Golden Touch: How Dustin Runnels Crafted A Glittering THIRTY YEAR Wrestling Career

Burying a ludicrously-drawn 'Seven' gimmick on night one of his doomed 1999 WCW return, Rhodes' wheels spun before surprisingly re-signing with WWE in 2002. In name and impact, Goldust had become just that to those willing to buy in to their close vicinity with the gimmick. Booker T finally found his WWE sweet spot alongside the increasingly iconic idiot, as R-Truth, Aksana and especially his own brother Cody all eventually would during his multiple stints.

Regrettably, he'd allowed 1990s demons to become 2000s permanent residents, with several releases from WWE tarnishing the legacy of understated artistry between the ropes. Surviving his personal and professional nadir in TNA as Black Reign, Goldust's 2013 comeback (his fifth as a full-timer ignoring temporary tenures) was pleasingly the one that stuck.

Three decades in the trade have smoothed his aesthetic except the ones that looked most unflattering in his gold outfit when he was 20 years younger. Dustin has never been so mentally or physically well-equipped in WWE in spite of his advancing years, particularly when surrounded by the company's youngest and most micromanaged roster. The WWE Performance Center will remain the primary incubation lab for nearly every major performer in the company for generations to come, but more so than Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker or even NXT/PC doyen Triple H, Goldust's effortless vitality in spite of challenging factors reflects a life and career best lived - even in the worst of times.