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The pro wrestling business tends to be pretty cavalier about throwing around the term legend. It’s fitting because wrestlers tend to have such larger-than-life characters and become such mythical figures if they reach the upper levels of the business, such that even a perennial lower-card act from WWE might feel like an iconic figure showing up at a local indie. But then there are those performers who are truly beyond reproach, in consideration to the storylines they took part in, the quality of their performance, their longevity in the business, or other contributions. It’s the level attained by Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Stone Cold Steve Austin to name just a few, who are consensus picks among fans as well as their peers among the greatest ever in wrestling. And it’s the level that Dusty Rhodes achieved—a world champion, one of the best talkers in wrestling history, an important mentor figure, and so much more.
The Unbelievable Career Of Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes went by then moniker The Son of a Plumber, which spoke to his roots as a common man, and moreover his look. Rhodes wasn’t traditionally handsome, nor was his physique chiseled out of granite. On paper, one might buy this look on a bruising heel, but not as a top babyface, just as one might think of him as someone with a mid-card destiny rather than a main event act. On top of that, his pronounced lisp might make him seem like the kind of performer who’d need a mouthpiece manager to do his talking for him.
The American Dream overcame all of these preconceptions and limitations. He was a defining babyface who won three NWA Championships during the era when a collective of promoters from different territories had to agree to endorse their world champion. Those accomplishments included beating no lesser champion than Ric Flair on no lesser stage than Starrcade.
Rhodes cut the Hard Times promo on the way to Starrcade 1985, which was arguably the greatest wrestling promo of all time. It was emblematic of just how good he was on the mic—in the conversation of the greatest talkers in wrestling history, and certainly on most serious fans’ Mt. Rushmore of the best on the mic.
Rhodes was also a long-time booker and creative contributor. He’d take his mind for the business, unique talking skills, and experience in the ring to become one of the great mentor figures in wrestling, in particular becoming a father figure to countless performers who made their way through the WWE Performance Center.
The Death Of Dusty Rhodes
In his latter appearances on TV, Dusty Rhodes had noticeably slimmed down. His son Cody spoke more than once to the point that his father didn’t like older wrestlers trotting out, shells of their former selves, taking the spotlight from younger talent. As such, Dusty made himself scarce as a presence in WWE in his final years.
In the end, sources including The Guardian reported that Rhodes passed due to kidney failure at the age of 69. As reported by The Daily Star, Cody made it just in time to the hospital to hug his father goodbye. His mother made no bones about what serious condition Dusty was in, given her own professional experience as an operating room nurse. It was Cody’s mother whom Dusty asked to speak to last before he passed.
The Legacy Of Dusty Rhodes
To lend some perspective to the longevity and impact Dusty Rhodes had on the business, Ric Flair has openly admitted that he asked to play Rhodes’s younger brother early in his career. It’s a request that was mercifully denied, as it allowed for the legendary Rhodes vs. Flair rivalry, but it nonetheless says something that one of the greatest wrestlers of all time once aspired to be The American Dream’s sidekick.
So it is that a wide range of veteran and retired wrestlers looked up to Rhodes at one time or another, and by and large still speak quite well of him. Moreover, a high volume of today’s top stars, especially in WWE, trained under him for some period of time at the Performance Center. They particularly speak well of his teachings during “promo class.”
Then there’s the matter of Dusty’s sons, Dustin and Cody. Not only have both had their own distinguished careers (Cody’s still very much in progress) but they also each followed in their father’s footsteps in different ways. Dustin runs the Rhodes Wrestling Academy, carrying on his old man’s legacy of training the next generation. Cody has contributed to training as well, but all the more so, his role in co-founding AEW bespoke some of Dusty’s entrepreneurial spirit and readiness to compete with the machine the way Dusty once headed up creative for WCW opposite WWE. Cody winding up back under the WWE banner in a wrestling role also feels reminiscent of Dusty’s famous stint wearing polka dots under Vince McMahon’s direction.
Dusty Rhodes was one of wrestling’s greatest legends. It says quite a bit that to this day WWE promotes a Dusty Rhodes Team Classic Tournament and that Kevin Owens chose to wear gear to pay tribute to The American Dream in the first ever WWE main roster War Games Match. Meanwhile, AEW talents like Saraya never hesitate to bring up Rhodes’s name in discussing her own development as a talent. It’s safe to say the legacy of The Son of a Plumber will remain alive and well for many years to come.