10 Secret WWE Pasts Of AEW Wrestlers

3. Dustin Rhodes

With his Goldust persona, Dustin Rhodes carved out an iconic WWE career against the odds - including ones he stacked against himself during some battles against personal demons.

The gimmick was famously pitched to him in 1995 as "androgynous" in the days long before he could pull out his phone and check what the word actually meant, but it was at least a lifeline following 'The Natural's controversial WCW firing shortly before 'The Bizarre One's debut. He was anything but his Atlanta moniker during his original dalliance with Vince McMahon five years earlier.

Dragged along for the very end of Dad Dusty's run with the company, Rhodes was young inexperienced son of the 'Son Of A Plumber' getting decked by Ted Dibiase for the build-up to a Royal Rumble 1991 tag team match that sent the Texans packing but facilitated a Virgil babyface turn.

Forgotten in the haze of the angle were the first words of the prodigal son. Instructed to do his best Dusty Rhodes impression, his entire promo sounds like the sort of thing he'd do today to gently rib the late legend on a podcast. It was so f*cking odd (and, retrospectively, hilarious) then immediately binned before the match itself.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett