WWE Loses Legend – Dusty Rhodes “The American Dream” Dead at Age 69

 Loading ...

By Nick “Red” Conley

WWE Legend Virgil Runnels, more commonly known as Dusty Rhodes or “The American Dream,” died on Thursday, June 10 in a hospital in Florida. While the WWE has yet to release specific details of his death, unconfirmed local reporting suggests that Rhodes suffered “numerous complications” at night which led to him being rushed to the hospital early Thursday morning, where he later died.

Since his reported death, there has been an outpouring of emotion among fans and wrestlers alike issuing tributes to Runnels and his contribution to professional wrestling. Runnels had been wrestling since the 1970s and inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. Beginning in the 1970s, he worked in every major nationally televised promotion in the US, to include the WWE, WCW, ECW, and TNA. Runnels was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and voted “Pro Wrestling Illustrated” most popular wrestler of the year three times.

While he was in less than stellar shape and supported bright polka dotted attire, he was absolutely amazing on the microphone and brought tremendous energy to the ring. Despite retiring, Runnels was still very much involved in the WWE, particularly by working as a creative consultant and with young new talent at the WWE Performance Center in Florida. He also has made numerous appearances on Monday Night Raw over the past year with his real-life sons Dustin Runnels and Cody Runnels, who wrestle under the names Cody Rhodes/Stardust and Goldust.

This is certainly a sad day for the WWE, as Dusty Rhodes was one of the best and loved the WWE till the end. It will be difficult for a modern-day superstar to ever really rival the energy that Rhodes brought to the ring. The outpouring of support and tributes among fans, current WWE management, current WWE wrestlers, and past wrestlers is clear evidence of Rhodes’s good character and contribution to professional wrestling.

[si-contact-form form=’2′]