Virgil Runnels
Known For
Acting
Born
1945-10-12 in Austin, Texas, USA
Died
2015-06-11
Biography
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr., better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker/writer, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, NWA Championship Wrestling from Florida, Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), and WWE. Rhodes is considered one of the greatest wrestlers and talkers in the history of professional wrestling. Rhodes was a three-time NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions' Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, later known as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he was a NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA World Television, NWA Tag Team and NWA World 6-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, performing for WWE and AEW. Following his retirement from wrestling, he made occasional on-air appearances on WWE television and pay-per-views and worked as a backstage booker/writer 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".
Most Known For
Raw
as Dusty Rhodes
Raw
WWE NXT
WWF Wrestling Challenge
as Dusty Rhodes
TNA iMPACT!
TNA iMPACT!
as Dusty Rhodes.
TNA iMPACT!
as Dusty Rhodes
Saturday Night's Main Event
Saturday Night's Main Event
as Dusty Rhodes
ECW Hardcore TV
NWA World Championship Wrestling
as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
NWA World Championship Wrestling
as Midnight Rider
Burke's Law
as Archie 'Mad Dog' McCray
WWE Rivals
as Dusty Rhodes
WWE Old School
as Dusty Rhodes
Biography: WWE Legends
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
as Dusty Rhodes
Wrestlemania Rewind
as Dusty Rhodes
WWE Rivalries
as Self
Clash of the Champions
as Dusty Rhodes