Virgil Runnels
Acting • Born 1945-10-12 – Died 2015-06-11
Biography
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr., better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker/writer, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, NWA Championship Wrestling from Florida, Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), and WWE. Rhodes is considered one of the greatest wrestlers and talkers in the history of professional wrestling. Rhodes was a three-time NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions' Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, later known as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he was a NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA World Television, NWA Tag Team and NWA World 6-Man Tag Team Champion. He also won many regional championships, and is one of seven men inducted into each of the WWE, WCW, Professional Wrestling, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Halls of Fame. His sons, Dustin and Cody, both pursued careers in professional wrestling, performing for WWE and AEW. Following his retirement from wrestling, he made occasional on-air appearances on WWE television and pay-per-views and worked as a backstage booker/writer and producer in WWE's NXT developmental territory. Billed as "the son of a plumber", Rhodes did not have a typical wrestler's physique; his character was that of the "common man", known for the personality exhibited in his interviews. WWE chairman Vince McMahon remarked that no wrestler "personified the essence of charisma quite like Dusty Rhodes".
Filmography
153 credits
3PW Legends Collide
Movie • 2003
I Like To Hurt People
Movie • 1985
Self
AWA/NWA Night of Champions II
Movie • 1985
Dusty Rhodes
The Greatest Stars of the 80's
Movie • 2005
Self
Dusty Rhodes: Celebrating the Dream
Movie • 2015
Battle of the WWE Superstars
Movie • 1990
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Hottest Matches
Movie • 1990
Dusty Rhodes
Gold Raiders
Movie • 1982
NEW Renegades Rampage
Movie • 2004
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Royal Rumble 1990
Movie • 1990
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Royal Rumble 1991
Movie • 1991
Dusty Rhodes
American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes
Movie • 2023
Self (Archival Footage)
NWA Starrcade 1984
Movie • 1984
Dusty Rhodes
The Unreal Story Of Pro Wrestling
Movie • 1998
Dusty Rhodes
TNA Lockdown 2005
Movie • 2005
Dusty Rhodes (TNA D.O.A.)
TNA Destination X 2005
Movie • 2005
Dusty Rhodes (TNA D.O.A.)
TNA Against All Odds 2005
Movie • 2005
Dusty Rhodes (TNA D.O.A.)
TNA Victory Road 2004
Movie • 2004
Dusty Rhodes (Appearance)
WWE WrestleMania VI
Movie • 1990
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Survivor Series 2006
Movie • 2006
Dusty Rhodes
WWE SummerSlam 1990
Movie • 1990
"The Common Man" Dusty Rhodes
WCW War Games: WCW's Most Notorious Matches
Movie • 2013
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Starrcade 1985
Movie • 1985
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
NWA The Great American Bash 1985
Movie • 1985
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Starrcade 1986
Movie • 1986
Dusty Rhodes
NWA The Great American Bash '86: Livin' in the Promise Land
Movie • 1986
Dusty Rhodes
TNA Turning Point 2004
Movie • 2004
Dusty Rhodes (TNA D.O.A.)
TNA Final Resolution 2005
Movie • 2005
Dusty Rhodes (TNA D.O.A.)
NWA Starrcade 1987
Movie • 1987
Dusty Rhodes
NWA The Great American Bash '87: War Games
Movie • 1987
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Bunkhouse Stampede
Movie • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
NWA The Great American Bash 1988
Movie • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Starrcade 1988
Movie • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
WCW Halloween Havoc 1991
Movie • 1991
Dusty Rhodes (Cornerman)
WCW/New Japan Supershow II
Movie • 1992
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Cyber Sunday 2006
Movie • 2006
Dusty Rhodes
WWE The Great American Bash 2007
Movie • 2007
Dusty Rhodes
WCW Fall Brawl 1994
Movie • 1994
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Battleground 2013
Movie • 2013
Dusty Rhodes (Ringside)
WCW Greed
Movie • 2001
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Survivor Series 1990
Movie • 1990
Dusty Rhodes
WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology
Movie • 2006
Dusty Rhodes
WCW Souled Out 1998
Movie • 1998
Dusty Rhodes (Ringside)
WCW SuperBrawl VIII
Movie • 1998
Dusty Rhodes
WCW Uncensored 1998
Movie • 1998
Dusty Rhodes
ECW Hardcore Heaven 2000
Movie • 2000
Dusty Rhodes
Pro Wrestling USA Star Wars: December 1984
Movie • 1985
Dusty Rhodes
ECW Wrestlepalooza 2000
Movie • 2000
Dusty Rhodes (Appearance)
FIP Return Of The Dream
Movie • 2003
Dusty Rhodes
Fan Favorites
Movie • 1989
WWE: 20 Years Too Soon - The Superstar Billy Graham Story
Movie • 2006
Dusty Rhodes
WCW'S Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches Volume 1
Movie • 2014
Dusty Rhodes
WWE: Top 50 Superstars of All Time
Movie • 2010
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
Legends of Mid-South Wrestling
Movie • 2013
Dusty Rhodes
A Future WWE: The FCW Story
Movie • 2020
Himself
WCW WrestleWar 1991
Movie • 1991
Dusty Rhodes (Commentator)
WCW SuperBrawl 1
Movie • 1991
Dusty Rhodes (Commentator)
Mid-South Wrestling Giants, Midgets, Heroes & Villains vol. 1
Movie • 2007
Dusty Rhodes
The Best of WCW Clash of the Champions
Movie • 2012
Dusty Rhodes
WWE United We Slam: The Best of The Great American Bash
Movie • 2014
Dusty Rhodes
Nature Boy
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)
WWE: The U.S. Championship: A Legacy of Greatness
Movie • 2016
Dusty Rhodes (archive footage)
Macho Madness - The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection
Movie • 2009
WWE Maple Leaf Wrestling: June '90
Movie • 1990
Dusty Rhodes
Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon
Movie • 2016
Dusty Rhodes (voice)
WWE Unreleased: 1986-1995
Movie • 2017
Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of The Macho Man
Movie • 2018
Life In The Fast Lane
Movie • 2007
The American Dream: The Dusty Rhodes Story
Movie • 2006
Dusty Rhodes
TNA Wrestling: Enigma - The Best of Jeff Hardy
Movie • 2005
Dusty Rhodes
WWE: The Best of Saturday Night's Main Event
Movie • 2009
Dusty Rhodes
Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain
Movie • 2009
Dusty Rhodes
ROH: Ring of Hardcore
Movie • 2012
Dusty Rhodes
TNA: Best of the Asylum Years, Vol 2
Movie • 2016
Dusty Rhodes
ECW - Unreleased Vol. 3
Movie • 2015
Dusty Rhodes
WWE: Starrcade - The Essential Collection
Movie • 2012
Dusty Rhodes
WWE: The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection
Movie • 2004
Dusty Rhodes
Nature Boy Ric Flair - The Definitive Collection
Movie • 2008
Dusty Rhodes
Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen
Movie • 2007
Dusty Rhodes
The Rise & Fall of WCW
Movie • 2009
Dusty Rhodes
Sting: Into the Light
Movie • 2015
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Hall of Fame 2007
Movie • 2007
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Superstars on The SuperStation
Movie • 1986
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Super Towns on The SuperStation
Movie • 1987
Dusty Rhodes
ECW Living Dangerously 2000
Movie • 2000
Dusty Rhodes
The Wrestler
Movie • 1974
Dusty Rhodes
HUSTLE-3
Movie • 2004
Dusty Rhodes
MLW King of Kings
Movie • 2002
Dusty Rhodes
You Cannot Kill David Arquette
Movie • 2020
Self (archive footage)
The Super Bowl of Wrestling
Movie • 1978
Dusty Rhodes
The Third Annual NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament
Movie • 1988
The Midnight Rider
NWA Clash of the Champions
Movie • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Clash of the Champions II: Miami Mayhem
Movie • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Clash of The Champions III: Fall Brawl '88
Movie • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Clash of The Champions IV: Season's Beatings
Movie • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
PWF Homecoming
Movie • 1989
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
WWE SummerSlam 1989
Movie • 1989
Himself
WWE Survivor Series Showdown '89
Movie • 1989
Dusty Rhodes (Ringside)
WWE Survivor Series 1989
Movie • 1989
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Sam Muchnick Retirement Show
Movie • 1982
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Boogie Jam
Movie • 1984
Dusty Rhodes
WWE The Ultimate Challenge Special: The March to WrestleMania VI
Movie • 1990
"The Common Man" Dusty Rhodes
NWA Night of Champions
Movie • 1984
Dusty Rhodes
NWA The Last Tangle in Tampa
Movie • 1980
Dusty Rhodes
The First Annual NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament
Movie • 1986
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Lords of The Ring
Movie • 1984
Dusty Rhodes
NWA The Great American Bash '86 Tour: Charlotte
Movie • 1986
Dusty Rhodes
NWA The Great American Bash '86 Tour: Greensboro
Movie • 1986
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
ROH: The Epic Encounter
Movie • 2003
Dusty Rhodes
The Second Annual NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament
Movie • 1987
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
Paradise Park
Movie • 1996
Deputy Johnny Morton
WCW Clash of the Champions XXVIII
Movie • 1994
Dusty Rhodes
nWo: The Revolution
Movie • 2012
WCW All Nighter 1995
Movie • 1995
WWE: The Attitude Era
Movie • 2012
Dusty
WWE WrestleMania 29 Kickoff
Movie • 2013
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
WCW Clash of the Champions XXV
Movie • 1993
Dusty Rhodes (Ringside)
NWA The Great American Bash 1988: Greensboro
Movie • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
WCW: Ric Flar - 2 Decades of Excellence
Movie • 1995
Dusty Rhodes
Mid-South WrestleFest '85
Movie • 1985
Dusty Rhodes
NWA Wrestling The Danger Zone
Movie • 1987
ECW on TNN
TV • 1999
Dusty Rhodes
WCW Monday Nitro
TV • 1995
TNA iMPACT!
TV • 2004
Raw
TV • 1993
Dusty Rhodes
ECW Hardcore TV
TV • 1993
Major League Wrestling: Underground TV
TV • 2003
The JBL and Cole Show
TV • 2012
Dusty Rhodes
WWF Wrestling Challenge
TV • 1986
Dusty Rhodes
WCW Thunder
TV • 1998
Dusty Rhodes
Burke's Law
TV • 1994
Archie 'Mad Dog' McCray
WWE Rivalries
TV • 2014
Self
TNA iMPACT!
TV • 2004
Dusty Rhodes.
TNA iMPACT!
TV • 2004
Dusty Rhodes
Biography: WWE Legends
TV • 2021
Saturday Night's Main Event
TV • 1985
Wrestlemania Rewind
TV • 2014
Dusty Rhodes
WWF All-Star Wrestling
TV • 1975
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Old School
TV • 1973
Dusty Rhodes
WWE NXT
TV • 2010
Mid-South Wrestling
TV • 1981
Dusty Rhodes
Mid-South Wrestling
TV • 1981
'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes
Saturday Night's Main Event
TV • 1985
Dusty Rhodes
Raw
TV • 1993
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
TV • 1981
Dusty Rhodes
NWA World Championship Wrestling
TV • 1985
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
NWA World Championship Wrestling
TV • 1985
Midnight Rider
WCW Monday Nitro
TV • 1995
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Rivals
TV • 2022
Dusty Rhodes
WWE Hall of Fame
TV • 2005
Self
WCW Arena Shows
TV • 1983
Dusty Rhodes
Clash of the Champions
TV • 1988
Dusty Rhodes
Clash of the Champions
TV • 1988
Dusty Rhodes (Ringside)