I can't believe I never made that connection before. Akeem, "The African Dream"... Of course that's a mock of Dusty "The American Dream". It seems so obvious now, with the way One Man Keem moved and talked.
Kurt Angle said it best, he forgives but he doesn't forget. He clearly thought highly of Dusty and was slighted at his refusal. So Dusty came back and Vince basically ribbed him constantly. In the end gave him creative control of ECW (2006), developmental, Dusty was a somewhat consistent presence in WWE up until his death. Then after 2015 Dusty Rhodes became a saint in WWE.
@@johngraham9117youoiyyuoiyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiiihiihihhhihihhhohihhhhhhhhiohhoohohohooohhoihhohhouiiúiiyuyuygiggiigiiygugigiggigiggigigigiygigigiigggiiggiggiyigyigigigygigiygigigiyifffgiiiiiiiiiiigigiiiiiigiiiyyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffgyiiiiiiiiifgufgigyiggiiggiiggiggiiffyifygi try it tutoti😊😊😊😊
"For over two decades the McMahons have hated the Rhodes'. My dad set Florida on fire, he was a Hall of Famer, He shows up here and they put him in Polka dots and they make him dance. My brother was a second generation stud "The Natural" and I loved him. And they put him in Gold Paint and he has never been the same." - Cody Rhodes
Hey guys great episode but Dusty Rhodes did not book Starrcade 83. Gary Hart did. Dusty came up with the name but Dory Funk Jr asked Hart to book the show. In his book Gary goes into detail about how he booked the show
I grew up in the early 70s in jersey where it was only WWWF but I also got the rags n Dusty popped for me even in writing n when he came in n I finally saw him on tv Dusty instantly became my all time favorite n yes even over Bruno who wasn’t on tv much then
People are quick to say the Polka dots were a rib. But Vince gave out 100s of terrible gimmicks for years. This is the man who made Roman Reigns say "suffering succotash" when he was pushing him down everyones throat. I'm never ruling out that Vince thought that the Polka dots were a genuinely good idea to make money. Lets be honest. On paper. The Undertaker, is a god awful gimmick. It's essentially a Zombie gimmick.
As I heard it the Dots were a rib on Vince's part, he was a notorious ribber, but it was also a challenge, Dusty was the guy who could get a ham sandwich over, he wanted to see if Dusty could get this over. And from Dusty's view, Dust was already well known for his outrageous over-the-top style, the polka dots were nothing, he was up for the challenge. And Dusty was under no illusions as to the state of his career, that was his last hurrah as an active wrestler, he was just there for a final paycheck.
@@quarantinefox I mean, Dusty could’ve pulled it off, but he could’ve made anything work… “Lemmie teyaa summin, baby… when I put on dis hemmet, I’m not the ‘Merican Dreeyum, I’m the Shockmasta, baby! And when my ‘lectrifyin’ elbow connects, WOO! Gonna put hard times on errybody. The Shockmasta is gonna bring the thunder and errybody between me and that belt… is goin’ under, daddy. Can’t stop the storm, jack! Can’t stop this storm right HEYAH” oh man I’d have bought every gimmick
Love these sliding door conversations between Jim and Brian. It would be so interesting if Dusty had said yes to Vince what that WWF would have looked at in the "Golden era"
Here's my Dusty story . Hope it gives the more hard-core members of the cult who grew up with the NWA WWF wars a giggle. So its Wrestlemania 6 weekend and 17 year old me was working as a bus boy for the Skydome Catering Service. This is pre fan access weekend but on the Saturday before mania they still had a few corporate functions and meet and greet for the fans. So I get to work one of them there at a table sits Dusty sitting across from George Steele. So 17 year old me who is not as smart as he thinks is walks up to their table and says to Dusty ..."Im so glad you came to WWF i was big fan of yours in the NWA." . George Steele doesnt say anything but Dusty looks up, shakes his head no sells it , doesnt say a thing and goes back to talking to George Steele. ...lol One of my favourite teenage memories ...it was a great weekend.
@@tomjones5650 no ..kinda looked up in semi amazement seemingly thinking to himself ...'this geek cant be that stupid ' ...lol ...truth be told Dusty handled it perfectly ... humbled me by doing absolutely nothing ...still a great memory tbh
@@gavinduenas3584 it was 1989 ...Dusty was the main guy in Crockett all through the 80s and him coming to WWF was almost an admission that Vince had won the war. At this time what they call Kayfabe where the fans are supposed to think its real and not realize there were other territories still existed. It was definitely a major social faux pas on my part.
@johngallagher72 I guess also his departure from Crockett wasn't amicable so all the more reason he wouldn't want to reminisce about the NWA days. But still, you paid him a compliment!
When I was a kid, about this time, there was a popular rapper named Kwame. His style was similar to Will Smith, Kid N Play, and other family friendly rappers of the day. Kwame's whole gimmick was wearing polka dots. He even talked about "The Land of Polka Dots". We actually thought they were cool. Maybe Dusty or Vince or whoever thought it was cool, too.
There was a time there in the late 80s and early 90s when polka-dots were in fashion. Blues guitarist Buddy Guy adopted that look around that time, painting his guitars in polka-dots, and he kept it for decades after!
I wonder if Hulk Hogan played a role? Historically he's used every trick in the book to prevent anyone else getting to his level, even lying about undertaker injuring him. Hogan shouldn't have been worried about Dusty, he was at his peak, looked like a star and had Vince's ear, while Dusty was badly out of shape and coming to the end of his career. Dusty was a popular babyface when he first came in though and more of a charismatic entertainer than Hulk. Hulk would have wanted to keep him away from the main events and possibly deny him the chance to become a top babyface.
I have heard, Dusty, Cody, and Dustin all on shoot videos and podcasts say the polka dots werent a rib, and if they werw Dusty didnt care because those were the biggest checks he had ever gotten in his entire wrestling career.
When Dusty came to WWF with the common man vignettes, he was wrestling matches on TV without polka dots. I think Hogan complained to Vince about Dusty getting over, so they started the polka dots to knock him down a peg.
I remember a vignette where Big Dust was playing a plumber in someone's house. He came out of the bathroom with (working schitt i hope) on his arms and said in his unique voice said " I had to do a triple bypass." Maybe I was high but I thought that was funny AF.
Was it ever said that Hogan did that? Until I hear people say it, I don't believe that was Hogan suggesting to put Dusty into Polka Dots. Vin Man and others though? Possibly. Maybe more than possibly. And it backfired bc he sold merch!! LOL He wasn't "my American Dream" anymore, but he sold them dots like hotcakes!! R.I.P Star Dust
And there were going back to Florida for Eddie Graham in 1974 many references in the NWA to Virgil Riley Runnels as "a Plumber's Son." What would've been ingenious would be for The WWF to hire Gary Hart as The Manager of Terry & Dory Funk, Junior about that same time. Highly reminiscent of the Classic Westerns where The Sheriff is besieged by Outlaw Acquaintances who think that they can take him down by using his old psychology against him. His old psychology!🤔😉🎤🤠🐴👔👞👞🤼♂️B.W.
@@johnlindsay4310 and he was booked against the top heels who had just been feuding with Hogan. He was pushed as the number 3 babyface. Hogan and Warrior were superheroes and he was the man of the people.
@@clivet3252The problem with that is it makes no sense, like why would a millionaire pro wrestling superstar need to work a day job? And how would he even have time for one while he is constantly traveling? It's just silly.
@SpinosaurusTheProudSocialist they used to play that wrestlers weren't rich people. Unless that was your gimmick like the Million Dollar Man. I remember a promo with Big Boss Man. And he said "I may be poor but I'm proud" even at 11 years old that made me laugh.
If you check out WWF Magazine interview with Sapphire, she was wearing a black sweatshirt with yellow circle stickers placed all over her sweatshirt. Wasn't even a polkadot sweatshirt.😂😂😂
Keep in mind that Dusty has also mentioned that he got points on the big Crockett towns as part of his booking deal, that had to be a huge incentive for Dusty if he had confidence that he could get the towns cooking again.
I was a kid then and polka dot Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire got my mom into watching wrestling for the only period in my entire life she was willing to do it and she HATED pro wrestling back then. In a black household like I grew up in that look, act and routine was the only thing that a black audience really related to in the WWF once JYD was gone. It wasn't until I was an adult that I found out that people felt that was a punishment.
Were the polka dots a rib on Dusty? You're damn right they were! Dusty's widow Michelle (Cody's mom) said it herself on the Dusty DVD they put out in 2006. A couple of WWE stooges on the video said it wasn't, but considering one of them was Bruce Prichard, take them with a grain of salt.
If not for the Brian Solomon interview source which I personally cannot find, I’d put very little stock into the modern elevation of Dusty Rhodes’ legacy as it pertains to WWE given that his son is currently working on top there. WWE has a tendency to embellish in order to thread a narrative in order to make past events appear more grandiose than they actually were. In truth, Dusty Rhodes was utilized as an attraction for WWE much in the same way Andre and many others were during that era. He was never promised the WWE Championship. The scenario that was relayed for years was that when Billy Graham won the belt from Bruno he was told the date he was going to drop the belt and whom he was going to drop the belt to, Bob Backlund. I can’t see how Vince McMahon given that he wanted to market his product to children using primarily “body guys” as his means was ever going to select Dusty as the face of his brand of wrestling.
This seems like a contemporary take on decades-old events, though. Smart fans saw how Dusty was maligned at the time. How his kids were treated just seemed to be more evidence. It's not as if Dusty was ever being compared to Ole Anderson. He had a job, but Vince seemed to make him and his family the butt of jokes.
I would say less a rib and more that Vince already knew he wanted to make his wrestling show shocking and risqué and used Dustin to generate cheap heat and drum up controversy during a time where being gay/ effeminate was seen as wrong.
@@bipolarbear8940Yeah, unfortunately there was a lot of gay panic in the 90s unfortunately. Vince was using the homophobia of 90s wrasslin crowds to draw heat.
Beef with the polka dots is funny, dusty would have beenover wearing a burlap sack. If anything it solidifies his legend as one of the greatest to ever do it. You could give him anygimmick and he wouldhave been the fuckingman with it.
Dusty has an interview on youtube where he talks about this. First, he says he didn't mind the pocka dots as he wore stuff like that in Flordia in the 70s. He said he came to WWF because he wanted to take over the booking. But when it became clear he wasn't going to get it and Jim Crickett called him and offered him the booking job at his company, Dusty agreed and then told Venice he was quiting.
I swear I’ve heard this same discussion 50 times. Brian, it’s not that difficult-Billy Graham was too old, Dusty wouldn’t have carried the national expansion, Vince saw Hogan and correctly identified that he was the perfect fit
The pokidots seem silly now, but remember; we are talking about the late 80's. Don Johnson padded shoulder jackets and mullets was the style for men. Polka dots isn't that far off. 😂
I don't think you appreciate just how popular Dusty Rhodes was in the early 80s. However, there was definitely more upside with Hogan because he was younger and more impressive looking physically.
Dusty(& subsequently Hogan) reminded Vince of Dr.Jerry Graham and what he wanted his “SUPERSTARS” to be. Say what you want about Vince’s aesthetic for his promotion but he always saw his guys as living,breathing, action figures like Jerry Graham was to him as a young wrestling fan.
Dusty's last WWf appearance in 1983 was at MSG on July 30 1983.......Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, & Ivan Putski defeated WWF Tag Team Champions the Wild Samoans & Samula
I still think it's interesting that, during a podcast interview (Jericho), Dustin and Cody were asked about the polka dots and Sapphire and if they were ribs. Dustin said yes to both, and thought it was more a "challenge" for the guy who thinks he's such hot shit and can get anything over. Cody, on the other hand, didn't think the dots were so much a rib, but noted that "Vince has to put his stamp on everything." He agreed with his brother that Sapphire (being a large black woman with, let's say non-model features instead of some petite blonde arm charm) was _supposed_ to be a rib "... until she got over." Either of the cases with the polka dots thing could be true. As much as everyone wants it to be a mean-spirited thing, it could just as well been one of those things that Vince "saw" as a look... like LOD specifically being in red and black all the time or how Jim described that specific shot of introducing Dude Love with the click track and showing his feet walking on beat or wanting to call Vader "The Mastadon" for trademark purposes, or trying in vain for about two decades to manufacture another Rey Mysterio from whole cloth even after signing the actual one multiple times. How many different people renamed "Bronson" or given the initials "K.O." have passed through developmental? The polka dots might just have been a thing Vince himself was fixated on and insisted would get over. Hell, even if he got Dusty instead of Hogan, he might have tried it on someone else to be their signature look.
Vince McMahon ended wrestling as I grew up loving it. The territories was what wrestling was all about.the world champion would come in and wrestle the champion of the territory. I miss those days
Dusty isn't who he is today if he doesn't go to JCP & do everything he did there. At the end of the day, in my opinion, Dusty made the best decision by not going to WWF & going to JCP. His feud with Flair & all that came out of that with the Horsemen & Magnum TA & then the Russians & others is legendary.
I like the polka dots and I like sapphire it was the first time I ever saw Dusty Rhodes but I think my Grandad knew who he was because he said this is a real tough man my Grandad used to love watching NWA WCW He didn't really like WWF we watched WCW/NWA on UK TV we only got WCW are NWA in the 80s for free
Depends on what region of itv you had We had central me and my brother watched wrestling every Saturday afternoon once a month we had wwf wrestling from about 1984 until Greg dyke cancelled wrestling in itv in 87 Then of course sky TV picked up wwf and wcw started appearing on itv in the early mornings about midnight my dad used to tape it for us so we could watch it the next day happy memories
I don't know .. As a kid, I really liked polka dot dusty and think it made him really fun... As an adult it seems like a rib, but I'm not convinced it was... It was dusty plus Vince loud gimmick enhancement.
I honestly don't think dusty would have gotten over nationality like Hogan did. Part of what made Hogan so big was that he looked like a Superhero. And in the 80s that was a huge deal. Was being muscled up. Look at the TV and movie stars that were big back then. Stallone, Arnold, Mr T . Van Damm . All jacked up dudes.
Knowing nothing at all about wrestling history when I first started watching in 1990, I just thought the polka dots were part of Dustys personality and that they fit his persona well.
The polka dots are iconic. Dustin came out in the polka dots. He had a polka dot handkerchief at the Hall of Fame, Seth wore polka dots in his feud with Cody. Vince is a marketing genius.
JJ Dillon got that shot in MSG as a favor to Eddie Graham from Vince Sr according to JJ's autobiography. JJ had never worked MSG and I think it was Afa who had an IC title match but no showed so JJ got put in the spot.
I watched NXT on the CW last night, the one with Orton on it, and it sucked because the picture does not fit the tv screen. It;s 4 inches short on the top of the screen, and 4 inches short on the bottom of the screen, so the picture is distorted and it makes all the wrestlers look shorter and wider. This does not happen on any other channel I watch, they only do it on the CW, and it ruins the show for me. I guess the CW is too cheap to make the picture fit the tv screen. Every other show I watch on my 55 inch flat screen Smasung tv fits the screen, the NXT wrestling show from last night was the first tv show I have seen that did not fit my tv screen.
Go back in his first book that was independent of world wrestling entertainment. He claimed he turned Vince down. Simply because vince wasn't going to pay him enough. I really don't think the polka dots were a rib simply because all the gimmicks at that time were hokey
But honestly polka dots were in at that time. Dusty was over, the polka dots didn’t get him over, they didn’t really matter. I think we gave too much attention to the polka dots in his WWF run.
Here's ANOTHER possibility: Vince doesn't want ANYBODY to compare to Hulk Hogan, or whoever his Chosen One is at the moment. Everybody, regardless of level of popularity, has to be of a "Lower Class" then Hogan\whoever. Therefore, their legs must be cut out from under them, to have just enough popularity to sell T-Shirts, action figures and other merch., but at a lower tier. This ensures that the top man REMAINS the top man, and gets the highest merchandise sales percentage and ego-stroking. It's a way of mollifying his prima-donna main star.
Dusty and Andre actually did not win that Superdome tag tournament. Only time they ever lost as a tag team. Lost to The Grappler and Super Destroyer IIRC
Speaking of Vince down on Cape Cod promoting concerts.... I saw my very first concert at the Cape Cod Coliseum - The Kinks with an unknown band "John Cougar & the Zones" opening. Fantastic show...anyway... If Vince was trying to ruin the Runnels family he failed miserably. I loved Dusty's polka dot gimmick, it reminded me of John Belushi in a bee costume. I thought Gold Dust was hilarious, seeing how uncomfortable some wrestlers were 😂😂😂 Stardust did suck and Cody made the right move leaving the WWE, he played his cards right. Look at the American Nightmare now....
And when “Virgil” went to WCW. They named him “Vincent”. IRS was VK wallstreet. Dusty played the name game back.
No shit like we didn't see that. Then in TNA, Voodoo Kin Mafia..
It's all a work but it's funny how petty & sensitive Wrestling in general has always been...& "it's just a RIB" justifies all
Dusty was better at it his choices were much funnier Virgil was also Shane in WCW like Shane O'Mac 😂
@@ADAMdinho1 is it possible "Curly Bill" was a reference to someone in WWF at the time?
@@D.E.S-tc8uwthey’ve been doing that since before Dusty and Vince. And Walstreet was Wallstreet first before he was IRS.
Travis’s picture of Rhodes with Hogan’s mustache and bandanna 😂
I can't believe I never made that connection before. Akeem, "The African Dream"... Of course that's a mock of Dusty "The American Dream". It seems so obvious now, with the way One Man Keem moved and talked.
Kurt Angle said it best, he forgives but he doesn't forget. He clearly thought highly of Dusty and was slighted at his refusal. So Dusty came back and Vince basically ribbed him constantly. In the end gave him creative control of ECW (2006), developmental, Dusty was a somewhat consistent presence in WWE up until his death. Then after 2015 Dusty Rhodes became a saint in WWE.
He’s just a common brother
takin' flights to Japan
*"He's a kahhhhhhhhhh ahhh ahhh min Brotherrrrr!! HEY he's a kaaaahhhhhhhhh min Brotherrrrrr rrr rr!!"*
Working hard like no other 🎶
@@barrymccockiner773 *"he's got wives f___n others.."*
Oh wait, that's "a rumor"
These are my favorite videos. Jim dropping history and knowledge on WWE and the territories from the mid 70's to mid 80's. Love it. Thank you Jim.
And his Dusty impression is so spot on
Travis with "STAND BACK" Vin Man LOL
I love it whenever Stand Back gets brought up.
Song slaps yo.
That version of Vince is legendary ..that’s the Vince Rita Chatterton tasted 😂
@@tobiasfarragut292 and got thrown out the limo by (smfh you made me play along LOL).
@@QuickManEXE he sang the part about crushing competition with passion.
You guys should ask Vince to come on the show just to see.. 😅
This idea wins
I hear his schedule pretty open these days 😂
Why? He'd just BS everything. lol.
@@johngraham9117youoiyyuoiyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiiihiihihhhihihhhohihhhhhhhhiohhoohohohooohhoihhohhouiiúiiyuyuygiggiigiiygugigiggigiggigigigiygigigiigggiiggiggiyigyigigigygigiygigigiyifffgiiiiiiiiiiigigiiiiiigiiiyyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffgyiiiiiiiiifgufgigyiggiiggiiggiggiiffyifygi try it tutoti😊😊😊😊
@@johngraham9117
"For over two decades the McMahons have hated the Rhodes'.
My dad set Florida on fire, he was a Hall of Famer,
He shows up here and they put him in Polka dots and they make him dance.
My brother was a second generation stud "The Natural" and I loved him.
And they put him in Gold Paint and he has never been the same."
- Cody Rhodes
Dustin was so good he got gold dust over.
He danced anyway and who tf cares about polka dots? People act as if Vince tattooed a schlong on his head. Loads of guys wear weird gear.
They did their humiliation rituals so Cody could be the top guy today.
@@HotRodM4I mean Cody also had to pay the piper.. he hated the Stardust gimmick
@mrperson2804 Right? For some reason, only in wrestling are polka dots considered some egregiously terrible thing, apparently
Hey guys great episode but Dusty Rhodes did not book Starrcade 83. Gary Hart did. Dusty came up with the name but Dory Funk Jr asked Hart to book the show. In his book Gary goes into detail about how he booked the show
That $4500/week in 1986 is roughly $12k today.
Nobody asked or cares
@@dallasparty316 When your girlfriend wears tye dye, it's like watching a rainbow eat the sky.
@@shillebrand00I’m way too high for this 😭😂
@@Only_One_Veezy 🤣
@@dallasparty316Quit being an As$Hole!
I love these historical discussions.
I love Dusty's entrance theme "American Dream". One of my all time favourites!
He's just a jerking man
Grips his pud with his hands
Amerrrriiicaaaaaann Cream
"He's just a common man, working hard with his hands!"
I am looking forward to hear the old wrestling talks and your month back on the year on the road I love that stuff
Holy shit worth sitting through the promotional material too. Roughly 22 minutes in, the quick Ronnie Garvin bit. Gold.
I grew up in the early 70s in jersey where it was only WWWF but I also got the rags n Dusty popped for me even in writing n when he came in n I finally saw him on tv Dusty instantly became my all time favorite n yes even over Bruno who wasn’t on tv much then
I could listen to Jim talk about wrestling history all day.
Codys " The Mcmahons have always hated the Rhodes" promo in some ways is true.
omg travis in his bag again. love it
83/84 Dusty also worked AWA battle Royale trying to get Blackwell's push post-Hogan
Wouldn't have been a bad replacement for hogan. I'd rather have Dusty myself.
Blackwell, especially in 84, wasn’t replacing anyone and drawing a big house.
People are quick to say the Polka dots were a rib. But Vince gave out 100s of terrible gimmicks for years. This is the man who made Roman Reigns say "suffering succotash" when he was pushing him down everyones throat. I'm never ruling out that Vince thought that the Polka dots were a genuinely good idea to make money. Lets be honest. On paper. The Undertaker, is a god awful gimmick. It's essentially a Zombie gimmick.
The early version of the undertaker definitely was laughable.
As I heard it the Dots were a rib on Vince's part, he was a notorious ribber, but it was also a challenge, Dusty was the guy who could get a ham sandwich over, he wanted to see if Dusty could get this over. And from Dusty's view, Dust was already well known for his outrageous over-the-top style, the polka dots were nothing, he was up for the challenge. And Dusty was under no illusions as to the state of his career, that was his last hurrah as an active wrestler, he was just there for a final paycheck.
Good points... if this was a rib, what did Terry Taylor do to Vince?
@JunkMale And Bruce Pritchard spoke about the Red Rooster gimmick on his podcast and stil thinks it could have been a goog gimmick
@@quarantinefox I mean, Dusty could’ve pulled it off, but he could’ve made anything work… “Lemmie teyaa summin, baby… when I put on dis hemmet, I’m not the ‘Merican Dreeyum, I’m the Shockmasta, baby! And when my ‘lectrifyin’ elbow connects, WOO! Gonna put hard times on errybody. The Shockmasta is gonna bring the thunder and errybody between me and that belt… is goin’ under, daddy. Can’t stop the storm, jack! Can’t stop this storm right HEYAH” oh man I’d have bought every gimmick
Love these sliding door conversations between Jim and Brian. It would be so interesting if Dusty had said yes to Vince what that WWF would have looked at in the "Golden era"
In the 1987 Slammys Vince was the televangelist for the show and he had a Dusty impression on
Here's my Dusty story . Hope it gives the more hard-core members of the cult who grew up with the NWA WWF wars a giggle. So its Wrestlemania 6 weekend and 17 year old me was working as a bus boy for the Skydome Catering Service. This is pre fan access weekend but on the Saturday before mania they still had a few corporate functions and meet and greet for the fans. So I get to work one of them there at a table sits Dusty sitting across from George Steele. So 17 year old me who is not as smart as he thinks is walks up to their table and says to Dusty ..."Im so glad you came to WWF i was big fan of yours in the NWA." . George Steele doesnt say anything but Dusty looks up, shakes his head no sells it , doesnt say a thing and goes back to talking to George Steele. ...lol One of my favourite teenage memories ...it was a great weekend.
Did Steele say- HEY YOU OUT!!!!!
@@tomjones5650 no ..kinda looked up in semi amazement seemingly thinking to himself ...'this geek cant be that stupid ' ...lol ...truth be told Dusty handled it perfectly ... humbled me by doing absolutely nothing ...still a great memory tbh
Sorry if I'm being stupid, but what was wrong with saying you were a big fan of his in the NWA?
@@gavinduenas3584 it was 1989 ...Dusty was the main guy in Crockett all through the 80s and him coming to WWF was almost an admission that Vince had won the war. At this time what they call Kayfabe where the fans are supposed to think its real and not realize there were other territories still existed. It was definitely a major social faux pas on my part.
@johngallagher72 I guess also his departure from Crockett wasn't amicable so all the more reason he wouldn't want to reminisce about the NWA days. But still, you paid him a compliment!
That was the one part of that documentary they intrigued me. Opened some interesting what ifs.
(9:00)
If I recall, didn't Dusty also appear in AWA for a few shots in '83-'84?
Yep. I'm a lifelong Minnesotan, and I saw a couple cards at the old St. Paul Civic Center which included Dusty.
When I was a kid, about this time, there was a popular rapper named Kwame. His style was similar to Will Smith, Kid N Play, and other family friendly rappers of the day. Kwame's whole gimmick was wearing polka dots. He even talked about "The Land of Polka Dots". We actually thought they were cool.
Maybe Dusty or Vince or whoever thought it was cool, too.
How much do you want to wager an adolescent Shane is how it even entered his field of view?
@@badladyami very possible! I just googled it and Dusty came into the WWF in 1989 the same year that Kwame started to become big.
There was a time there in the late 80s and early 90s when polka-dots were in fashion. Blues guitarist Buddy Guy adopted that look around that time, painting his guitars in polka-dots, and he kept it for decades after!
I thought it was cool when I was a little kid in the 90's.
Dusty did say that he made the most money though working for Vince. I think Dusty did the best to get over with what they gave him and he ran with it.
What did they give him? The most memorable outfit and theme tune in history.
@@clivet3252 i agree.
I wonder if Hulk Hogan played a role? Historically he's used every trick in the book to prevent anyone else getting to his level, even lying about undertaker injuring him. Hogan shouldn't have been worried about Dusty, he was at his peak, looked like a star and had Vince's ear, while Dusty was badly out of shape and coming to the end of his career. Dusty was a popular babyface when he first came in though and more of a charismatic entertainer than Hulk. Hulk would have wanted to keep him away from the main events and possibly deny him the chance to become a top babyface.
Brian: You can't get over while wearing polka dots.
Me: Not unless you are a horse jockey.
I have heard, Dusty, Cody, and Dustin all on shoot videos and podcasts say the polka dots werent a rib, and if they werw Dusty didnt care because those were the biggest checks he had ever gotten in his entire wrestling career.
I would expect it was about keeping Dusty from getting over and upsetting the apple cart for the stars Vince already had
When Dusty came to WWF with the common man vignettes, he was wrestling matches on TV without polka dots. I think Hogan complained to Vince about Dusty getting over, so they started the polka dots to knock him down a peg.
I remember a vignette where Big Dust was playing a plumber in someone's house. He came out of the bathroom with (working schitt i hope) on his arms and said in his unique voice said " I had to do a triple bypass." Maybe I was high but I thought that was funny AF.
Hated the polka-dots. Vince totally tried to bury him but The Dream still got over.
#DREAM
I don't get people's issue with the polka dots. Hogan himself was wearing yellow trunks and red knee pads.
Was it ever said that Hogan did that? Until I hear people say it, I don't believe that was Hogan suggesting to put Dusty into Polka Dots.
Vin Man and others though? Possibly. Maybe more than possibly. And it backfired bc he sold merch!! LOL
He wasn't "my American Dream" anymore, but he sold them dots like hotcakes!!
R.I.P Star Dust
@@clivet3252exactly. Had Hogan in the Ronald McDonald getup.
They made Dusty a plumber and gave him polka dots and he was still the third most over person in WWF besides Hogan and Warrior.
They didn't make him a plumber they made him a man of the people. He was no different to how he had been before, just WWF style.
And there were going back to Florida for Eddie Graham in 1974 many references in the NWA to Virgil Riley Runnels as "a Plumber's Son." What would've been ingenious would be for The WWF to hire Gary Hart as The Manager of Terry & Dory Funk, Junior about that same time. Highly reminiscent of the Classic Westerns where The Sheriff is besieged by Outlaw Acquaintances who think that they can take him down by using his old psychology against him. His old psychology!🤔😉🎤🤠🐴👔👞👞🤼♂️B.W.
@@johnlindsay4310 and he was booked against the top heels who had just been feuding with Hogan. He was pushed as the number 3 babyface. Hogan and Warrior were superheroes and he was the man of the people.
@@clivet3252The problem with that is it makes no sense, like why would a millionaire pro wrestling superstar need to work a day job? And how would he even have time for one while he is constantly traveling? It's just silly.
@SpinosaurusTheProudSocialist they used to play that wrestlers weren't rich people. Unless that was your gimmick like the Million Dollar Man. I remember a promo with Big Boss Man. And he said "I may be poor but I'm proud" even at 11 years old that made me laugh.
Every Randy Savage Mania match is either a classic or unique...and then there's his random match with Dusty at Mania 6.
If you check out WWF Magazine interview with Sapphire, she was wearing a black sweatshirt with yellow circle stickers placed all over her sweatshirt. Wasn't even a polkadot sweatshirt.😂😂😂
Ok the transition into the sponsor read was actually genius
That's the best thumbnail yet, Corny and co. Yeehaw!
Keep in mind that Dusty has also mentioned that he got points on the big Crockett towns as part of his booking deal, that had to be a huge incentive for Dusty if he had confidence that he could get the towns cooking again.
Vince has the ‘I’ll Show You’ Syndrome!
I was a kid then and polka dot Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire got my mom into watching wrestling for the only period in my entire life she was willing to do it and she HATED pro wrestling back then. In a black household like I grew up in that look, act and routine was the only thing that a black audience really related to in the WWF once JYD was gone. It wasn't until I was an adult that I found out that people felt that was a punishment.
Dusty got over in spite of the polkadots. When his music hit, the crowds went wild.
These are human relationships ya know. How many of us have been in fights with friends or family? Not always as simple as love/hate.
Were the polka dots a rib on Dusty? You're damn right they were! Dusty's widow Michelle (Cody's mom) said it herself on the Dusty DVD they put out in 2006. A couple of WWE stooges on the video said it wasn't, but considering one of them was Bruce Prichard, take them with a grain of salt.
I've been looking for that set.
@@ferox965We have it available for sale.
Bravo, Travis
If not for the Brian Solomon interview source which I personally cannot find, I’d put very little stock into the modern elevation of Dusty Rhodes’ legacy as it pertains to WWE given that his son is currently working on top there. WWE has a tendency to embellish in order to thread a narrative in order to make past events appear more grandiose than they actually were. In truth, Dusty Rhodes was utilized as an attraction for WWE much in the same way Andre and many others were during that era. He was never promised the WWE Championship. The scenario that was relayed for years was that when Billy Graham won the belt from Bruno he was told the date he was going to drop the belt and whom he was going to drop the belt to, Bob Backlund. I can’t see how Vince McMahon given that he wanted to market his product to children using primarily “body guys” as his means was ever going to select Dusty as the face of his brand of wrestling.
This seems like a contemporary take on decades-old events, though. Smart fans saw how Dusty was maligned at the time. How his kids were treated just seemed to be more evidence.
It's not as if Dusty was ever being compared to Ole Anderson. He had a job, but Vince seemed to make him and his family the butt of jokes.
Vince apparently has flat out admitted that narrative is correct, though.
Rhodes "Whatcha gonna do baby?"
@@F-Zero-yf3bh *"It's DUSTYmania eff ya wheel, ya undastand?!?"*
Have we not seen pictures of Dusty before WWF Wearing polkadot bandanas and such? I never thought any less of him for wearing them.
I'm just waiting for Heckel's Vince back there to sprout a pair of fangs.
Goldust could be a rib too
I didn't think of that - interesting point. And Cody too early in his career. I would guess that would hurt more than having to wear the polka-dots.
@@sinfulrhapsody1287 good ol Stardust
I would say less a rib and more that Vince already knew he wanted to make his wrestling show shocking and risqué and used Dustin to generate cheap heat and drum up controversy during a time where being gay/ effeminate was seen as wrong.
Probably, it's just it was a rib that Dustin got over.
@@bipolarbear8940Yeah, unfortunately there was a lot of gay panic in the 90s unfortunately. Vince was using the homophobia of 90s wrasslin crowds to draw heat.
Dusty Rhodes Son Cody Rhodes Help First Match Championship
Beef with the polka dots is funny, dusty would have beenover wearing a burlap sack. If anything it solidifies his legend as one of the greatest to ever do it. You could give him anygimmick and he wouldhave been the fuckingman with it.
LMAO hulk hogan in the dusty rhodes attire makes me laugh thanks guys 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Dusty has an interview on youtube where he talks about this. First, he says he didn't mind the pocka dots as he wore stuff like that in Flordia in the 70s. He said he came to WWF because he wanted to take over the booking. But when it became clear he wasn't going to get it and Jim Crickett called him and offered him the booking job at his company, Dusty agreed and then told Venice he was quiting.
Think it's a bad time to be talking about Vince 🤣
Don't forget about the Reo Rogers debacle.
I swear I’ve heard this same discussion 50 times. Brian, it’s not that difficult-Billy Graham was too old, Dusty wouldn’t have carried the national expansion, Vince saw Hogan and correctly identified that he was the perfect fit
Sapphire as a name for Dusty's valet is even a rib in itself.
The pokidots seem silly now, but remember; we are talking about the late 80's. Don Johnson padded shoulder jackets and mullets was the style for men.
Polka dots isn't that far off. 😂
I watched a shoot interview with Ronnie Garvin where he said he knew Dusty was broke when he went to work for Vince and agreed to wear the polka dots.
What a choice..Bionic Elbow or The Leg Drop.For Vince Jr 's ambitions,he picked the right guy.
I don't think you appreciate just how popular Dusty Rhodes was in the early 80s. However, there was definitely more upside with Hogan because he was younger and more impressive looking physically.
Dusty(& subsequently Hogan) reminded Vince of Dr.Jerry Graham and what he wanted his “SUPERSTARS” to be. Say what you want about Vince’s aesthetic for his promotion but he always saw his guys as living,breathing, action figures like Jerry Graham was to him as a young wrestling fan.
If I recall in Dusty’s book, Vince Sr told Dusty something along the lines of don’t let my son kill the business
Dusty's last WWf appearance in 1983 was at MSG on July 30 1983.......Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, & Ivan Putski defeated WWF Tag Team Champions the Wild Samoans & Samula
Vincent Kennedy McMahon buried Dusty Rhodes with those Polka Dots and Sapphire
But dusty got over despite Vince trying to bury him.
@@recorz98that's because Dusty was already a star and people knew who Dusty was.
@@Biffo316then it wouldn’t be fair to say Vince buried him, would it?
That was his goal
Dusty couldn’t be buried. He made chicken salad out of Vince’s shit
I still think it's interesting that, during a podcast interview (Jericho), Dustin and Cody were asked about the polka dots and Sapphire and if they were ribs. Dustin said yes to both, and thought it was more a "challenge" for the guy who thinks he's such hot shit and can get anything over. Cody, on the other hand, didn't think the dots were so much a rib, but noted that "Vince has to put his stamp on everything." He agreed with his brother that Sapphire (being a large black woman with, let's say non-model features instead of some petite blonde arm charm) was _supposed_ to be a rib "... until she got over."
Either of the cases with the polka dots thing could be true. As much as everyone wants it to be a mean-spirited thing, it could just as well been one of those things that Vince "saw" as a look... like LOD specifically being in red and black all the time or how Jim described that specific shot of introducing Dude Love with the click track and showing his feet walking on beat or wanting to call Vader "The Mastadon" for trademark purposes, or trying in vain for about two decades to manufacture another Rey Mysterio from whole cloth even after signing the actual one multiple times. How many different people renamed "Bronson" or given the initials "K.O." have passed through developmental?
The polka dots might just have been a thing Vince himself was fixated on and insisted would get over. Hell, even if he got Dusty instead of Hogan, he might have tried it on someone else to be their signature look.
Vince McMahon ended wrestling as I grew up loving it. The territories was what wrestling was all about.the world champion would come in and wrestle the champion of the territory. I miss those days
Definitely want to see Vince on the Joe Rogan experience
Terry Taylor as The Red Rooster!!!
Which promotion used dusty as "the midnight rider" gimmick ?
The Polka Dots were not a rib, it was for marketing and to create a character for Dusty
Dusty isn't who he is today if he doesn't go to JCP & do everything he did there. At the end of the day, in my opinion, Dusty made the best decision by not going to WWF & going to JCP. His feud with Flair & all that came out of that with the Horsemen & Magnum TA & then the Russians & others is legendary.
Again, Jim's wrestling IQ is off the charts 👍🏼
I recall Bruce Pritchard saying that the polka dots was all Vince's doing. No one else.
And I say good. Dusty would have just looked like an older, fatter Buddy Rose in the WWF without the polka dots.
I like the polka dots and I like sapphire it was the first time I ever saw Dusty Rhodes but I think my Grandad knew who he was because he said this is a real tough man my Grandad used to love watching NWA WCW He didn't really like WWF we watched WCW/NWA on UK TV we only got WCW are NWA in the 80s for free
Depends on what region of itv you had
We had central me and my brother watched wrestling every Saturday afternoon once a month we had wwf wrestling from about 1984 until Greg dyke cancelled wrestling in itv in 87
Then of course sky TV picked up wwf and wcw started appearing on itv in the early mornings about midnight my dad used to tape it for us so we could watch it the next day happy memories
I don't know .. As a kid, I really liked polka dot dusty and think it made him really fun... As an adult it seems like a rib, but I'm not convinced it was... It was dusty plus Vince loud gimmick enhancement.
I honestly don't think dusty would have gotten over nationality like Hogan did. Part of what made Hogan so big was that he looked like a Superhero. And in the 80s that was a huge deal. Was being muscled up. Look at the TV and movie stars that were big back then. Stallone, Arnold, Mr T . Van Damm . All jacked up dudes.
If thus comes as a video game wrestling Sim. I'll buy it no question.
If Jim Cornett is involved? Take My money!!!
Interesting to me that someone like Jim Cornette who only heard of the possibility of working out knows about Dianabol & Deca Durabolin💪...
Vince wanted Dusty back when Superstar was champ. Watch the old interviews. He was on Dusty back then.
Dusty was over in the WWF in 1989 as much as he was in the NWA in his prime
Knowing nothing at all about wrestling history when I first started watching in 1990, I just thought the polka dots were part of Dustys personality and that they fit his persona well.
The polka dots are iconic. Dustin came out in the polka dots. He had a polka dot handkerchief at the Hall of Fame, Seth wore polka dots in his feud with Cody. Vince is a marketing genius.
JJ Dillon got that shot in MSG as a favor to Eddie Graham from Vince Sr according to JJ's autobiography. JJ had never worked MSG and I think it was Afa who had an IC title match but no showed so JJ got put in the spot.
Actually surprised Mcmaniac didn't hire Dirty Rhodes lol... Wish there was more flos around about Dirty Rhodes.. 🤔
Am I the only one who might think Hogan was afraid Dusty would be more over than he was and put it in Vince's ear?
I watched NXT on the CW last night, the one with Orton on it, and it sucked because the picture does not fit the tv screen. It;s 4 inches short on the top of the screen, and 4 inches short on the bottom of the screen, so the picture is distorted and it makes all the wrestlers look shorter and wider. This does not happen on any other channel I watch, they only do it on the CW, and it ruins the show for me.
I guess the CW is too cheap to make the picture fit the tv screen. Every other show I watch on my 55 inch flat screen Smasung tv fits the screen, the NXT wrestling show from last night was the first tv show I have seen that did not fit my tv screen.
13K in March of 86 is almost 38K now.
It's kinda crazy though that Dusty never had an Intercontinental Title run, not even a Tag-Team Titles win in WWF.
I always thought the polka dots matched Dusty's natural blotch on his belly
Brian REALLY hates the polkadots. He always brings this up when talking about Dusty.
Go back in his first book that was independent of world wrestling entertainment. He claimed he turned Vince down. Simply because vince wasn't going to pay him enough. I really don't think the polka dots were a rib simply because all the gimmicks at that time were hokey
It was C.All of above
But honestly polka dots were in at that time. Dusty was over, the polka dots didn’t get him over, they didn’t really matter. I think we gave too much attention to the polka dots in his WWF run.
Here's ANOTHER possibility: Vince doesn't want ANYBODY to compare to Hulk Hogan, or whoever his Chosen One is at the moment. Everybody, regardless of level of popularity, has to be of a "Lower Class" then Hogan\whoever. Therefore, their legs must be cut out from under them, to have just enough popularity to sell T-Shirts, action figures and other merch., but at a lower tier. This ensures that the top man REMAINS the top man, and gets the highest merchandise sales percentage and ego-stroking. It's a way of mollifying his prima-donna main star.
Sitcoms and major motion pictures if u will
Dusty and Andre actually did not win that Superdome tag tournament. Only time they ever lost as a tag team. Lost to The Grappler and Super Destroyer IIRC
Speaking of Vince down on Cape Cod promoting concerts.... I saw my very first concert at the Cape Cod Coliseum - The Kinks with an unknown band "John Cougar & the Zones" opening. Fantastic show...anyway...
If Vince was trying to ruin the Runnels family he failed miserably. I loved Dusty's polka dot gimmick, it reminded me of John Belushi in a bee costume. I thought Gold Dust was hilarious, seeing how uncomfortable some wrestlers were 😂😂😂 Stardust did suck and Cody made the right move leaving the WWE, he played his cards right. Look at the American Nightmare now....
Dusty should have just refused to do the Polka Dots
Ow… Vince you got me brother