Dusty Rhodes Tribute: 10 Awesome Moments To Remember

2. The Super Powers Unite

If all you're familiar with is an era where guys like Big Show and Kane switch between being heel and face every few months, the impact of this moment will be lost on you. But honestly, it's probably the single greatest face turn in the history of the business. In the mid 1980s, there were no more dastardly villains in all of wrestling than Ivan and Nikita Koloff. The "Russians" spat on America and everything she stood for while making it their mission to fell as many of the United States' heroes as they could. Nikita Koloff was the prototype for men like Goldberg - intense killing machines who were all action and very little talk - and his war with Magnum TA was legendary. When the popular superstar was paralyzed as the result of an automobile accident in 1987, Dusty Rhodes found himself without a tag team partner onscreen and struggling with the catastrophic career-ending injury of one of his closest friends behind the scenes.

Using the very real and raw emotions that fans and wrestlers alike were dealing with over Magnum's accident, Nikita Koloff did the absolutely unthinkable and sided with his hated enemy to carry on Magnum TA's legacy. It was a story of respect gained through bloodshed and immediately made Nikita one of the most popular wrestlers in the industry. And what made it work was just how authentic the entire thing was. Seeing the two men walk the aisle together for the first time to do battle alongside one another rather than as foes was chill-inducing, and one of the most incredible moments ever. One that can never be duplicated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=146&v=sGbEy0DhAJ0