10 Weird Ways We Remember Legendary Wrestlers
8. Dusty Rhodes: Goof
Dusty Rhodes' WWF costuming was ridiculous. Perceived as feminine, given the history of the polka dot in fashion trends, Dusty was repackaged as a literal cartoon, given the pattern's other association with Minnie Mouse. This undermined instantly and comprehensively the true essence of Dusty's power: a dogged working class hero with a belly that was "just a little big" - but with a heart that was even bigger. Dusty's babyface fire was incongruous to an organisation that emphasised pure theatre over realism. His real-life perception as an enemy of the state - through the conduits of Virgil and Akeem - converged to bury Rhodes before he even arrived at the cemetery.
In turn, Dusty's gear and the gall behind his comedy midcard booking converged to create a mere figure of fun. Dusty wasn't fun, at his best and truest. While he danced around the ring, he did so not to entertain at face value but to revel in the face of the deserved reckoning he inflicted on the aloof, arrogant, rich Ric Flair.
Like so many stars since, an incidental aspect of the act became the cartoonish crux of it. Sadly, given that those dots were so memorably awful, they are the iconic frame of reference through which many remember him.