Jim Cornette Reviews A&E's Dusty Rhodes Biography 

I tell this story often. I'm mixed; black/white. My Father, who's black, started getting into wrestling around 1977/1978. Now my Dad was born and raised in north eastern Alabama, about 30 miles outside of Huntsville. They didn't have cable so they didn't get to watch a lot of wrestling back then, but they could listen to the radio broadcasts and hear the Wrestler's promos/interviews and the color commentary. My Dad, his brothers, and friends believed, from 1977-1984, that Dusty Rhodes was a black man; based solely on his cadence and the way he sounded while speaking. In 1984, my Father and his brothers saved their money and were able to get tickets to their first live wrestling event in GA. They didn't realize Dusty was white until he came out to the ring and the ring announcer introduced him. He always says, "You'd think that would've bummed us out, right? Nope, it made us even bigger fans because that's when we learned that there were white people who were like us!". I love that story. ✌🏾✌🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Hearing Brian Last mention he hadn't heard the Hard Times promo til 2004, makes me grateful for having seen it at first broadcast in 1985. Wow. Crockett was right. It was about grown people fighting for important things.

Dusty's widow Michelle was great on the WWE DVD The American Dream: The Dusty Rhodes Story. She comes right out and says she felt the polka dots were a rib by Vince on Dusty, but she has a sense of humor about it and isn't pissed, just very good-natured. Meanwhile Bruce Prichard is content to just take the company line and kiss Vince's ass while Michelle shoots straight. Good lady.

Dusty was that uncle from the south that was hip enough that he fit right in the black neighborhood and be welcome and fit in right away. Dusty had a universally appeal AND he could play freaking basketball. He looked like "us" he sounded like "us" everyone loved him

This was an excellent documentary. I was surprised how great it was. The emotional reactions by Cody & Dustin was beautiful. Dusty’s larger than life persona was must see television. His promos were always top notch. His in ring work was amazing. It was a heartfelt love letter to Dusty. A+.

Dusty was the original common man wrestler. His connection to the people was unparalleled. He was the perfect opponent for the Nature Boy Ric Flair the rich elitist pretty boy. Nobody will ever get over with as many groups of people as Dusty did. A true legend of the business.

Between 86 & 89 I got to see Dusty live maybe half a dozen times in DC and Baltimore with Crocket/NWA. Man, what a showman. He was the GOAT of the people. Miss those days a hell of a lot. RIP Dusty. You were the best.

I’ve never cried this much watching a wrestling documentary! Seeing Dustin break down killed me. Me and my dad had a lot of the same issues…it definitely hits home.

If this thumbnail existed just a few weeks earlier, you'd never guess who the pizza delivery guy was supposed to be.

This was a great doc, having all the rhodes (runnels) family involved was great and dusty's wife did a good job expressing his feelings at those times.

It for sure felt the most special of all these biographies

Dusty Rhodes and Paul Heyman are two guys who can code switch with Kayfabe so well that the line is ALWAYS blurred. Even in that last interview,Dusty was still not “exposing the business”,he was so charismatic.

I got to meet Dusty several times over the years and once got to sit next to him on a plane ride to St Louis. He was such a nice guy in person and loved discussing his career with an average fan like me. As a kid, I remember seeing that famous 1979 Wrestling magazine cover with Dusty on the cover with the best crimson mask I've ever seen. To us kids, he was our very first wrestling hero. We spoke like Dusty, gave each other the elbow years before Hulkamania. He was a god. Thank the lord for the NWA , Georgia Championship Wrestling and later Crockett's Mid Atlantic during this time frame so we could catch real wrestling on TBS. We got to see Dusty, Fair, Arn and Ole Anderson, Tommy Rich, Corny and the express, Steamboat, the road warriors, Barry Windham and list goes on and on. Just my opinion but this 1979-1989 timeframe was just a great time to be a fan of wrestling and the NWA. And a bonus that he put on great NXT shows in Florida, groomed a solid generation of talent.

Jim is right so much tragedy in wrestling more than other industries it was nice fit change to hear a good story

There’s not a day I don’t miss dusty Rhodes, my father would watch ric vs dusty any time Jim Crockett was on when he was younger and then when I was getting older and watching NWO on WCW he would sit there and watch it and be like “this isn’t wrestling” and he would turn it off and show the wrestling programs he collected and talked about that feud being his favorite .. Best part was my father came from the working class and worked his hands all his life and still does, while I wanted to be ric flair.. RIP Dusty

I told you all, codys chase means more.

My grandmother was a huge fan of Dusty. She loves to hear him talk to dancing. There will never be another American Dream Dusty Rhodes. Keep dancing and cutting those priceless promos in Heaven.

Dusty really was the people's champion. He spoke their language, while he didn't have a wrestlers body, he had charisma, he could move well in the ring. Dustys appeal to me was the nwa/wcw version of hulkamania. This was a great bio.

This made Cody’s defeat understandable. He gonna be more over after beating Brock and eventually beat Roman

Dropped my weed laughing at Jim's response to the mere thought of Dusty having to take orders for Johnny Ace.

Dusty did what he did with that body. What more needs to be known about how talented he was? A true genius of the craft.

I would love to watch a professional big budget Jim Cornette biography

I now want a Dustin Rhodes biography. Much like the Polka Dots…he got Goldust OVER! I grew up on WWF Dusty so I can never truly hate the polka dots lol but I looooooved all the old footage and backstory here.

This was amazing! I’ve watched it twice already. Dusty truly was one of kind and its crazy how he isnt in the discussions of GOAT as he should be. You can hear the love in Jim’s voice just talking about him and how much he pushed for the Midnights. Cody and Dustin were great here.

The Dustin & Cody vs Roman & Rollin's match (with Ambrose, Big Show & Dusty) was awesome, and the crowd loved it. Ironically, Cody pinned Roman to become Tag Team Champion, and now, we've just had the two of them again at Wrestlemania.

"When I saw Babydoll riding off with Floyd I thought to myself she must be heck of a rider, and I found out later she was a heck of a rider"

probably the best wwe legends biography episode. the Hart and Shawn michaels ones were good too

The best Dusty promo is when he asks if he can be Dustin's tag team partner. Very emotional moment.

Dusty’s biography is the best by far! I sure do miss The Dream! I still get goosebumps every time I watch anything about him he was just electric. I’ve loved Dusty since I was a little girl during the territory days!

This biography hit indescribably hard for me, growing up with a bit of a broken family with lots of love it absolutely tore me up inside to see Cody and Dustin be so raw, but also hear all the different perspectives from each kid and how varied they were despite all knowing and loving their father. Dusty is undoubtedly the American Dream, and I am so glad they did this biography so damn perfect.

As a kid growing up in the Northern Atlantic area, I only knew Polka Dot Dusty and Sweet Sapphire, so it's always great to see older footage that was and still is WAY better than the WWF days. My friends and I were fans of him nonetheless, but I woulda really loved Hard Times Dusty much more.

An hour and twenty of Jim and Brian talking about Dusty's TV bio? Yes, please. Thursday looks better.

As a relatively younger Dusty fan, I always loved his promo on The Road Warriors for coming after his eye. “My fire, my lighting bolt, my thunder!”

Well, Hogan *was* 9 years old... he hadn't mastered how to fly from Japan yet, and accidentally kept going backwards through time until he was a kid watching Dusty!

This one hit me in the feels a little. I grew up watching the attitude era, so unfortunately I never got to watch Dusty live and in person. He's most definitely one of my favs that I wished I got to witness live.

It reminded me how much wrestling was real back then. The cheers, the boos, the emotion, all real feelings we had back then which made wrestling a real thing. Dusty made that feeling into genuine emotion that reached out to us through the television sets and into our hearts. He was an athlete as well as showman and he knew how to hand feed the fans just by doing the smallest thing such as a twinkle of the eye and when we saw it he knew and we knew what it meant. He was the "it" factor and often imitated, never duplicated.

It's crazy how Vince never liked the Rhodes. I think he was mad that dusty got over with charisma rather than physique

Dusty's WWE entrance them was absolutely amazing. I danced to that all the time in my youth, I wish it would play on the radio even now. It's a shame that his WWE career never matched that entrance. He should have been given a run with the title, beybeh.

Say what you want about how the Cody Mania thing went down… this documentary really made me want to see him “finish the story” that much more.

Stephanie is so full of it here. Dusty facepalming her not only took him off TV but it most likely is why Cody became a perennial jobber.

I may be only 44, but I loved Dusty Rhodes. He was a talented wrestler and just about the best promo maker. I'm The Canadian Dream Dwayne Menzies. The only difference is about us is about 25 cents.

As a father myself, this documentary was excellent. It showed how great Dusty was and how important he was to wrestling which not everyone knows. Also, with how many wrestlers that have died alone in hotel rooms, it was nice that Dusty passed away surrounded by his children and wife.

I cried several times watching this brilliant documentary. Great commentary, Jim. Always down for a Corny history lesson.

My parents moved us to Central Florida in 1981 when I was 5 yrs old. We lived in a trailer park & Dusty Rhodes was like Superman to my brother & I. He was awesome & was literally fighting evil in the form of Kevin Sullivan. Such great memories.

Jim needed to do whole review in Dusty voice if y’weeeeel

Vince's crooked tash on that thumbnail is the work of pure genius

Dusty was truly an original personality; true spirit of pro wrestling if there ever was one. 🤟🏻

I witnessed the hard times promo live on TV

54:56 Love hearing Jim be a counterpoint to anything Bruce Pritchard says, always great.

Crazy that Terri Runnels would make Dustin choose between his wife(& child) and his father. Makes me think she was in favor of all those weird storylines where she was Brian Pillman’s sex slave and Goldust was just all over the place smh

Dusty Rhodes is a legend…..

Dustys hard times promo my favorite ever! Btw I was born in the late 80s and I know about this promo!

No one could do a better impression of Dusty than Corny!

I popped at “steambloat” lmao

This must be a record for the amount of times the word “goofy” was used in the first 3 minutes.

Polka dots are hard to unsee bebbee

Hard Times promo was popular back when it happened as well. We used to imitate it back then. It has taken on a life of its own due to the internet giving it a much wider audience.

I don't do it often, but this one had me in tears. What an episode

By far my favorite WWE biography. Dusty was my favorite wrestler throughout the 80s. He made you root for him EVERY SINGLE TIME because he was sooooooo authentic!! Back then, before the curtain call ruined wrestling, you couldn’t figure out why the horsemen weren’t in handcuffs for breaking Dusty’s arm on the truck…..Dusty sold LIKE NO OTHER. And honestly, it was refreshing to know that I never knew Dusty HATED the goldust character until that doc! Dusty kept his disdain for goldust private for the sake of his entrained son (imho). What a great man!!

The reason Dusty and Steve Austin got over so well is because they represented the common man. The working man. Everyone dreams of being able to walk up to their boss, take a shit on his desk, walk out, and never have to work again. Dusty stuck it to rich boy Flair, and Austin stuck it to the big bad McMahon. As long as professional wrestling exists, that gimmick will never sour. For my money, one of the greatest gimmicks in wrestling history because EVERYONE can relate to it. If I can kick the shit out of my boss and tell him to kiss my ass, but you can... Brother, I'll be right there cheering you on and praying for the day when I'm able to.

Thank you Brian. I didn’t hear of that promo until Dusty’s DVD released.

Virgil would like $20 for being mentioned

About to catch up on the doc, but I gotta give Brian his flowers. This guy is real historian of the business 💯

I agree with Jim. Bruce pissed me off with that comment about Crockett vs WWF. I wouldn’t have went to a WWF show back then for free. Prichard is such a suck up.

As a 10 year old, I remember knowing wrestling was fake, but the Dusty era of NWA/WCW was so good you were convinced...no, this part is totally real!! Dusty was a big part of making that world feel genuine. His personality and soul is what guided that golden era. When the 4 horseman jumped Dusty in the parking lot of Crockett Promotions, I jumped off the couch with tears in my eyes and asked my mom, DO THE POLICE KNOW THIS HAPPENED!? I started to call them 😂

I’m 39 and in no time in my life have I thought Gary Hart was black. And I only have ass remember him. This just made me wonder how many black ppl Brian Last came across because we don’t look or sound like that lol.

Undertakers debut at survivor series….. he fought off with Dusty and got eliminated. Think about that. The Undertaker! One of the biggest characters ever meets Dusty in his debut! Amazing history!

It was a great documentary and the Dustin and Dusty relationship is something everyone can relate to

I didn't grow up in that era, but Dusty makes me feel like I missed something because I didn't absolute legend incredible just incredible.😎👏

Dusty Rhodes definitely had the best one then Roddy Piper was definitely second best imo 💯

wrestling's Jackie Gleason. Gem by Jim

I remember as a kid. The midnight rider gimmick. When dusty wore the mask…… lmfaoo 🤣. Almost as funny as andre the giant being the big machine. With a mask on. 👋😎

Best part of these podcasts is the thumbnail art. Always good for a laugh! Especially the one where Jim was Spongebob Squarepants.

About the " polka dots " issue. I never cared about how he looked wearing them, because l always paid attention to the wrestler, not the outfit ( with the exception of Ric Flair, who would be wearing robes of all ne color, trunks of another color, knee pads and boots of another color ) . Plus , he said that he would have sold diapers if they had asked him to wear them.

I still want WWE to add the CWF library to the network!!!

I totally agree with you Jim this was a great biography It was great that I had Magnum TA on the Biography Dusty Rhodes is my all time favorite Wrestler

'Name someone famous with polkadots. Dusty Rhodes and Minnie Mouse'. Well, and DC Comics had Polka-Dot Man as a supervillian enemy for Batman. :P

i dont' get some of the takes. They're upset about the 89' vignette's where he was a garbage man and a plumber, even though he was a self professed 'common man' with a plumber for a dad. Then Last says he 'knew Bruce sold his soul when he said New York was the big time". Uhhhh it was the big time, certainly in 1989, and Cornette himself said it was the biggest territory in 1977 when Dusty came in.

there is no doubt in my mind that there is like another 2 hours that hit the chopping block. Dude was a goldmine even in death.

What an amazing Biography on "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. This episode had me in tears while bringing back wonderful memories of Dusty's career. JCP from 1984 thru 1988 was my favorite time being a wrestling fan and Dusty was right in the thick of it. The "Hard Times" promo is one of the greatest of all-time. The only thing that bummed me out after watching the episode was the omission of Dusty's feud with Tully Blanchard. Their on and off feuds from 1984 thru 1988 is legendary. Their matches, the stipulations, the gimmicks, the finishes, the championships and the money on the line deserved some space or reference because it was just as good as Flair's in my opinion. RIP Big Dust! We miss you!!

There was absolutely no reason to have Hogan in the documentary. That was the only weakness.

Vinces new look is more ridiculous than the poka dots

Hard Times is great b/c it applied to a major drawing storyline.Or Flair's promo coming back in 83 vs Harley Race.

Dusty's creativity and vision was a huge assest. I remember as a kid he was one of those wrestlers that when he made his walk to ring I would get up out of my chair as if I was there at the event. Emotionally you were going into the ring with him!

I just finished watching this. It was the best biography they've produced. It was very well done. Thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

I wonder if the subtle emphasis on them being UNION jobs that were lost when referring to the Hard Times promo was intentional. It's a WWE production after all.

When I told my mom about Dusty's death it made her sick, I cried too cause I loved him too! Now he's in heaven with my mom, I can't to be with them

That hard times promo is something that’d be quoted as if from a legendary film

As somebody who first saw Dusty Rhodes in then WWF in polka dots, I can only say this: I didn't notice the ridiculous costume, just the charisma of the man wearing it! When that theme music hit, I knew that I would witness a great performance!

Just seeing the old stuff from the 70’s the era I started watching!! It was the best

I legit cried towards the end

Definitely the BEST biography EVER 💪💪 Rip AMERICAN DREAM

I believe the biggest issue Dusty had was Magnum TAs accident..because I believe Magnum was progressing to take Dusty's spot as top Babyface After the accident, what do you do? Nikita's turn babyface...it was a good try

Dusty was over absolutely everywhere. The midwest, South, Northeast, etc.

I was born in 90 so I unfortunately only saw him in wcw. I wish I could have seen him in his prime.

Thought it was an amazing documentary. Loved it. It definitely made me more of a fan of Dusty now than I was back then. I always had respect for him but man was he great

Dusty & Kevin Sullivan my two favorite wrestlers..

It was a great episode. When are A & E going to do a Biography episode on Jim Cornette though??

Oh my god! Gary Hart wasn't black? I too thought he was from my childhood 😂

I'd pay money just to see Vince walk out to the ring and say FUNKAYY!. Lol