AEW's Dustin Rhodes Looks Back On WWE Character Goldust
Dustin Rhodes is in his fifth decade of professional wrestling, and enjoying new life in AEW since 2019. Still, he'll likely be remembered, more than anything, for his time as Goldust in WWE, beginning in 1995 and through several stints with the company until 2018. In an interview with Denise Salcedo, Rhodes discussed the importance of the character to him in a time when he needed to distance himself a bit from the Rhodes name and step out of the shadow of his legendary father, Dusty.
"When I went to WWE and became Goldust," Dustin said, "that's when I had a brand new pair of shoes that I fit in myself and made a name for myself being the son of Dusty Rhodes." Of course, the unique elements of the Goldust character were a far cry from anything that Rhodes, his father, or almost anyone had ever portrayed before in wrestling. The first sight of Dustin dressed as Goldust was shocking to Dusty, to say the least, especially during a time when the two had a falling out and weren't communicating.
"It was very shocking to Dad because he didn't know [about the gimmick]," Dustin recalled. "Cody tells the story [that] he sees me on TV [and] didn't know it's me. But then he looks back at Dad and Dad's got this look on his face like, 'What is going on? That's my son. What is he doing?' I don't know if he was embarrassed or what but that's when we weren't talking and I just had to do that, I guess. I wanted more."
Stepping out of his comfort zone
While embracing the nuanced details of the Goldust character as he attempted to establish himself independently of his legendary father, Rhodes was able to fully entrench himself in the business and focus on improving daily. "I wanted to continue to wrestle and get better," he said. "That's all I could think about [and] all I wanted. Just being on the road constantly, improving myself, evolving the character."
Rhodes called being Goldust "scary" at the time, and said he simply didn't know how to do it being "just a redneck from Austin, Texas." Ultimately, the steep departure from that with which he was comfortable was exactly what he needed, and something he teaches to younger wrestlers today. "Once you step out of your comfort zone," explained Rhodes, "that's where the magic happens. When you step out of that box and into the other side, it's a whole new world."
Ironically, Rhodes may never have stepped out of his own comfort zone had he initially understood the meaning of the word "androgynous," when first pitched the Goldust character by Vince McMahon. He was so eager for a new opportunity, he went along with the idea, agreeing all the while despite not really knowing what he was getting into. Once he looked up the term, used time and again by McMahon during their initial conversation, he thought, "What the f***? What did I just agree to?" Eventually, he dove in with both feet and the rest is history, with Goldust still looked upon as one of the most unique characters of all time. "It took about six months for it to click," Rhodes remembered. "Once it worked, I ran with it and I didn't give a s***. Let's make some money, let's draw some houses, let's have some fun. And it was great."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.