AEW star Dustin Rhodes has evolved greatly over his decades in the wrestling business. The star began his wrestling career back in back in the late eighties competing in the likes of All Japan and WWE before making his name as part of WCW where he was nicknamed ‘The Natural.’
When he returned to WWE in 1995, he underwent a major shift in character, donning a blond wig and gold face paint and becoming Goldust, an effeminate movie fanatic who wasn’t afraid to show off his fluid sexuality. While Goldust would ultimately go on to be the role he’s most associated with, it was a risky character choice in 1995, and Dustin Rhodes admits that he was hesitant about it at first.
Dustin Rhodes Says Goldust Received His First Big Audience Reaction In A Match With Savio Vega
Speaking to fellow AEW star Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho, Dustin Rhodes opened up about Goldust’s origins and the first time he got a major reaction from a WWE audience during a match with Savio Vega.
“But I liked it when he [Vince] was on the road. It wasn’t a TV setting, right? It was just a house show. You’d show up and it was like he was at the curtain and I’m like Vince is here. What if I do this? Am I gonna get fired or whatever. And so he [Savio Vega] was like no man, come on, let’s do this. And it was just a simple go behind him, rub up his chest and down his legs, kind of not grazing, as you know. And he turned around and he charged me and me taking a powder and they went nuts.
“And they called me every name in the book, and that’s the first giant reaction that I’ve gotten. I was like, okay, that worked. I need to stay away from these rails because they are reaching hard at me, man, it was so before its time, and I was like, inside, I look at Savio back in the ring. And he’s laughing. And I’m like Goddammit man, I roll in there.
“I’m like, we lock up and he takes me back at the corner. So we’re gonna do it again. Turn me around. I’m like, What are we doing, man? Turn it around. And he said, to turn around, stick your ass in my crotch and rub it back, you know, just kind of rub it around. And I did it. And he pushed me away. And I took another powder. And they came again. And I was just like, it was set. Yeah. And it was easy. But I was really scared to do that. That was something that like was way out of my wheelhouse.”
Dustin Rhodes recently took to social media to admit that his time inside the squared circle may be winding down.
If you use any quotes from this transcription, please credit Talk is Jericho and link back to this article with a h/t to Inside the Ropes.