AEW's Dustin Rhodes Looks Back On WWE Gimmick Goldust

On the latest episode of "Insight", Dustin Rhodes sat down with Chris Van Vliet to discuss his time in AEW, as well as working with Tony Khan. However, he also expressed what it was like to work with Vince McMahon, and reflected on his previous gimmick in WWE, Goldust.

Rhodes went into detail about having a certain vision for his character when he first walked into WWE, one that was similar to a cowboy because he wanted to represent his dad, Dusty Rhodes, but explained he could never fill his father's shoes. "It's kind of what I wanted to do, I wanted to be just like him, but that's impossible and it took me years to figure that out. Finally I realized that you know, I can't fill my dad's shoes, not even close. So that's when the Goldust thing came along, and it opened my eyes to, hey maybe I need to fill my own shoes and I did." 

Dustin continued to remark on his relationship with McMahon, especially when the Goldust character was growing in popularity. He explained how McMahon worked very "hands-on" with him throughout the early stages of his career, but also allowed him to discover his own identity. "Vince gave me the reigns for this character, he let me find myself. I mean it was hands-on in my voice, trying to bring out a creepy, sexual Goldust voice right. He worked with me hands-on, we did a bunch and I finally got it ya know ... that was it, we ran with it and it was incredible." Rhodes is approaching his 5th year with AEW, however his current contract with the company will expire in September 2024.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.