10 Times WWE Seriously Disrespected Hall Of Famers

8. Dusty Rhodes Wears Polka Dots

The American Dream Dusty Rhodes was a limited but talented performer. Whatever he lacked in terms of athletic ability he more than made up for in charisma, personality and presence. It was for those reasons that Dusty became a multiple time NWA Champion and a huge star for Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980's. By 1989, however, Dusty was on the outs with NWA management and decided to look for work elsewhere.

He went to the WWF where, to the surprise of many, he was given a ridiculous polka dot outfit and a woman manager named Sapphire. This was a far cry from the 'common man' gimmick that had brought him success with the NWA. Dusty's run in the WWF was decent but unexceptional. His career was winding down and he wanted to focus more on the booking side of things.

But still, why did the WWF mess with a proven formula? Vince usually likes to give other people's ideas his own twist when they come to work for him but this one smelled like a rib. There are many theories as to why Vince demanded Dusty don the polka dots and a lot of time is spent of Dusty's DVD bio discussing it. Everyone from Triple H to Dusty's wife seemed to have an opinion on it but the common belief behind the scenes is that Vince was trying to put Dusty in his place and assassinate his character.

They did something similar with Harley Race, another NWA legend, during the 1980's and they would continue to try to hurt the Rhodes name with the Goldust character (played by Dusty's son Dustin Runnels) in the mid-90's. The WWE can be very, very petty and disrespectful at times. Having claimed for years that the polka dots were his idea, Dusty must know the truth: the WWF were laughing at him. Fun fact: Ted DiBiase Sr's bodyguard Virgil was named after Dusty, whose real name is Virgil Riley Runnels Jr.