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Random thoughts thread v2 *NO NEWS ITEMS*


tiger_rick

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It's always amazed me how popular Dusty Rhodes was back in the day. I was watching the Ric Flair documentary DVD from the set they released a few years ago, and there was a bit on there where Flair talks about the territories and what a star Dusty was. Cut to two clips of Big Dust in the ring, completing a couple of big elbows before doing the fruitiest little dances known to man. Even by wrestling standards, a 40-year old bloke with bleached hair and a belly the size of the moon in tiny pants doing funny camp wiggles looks a bit strange, even more so in 1970s Hicksville, Florida.

 

I'm sure he had some decent matches back in the day, and he was a good promo, but fuck me, he looked like across between Big Dick Johnson, a Benny Hill character and something from a Tango advert.

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It's always amazed me how popular Dusty Rhodes was back in the day. I was watching the Ric Flair documentary DVD from the set they released a few years ago, and there was a bit on there where Flair talks about the territories and what a star Dusty was. Cut to two clips of Big Dust in the ring, completing a couple of big elbows before doing the fruitiest little dances known to man. Even by wrestling standards, a 40-year old bloke with bleached hair and a belly the size of the moon in tiny pants doing funny camp wiggles looks a bit strange, even more so in 1970s Hicksville, Florida.

 

I'm sure he had some decent matches back in the day, and he was a good promo, but fuck me, he looked like across between Big Dick Johnson, a Benny Hill character and something from a Tango advert.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure he booked himself favourably and to a ridiculous extent, in the 1980s at least. Apparently he'd be in most of the main events, rarely lose a match and pop up in other people's angles. Someone on here described it well when they compared it to The Simpsons episode "Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie", with there being a theme of "Where's Dusty?" when he wasn't on screen.

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He had to be over to get into a position to book himself favourably, though. I can totally see why Dusty was so over. He's the common man. He's a black talking fat fuck who could rally the troops and make you like him. Like a cake eating Bruce Springsteen. I remember loving him when he was past it in the WWF back in the day, so I can only imagine how much he was loved in his prime when he was the main man. True, I didn't like him on an Ultimate Warrior level and its not like I've followed his career as much as Hogan or the Boss Man, but I remember thinking he was funny and likable. His promo at SummerSlam 90 was belting and you really felt for him when Thweet Thaphaire fucked off.

 

"I offered up my innocence to her and she paid me back in scorn".

 

He had something. He totally made you forget he looked like Benny from Crossroads. A natural charisma.

Edited by IANdrewDiceClay
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For sure, no worthwhile company would let an active wrestler book unless they were super-over. The reigns would never have been handed over to the likes of Jobber McGee. I just can't picture him as being the most likeable person in a lift, let alone a wrestling organisation. I'm probably on my own but I've never been won over by him on the mic, either. It's like being dressed down by Little Mo from Eastenders.

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Haha, I loved the Summerslam 90 promo. What was the 'I offered up my innocence to her' about though? Trying to act all pure and virginal, even as a kid I knew Dustin was his son. And I suspect he had a pop at Magnum TA as well. Innocence my arse.

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For sure, no worthwhile company would let an active wrestler book unless they were super-over. The reigns would never have been handed over to the likes of Jobber McGee. I just can't picture him as being the most likeable person in a lift, let alone a wrestling organisation. I'm probably on my own but I've never been won over by him on the mic, either. It's like being dressed down by Little Mo from Eastenders.

 

You can count me in the "never quite got the appeal of Dusty" camp.

 

He always seemed like a very likeable (in a strange way) midcard type, but not the headline act in a million years. I know he was, so I'm wrong, but it still doesn't make sense. He just always sounded too camp for the tough-guy fans to like, too jive-talking for the white folk to like and too out of shape and ugly for the ladies. Screw Jeff Hardy, Dusty Rhodes is the true enigma.

 

I don't enjoy his matches either. The ones with Flair bored the shit out of me and were some of the (very few) early NWA/WCW Main Events that I didn't enjoy on a recent re-watching.

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For sure, no worthwhile company would let an active wrestler book unless they were super-over. The reigns would never have been handed over to the likes of Jobber McGee. I just can't picture him as being the most likeable person in a lift, let alone a wrestling organisation. I'm probably on my own but I've never been won over by him on the mic, either. It's like being dressed down by Little Mo from Eastenders.

 

You can count me in the "never quite got the appeal of Dusty" camp.

 

He always seemed like a very likeable (in a strange way) midcard type, but not the headline act in a million years. I know he was, so I'm wrong, but it still doesn't make sense. He just always sounded too camp for the tough-guy fans to like, too jive-talking for the white folk to like and too out of shape and ugly for the ladies. Screw Jeff Hardy, Dusty Rhodes is the true enigma.

 

I don't enjoy his matches either. The ones with Flair bored the shit out of me and were some of the (very few) early NWA/WCW Main Events that I didn't enjoy on a recent re-watching.

 

Thing is, it's really really difficult for us to judge fairly, in 2012 and most importantly conditioned by years of Mc Mahon-influenced wrestling (and I mean more 80's McMahon rather than today's McMahon). Look at Harley Race, absolute legend, 7 times NWA champ, can you really perceive him as a main eventer? Can you for real or do you say it just because you've been told it's true? Killer promo, ok, looks hard, great, but we are just not conditioned to taking "real people" seriously, and the further back you go the worse it gets in my opinion, I think there's no better example than Bruno Sammartino but you could make a casa for a character such as Fit Finlay, in 70's wrestling he would have been world champ even in his fifites.

 

Having said all of this, WWF gave Dusty an awful gimmick (or at least awful gear), kept him in the middle of the card yet he was super-over, apparently even in cities that were WWF-country.

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Dusty Rhodes is amazing! Talking wise there's probably only Michael Hayes and a couple up there with him, and he got the whole working man's rap "man of the people" schtick down to a T. No promo will ever top "Hard Times" in my eyes, and why he was so popular and quality becomes more than apparent during the course of that promo.

 

Even in 1994 he was still the fucking man, as evidenced HERE

Edited by PowerButchi
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Look at Harley Race, absolute legend, 7 times NWA champ, can you really perceive him as a main eventer? Can you for real or do you say it just because you've been told it's true? Killer promo, ok, looks hard, great, but we are just not conditioned to taking "real people" seriously

 

Well two of the biggest names of the late 90's were Austin and Goldberg, who both would possibly debunk the "Killer promo, ok, looks hard, great, but we are just not conditioned to taking "real people" seriously" part.

 

For what its worth I was always sceptical of the Race hype but by god he is amazing, mainly because of how he does things and the fact he looks like he could fuck any one up and had a hell of a bit of talk on him.

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Look at Harley Race, absolute legend, 7 times NWA champ, can you really perceive him as a main eventer? Can you for real or do you say it just because you've been told it's true? Killer promo, ok, looks hard, great, but we are just not conditioned to taking "real people" seriously

 

Well two of the biggest names of the late 90's were Austin and Goldberg, who both would possibly debunk the "Killer promo, ok, looks hard, great, but we are just not conditioned to taking "real people" seriously" part.

 

For what its worth I was always sceptical of the Race hype but by god he is amazing, mainly because of how he does things and the fact he looks like he could fuck any one up and had a hell of a bit of talk on him.

To be fair, I don't think Goldberg falls into the "real people" category, quite the opposite really.

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