Long before WWE used the silver screen as their 'Show Of Shows' setting (and actually had a feud that drew interest at the box office), Goldust mined the game for promo patter that masked the psycho-sexual androgyny Vince McMahon was impressively trying to master with the gimmick.
Former actual film star Roddy Piper had no truck for this sort of attention ordinarily, but he did have a Ford Bronco. Because of course he did.
Built as a set piece for the aforementioned OJ gag, Piper and Goldust's parking lot scuffle was legitimately horrifying. Pre-taped but feeling as live as it needed to, the 'Hot Scot' obliterated the 'Bizarre One' with a baseball bat before dodging a hit and run attack ahead of giving chase to the Intercontinental Champion's gold Cadillac.
With the violence and car chase checked off, only the sex remained to assemble 1996's hottest action thriller. Game-for-anything Dustin Runnels again delivered, sporting negligee under his golden ensemble for reasons never otherwise-explored. With a live crowd baying for Goldust's demise, the blood-drenched Piper duly obliged.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
