Virgil Runnels, Jr. (born October 12, 1945 in Austin, Texas) is an American professional wrestler working under the stage name Dusty Rhodes.
Rhodes started his career as a rule-breaking heel, tagging with fellow Texan Dick Murdoch to form the tag team The Texas Outlaws. In the mid-70's, Rhodes broke out as a solo babyface superstar, primarily in Florida, referring to himself as the "White Soul King" and the "American Dream", and a working class hero. Rhodes ascended to the top of several National Wrestling Alliance promotions in Florida, Georgia, and eventually with Jim Crockett Promotions in the Mid-Atlantic – the forerunner of World Championship Wrestling.
Rhodes had legendary feuds with stars such as Abdullah The Butcher , Kevin Sullivan, Blackjack Mulligan , Nikita Koloff , Harley Race, and most notably, The Four Horsemen (especially Ric Flair). Rhodes, Flair, and Race each fought each other many times over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Rhodes also was a booker for WCW while they were competing with the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-80's. After being let go in that capacity, Rhodes briefly performed with the WWF (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE).
Rhodes later returned to WCW, and is now semi-retired. He appears on Total Nonstop Action shows as a "director of authority", and also runs Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling , a small Georgia based promotion. Rhodes' son, Virgil Runnels III, know in wrestling as Dustin Rhodes, followed his dad into the business, most notably as the eccentric WWE character Goldust.
