Thursday, October 11, 2018, is Dusty Rhodes' birthday. If he was still alive today, The American Dream would have been turning 73.

If you ask almost anyone in pro wrestling today, they will likely tell you that their career or life was affected positively in some way by Dusty Rhodes. A larger than life character who made history throughout the 1970s and 80s as one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots. His work didn't finish when he was done stepping between the ropes, however.

Most of today's wrestlers were influenced by Dusty due to The American Dream taking up a role in NXT. Roman Reigns, Bayley, Keith Lee, pretty much anyone who has encountered Dream in some form or fashion was helped by him. Sadly, a little more than three years ago, Dusty passed away and left a massive hole in the wrestling industry that will never be filled.

RELATED: CODY RHODES REVEALS HE CAN USE HIS LAST NAME WHENEVER HE WANTS

Thursday of this week, October 11, would have been Dusty's 73rd birthday. As you can imagine, a fair few people have been paying tribute to Dream on social media. His son Cody, who is normally the type to post longer messages on Twitter, simply posted a photo of his dad with the same NWA Worlds Title that he holds today, plus a birthday cake emoji. The NWA's Instagram account paid tribute to Dusty using the same photo.

Vince McMahon also took to Twitter to celebrate Dream's birthday. The WWE chairman wrote "they broke the mold when they made Dusty Rhodes," and that he was thinking of him on his birthday. WWE also posted a tribute to the former World Champion on Instagram, and it's highly likely that those birthday wishes will only continue to pour in as the day rolls on.

All too often you hear about why people are bad in the wrestling business. That they're mean to fans or to their peers. Dusty is one of a rare breed that no one in the industry has a bad word to say about, even though he is no longer with us. When he passed away, a piece of the pro wrestling business was lost forever. Thankfully, he will never be forgotten, and his influence on the industry lives on through today's performers.

RUMOR: ASUKA'S POOR PROMO SKILLS ARE HOLDING HER BACK IN WWE