10 Things You Didn't Know About Goldust

Find out who encouraged Goldust to play up to homophobia...

Goldust WWE
WWE.com

Looking like a cross between a real-life Academy Award and something a child may come up with mid-nightmare, Goldust was a revelation when landing on the WWF roster in late 1995.

Taking the plunge and actually agreeing to play the character was a real risk for Dustin Runnels, though.

Nothing like Goldust had been attempted in Vince McMahon's promotion, but Runnels was at the stage in his career where he was willing to give it a shot and prove to everyone he could make it work. Almost 22 years later, that same character is alive and kicking, turning heel on episodes of Raw and still pushing forward.

Ripe for exploration, there's so much people don't know about the Goldust character. Canned storylines, pet projects, women's lingerie and all, he remains one of WWE's most fascinating creations...

10. He Worked As Dustin Rhodes In The WWF First

Dustin Rhodes Virgil
WWE.com

1995 wasn't the year Runnels made his WWF debut; he was actually part of the promotion for a brief spell during 1990-91. Fresh-faced and perfect babyface foil for Ted DiBiase and Virgil, the re-dubbed Dustin Rhodes stood alongside father Dusty for a tag team match at the '91 Royal Rumble. Shortly afterwards, he left the WWF.

His return as Goldust in November 1995 is the perfect way to prove just how much the WWF product had changed in the intervening five years. A character like Goldust would never have been seen on WWF television in 1990, because it would hardly fit in with the child-friendly image Vince McMahon was trying to project.

Dustin could have been a success had he stayed put in the WWF, but his loyalties were to Dusty, not McMahon, at that point in his life. Still, it's fascinating to learn that the 1996 Rumble wasn't his first. That debut at the event back in 1991 has been largely overlooked since Goldust debuted.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood.