How Good Was Dusty Rhodes Actually?

When discussing the greatest rivalries in pro wrestling history, Dusty Rhodes' endless feud with Ric Flair can stand toe-to-toe with any feud to ever happen. Their personalities were polar opposites, their stories were nuanced and bursting with layers, and their promos are the emotionally charged stuff of legend. Flair’s first-ever NWA World Championship victory came with a win over Rhodes in 1981 that kicked off a feud that would last for literally years.

Dusty would also feud with Tully Blanchard on the run-up to his other defining feud. Trading the NWA Television Title back and forth throughout 1984 and into '85, Rhodes and Blanchard would have bloody and bitter battles that culminated in something bigger for all of the performers involved.

The Four Horsemen, arguably the most influential wrestling stable of all time, essentially formed to take on Dusty Rhodes. Blanchard would win the NWA National Heavyweight Championship from Rhodes in 1986, and also defeated Dusty in a First Blood match to take his Television Title later that same year. This came after Rhodes had won the TV Title from Arn Anderson just two months prior. It can be argued that The Four Horsemen made their reputation off the back of feuding with Dusty Rhodes.

Preceding The Horsemen and Flair, Dusty made magic with 'Superstar' Billy Graham. Graham is known for bestowing his knowledge on everyone from Dusty Rhodes to Paul Heyman, and his aura of impenetrability and Dusty's fighting spirit were a match made in heaven. Their Texas Death Match at Maddison Square Garden in 1977 is the pinnacle of that feud and the prototype for the feud that would later define both Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes.

While his WWF feuds with The Big Boss Man and Randy Savage are entertaining, the best feud Rhodes had outside of the NWA came with Steve Carino in ECW.  The four-month feud between Carino and Rhodes included a pair of awesome Texas Bullrope matches at Living Dangerously and Cyberslam in 2000, and had plenty of magic moments on the road to these pay-off matches.

8.5/10