American Dream: The Dusty Rhodes Story
- Dusty talks about growing up in Austin, TX...saying when you are from Texas, you always want to go back there...talks about a hereditary hip issue that has never been repaired...talks about being forced to work with his dad plumbing company as a kid during his summers....his dad told him not to become a plumber and to go out and achieve the American Dream
- Talks about the origins of his nickname "Dusty", which came from a baseball player that his dad was a fan of...his dad wanted Dusty to become a pro baseball player, but Dusty was drawn more towards wrestling...he basically started his own backyard promotion as a teenager, wrestling his brother with his sister selling tickets
- Did well playing baseball in college but lost his scholarship after some altercations...ended up at West Texas State for football...we hear from DiBiase and Mean Gene about the college...more various talking heads about Dusty's youth in Texas and how it helped lead to his character
- Talks about getting started in San Antonio under the mentoring of Joe Blanchard...he was taught to pay his dues in order to be a star...he made $700 early on in his career and it lead to him turning down an invitation to training camp for the Miami Dolphins
- He then moved on to Kansas City, where he met Dick Murdoch...DiBiase, Triple H and Okerlund talk about their legacy as a team...Dusty says their best matches were in Chicago against Bruiser & Crusher...talk about their reputation as hellraising cowboys in and out of the ring by Brisco, Heenan, Lawler, Mike Graham and Tony Garea...they owned a mule as a mascot and would routinely ride it to bars, even bringing it inside...Dusty talks more about their personal relationship, traveling the roads, drinking and carousing
- Dusty eventually had enough of that lifestyle and decided to move on to Florida, angering Murdoch, who didn't really understand the decision...Jack Brisco asked Eddie Graham to bring Dusty in and Eddie obliged...talk about the success of the Florida territory, led by Mike Graham...lots of love for Eddie Graham
- Talk about Dusty's face turn after splitting with Pak Song during a tag match...we see a clip of his face turn promo...Dusty talks about how the American Dream name started in a random interview with Gordon Solie...more talking heads about Dusty's success and how the fans could identify with him...Dusty talks about the unique fan base in Florida...Heenan says Florida was white hot at the time
- We get some talking heads about Dusty's best Florida opponents and feuds...focus on his feud with Terry Funk, who Dusty has a lot of love and respect for...he talks about how Funk still carries on the feud in public to this day
- Talk about the territory system and various godfathers...Graham and Vince, Sr. made a deal for Dusty to appear in MSG...discussion on his series with Superstar Graham and how insane the crowds were for it...Vince talks about the dichotomy between the two stars...we get highlights of the bouts along with comments from Graham and Dusty...talk about how they sold out MSG for the third bout, which was a bullrope match...Graham says Dusty is his favorite opponent of all time and Dusty says their matches changed the business
- Dusty says the MSG matches helped set him up for a long run against Harley Race...clips of their world title match at the Bayfront Center with comments from both men...Dusty wins the match and the NWA World Title...clips and talk about the celebration after the match...talking heads about the win and what it meant to Dusty's career
- Dusty says he was the first TBS golden boy thanks to being the World Champion when the 6:05 show started up...talk about the importance of being the World Champion and everything that went along with it back in the day, including the hectic schedule...comments from his wife Michelle...talk about how they met and their life together...talk about how Michelle helped settle him down and keep in line, traveling the country with him...get our first comments from Dustin, who talks about how frustrating it was not having his dad around...Arn Anderson says wrestlers become consumed and it comes first in your life
- Next segment is about Dusty's great promo skills and we get a mix of talking heads praising and imitating him and clips of his best promos...Michael Hayes with a great description of Dusty's style: "white guy that was a redneck talking like a black guy with a lisp"...talk about the legendary "Hard Times" promo
- We now shift to the long running Rhodes/Flair feud, including clips of their promos..."The Horsemen need to ride on another planet, because I reserved the stratosphere for me and you!"...we get some awesome 80s inspirational ballad music over a montage of their Starccade 85 cage match...this is so awesome...Flair gushes over Dusty's greatness
- Dusty talks about the territory style and the role of a booker...says he was groomed for that role by Eddie Graham..Dusty started booking JCP and says he created Starrcade, Great American Bash and Halloween Havoc and that he led JCP into new towns against the mega machine...he runs through all the stars and said they made a ton of money
- Said in the end, someone has to pay for the party that never seems to end...despite the prosperity, the company was still being run as a small southern territory and that they should have scaled back and pulled the reigns a bit...things eventually crashed and we got talk about the buyout by Ted Turner, with clips from Turner talking about the excitement of the purchase...Dusty was put in charge of the promotion after the purchase...Dusty got a lot of criticism during the time and Okerlund talks about the "Dusty Finish"...Dustin defends his dad's creativity...Regal and Okerlund do as well
- Dusty eventually gets fed up with Turner and walks away from a lot of money...he returned to Florida where Mike Graham, Steve Keirn and Gordon Solie still were...he tried to revive business, but it was too late at that point as Florida was dying off
- Finally, Vince came calling and Dusty quickly accepted...many were shocked by the move...Vince talks about his thought process and Dusty says that Vince told him to relax and have fun since he didn't have to worry about running the business at all, just wrestling...some classic clips of Dusty's infamous debut vignettes...Vince puts Dusty over for being fun out there and he wanted to put him in a fun environment...Bruce Pritchard tells the story of how in one of Dusty's first matches he just had his vintage black trunks and Vince was watching backstage and said "I see him in polka dots...yellow polka dots" and shortly after, Dusty's new look was born...talking heads about thinking the polka dots were a rib but Dusty says he vowed he make it work regardless so he embraced it...Pritchard and Patterson vow it was not a rib...talk about how it made him memorable and stand out...lots of credit to Dusty about making it work
- Segment on Sapphire...funny talking head about it...clip of Dusty introducing Sapphire as his new manager...she was a well known fan in Kansas City and was brought in just for this role...Vince said the pair made complete sense because they both were a lot of fun...talk about Sapphire's charisma and sweetness...Dusty says if Sapphire was his idea, Vince would have said no and gave him a hooker but because he asked for the hooker, Vince gave him Sapphire...Dusty laughs just thinking about their dancing
- Talk about the famous "American Dream" theme song and how it epitomized Dusty...lots of debate between the talking heads about whether the whole gimmick worked or whether it was a mistake and a joke...Cena did not like it at all because it wasn't the Dusty he grew up with...Graham and Lawler feel the same way...Dusty was fine with it because he and Sapphire both made a lot of money from the run...clips of Dusty's promo after DiBiase bought off Sapphire...Dusty says DiBiase was his favorite during that run...clip from Summerslam of the purchase...clips of Dustin's debut on SNME when he got into a brawl with DiBiase and Virgil at ringside...Ted was happy he got to help Dustin grow in the business...Dustin narrates the vicious bloody assault...Dustin loved being involved and working with his dad...clips from Dustin beating DiBiase in the ten minute challenge
- Discussion on how hard it was for Dustin to follow Dusty and how much was expected of him based on the name...talking heads about the difficulty involved in that...Dustin didn't really want to be out there as Dusty's son due to the pressure...lots of praise for Dustin overcoming the challenge
- In early 1991, Dusty was offered the chance to come back to WCW and run the show once again so he accepted to come back and finish his unfinished business...Dusty had the idea of having an African American world champion and started the push of Ron Simmons to be a main eventer and eventual champion
- We jump to 1994, where Dusty returns from retirement to be Dustin's tag partner during his feud with the Stud Stable...they recruit the Nasty Boys to join them in War Games...Dusty compares them to his team with Murdoch...clips of the War Games buildup and match, which they won
- Dustin talks about how busy Dusty was and how they rode in different crews...he started dating Terri Boatwright, then known as Alexandra York, behind his dad's back and their relationship started to deteriorate...one day he and Dusty were set to play golf but Terri was ill and asked Dustin to stay home with her instead...Dustin met his Dad at a grocery store and told him he had to cancel...after that, they didn't talk for five years due to the fallout...Dusty says women don't understand the magnitude of their abilities to control men...Michelle chimes in and says it was a combination of Terri and past issues between them that had never been dealt with...it was a hard time in their lives
- Dustin talks about the Goldust character being way ahead of its time...clips of his early WWF days...Dusty says Vince told Dustin in 1991 that he would let his Dad get him over and then steal him back...Dusty was depressed during those years and it hurt him to see Dustin on TV doing that gimmick...Dusty says he can't go back and change Dustin's youth and Dustin says he wishes his dad could have been there to share Goldust with...talking heads about the success of Goldust's first run...Dusty says Dustin pulled off that character and that he was proud of the success
- Barry Windham convinced Dustin to come back to WCW...he and Dusty had their reunion at a show in Jacksonville...they hugged for twenty minutes and Dustin cried the whole time...since then they have had no issues and have been very close...Dustin is very emotional talking here
- Clips of Dusty again returning to the ring alongside Dustin against Jeff Jarrett and Ric Flair...the stipulation was that if Flair & Jarrett lost, they had to kiss Dusty's ass...highlights of the match, which was won by the Rhodes boys...after kissing Dusty's ass, the next night they had both men kiss a donkey's ass too
- We jump to 2005 where Dusty Rhodes returned to WWE as part of a legends ceremony in Dallas for USA Homecoming...talk about Dusty joining the writing team and helping out with developmental...Vince is happy to have him back
- Final segment is just talking heads and clips putting Dusty over and wrapping up the presentation.
Review Date: August 2011
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