Virgil Runnels
Birthday: 1945-10-12 Place of Birth: Austin, Texas, USA
Synopsis
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr., better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crockett Promotions, and the World Wrestling Federation, later known as the WWE. Rhodes is considered one of the greatest wrestlers and talkers in the history of professional wrestling. Rhodes was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions, later known as WCW, he was a NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA World Television, NWA Tag Team and NWA World Six-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 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".
Acting
WWE: The U.S. Championship: A Legacy of Greatness
The United States Championship is a title that has been a staple of sports entertainment for over four decades. From the inaugural champion Harley Race to the creator of the U.S. Open Challenge, John Cena, this exclusive set features the greatest United States Championship matches of all time featuring Superstars like "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Lex Luger, Magnum TA, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Eddie Guerrero, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, and more! See why the United States Championship is a symbol of excellence and witness the legacy of greatness it has left behind.
Nature Boy Ric Flair - The Definitive Collection
This is a tremendous documentary recounting a tremendous career. Starting with Flair's original entry into wrestling, the plane crash that nearly ended his career and his eventual rise to being NWA's Travelling Champion.
WWE The Great American Bash 2007
The Great American Bash (2007) was the fourth annual Great American Bash PPV. It was presented by Ziddio and took place on July 22, 2007 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands. The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between The Great Khali, Batista and Kane. The primary match on the ECW brand was John Morrison versus CM Punk for the ECW Championship. The featured matches on the undercard included Montel Vontavious Porter versus Matt Hardy for the WWE United States Championship and Randy Orton versus Dusty Rhodes in a Texas Bullrope match.
Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen
One of the first and coolest, factions in Sports Entertainment was The Four Horsemen. This stable was a powerful group that ran roughshod over WCW and lasted for the better part of a decade with its various members, including 16-time World Champion "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair (the constant among the Four Horsemen) as well as other members: Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, Sting, Lex Luger, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and more.
WWE Cyber Sunday 2006
Cyber Sunday (2006) was the first annual Cyber Sunday PPV. It took place on November 5, 2006 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio replacing Taboo Tuesday. This event had the unique feature of being interactive. Fans could vote for selective characteristics in the scheduled matches, including opponents, stipulations, match types, etc. The voting for the event started on October 16, 2006, and ended during the event. The main event was the "Champion of Champions" match, between WWE's three top champions. The three champions in the match were WWE Champion John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and ECW World Champion The Big Show. The fans could vote for who would defend their championship in this match. The predominant match on the card was D-Generation X versus Rated-RKO. The featured matches on the undercard were Jeff Hardy versus Carlito for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and Lita versus Mickie James in a Diva Lumberjack match for the WWE Women's Championship.
The American Dream: The Dusty Rhodes Story
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes will forever be remembered as the working man's champion. A master at the mic and a three-time World Heavyweight Champion, he has had legendary confrontations with sports-entertainments top stars, including Ric Flair, Harley Race, "SuperStar" Billy Graham, Terry Funk and Tully Blanchard. Decades later, his contributions to sports-entertainment are still being felt. This Three-disc release will present his life's story as well as his most memorable matches and interviews from his days in the AWA, NWA, and WWWF, WWE, and WCW.
WCW Greed
Greed was the final PPV event from World Championship Wrestling (replacing the promotion's March PPV event Uncensored which was held from 1995 to 2000). It took place on March 18, 2001 from the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida. The PPV event took place eight days before the final episode of Monday Nitro. The main event of Greed was Scott Steiner defending the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in a Fallas Count Anywhere match against Diamond Dallas Page. Rick Steiner defended the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship against Booker T, Chavo Guerrero defended the WCW Cruiserweight Championship against Shane Helms, and The Natural Born Thrillers defended the WCW World Tag Team Championships against Totally Buffed. Other matches included Ernest Miller vs Kanyon, Shawn Stasiak vs Bam Bam Bigelow, Konnan & Hugh Morrus vs Team Canada, and 2 other matches.
WCW Fall Brawl 1994
Team Rhodes, comprised of The Nasty Boys, Dustin Rhodes & Dusty Rhodes, battles The Stud Stable of Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck & Col. Robert Parker. Vader collides with Sting and The Guardian Angel in a Triangle Elimination Match. Kevin Sullivan faces Cactus Jack in a Loser Leaves WCW Match. Plus, "Stunning" Steve Austin and much more!
WCW/New Japan Supershow II
WCW/New Japan Supershow II (known as Starrcade 1992 in Tokyo Dome in Japan) took place on January 4, 1992 from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The main event was the Steiner Brothers versus Sting & The Great Muta. Other matches included Tatsumi Fujinami defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Riki Choshu, Lex Luger defending the WCW World heavyweight Championship against Masahiro Chono, Big Van Vader vs El Gigante, Dusty and Dustin Rhodes vs Masa Saito and Kim Duk, The Enforcers vs Michiyoshi Ohara & Shiro Koshinaka, and Jushin Liger, Masashi Aoyagi, and Akira Nogami vs Hiro Saito, Super Strong Machine, & Kantaro Hoshino.
WWE Royal Rumble 1991
The 1991 WWE Royal Rumble was the third annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation, and fourth overall. It took place on January 19, 1991 at The Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. The main event was the 1991 Royal Rumble match. Featured matches on the undercard were The Ultimate Warrior versus Sgt. Slaughter for the WWE Championship, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase & Virgil versus "The Common Man" Dusty Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes and The Mountie versus "The Birdman" Koko B. Ware.
NWA Bunkhouse Stampede
Bunkhouse Stampede 1988 was the fourth and final professional wrestling Bunkhouse Stampede event produced by Jim Crockett Promotions under the NWA banner and it was the only Bunkhouse Stampede event to air as a PPV event. The event took place on January 24, 1988 from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. The main event was a Steel Cage Bunkhouse Stampede featuring Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Dusty Rhodes, The Barbarian, Lex Luger, Ivan Koloff, Road Warrior Animal and The Warlord. The undercard featured Ric Flair versus Road Warrior Hawk for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Barry Windham versus Larry Zbyzsko for the NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship and Nikita Koloff versus Bobby Eaton for the NWA World Television Championship.
NWA Starrcade '88: True Gritt
Ric Flair defends the NWA World Championship against Lex Luger. The Road Warriors defend the NWA Tag Team Championship against Sting & Dusty Rhodes . The Fantastics defend the NWA United States Tag Team Championship against The Varsity Club's Kevin Sullivan & "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Jim Cornette leads The Midnight Express against Paul E. Dangerously’s Original Midnight Express and much more!
NWA The Great American Bash '87: War Games
This was the first use of the WarGames: The Match Beyond match conceived by Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes was on the winning side in both events along with the Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering. Koloff, Rhodes and J.J. Dillon sustained serious injuries in the first encounter. The Bash series took place in numerous venues all July long, starting in Landover, Maryland at the Capital Centre on July 2.
NWA Starrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat!
Ric Flair battles Ron Garvin for the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship in a Steel Cage Match. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard defend the NWA Tag Team Championship against The Road Warriors. The Rock & Roll Express face The Midnight Express in an unforgiving Scaffold Match. Dusty Rhodes battles Lex Luger in a Steel Cage for the NWA United States Championship with "The Dream's" career on the line and much more!
NWA The Great American Bash '86: Livin' in the Promise Land
Jim Crockett Promotions used "The Great American Bash" as the name for a tour that had several PPV caliber shows around the country. In 1986, there were 13 Great American Bashes and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair defended his title at each one against Ricky Morton, Road Warrior Hawk, Ron Garvin, Nikita Koloff, Robert Gibson, Road Warrior Animal, Magnum T.A., Wahoo McDaniel and Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes defeated him for the title at the July 26 Bash. Flair challenged for it on the last Bash on August 2. Nikita Koloff and Magnum T.A. were involved in a best of seven title match series throughout the Bash for the U.S. Title.
NWA The Great American Bash 1985
The Great American Bash (1985) took place on July 6, 1985 at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The main event was a steel cage match for the NWA World Television Championship with Tully Blanchard defending the title against Dusty Rhodes. Nikita Koloff challenged for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair with David Crockett as the special guest referee. Magnum T.A. defended the NWA United States Championship against Kamala, while the NWA World Tag Team Champions Krusher Kruschev and Ivan Koloff fought the AWA World Tag Team Champions, The Road Warriors. 4 other matches took place on the undercard.
NWA Starrcade '84: The Million Dollar Challenge
One million dollars is on the line as NWA World's Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair takes on Dusty Rhodes with legendary boxing champion "Smokin" Joe Frazier as special guest referee. Tully Blanchard faces Ricky Steamboat for NWA World Television Championship. "The Boogie-Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant takes on Paul Jones in a Loser-Leaves-Town Tuxedo Match and much more!
