Dusty Rhodes

This article is about the professional wrestler. For other people, see Dusty Rhodes (disambiguation).

Dusty Rhodes
Rhodes, c. 1982
Birth nameVirgil Riley Runnels Jr.
Born(1945-10-11)October 11, 1945[1]
Austin, Texas, U.S.
DiedJune 11, 2015(2015-06-11) (aged 69)
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Cause of deathKidney failure
Alma materWest Texas State University
Spouse(s)
  • Sandra McHargue
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1965; div. 1975)​
  • Michelle Rubio
    ​
    (m. 1978)​
Children4, including Dustin and Cody Rhodes
FamilyBrandi Rhodes (daughter-in-law)
Fred Ottman (brother-in-law)
Jerry Sags (brother-in-law)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)The Bounty Hunter
Dusty Rhodes[2]
Dusty Runnels[3]
The Midnight Rider
Mr. Ichiban
Uvalde Slim
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[4]
Billed weight301 lb (137 kg)[4]
Billed fromAustin, Texas[4]
Diablo Canyon, Colorado
Trained byJoe Blanchard[3][5]
Debut1967[6]
Retired2007[7]

Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation, later known as WWE. Rhodes was considered a star wrestler and presented the persona of an American everyman, the American Dream personified.[8] Rhodes is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

Rhodes was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, he was a United States Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time World Television, World Tag Team and World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He also won many regional championships, and is one of seven men inducted into each of the WWE, WCW, Professional Wrestling, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Halls of Fame. His sons, Dustin and Cody, both pursued careers in professional wrestling, currently performing for All Elite Wrestling and WWE, respectively.

Following his retirement from wrestling, he made occasional on-air appearances on WWE television and pay-per-views and worked as a backstage booker and producer in WWE's NXT developmental territory. Billed as "the son of a plumber", Rhodes did not have a typical wrestler's physique; his character was that of the "common man", known for the personality exhibited in his interviews. WWE chairman Vince McMahon remarked that no wrestler "personified the essence of charisma quite like Dusty Rhodes".[9]

  1. ^ "Dusty Rhodes, Professional Wrestling's Everyman, Dies at 69". The New York Times. June 12, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Dusty Rhodes' profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 329–332. ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference WWEProfile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Rhodes, Dusty; Brody, Howard (2005). Dusty: Reflections of an American Dream. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-58261-907-1.
  6. ^ "When did Dusty Rhodes make his debut in pro wrestling?". wrestlingclassics.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  7. ^ Hart, Danny (September 10, 2018). "8 WWE Legends and what happened in their final match". Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  8. ^ Mathews, Bobby (June 12, 2017). "Death of Dusty Rhodes Still Felt Years On". Pro Wrestling Story. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  9. ^ Celebrating the Dream. June 15, 2015. 0 minutes in. WWE Network. WWE.