AEW star Dustin Rhodes has enjoyed a long and storied career in professional wrestling.
After beginning his wrestling career in the late 1980’s in Florida-based CWF, he soon moved to World Championship Wrestling, initially debuting as a team with Kendall Windham as ‘The Texas Broncos’ in a run that lasted just a few short months before Rhodes departed the company shortly after his father ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes had left for WWE.
Stints in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the USWA would follow as the 1990’s arrived, before Rhodes arrived in the WWE in late 1990. It was to be a short but memorable run with the highlight coming as he teamed with his Father to take on ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted Dibiase and his bodyguard Virgil in a losing effort at the 1991 Royal Rumble in Miami, Florida.
Rhodes returned to WCW for a memorable four year run that saw him lift the WCW United States Championship and the WCW World Tag Team Championship before he moved to the WWE and debuted as the iconic envelope pushing character of Goldust.
The Texas born Superstar would go on to feature in five seperate stints as Goldust, sandwiched between returns to WCW, two runs with TNA and a host of independent appearances. During his time with WWE he would claim the WWE Intercontinental Championship on 3 occasions and enjoyed multiple runs as WWE Tag Team Champion including twice with brother Cody Rhodes.
After requesting his release in 2019 he would go on to face his brother at AEW All Or Nothing in a stunning bout given 5 stars by journalist Dave Meltzer.
And whilst Rhodes continues to compete in AEW to this day, his biggest achievement has arguably come outside of the ring.
Dustin Rhodes Celebrates 15 Years Of Sobriety
Rhodes took to Twitter on 19th May to celebrate 15 years of sobriety in an emotional tweet:
“Today is a day that I am most proud of.
Today is 15 yrs clean and sober from drugs and alcohol. It was a difficult journey for me, but when we work our programs diligently, magic starts to happen.
I thank God for this second chance and new lease on life. I choose not to turn around and take a walk with the devil. I am clean from him, 1 day at a time.”
The 54 year-old spoke of his battles with demons back in 2021 and praised his Father for advice he had received:
“Dad told me that a lot, and this stuck with me because he started saying ‘keep stepping’ to me when I got out of drug and alcohol rehab. From that day, he just said that every day to me.
So that’s my saying, and not a lot of people know that but that’s where I learned that saying keep stepping. I take it to heart. Years of no alcohol, no drugs, no foreign drug or anything in my system, that’s saying something, and I do owe that to my grit, my hard work and my family being beside me, and a good support system”
H/T: WrestlingInc for the above transcription
If you are struggling with alcohol abuse then help is available online, including via the NHS website.