10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Dusty Rhodes

2. Got Himself Over Despite Cartoon WWF Persona

As aforementioned, when Dusty Rhodes made the leap into the unknown and signed a WWF contract in 1989, Vince McMahon decided the best way to use him was to make him a mid-card comedy act. For many, such a dramatic change in personality would have been impossible, but Dusty was a showman, and it was like water off a duck's back for the man to switch up his persona. Rhodes would only last a few years in the wacky World Wrestling Federation, but he did everything asked of him with a smile on his face, and his enthusiasm was wholly infectious to the fans. People simply adored Dusty, and it's not difficult to see why, even when perusing through the worst and most cheesy of his WWF performances. Perhaps the last laugh was on McMahon himself. Upon trying to replicate the success of the more flamboyant WWF-style 'American Dream' with Brodus Clay several years ago, the most powerful man in wrestling found out that not just anybody could get themselves over in that manner. In a sense, that makes Dusty's achievements, overshadowing such a hokey gimmick, even better. It's not too often, thankfully, that WWF/WWE have booked someone in spite of themselves, and even more rare that a person gets over when they do.