Career
He joined ‘WCW’ in February 1991 as “The Natural Dusty Rhodes” and competed with Larry Zbyzsko and Terrence Taylor. He also won the ‘WCW World Tag Team Championship’ with his tag-team partner Barry Windham on ‘WCW Saturday Night’ after defeating Steve Williams and Terry Gordy.
They lost the championship to Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas at the 18th ‘Clash of Champions.’ In January 1993, Goldust became the number one contender for the ‘WCW Heavyweight Championship’ and defeated his old partner Steamboat to win the ‘United States Heavyweight Championship.’
After successfully defending his title multiple times, he lost it to former champion Rick Rude. However, he won the title again on August 28, 1993, after defeating Rude.
He finally lost the title to Steve Austin at ‘Starrcade.’ He was fired from ‘WCW’ for going against their corporate policy in the 1995 pay-per-view event ‘Uncensored.’
He returned in 1999 as “Seven,” a character that was featured by ‘WCW’ as a face-painted person standing outside a child’s bedroom. The gimmick was soon canceled since “Seven” seemed like a child abductor. Following this, he began competing as “The American Nightmare” Dustin Rhodes.
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He feuded with Terry Funk, Vince Russo, Ric Flair, and others, before ‘WCW’ was purchased by ‘WWF’ in 2001.
He returned to ‘WWF’ in August 1995 as “Goldust,” a character who angered his opponents with his flirtatious comments and sexually charged affection toward them. He wore a golden jumpsuit, painted his face gold and black, and wore a platinum blonde wig on his head during his promos.
He gave an impression of a drag queen and often caressed his body while groping his opponent affectionately. He won his debut match against Marty Jannetty on October 22, 1995, at the ‘In Your House 4’ pay-per-view.
He also defeated “Bam Bam Bigelow” in the latter’s last match at the event ‘Survivor Series.’ He also won the ‘Intercontinental Championship’ after defeating Razor Ramon in 1996 but later lost the title to Ahmed Johnson at ‘King of the Ring.’
From 1997 to 1999, he feuded with Val Venis, Jeff Jarrett, Al Snow, The Blue Meanie, and The Hardy Boyz, as “Dustin Runnels,” before leaving the company in May 1999.
He returned as “Goldust” on January 20, 2002, at the ‘Royal Rumble’ and attacked Rob Van Dam on ‘Raw,’ turning heel, but was defeated by Rob at the event ‘No Way Out.’ He later won the ‘Hardcore Championship’ on nine occasions.
After ‘WWF’ was renamed ‘WWE,’ Goldust and Booker T’s partnership became a hit on ‘Raw.’ The duo won the ‘World Tag Team Championship’ at ‘Armageddon’ but later broke up. In December 2003, his contract expired.
From 2002 to 2008, he wrestled on independent circuits, too. He had stints with ‘TNA,’ ‘AJPW,’ and ‘One Pro Wrestling’ during this time.
He came back on ‘Raw’ in 2008 and teamed up with Hornswoggle, subsequently defeating The Brian Kendrick and Festus. However, he was traded to ‘ECW’. He competed with Zack Ryder, Sheamus, William Regal, and Yoshi Tatsu, before ‘Raw’ acquired him again in 2010.
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It was soon announced that Goldust would participate in the third season of ‘NXT’ with Aksana as his rookie. He ended up marrying Aksana, only to be slapped by her immediately after their marriage.
Aksana not only walked out on him but also stole the championship belt in a match the following Monday, while Goldust fought Ted DiBiase. The belt was later retrieved by Goldust. He divorced her afterward.
He returned to ‘WWE’ for the fifth time at the ‘Royal Rumble’ on January 27, 2013, and was eliminated by his half-brother, Cody Rhodes. He won his first ‘WWE’ title in 11 years after defeating ‘The Shield’ with Cody.
They defended the title many times, before losing it to The Miz and Damien Mizdow at the ‘Survivor Series.’ His half-brother, Cody, debuted as a new character, “Stardust,” with his appearance resembling that of Goldust.
In 2016, he formed an on-and-off tag team with R-Truth, and together, they were named ‘The Golden Truth.’ They won their first match at the ‘Money in the Bank’ pre-show, defeating Breezango.
Their team later had a feud which ended after Goldust defeated R-Truth on the July 10 episode of ‘Raw.’ In 2017, he competed with superstars such as Bray Wyatt, Finn Bálor, and John Cena and appeared at the ‘Royal Rumble,’ where he was eliminated by Dolph Ziggler.
On the April 2 episode of ‘Raw,’ he announced his upcoming appearance in the ‘Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Match’ at ‘WrestleMania 34.’ However, he was beaten by “Woken” Matt Hardy the same night.
