10 Times Vince McMahon Got Revenge

Dusty Rhodes was one of the biggest stars in wrestling in his heyday. The working man, the son a plumber, the American Dream - he was a blue-collar hero whose limitless enthusiasm and common touch with his promos had working Joes thanking him in tears for representing them.

He was a champion in NWA and a booker and star with Jim Crockett Promotions, where his feud with Ric Flair included his famous 'Hard Times' promo referencing textile workers, steel workers, auto mechanics, and other downtrodden workers. His tenure with JCP allegedly came to an end when he was fired after bleeding on-screen, which the promotion's television partners considered a taboo.

So he came to the WWE. And Vince put him in polka dots.

The WWE had previously taken a dig at Dusty with the character of Virgil, Ted DiBiase's long-suffering manservant who was a reference to Dusty's real name, Virgil Runnels. The belief the polka dot ring gear, and the addition of a homely valet named Sweet Sapphire, was a deliberate humiliation by Vince was echoed as late as 2015 when Cody Rhodes referenced it in a heel promo.