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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WWE: The Dusty Rhodes Story, July 8, 2006
Courtesy of <a href="http://www.wrestlemag.com">WrestleMag.com</a>:
Throughout the 1970's and 80's, Dusty Rhodes was the embodiment of everything that was working class America. Starting out as "The Son of a Plumber", the American Dream went from one of Florida's most hated heel wrestlers to becoming arguably the most loved wrestler in the World during his prime years.
This 3-Disc DVD release from World Wrestling Entertainment looks at the career of Dusty Rhodes, starting out with a 90-minute documentary style feature on the life and career of the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes. Starting out with his childhood and upbringing, Rhodes, and others, go on to tell stories about him and Dick Murdoch during their run as one of the toughest (and arguably most talented) tag teams in wrestling at that time.
We move on from there to Rhodes' time with Florida Championship Wrestling, where the 'American Dream' was born. After a relatively successful run in FCW as a heel, Rhodes' transformation into a immensely popular babyface is incredible, and Rhodes talks about the birth of the American Dream in detail, discussing how the "gimmick" came about right through to his awesome, awesome battles with "Superstar" Billy Graham at Madison Square Garden during his time with the then WWWF.
It's Rhodes' battles for the NWA heavyweight title that so many people remember him for. He took the title from the great Harley Race, then later from Ric Flair and became one of the most loved and respected wrestling champions of all time. Dusty discusses in detail his departure from the NWA and his surprising move to the World Wrestling Federation in late 1989. The most poignant section of this is the portion devoted to his on/off/on again relationship with his son Dustin aka: Goldust. Both Dusty and Dustin speak candidly about how their rapport broke down and the eventual coming together of a father and son. Dustin gets extremely emotional during this.
The documentary also talks about Dusty's unique interview style and charisma and how it influenced so many wrestlers that came afterward. It also answers the question as to whether the "polka dots" were a rib or not and how Rhodes got paired up with his valet/manager, Sapphire, during his WWF run under the "Common Man" gimmick - an extension of sort of Rhodes' American Dream but with Vince McMahon's added twist.
The extras on this disc include matches with the likes of Murdoch, Race, Don Muraco and Terry Funk from the mid-70s through to 1977 with a classic from Madison Square Garden against Billy Graham.
Discs 2 & 3 are an old school fans dream with nothing but classic matches from the remainder of his career. Disc 2 has matches from 1977 through to 1988 including memorable encounters against legends such as Stan Stasiak, Tully Blanchard, Ivan Koloff and his title victories over Ric Flair and Harley Race. There's also a special bonus classic against Harley Race from 1979 at Madison Square Garden which was rare as the NWA Title was rarely on the line in New York. Also on this disc are some of his most famous Tag Team matches, teaming with the likes of Sting and The Road Warriors they face off against various legendary combinations such as Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard and a special 6 man Tag Team match against The Powers of Pain & Ivan Koloff.
Disc 3 concentrates on his WWE career as we see Tag Team matches with manager Sapphire against "Macho King" Randy Savage and Queen Sherri, Dusty and Dustin squaring off against Ted Dibiase and Virgil (which as a kid I loved at the time and it still holds up as entertaining if nothing else). There's also Rhodes' debut match for the then WWF against the Honky Tonk Man. There is also the 1989 Survivor Series elimination match between "The Dream Team" and Big Boss Man's "Enforcers". In addition there's also Rhodes' ECW match against Steve Corino and a match from Rhodes' time with WCW shortly before WWE purchased the company pitting Dusty and Dustin against Flair and Jeff Jarrett.
Add some awesome promo's and bonus footage to the equation, and you've got yourself a must-buy triple-DVD set.
If you call yourself a wrestling fan, you need this DVD.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Match Listings, March 10, 2006
A Kid's Review
AWA 3/9/73
Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch vs. Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher
AWA 3/24/73
Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch vs. Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher
AWA 10/6/73
Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch vs. Billy Robinson & Don Muraco
Championship Wrestling from Florida 5/1974
Dusty Rhodes & Pak Song vs. Mike & Eddie Graham
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Dusty Rhodes vs. Terry Funk
Championship Wrestling from Florida, Lumberjack Match
Dusty Rhodes vs. Harley Race
Madison Square Garden 9/26/77 - WWWF Heavyweight Championship
Dusty Rhodes vs. Superstar Billy Graham
Madison Square Garden 12/19/77
Dusty Rhodes vs. Stan "The Man" Stasiak
Madison Square Garden 12/20/77
Dusty Rhodes vs. Johnny Rodz
Madison Square Garden 8/28/78 - Texas Bullrope Match
Dusty Rhodes vs. Superstar Billy Graham, Alternate Commentary by: Steve Romero/Dusty Rhodes/Mike Graham
Madison Square Garden 12/17/79 - NWA World's Heavyweight Championship
Dusty Rhodes vs. Harley Race
Atlanta, GA 6/21/81 - NWA World's Heavyweight Championship
Dusty Rhodes vs. Harley Race
Great American Bash, Charlotte, NC 7/6/85 - World Television Championship
Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard
Great American Bash, Greensboro, NC 7/26/86 - NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair, Commentary by: Steve Romero/Dusty Rhodes/Mike Graham
Starrcade, Chicago, IL 11/26/87 - NWA United States Heavyweight Championship
Dusty Rhodes vs. Lex Luger
Clash of the Champions, Greensboro, NC 3/27/88
Dusty Rhodes & Road Warriors vs. Ivan Koloff & Powers of Pain
NWA Main Event 4/3/88 - NWA United States Championship
Dusty Rhodes vs. Ivan Koloff
Clash of the Champions II, Miami, FL, 6/8/88 - NWA Tag Team Championship
Dusty Rhodes & Sting vs. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard
Starrcade, Norfolk VA 12/26/88 - NWA World Tag Team Championship
Dusty Rhodes & Sting vs. Road Warrior
SummerSlam, E. Rutherford, NJ 8/28/89
Dusty Rhodes vs. The Honky Tonk Man
Survivor Series, Rosemont, IL 11/23/89
The Dream Team vs. The Enforcers
WrestleMania VI, Toronto, Canada 4/1/90 - Mixed Tag Team match
Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire vs. The Macho King Randy Savage & Queen Sherri
Madison Square Garden 11/24/90
Dusty Rhodes & Dustin vs. Ted DiBiase & Virgil
Living Dangerously, Danbury, CT 3/12/00
Dusty Rhodes vs. Steve Corino
Greed, Jacksonville, FL 3/18/01 - Kiss My Ass match
Dusty Rhodes & Dustin vs. Ric Flair & Jeff Jarrett
Promos & Vignettes
CWF - Dusty in dressing room
CWF - Gordon Solie interviews Dusty Rhodes
Madison Square Garden, 10/24/77 - Vince McMahon interviews Dusty Rhodes
Madison Square Garden, 11/8/77 - Vince McMahon interviews Dusty Rhodes
Championship Wrestling 4/25/78
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 1/26/83
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 1/25/84
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 12/25/84
NWA World Championship Wrestling 4/6/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 4/20/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 5/4/85
World Wide Wrestling 5/7/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 5/25/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 7/13/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 7/20/85
World Wide Wrestling 7/23/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 8/17/85
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 9/10/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 9/28/85
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 10/29/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 11/16/85
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 12/3/85
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 12/15/85
NWA World Championship Wrestling 1/4/86
NWA World Championship Wrestling 1/4/86
NWA World Championship Wrestling 6/21/86
NWA World Championship Wrestling 8/16/86
World Wide Wrestling 2/17/87
NWA World Championship Wrestling 3/19/88
NWA World Championship Wrestling 5/21/88
Superstars 6/3/89
Superstars 6/10/89
Superstars 6/17/89
Superstars 6/24/89
Superstars 7/1/89
Superstars 7/8/89
Superstars 7/15/89
Superstars 7/22/89
Superstars 10/7/89
Superstars 10/7/89
Saturday Night's Main Event 1/27/90
Superstars 5/12/90
Wrestling Challenge 6/2/90
Wrestling Challenge 9/15/90
Superstars 12/22/90
Wrestling Challenge 12/29/90
RAW 5/5/97
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHOO! THAT'S FUNKY! THAT'S THE AMERICAN DREAM!, November 5, 2006
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes is a bonified legend in this business. Dusty Rhodes was one of the men back in the early stages of wrestling (late 70's/early 80's) who was able to have a crossover appeal with fans that rarely anybody could touch. He trancended racial barriers & was accepted by all because the fans could legitly feel like he was one of them. You can call him "The Common Man" or even "Mr. Soul" but he was truely The American Dream.
The docuementry kicks off talking about him being a son of a plumber and overcoming obsticales as a kid before going into college & breaking into the business. His heel run with Dick Murdock as part of the Texas Outlaws was talked about including how they were out of control in & outside the ring and what led to Dusty breaking off from the team. His transformation into the American Dream & what his role was within Flordia Championship Wrestling was talked about next with comments from Mike Graham as well. His first run in the WWF was based about his fued with "Superstar" Billy Graham and his three matches in MSG with Graham are discussed. Dusty becoming the NWA Champion, his heavy road schedule, and his unbelievable promos & catchphrases are talked about leading up to his fued with Ric Flair leading up to their famous Great American Bash cage match in which Dusty won the title. Dusty's reign as booker in WCW and how he gets a bad rap for some of the things he's done (the Robocop angle, the "Dusty Finish" full of run-in's & false finishes) along with some of the positives (Ron Simmons becoming the first African American World Champion & his ideas for PPV's such as Great American Bash, Starrcade, and Halloweed Havoc) are profiled along with how it ended up coming to an end. Dusty's entrance in to the WWE as "The Common Man" is heavily discussed from all the promos ranging from the pizza man to the gas man to the meat man, his manager Sapphire, and his "polka dots." The storyline involving Ted Dibiase & how that led to Dustin Rhodes coming into the WWE & teaming with Dusty is a big story in this documentry as they also talk about their seperation & eventual reunion along with the story of how Dustin had to become Goldust to escape his father's shadow round out this documentry on Dusty's career. A real negative I would concider here is how they left out Dusty's long run in WCW as an announcer along with his short run in ECW as he was over & universally accepted by the ECW fans (WHICH IS VERY HARD TO BE) just based on his legendary status in the industry.
This DVD set includes 47 Dusty Rhodes promos spanning from Flordia Championship Wrestling, NWA Mid-Altantic & Georgia Championship Wrestling, and the WWE. Some of these promos include interviews from his first WWE run in '77, from his fued with Ric Flair in '85/'86, all of the promos from his Tully Blanchard/Baby Doll storyline, and all the Common Man promos leading up to his second run in the WWE. There is also an inteview featuring Dustin Rhodes & Terri from '97 talking about his character Goldust & his relationship with Dustry. Also here are two hidden easter eggs talking about Mike Graham's first encounter with the Texas Outlaws and Ted Dibiase telling the story behind how his bodyguard Virgil got his name from Dusty.
Rounding out this three disc set are three decades full of matches from Dusty's career. Three matches from Dusty's time in the AWA as a member of the Texas Outlaws including two against Dick The Brusier & The Crusher. Matches from Flordia Championship Wrestling featuring Harley Race in a lumberjack match, Terry Funk, and teaming with Pat Song vs. Mike & Eddie Graham. His Television Title victory against Tully Blanchard starting the "Baby Doll" storyline. Two matches against Harley Race include his first NWA title win. Two matches against Superstar Billy Graham including a Texas Bullrope match with alternative commentary with Steve Romero & Mike Graham. Alternative commentry is also available on his NWA Title victory against Ric Flair in a steel cage match. Other matches feature Dusty against wrestlers such as Stan "The Man" Stasiak, Johnny Rodz, Lex Luger, with Road Warriors vs. Powers Of Pain & Ivan Koloff, Honky Tonk Man, two matches with Sting vs. the Horsemen & the Road Warriors, a "Dream Team" vs. "Enforcers" Survivor Series elimination tag match, with Sapphire vs. Randy Savage & Sherri from WrestleMania VI, a bullrope match vs. Steve Corino from ECW Living Dangerously, and two tag matches with Dustin Rhodes vs. Ted Dibiase & Virgil from MSG & a "Kiss My Ass" match aganist Ric Flair & Jeff Jarrett round out the extra matches on this DVD set.
This is a dream set for those who were professional wrestling fans before the days of Hulkamania & sports entertainment. Back in the territorial days of professional wrestling where the NWA name was just as powerful (if not more) than the WWE name. I highly recommend this for any wrestling fan. Also the box being able to talk isn't bad either.
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