomi:

On helping The Rock prepare for his in-ring return a few years ago:

On whether or not Dusty Rhodes was an inspiration to him:

On why he shaved his beard to change his look:

Posted June 14th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , , , .

Jim Ross Blog: WWE Money In The Bank PPV Thoughts, Dusty Rhodes & More

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog with his latest thoughts and opinions. Below are some of the highlights.

On Dusty Rhodes: “Still reeling from the sudden passing of my 30+ year friend Dusty Rhodes who went out on his terms just like John Wayne’s character in the Duke’s last film, “The Shootist.” Many of us knew tht something was ailing Big Dust but he would never admit such. Nonetheless he passed with his family around him listening to Willie Nelson sing and has now likely reunited with his late parents, his old, tag partner Dick Murdoch and perhaps even John Wayne himself. I loved the Dream and simply can’t wrap my head around his passing. I’m trying to focus on the great times that we had and all the times that he made me happy and laugh.

I found it ironic that both The Duke and The Dream passed on the same date, June 11. That had to mean something, right?

Dusty was one of my least talked about broadcast partners, why I don’t know, but he was definitely one of my favorites. He utilized his instincts, which were excellent, made up words as he went along, and always had fascinating, comedic timing. I loved working with The Dream at the announce table because he was low stress, so much fun to interact with and we never failed to have a good time.”

On tonight’s Money In The Bank WWE Title main event: “I’ve got Seth Rollins retaining in a strong match vs Dean Ambrose but if Ambrose does get the upset and a surprising win I can also see Roman Reigns turning on Ambrose and ruining the Ohio native’s moment by cashing in the MITB contract in a very villainous manner. The money with Reigns right now, in my opinion, is as a villain and time will tell if that is the path taken.”

On the Money In The Bank ladder match tonight: “I could also see Reigns winning the MITB match and declaring that he will cash in the contract at Wrestlemania Texas to help with the build of both Reigns and the event. In any event. I like the unpredictability of tonight’s show including a fan favorite or a villain winning MITB and Reigns taking exception to that and turning on the winner or being a sore loser. There are always multiple ways to do the right thing creatively in the world of sports entertainment which is why so many of us enjoy following along.”

On John Cena vs. Kevin Owens II tonight: “Kevin Owens cheating to beat John Cena ala a low blow, etc would work for me and help WWE get to Summer Slam with a much more viable Cena vs. Owens match as the building process of Kevin Owens is still ongoing. I don’t know who it helps for Cena to simply “get his win back.” Cena is an ever lasting, made man while Owens is not but Cena can be the man that facilitates that much needed development.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

Posted June 14th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: .

Virgil Runnels, Jr. (Dusty Rhodes) Obituary Published

The obituary for Virgil Runnels, Jr. (aka Dusty Rhodes), who passed away on Thursday after falling in his home the previous day, was published Sunday by The Tampa Tribune. It reads:

RUNNELS, Virgil, Jr. (aka Dusty Rhodes), left this Earth on June 11, 2015. He was sur-rounded by his four children and his loving and devoted wife. He was pre-ceded in death by parents, Virgil Runnels, Sr., Katherine Trefell and step-father, Mike Trefell. Dusty is sur-vived by his wife, Michelle Rubio Runnels; children, Dustin (Ta-rel), Kristin Ditto (Don), Teil Gergel (Kevin), and Cody (Brandi); grand-children, Dakota Runnels, Dalton and Dylan Ditto, and Maris and Kellan Gergel.

Also survived by brother, Larry (Denay) of Louisville, CO; and sister, Connie Jones (Gary) of Pensacola, FL. Dusty and Michelle spent 37 years of devoted marital bliss. He was the ultimate pro-vider and a legend for all the right reasons. The family would like to extend its deepest gratitude to Dr. Joe Chiaramonte and Bran-don Health Management for their loving care and support. The family re-quests donations in Dusty’s memory to Connor’s Cure (givetochildrens.org/connorscure) and Joe Torre Safe At Home (joetorre.org).

Posted June 14th, 2015 in News. Tagged: .

Triple H Addresses Tough Enough Finalists (Video), Dusty Rhodes’ Funeral, More

– The funeral service for the late “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17th in Tampa, Florida.

– Former WWE Superstar Virgil celebrates his 53rd birthday today. Virgil was born on June 13, 1962. Also celebrating birthdays today are Headbanger Thrasher (46) and Jacques Rougeau (55).

– The following is a video of Triple H addressing the 13 WWE Tough Enough finalists at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on Friday evening.

Posted June 13th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , , , , , .

WWE Teases Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor, Coverage Of Dusty Rhodes Tributes At NXT Show

– CBS Pittsburgh has an article on the Dusty Rhodes tributes at the NXT live event in Pittsburgh on Thursday evening. For what it’s worth, there were several tributes at the NXT live event in Cleveland the next night as well. For coverage of the Pittsburgh tributes, check out CBSLocal.com.

– WWE did the first tease of a Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor match at the NXT live event in Cleveland on Friday. After NXT Champion Kevin Owens defeated Joe, Balor and Tyler Breeze in the main event, Joe and Finn had a staredown in the ring. The fans popped huge for the spot, however they never went any further than a staredown.

Posted June 13th, 2015 in News, NXT, WWE. Tagged: , , , , .

Ric Flair Shares More Memories Of Dusty Rhodes, Talks About Goldust’s Reaction

WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair recently appeared on Busted Open Radio to talk more about his memories of the late Dusty Rhodes. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On his initial reaction to the passing of Dusty Rhodes: “If Dusty Rhodes came on the scene tomorrow at 25 years of age Vince McMahon wouldn’t have enough money to pay the guy. He was that good… in the ring and on the mic. They don’t make them like him anymore – he was that good. And he was a genius. I used to say “Hey what are you doin’ man?” and he used to say “I’m genius-ing”(laughs) It used to crack me up the things that came out of his mouth. He was genius-ing so… that’s it, you know? We made music for 30 years together. I started my career idolizing him and … the good thing about this, if there is a good thing to it, is that I spent about 4 hours with him on Tuesday at the Performance Center in Orlando when I was done there visiting my daughter and the last thing he said to me was … pissed off that I was going to see LeBron James and he wasn’t, ha. He was like “Get out of my office… go see LeBron man, I don’t care (laughs). I said “I’ll wave to you from courtside … and then I got the call yesterday so … we had so much fun together. He loved John Elway, I like Lawrence Taylor. He liked the Celtics, I liked the Lakers. He liked the University of Texas and I liked Oklahoma. We just went round and round on everything, it was tremendous. He loved sports and he loved life.”

On his first memories with Dusty: “I idolized him. I was being trained by Verne Gagne but Dusty and Dick, his partner Dick Murdoch were in Minneapolis wrestling and the charisma was too much and he liked me. I had just gotten married and I wasn’t even booked in the towns and I would drive all the way … 300 miles… somewhere in South Dakota just to hang out with those guys and I wasn’t even booked. No wonder I couldn’t stay married. “How much money did ya make?” “Well, uhhhhhh” (laughs). Jesus, I just couldn’t get enough of him. He was too much man. Then he moved into an apartment, he and Murdoch did. The nicest apartment complex in Minneapolis at the time .. 3 blocks from my mamas house. Ah jeez, it was just the best. All they had was two saddles, some blankets and they kept their mule in the apartment. It was the best. I was in the business 3 weeks and I went to Japan with them and they made me carry their bags with them everywhere for 3 solid weeks. Threw my clothes out the window of the top story of the hotels… took a fire extinguisher to my room. Murdoch stabbed me for taking one of his French fries. And we would get on a train or driving or riding the bus and all Dusty would go “Dear John, I hate to write you…” as if my wife was leaving me or something (laughs). Nobody can say I didn’t pay the price when I started man.”

On his thoughts of Dusty as a wrestler: “They are never going to say he was a great technician but he could work! He knew his limitations but I’m gonna tell you right now… I wrestled Dusty Rhodes at least 300 one hour draws. Dusty wasn’t a 10 minute guy. We wrestled hour draws and I think the defining moment in our careers was that I was Charlotte and Dusty was from Tampa Florida… Originally from Texas … but our careers were established in Southern parts of the world and I wrestled Dusty in the Checker Dome in St. Louis for Sam Muchnick’s retirement… 20,000 people, it wasn’t the ‘Briscos and the Funks’ … It wasn’t Harley … it wasn’t Brody and me. It was me and Dusty Rhodes — that’s how big that feud got. It got World-Wide attention on TBS. And the Horsemen against Dusty and The Road Warriors – Dusty and Nikita and Sting… The War Games … all of that stuff he created. Starrcade… he created all that stuff. That was all Dusty Rhodes, nobody else thought of that. And those War Games, man, we did 42 of them in a row. That’s cuttin’ yourself every night 42 days in a row. Of course me and him… we did it every day anyways, so it didn’t matter but it was work but we had so much fun that it didn’t seem like work … and everything was sold out.”

On Dusty’s influence on the younger generation: “The reason he was at NXT, which worked out being a huge advantage for people going through it is, because of his phlebitis, which was, you know, he’s been iIl with different things off and on for years but whatever caught up with him this time was much more severe than phlebitis, but he couldn’t fly more than an hour at a time without landing and walking around, even when he came to WrestleMania this year he had to go through Dallas and walk around for 3 hours before he could fly the last 3 hours. He would be up in Stamford, right. Him and Vince healed everything and Vince… there’s no doubting Dusty’s genius. His main direction was teaching the kids, helping them learn how to be confident and helping them learn how to carry themselves and be fluid on the microphone. Some kids never get that but it wasn’t because he wasn’t there and, I mean, he was the best. My daughter is so crushed, of course she has known Dusty since she was born, you know, when we were living together in Charlotte. He bought a car, I bought a car. He bought a new house, I bought a new house. That was living the dream. Anyway… my daughter is just crushed over it so she’s up in Cleveland tonight, where I was last night, then she is in Columbus tomorrow and I’m on my way right now to Orlando from Tampa to do a documentary on Dusty right now at the Performance Center. I think they are going to have the funeral Wednesday in Tampa and I would expect a huge turnout. He’s the guy… everybody loves Dusty Rhodes, that’s just the way it was and I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

On how Goldust is holding up: “Dustin sounded OK. He was there. He moved from Gainesville to Orlando several months ago. I thought that, down the road, Dustin will be an instructor at NXT, which is great for him. And I think that he and his dad had really gotten tight. He sounded OK, I mean, how do you ever sound? I went through something like this a couple of years ago with my son, I mean, how do you ever sound? And what do you ever say? You never know what’s the right thing to say, know what I mean? I’ll get a better feel of how they’re all doing when I see them in person.”

Check out the complete interview at BustedOpenNation.com.

Posted June 13th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , , .

Jim Ross Shares More Memories Of The Late Dusty Rhodes

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently appeared on Busted Open Radio to talk more about his memories of the late Dusty Rhodes. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On his first reaction to the passing of Dusty Rhodes: “I choose to celebrate his life rather than to mourn his death. I knew for several weeks that there was something wrong and of course Dusty would never admit it. I compared him to John Wayne in his last movie – he knew that something was wrong, but he didn’t want to talk about it, and he wanted to go out on his terms, and his style and that’s what happened, and as quickly and as suddenly he was taken from us. I was up pretty much all night, and I just decided that as the day has gone on that I choose to celebrate his life, my fun that I had with him, the confidence he put in me. When Bill Watts sold Jim Crockett promotions, Dusty put great confidence in me to get the storylines over on NWA Pro and UWF. He kind of indirectly got a little heat on me because he said to some guys that I announced a match, I think it was Dr. Death vs Big Bubba Rogers he said that was an announcing clinic to all the announcers that worked for us and they should listen to this match. It didn’t do him any favors – but all it did was give me great confidence that my work was OK and Dusty facilitated my break to get on TBS and begin some somewhat relevance on national cable. I’ll always owe him for that. I’ll never owe him that $100 that I lost on the game of horse that we played at 3 in the morning after drinking beer all night because I paid by debt… But I just choose to remember him as the human being that he was and the great times that we had, and not the man that had lost all that weight and you could see him virtually vanishing before our very eyes. It is a sad day and we do need to mourn, but we also need to celebrate what he brought us and what he brought to the dance. He played himself in the ring, that character. He was the American Dream. He was that blue collar guy. I loved him and I will miss him but I choose to celebrate his life as opposed to mourning here today as best I can.”

On Dusty’s chemistry with the fans: “He had what every wrestler in the business wants to have… the ability to connect with the audience. Dusty made the audience care about him. Dusty made the audience feel for him. He was a 300-pound man, not just another pretty face, as he would say, with a non-body builder’s body, that can sell and make people care. He was a 300-pound babyface that was so good at the dramatic art of selling that he could make people care. And sometimes, and often times, vs a villain that was much smaller and that was a tremendous art form to be able to pull that off. He was the blue collar guy. More people could identify him than a lot of the quote on quote super heroes that are quote on quote bigger than life. He was bigger than life in many ways. There are more people walking around that look like The Dream than look like a super hero with big muscles and a body builder’s physique.”

On his thoughts on Dusty’s mind for the business: “The great thing about Dream was that he was a fan as a kid. He watched wrestling and territories in Austin as a child and he became a huge fan. There was a special hour each week that was destination TV for him. He was an excellent athlete. He was probably a better baseball player than he was a wrestler or a football player – he was very good at both those. The innovations as far as War Games and the stars that he made…Nikita Koloff by all intents and purposes never really had any right at the time to be the superstar that he was … but he was a creation, his image, his persona was a creation of Dusty Rhodes… and how Dusty was able to create around the tragedy that Magnum T.A. was involved in. People want to look at glass half full too often. Dusty had a brilliant booking mind… much much longer than people like to give him credit for. He had great teachers. Bill Watts made him do the angle to turn him baby face in Florida. Gary Hart needs some credit for that. He also got his PHD under Eddie Graham. I will go to my grave and say, when motivated, and when used in the right way, the Texas Outlaws of Murdoch and Rhodes were as good a tag team as I have seen. They don’t get the credit other teams get but when you look at them or watch them on YouTube or something, they were absolutely incredible… the things that they could do in that era. Creative genius. War Games, I loved. How he built to the big match … the destination match. Which is lacking in the business today because there are so many quote on quote big matches … the destination match that he did, the tours, the big events, the Starrcades, things like that … Clash of Champions. He gave me my break, he wanted me on the Clash of Champions team. Tony Schiavone and I we called that first clash. Big break for me on free TV – prime time on TBS against WrestleMania – big opportunity that both Tony and I seized – neither of us were heels but he broke that tradition. He didn’t want a 3 man booth he wanted the two of us out there and we were able to be a part of a history making event as far as TBS and WCW was concerned and that was because of The Dream and his vision. He had great visions and I will never be able to thank him enough. His birthday is October 12th, same day as my wedding anniversary… and many October 12ths, while my wife was sleeping in, he got the birthday call… almost every year. It is also the same weekend that Oklahoma plays Texas and we would argue about Oklahoma and Texas all year – that was our thing. And when people would say “gosh its only football season guys” and we would both look at them and say “mind your own business… this is our argument… this is what we love to talk about”… and we did. We shared our love of BBQ and we shared our love of John Wayne. We have much more in common than people will ever know. He did much more for me than people will ever know. When he would go into his diatribes and using all the Southern South-Western colloquialisms to describe what he wanted in a match… I got it. I was raised in it. I understood it. So he trusted me to get his angles over and the talent that he was pushing over. He gave me that trust and gave me a chance to go on a national stage to do what I did for so many years. He is certainly going to be missed and yes I mourned but I just choose to celebrate the man that I knew, and that I loved, and that taught me so much, and was a great mentor for me, and a great supporter of my work and I think that’s the healthy way of looking at Dusty. He would rather us laugh at his humor, his dancing, his “Funky Like a Monkey” – he heard him talk one time and you never forget it. He loved that. And we talked probably every couple of weeks. I sat behind him at the Hall of Fame… I saw how hard it was for him getting up. He had some issues with his legs… I don’t know what it was. He had a hard time keeping his balance. He had a hard time getting up and down. I still don’t know what the cause of death was. And does it really matter except that there is another TMZ news story? He’s gone, but his memory will never be forgotten.”

On his lasting memory of Dusty: “The last match that he and I called together was William Regal vs. Dean Ambrose in FCW in Tampa a couple of years ago. And we approached that just like a Clash of Champions, and we were so fired up to go out and call that match. And when it was over, we both realized that we were both too Southern to probably ever work again on a National basis. We knew that the handwriting was on the wall but it didn’t scare us and it didn’t bother us. We got to go do that last one. We had a lot of fun and some of my best work… and people can go back and listen and be selective… the Dusty Rhodes/JR combination of where I followed him along on these storytelling journeys that he booked, and he did color on were some of the most fun times I ever had in broadcasting. Some of the things we said to each other, and he said and words he would invent were just absolutely hilarious, and I owe him a lot and I will never be able to repay him but some day our paths will cross again.”

Check out the complete interview at BustedOpenNation.com.

Posted June 13th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: .

WWE Network Special On The Life Of Dusty Rhodes Scheduled For Monday Night

This Monday night, immediately after WWE RAW, WWE will be celebrating the life of the late Dusty Rhodes in a new special on the WWE Network.

The show, which is called “Celebrating The Dream,” is scheduled to run for one hour. The official description of the show reads as follows:

<blockquote“”In honor of one of the most iconic and legendary figures in Sports Entertainment, WWE Network celebrates the life and times of Dusty Rhodes!”

Posted June 12th, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: , .

Neville On Why It’s Bittersweet To Be Called Up To Main Roster, Dusty Rhodes

WWE Superstar Neville recently spoke with Brian Fritz of The Sporting News to discuss the passing of the legendary Dusty Rhodes. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On promos and Dusty Rhodes: “Obviously I have a very strong accent that a lot of people can’t understand. I don’t think I’m naturally a promo guy but being in NXT and working with Dusty Rhodes who has really helped me tenfold with my promo work and my speaking and I feel like that really prepared me. In essence, doing that on Raw is no different that doing it at NXT or an NXT live event or wherever. It’s just about being prepared and working with Dusty really prepared me for that.”

On NXT: “Obviously, you stay in contact with the WWE always with the goal to be on Raw and Smackdown. But NXT was a very special period of my life and I’m very proud of what we all did down in NXT. Now to see the brand that NXT is and is going to become in the near future, it was really bittersweet to move up. NXT will always be a time in my life that I’ll think very fondly of.”

Check out the complete interview at SportingNews.com.

Posted June 12th, 2015 in News, NXT, WWE. Tagged: , .

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