10 Things You Didn't Know About Dusty Rhodes

3. He Feuded For The WWWF Title With Billy Graham In 1977

Rhodes was known mostly for his successful career as part of the NWA in the 1970s and 1980s while not officially going to WWE until 1989 and lasting for about 18 months before moving on. However, he was also part of a high profile feud with WWWF Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham in the late 1970s. For those of us that weren't alive when that feud was going on, it's tough to grasp how big it was for one of the biggest names from the NWA to feud with the WWWF Champion. They had several huge matches with Rhodes as the popular babyface challenger that would win matches by countout or disqualification. Graham was a fantastic heel that always knew how to rile up the fans. They had dozens of matches in 1977-78 from when Graham was the WWWF Champion for most of 1977 and then after he lost the title to Bob Backlund. The chemistry they had was pretty incredible, so that's why they kept going back to the match. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcsW8HmFQUw One of their most famous matches was a Texas Bullrope Match in a sold out Madison Square Garden. It was over in about seven minutes, but Rhodes beat the hell out of Graham, bloodied him and won by countout. That was back when WWE booked so many countout and disqualification finishes as a way to necessitate rematches. When people think of Dusty in WWE they immediately think of the polka dots run, but it was really 1977-78 when he feuded with Graham where he made a huge name for himself.