10 Wrestlers Who Suffered For Being Too Good
2. Dusty Rhodes
While many of the names included here were so talented in-ring that they were used to make others look good, the reason for Dusty Rhodes' inclusion is down to how damn good he'd been before signing with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation.
A three-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, Dusty had spent the best part of 15 years as a pivotal part of the opposition where McMahon was concerned upon the American Dream turning up in WWF in 1989. Having established himself as one of the most charismatic and engaging wrestlers in the history of the business, Rhodes' success outside of WWF led to him being made of mockery of when he landed in New York.
Opting to have Rhodes adorned in polka-dots, WWF depicted Dusty as the Common Man who could be seen working at a gas station, delivering pizza, and fixing sh*t-blocked toilets. It was an insult to the legend of Dusty Rhodes and was a clear case of McMahon and WWF being at their petty worst.
To Dream's credit, he actually made this gimmick work, with his personality still shining through in a way that had fans behind him. Still, that fan response wasn't enough to have Dusty featured as anything more than a comedy midcard act during that two-year stint with WWF.