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JR's Blog: RIP The American Dream Dusty Rhodes

Posted: Jun 12th 2015 By: Jim Ross

Thursday wasn't a good day. We lost a pop culture icon, a pro wrestling innovator and I lost a great friend. The Dream is dead.

As I was sitting in an office in Asheville, NC at Eblen Charities being interviewed by WWE for the upcoming Owen Hart DVD and discussing what May 23, 1999 meant to me my cell phone buzzed incessantly. It wouldn't stop and interrupted our recording.

I needed to to take a break and collect my thoughts on a question that I knew was coming but that I still dreaded answering. I excused myself to the men's room and eventually got around to checking my messages and to my horror I found out that my friend of over 30 years Dusty Rhodes had died at age 69 in Orlando, Florida.

The Dream and I talked about a week ago and he tried to convince me that he was "just fine." I knew something was wrong when I saw him in San Jose at WrestleMania where I again questioned him about his health while sitting behind him at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Again, he declared himself fit and we talked of his significant weight loss. Then down in Orlando at a NXT taping the night before Mick Foley taped his comedy special for the WWE Network Dusty and I talked and he insisted that he was fine.

He was like John Wayne in his final movie 'The Shootist' who wanted no empathy from anyone and who wanted to go out on his own terms his own way.

Dusty and I bonded after Jim Crockett Promotions bought out Bill Watts UWF. Dream trusted me to interpret his booking and creative on syndicated TV that lead me to getting my break on national cable on TBS.

Thanks, Big Dust for believing in me.

We didn't always agree on things. For instance, we never agreed on the Red River Rivalry that pitted his Texas Longhorns versus my Oklahoma Sooners.

Dusty's birthday was October 12 which was the same day as my wedding anniversary. Many October 12's while my wife Jan slept in Vurgil Riley Runnels, Jr got a happy birthday call before my lovely bride got her happy anniversary wishes. Of course October 12 was also about the time of our beloved Red River Rivalry game.

He once won $100 from me playing HORSE at 2 a.m. at Jim Crockett, Jrs home in Charlotte as he shot the ball better than me after multiple beverages. We laughed about that one for years. He loved it when I would give his Mama a shout out on TBS Wrestling. We loved our BBQ. ...and I loved the Dream who portrayed himself better in a pro wrestling ring than virtually anyone ever. The young athletes at NXT lost a great teacher and mentor and we all lost a man who could talk fans into the seats and he sold tickets. With his distinctive delivery his voice will never be forgotten. RIP my dear friend until we meet again.