I remember seeing that as a kid when it aired originally and it was the Dusty promo that stuck with me, even more than "Hard Times". He seemed to be heavy-handed when he had the book and left some bitter workers, but man, he could put butts in the seats.

I posted something quick yesterday because it was a real bad day that turned ****ty when I heard this. Now that I have been able to wrap my head around it, Id like to say something else.

I remember 10 years or so ago talking to my dad the day Wilt Chamberlain died. He was really broken up about and he told me that was his childhood hero. I really didnt understand at the time what he was feeling until yesterday. Dusty, along with Mike Schmidt and Rickey Henderson were my childhood heroes and now I know what it feels like to lose one. It sucks.

Eventhough I lived deep in WWF territory, the highlight of my week was the 6:05 WTBS World Championship Wrestling show. Dusty seemed to do a promo every week that would have me hypnotized. But when they would advertise the upcoming dates I was always crushed when Philly was never on the list. I really didnt understand the territory system back in the early 80's. But finally JCP started to expand my dream came true. Three of my fondest memories as a child were the three times I got to see him wrestle at the dump known as the Philadelphia Civic Center. Once against Tully Blanchard in a barbed wire match, once against Flair for the title, and once with the Road Warriors when they were the 6 man champs.

I think Im going to pour myself a big glass of iced tea and watch the Dusty Rhodes documentary on the Network. RIP Dusty.

I unfortunately just missed Rhodes' era as I got into wrestling in 87. I do wish there were a lot more footage of his and all the old timers. I've never watched the old Starrcade's but watching Rhodes/Flair from 84 now and going to watch their 85 match next. Truly a sad time in wrestling. A true legend of wrestling and a seemingly great guy.

I'll always remember his role in the first wargames match and how the crowd just became absolutely unglued anytime he did anything and such empathy on the fans faces when he was inevitably outnumbered and worked over. I still call the July 4th 87 wargames the best ever.

Edit: nice to hear Solie on the call here. Another legend that I was broken up when he passed. Another guy that was on his way out when I started watching. I remember how great it was to watch the Saturday morning NWA show because even as a 7 year old I knew he was special.

The mothership!

Could you link this? I looked through the original docs and didn't see any Dusty doc.

Starrcade 84 match was fine. LOL getting celebs involved for **** endings.
Starrcade 85 match was MUCH better. Enjoyed it a lot.
Rewatched "Hard Times" promo. Damn, what an intense promo. Awesome.

Thought this image should be itt.

It is in the WWE Beyond the Ring section all the way at the bottom

Enjoyed this read.

I remember being very close to taking Dusty in the original wrestling draft. One of the things that struck me doing the research was finding out that he would regularly receive the largest pop of the night on the house show circuit during his WWF run, even eclipsing Hogan and Warrior. Even with that ridiculous gimmick, his charisma overpowered everything.

It looks like it has been removed since yesterday. I have heard that after RAW hey will be debuting a new documentary on Dusty, so maybe it is a redo of the original with more of his recent behind the scenes work

He's wearing a hat in a lot of photos, that's because these maniacs always carried a razor blade on them and would slice open their forehead at the correct moment and bleed like a pig for the audience. His forehead is covered in razor blade scars. LOL @ wrestlers, those old-timers sure were nutso.

Wow, there's even a term for it and a wikipedia page - "blading".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bladin...l_wrestling%29

"Some wrestlers like Abdullah the Butcher,[7] Dusty Rhodes, New Jack, and Devon Hughes (Brother Devon / D-Von Dudley) have massive, disfiguring scars on their heads from frequently blading throughout their careers."

Now I feel old.

Dusty was my second round pick (34th overall) in the first wrestling draft.

Here's what I wrote at the time.

I keep hearing this, but I really don't understand why. Not being a native English speaker, I have a really tough time understanding him. Guess I am missing out a lot because of that.

I find it really weird that I feel pretty distraught about Dusty dying so I had to find some more stuff and found stuff from tonight.

Dusty tribute from preshow:


Renee tries so hard to pull herself together a couple minutes after being put on the spot when the above video finished and she was sobbing.


Opening of MitB:


Steen looking like he's going to lose it:





R.I.P. "The American Dream"

Made me smile:

http://www.kayfabenews.com/wrestling...-dusty-finish/

I don't blame you for this viewpoint. Charisma is at least 50% being a certain man for a certain time. Austin was perfect for the dgaf angry white boys of the 90s. Rock captured the snark factor of the turn of the millennium. Hogan and Flair were idols for the excessive 80s. They all had "it" but we're catapulted by circumstance.

Dusty's circumstantial popularity is hard to describe for someone who isn't blue collar at the least and maybe southern as well. He lacked the polish that so many "superstars" have used. And in that way he was the Everyman hero a lot of the wrestling audience could relate to. By being booked as a loser who kept fighting he was perfect for his demographic with the 70s and 80s seeing collapses of unions and outsourcing of labor. He was easy to root for because he was one of his audience. A little fat. A bit uncouth. But dedicated and passionate.

That didn't play so well for a bigger audience, though I would argue Daniel Bryan's character is more or less a version of today's Dusty without the charisma.

And it's not hard to see why others in the business are so shaken. They essentially identify with his character as well as the man. By all accounts Dusty lived pretty close to his gimmick. So I get that too.

I can see what you are saying but I think charisma is more being something people can relate to and also having something people want to have. Most people (today and yesterday) can relate to being angry at their boss and can relate to being angry at unfair and corrupt institutions, hence Austin. People can relate to "Hard Times" and not being in as good of shape as the hardcore fitness freak at your job, but still working hard much of the time. Hence Dusty Rhodes. And people wanted to be as articulate and athletic and as charming and as popular as Austin and Rhodes. Sure, they had a certain narrow demographic that was even more likely to favor them, but they had broader appeal as well.

I wasn't going to mention anything but since mooro did, I'll just say that Bryan has an insane amount of charisma for the reasons that mooro brought up.

His special on the Network is excellent. Worth the watch. Be prepared to shed a tear.

[QUOTE=.isolated;47258861]His special on the Network is excellent. Worth the watch. Be prepared to shed a tear.[/


Can't believe they left off the promo he cut with his son

This is horrible, he had quite a long innings for being such a big fella especially within the wrestling industry

I tore up a bit when they replayed his sons HOF intro speech

A true legend

RIP Dusty