Tag: Goldust

Dustin Rhodes posts statement on departure from WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The day after he was announced as his brother Cody’s opponent for AEW Double or Nothing, Dustin Rhodes posted a statement about his departure from WWE.

Rhodes wrote that he requested and was granted his release from WWE. He thanked the company, the fans, and his co-workers and asked that fans continue to support him wherever this journey leads him next:

Hello @wweuniverse! To begin, I want to say just how much I appreciate you allowing me to entertain you over these long and winding years. Being the son of the legendary Dream has been and will always be an immense honor and blessing to me, and I have always done my best to fill his shoes while transitioning into my own. I have had so many ups and downs in our great business and I’ve learned from every time that I have fallen down and every mistake I have made.

My life has been an open book for you fans and friends all over this wide world. You’ve been there to see my trials and tribulations and have stuck with me through it all. You’ve hated me, you’ve loved me, you’ve laughed with me and you’ve cried with me. You’ve immensely enjoyed my antics and entertainment, and I would like to think that I’ve done a good job. That I’ve done my father proud. I was born straight into the thick of this business. It is and has always been my life and I have loved every moment of the ride. I want to thank you all for the unwavering support you have given me. Thank you.

With that being said, I’ve been putting my body through quite a bit these last 30 years, and many opportunities that have been presented to me have taken a backseat to my love of wrestling. I have requested my release from WWE and it has been granted. I am taking this time to explore some of those many opportunities. Life is too short to not take ALL the chances you feel driven to take, and I will give this next chapter my full focus and effort. I would appreciate your continued support as I turn this page in my life and go wherever this journey may lead me next.

@WWE has given me and my family such incredible years and experiences and I have nothing but respect and warmth for everyone there. The roster is stacked with awe-inspiring talent who want the best and are breaking down all barriers to grab that coveted, elusive brass ring. To @WWE and to each and every one of my co workers, I love you, I appreciate you, and I thank you for loving and taking care of me for so long, Keep doing your thing and find *you* out there. Thank you so very much and God bless.

Remember and never forget the name of……#Goldust.

Til next time…

Rhodes also posted a video of him saying goodbye to his Goldust character. 

Double or Nothing is taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 25. Rhodes will be having his first match since undergoing double knee surgery in July 2018.

Cody to face Dustin Rhodes at AEW Double or Nothing

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After weeks of teases, Cody Rhodes’ opponent for Double or Nothing has been revealed.

Brothers will be facing off when Cody faces Dustin Rhodes at Double or Nothing. The show is All Elite Wrestling’s first event and is taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 25.

The match was built up in episode 13 of AEW’s Road to Double or Nothing series. Dustin was the focus of the video, with him saying he loves Cody and is proud of him but discussing a rift that exists between them. Dustin painted half of his face in the video, saying that the red stands for life and the black stands for death.

Dustin said Cody is making a mistake by having a match with him, that Cody is facing his reckoning, and their fight needs to end and should have ended years ago. Dustin closed the episode by saying: “One last ride — or is it?” 

Pro Wrestling Sheet reported on March 28 that Dustin’s contract with WWE had recently expired and he was waiting to become a free agent, though Dustin tweeted that he was still under contract with WWE at the time.

Today’s Road to Double or Nothing is available to watch below:

Fandango, Goldust both undergo successful surgery

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Two WWE wrestlers underwent surgery in Birmingham, Alabama yesterday.

Fandango had a left labrum tear in his shoulder repaired, while Goldust had surgery on both of his knees. WWE.com posted articles on each of their surgeries and noted that they were successful.

Fandango estimated that he’d be out of action for “6-?” months before having his operation. He wrote overnight: “Surgery went well Very overwhelming to get so many nice tweets/texts/calls. This surgery will be a thing of the past. The [love] is forever ….”

WWE said that Goldust is expected to make a full recovery but didn’t reveal further details on the type of surgery he had or when he’ll be able to return. He also tweeted last night: “Hey everybody, letting you know that both my knee surgeries went well. Ready to ride up outta here.”

Though he appeared on the May 7 episode of Raw, Goldust hasn’t wrestled on television since April. He was wrestling at house shows up until mid-June.

WWE Main Event results: Hawkins loses to Goldust yet again

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins lost yet again to Goldust, taking his losing streak to 0-185. Hideo Itami made his Main Event debut, notching up a win in a short tag team bout with Akira Tozawa against Jack Gallagher & TJP.

**********

Goldust defeated Curt Hawkins (5:11)

Hawkins came close to breaking the streak here in defeat to Goldust. The loss marks his 18th to Goldust in this current run and took the overall number to 0-185. Amusingly, Hawkins took to Twitter to mark the milestone with a picture of John Cena, with Hawkins’ head pasted over it, pointing at the Main Event sign where the WrestleMania sign would be.

On commentary, Vic Joseph is now referring to Goldust as “the ageless wonder of WWE.” The crowd wasn’t much into this one, despite some early “Goldust” chants akin to “Goldberg” ones. Goldust gave Hawkins plenty of the match to tease that he might finally get the win in what Nigel McGuinness noted had become an “ignominious statistic.”

They traded near falls at the end with Hawkins escaping the Golden Cross and using a belly-to-back suplex for two. He then followed this up by catching Goldust in a spinebuster for another close two count.

But Goldust got the win when he finally caught Hawkins in a headlock and was able to plant him with the Golden Cross in the middle of the ring.

Akira Tozawa & Hideo Itami defeated Jack Gallagher & TJP (3:11)

When Hideo Itami arrived in WWE, there was never any part of me that expected his stock to fall as much as it has. Seeing him in person live at WrestleMania 31 in San Jose in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal is about as good as it has gotten for Itami in a WWE career, which has thus far been marred by injuries and bad luck.

In his Main Event debut here, he teamed up with Akira Tozawa, who has had a few wins recently over on 205 Live. Despite having arrived from two different companies in Japan, they have a good rapport in the ring and worked well together.

Tozawa took the opening minute, then Itami dominated the main bulk of the action until they went to commercial halfway through Itami’s offense, without warning. Itami and Tozawa worked with purpose, double-teaming their opponents until they quickly put Gallagher in position for Tozawa to hit the Drop Zone for the win.

WWE Main Event results: Curt Hawkins goes 0-179

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: This was a show for losing streaks. Akira Tozawa beat Ariya Daivari to take him to 0-31 and winless since August. Curt Hawkins also took his tally to 179 without a victory in another loss to Goldust.

**********

Akira Tozawa defeated Ariya Daivari (6:40)

This past week, Daivari lost to 205 Live’s latest acquisition, Buddy Murphy, in the Cruiserweight title tournament to take him 0-30 and without a win since last summer. Tozawa has been in better form, though he also lost in the first round of the tournament.

They went longer than WWE usually gives cruiserweight matches on this show, building the match around whether Tozawa could get Daivari in position for the Drop Zone. Daivari got some good heat in the second third of the match, after he thwarted Tozawa’s top rope attempt. After several near falls, including Tozawa kicking out of the Persian Lion Splash, Tozawa took over again.

Tozawa eventually got Daivari in position and nailed him around the side of the head with a spinning enzuigiri. He went up top and hit the Drop Zone for the win.

Tozawa celebrated and they went straight to the next segment without comment on Daivari’s 31st consecutive loss or a replay of the finish.

Goldust defeated Curt Hawkins (4:08)

Hawkins wrote on Twitter that this loss was more of an honor than a disappointment, referencing that the match took place in the same arena that WWE filmed the infamous Hollywood Backlot Brawl from WrestleMania XII between Goldust and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

For those keeping count, of Hawkins’ 179 losses since his return to the company, 18 of them have come at the hands of Goldust. They have good chemistry, with Goldust giving a lot of the match to Hawkins here. Hawkins disrespected Goldust, often slapping and shouting at him.

After Hawkins had looked like he might break the streak, he took too long and didn’t pounce on the opportunity when it arose. The finish saw Goldust show that he’d had enough of being shoved around and dropped to his knees to slap Hawkins in the face before hitting the Golden Cross for the win.

WWE Main Event results: Curt Hawkins goes 0-171

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins’ losing streak continued with a loss against Goldust, who was managed by Mandy Rose.

Kalisto defeated Ariya Daivari in a longer than usual cruiserweight offering that left Daivari without a win since August.

**********

Goldust (w/ Mandy Rose) defeated Curt Hawkins (3:40)

Hawkins’ never-ending losing streak continued here with another loss to Goldust, whose partnership with Mandy Rose has given him a new lease of life. After a lot of comedy early on, Hawkins took control when he waffled Goldust on the apron to send him outside. He followed him and nailed him with a stiff clothesline and they teased a count out finish. Goldust rolled back into the ring at 9.75.

Hawkins took over the match, slowing things down with a rear chinlock until Goldust got some separation with a spinebuster. He got the heat with clotheslines, a running bulldog, and a scoop slam. Hawkins wriggled out of the first attempt, but Goldust kicked him in the gut and hit the Final Cut for the win.

The loss took Hawkins to 0-171 but was a good win for Goldust in preparation for his Mixed Match Challenge bout with Mandy Rose against Jimmy Uso & Naomi on Tuesday night.

Kalisto defeated Ariya Daivari (7:31)

Speaking of losing streaks, Daivari currently finds himself on one of his own. Without a win since August in all competitions, the loss here to Kalisto took him to 0-28.

Daivari disrespected Kalisto early on but soon looked the fool. After mocking Kalisto’s “lucha” chant and even laying across the top turnbuckle, Kalisto hit him with a kick to the side of the head and then shot at him with a suicide dive outside.

After the break, the pace had slowed with Daivari using his heel moveset to keep Kalisto from using his speed and agility. This led to a near fall when Daivari absolutely nailed Kalisto with a spinebuster, but Kalisto just managed to get his shoulder up. Daivari tried to pull off Kalisto’s mask, but it didn’t lead anywhere.

Having put up a good fight and putting on a decent match, Kalisto finished Daivari off by planting him with a rana and the Salida del Sol for the win.

Mandy Rose replacing Alicia Fox in WWE Mixed Match Challenge

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After Alicia Fox was pulled from the tournament due to injury, Goldust will be teaming with Mandy Rose in Mixed Match Challenge.

That announcement was made towards the end of last night’s episode. Goldust & Rose will be taking on Jimmy Uso & Naomi next Tuesday, and the winning team will go on to face Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss in week eight of the tournament.

Strowman & Bliss defeated Sami Zayn & Becky Lynch this week when Bliss jumped off Strowman’s shoulders and hit Twisted Bliss on Lynch.

WWE announced on Sunday night that Fox wouldn’t be competing in either the women’s Royal Rumble or Mixed Match Challenge because of an injury, which was revealed to be a broken tailbone.

Finn Balor & Sasha Banks, The Miz & Asuka, and Strowman & Bliss are the teams that have advanced in Mixed Match Challenge thus far. Goldust & Rose vs. Uso & Naomi, Elias & Bayley vs. Rusev & Lana, and Apollo Crews & Nia Jax vs. Bobby Roode & Charlotte Flair are the remaining first round matchups.

WWE Main Event results: Metalik & Kalisto vs. TJP & Gallagher

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins added yet another loss to his streak, this time against Goldust, and Gran Metalik & Kalisto defeated TJP & Jack Gallagher in under three minutes.

**********

Goldust defeated Curt Hawkins (4:29)

And so it continues. Curt Hawkins went 0-164 here, is now 0-165, and following Main Event went on to have a backstage segment after Raw where the Brooklyn Brawler told him not to give up and to believe in himself. We may be going somewhere with this streak, but exactly where is not yet clear.

Goldust took the win out of nothing, really. The match was back and forth, with Hawkins looking the more likely of the two to come out on top. They did a lot of comedy early on, with Hawkins even laying down in the middle of the ring asking to be pinned. Of course, it was a ruse.

The finish started when Hawkins used a side Russian leg sweep and slapped on a rest hold. When Goldust worked his way out, he dropped to his knees, struck Hawkins, and rolled him up for the win. Hawkins was in disbelief.

Gran Metalik & Kalisto defeated TJP & Jack Gallagher (2:43)

They didn’t give this one long at all in front of this expectant pre-Raw 25th anniversary show crowd. Metalik has had TJP’s number over the last few weeks on 205 Live, and the same was true here as the pair started things off together.

After taking two arm whips, TJP hobbled as quickly as he could to make the tag to Gallagher. Gallagher slowed things down, crotching Metalik on the top turnbuckle as we went to a break.

We returned to both men down, and they went straight to the hot tag and the finish. Kalisto took care of Gallagher, tossing him over the top rope and hitting him with a springboard seated senton. And Metalik finished off TJP with a rope-walk elbow drop and the Metalik Driver in the middle of the ring.

Tag team turmoil match set for Raw in London

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The next challengers for The Hardys’ tag titles will be decided as Raw makes its way to London on Monday night.

Kurt Angle announced a number one contender’s tag team turmoil match for the show during a backstage segment with the Golden Truth last week, though no other participants were revealed at the time.

WWE.com has since posted that Cesaro & Sheamus, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Enzo Amore & Big Cass, and Heath Slater & Rhyno will join Goldust & R-Truth in vying for a shot at the Raw Tag Team Championship.

The program between The Hardys and Cesaro & Sheamus continued after their match at Payback, with the champions being laid out in an attack after the match. Cesaro & Sheamus also fled the ring as The Hardys looked to get revenge last week.

WWE hasn’t yet revealed when the winning team will get their shot at the titles, though Raw’s next pay-per-view is Extreme Rules on June 4th in Baltimore, Maryland.

Both Raw and SmackDown will be taped at the O2 Arena in London shortly before they air this week as WWE continues its European tour.

Observer Feature: Terri Runnels on her Marlena run, history with the Rhodes family, more

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Gary Mehaffy, special to WrestlingObserver.com

Terri Runnels has been a recognizable face in the wrestling industry for well over 20 years. From her early days as Alexandra York in WCW to managing the enigmatic Goldust as Marlena in WWF/E, she has seen, and done, it all.

In this 30 minute interview, I talked to Runnels about a variety of topics:

– How she got into the industry

– How she feels women have been treated by fans and workers alike

– How the Goldust and Marlena characters developed from hated heels to beloved babyfaces

– Her feeling that Brian Pillman was in a dark place the evening before he passed away

– How Dusty Rhodes initially thought she was a gold digger when she began dating Dustin (something she found ironic, given that out of her and Dustin she was the one who owned a home and had money in the bank). 

– We discuss what she will be up to at this year’s WrestleCon, whether or not we’ll ever see her and Dustin’s daughter Dakota in a wrestling ring – and even what her favourite breakfast is!

This is a fun, insightful interview that I think everyone who is a fan of Terri’s will enjoy.

WWE Main Event Results: Tyler Breeze and Goldust fail to make the Smackdown card

Posted on by F4W Editors

Tyler Breeze w/Summer Rae def. Goldust by pinfall

Our opening contest is presented to us off the back of a one-week build, after Goldust’s selfie stick antics distracted Tyler into a loss to Titus O’Neil on last week’s Smackdown. It’s a measure of how far Breeze’s star has fallen that this match did not even make it on to Tuesday night’s live show – a show that, for example, featured The Ascension paying the price for not respecting decorations.

Cute spot to begin here, where Tyler lies on the turnbuckle while waiting for Goldust to arise from his pre-match squat position, only for Goldust to then mimic him after getting the upper hand with a shoulder tackle.

Goldust hits his reverse atomic drop, before sending Breeze to the outside and grabbing the selfie stick from a concerned Summer Rae. Breeze turns him around in fury, only to eat a forearm – allowing Goldust to take a lovely photo of himself and his fallen foe leading into commercials. Refreshing after watching this week’s Smackdown, where FOUR matches went to break right after the heel gained the advantage. Nice work, Road Dogg.

Back with Goldust still on top, but Tyler quickly reverses the momentum by hitting a dropkick as Goldust comes off the ropes. Uninspiring heel offence follows, before Goldust briefly initiates a comeback – only to be cut-off with a super(model)kick for two. This leads us into the near-falls segment of the match, where Goldust also manages a typically crisp snap powerslam for another close two. He then inexplicably goes to the top rope, only to be distracted by Summer climbing the ringsteps in a repeat of last week’s awful Neville/Rusev finish.

This allows Breeze to hit a second Supermodel Kick to down Goldust and secure the pinfall. Couple of mildly amusing moments from Goldust before the heat, but the rest wasn’t great – capped by a super-lame finish.

Bo Dallas def. Fandango by pinfall

Box-office stuff. Fandango cuts off Bo’s patented early victory lap (Bo: “I’M WINNING!”) with a clothesline, before shouting “Bolieve!” to celebrate.

Very short match here, with not much of a structure to it. Fandango quickly starts his comeback after a Bo chinlock, hitting a dangerous looking slingshot leg drop for two. Pretty sure he connected with Bo’s face on that one.

Fandango goes up top for The Last Dance, only for Bo to down him by hitting the ropes, before lifting him for his spinning neckbreaker off the ropes for the win.

After the match, Bo finally finishes that victory lap, before getting on the mic to announce to the crowd that the rest of 2015 doesn’t matter – as he’s finished it a winner. He tells us that this is “just the bo-ginning”. Best of luck with that, champ.

– We get a comprehensive look-back at Monday night’s Slammy Award ceremony.

Jack Swagger def. The Miz by submission

Miz holds up proceedings by flapping his arms to prepare for sunglasses takeoff, as is customary. Swagger, unimpressed, responds by making Miz wait for a rousing “We The People” chant.

Early Swagger shine falls asunder when he attempts a suplex to the outside, only for Miz to duck under his legs, drop him on the apron and hit him with a baseball slide leading into commercials.

Back with Miz signalling for the Awesome Clothesline (Miz: “I’m the people!”), only for Swagger to explode out of the corner with one of his own. Miz rolls to the floor to escape the ensuing Swagger Bomb attempt and decides to head up the ramp and cut his losses. Swagger chases him down however, and they do the “I’ll hold the back of your head while we walk together” spot on the way back to the ring.

Miz gets his feet up off another Swagger Bomb attempt before hitting the DDT for two, to lead us into a very nice near-fall sequence. Said sequence culminates with Miz landing on his feet off an attempted Swagger gutwrench, before hitting a running boot to the head for two. Miz stalls and milks the crowd heat before lining up another – and hitting it. He then goes to the well a third time, only to be rolled-up for another close two-count. This allows Swagger to finally hit the Swagger Bomb at the third time of asking.

Forearm exchange follows, which Swagger gets the best of, but Miz dodges a corner charge and finally gets that Awesome Clothesline he looked for earlier. Miz then, like Goldust, inexplicably goes to the top, only to jump right into a belly-to-belly slam and a Patriot Lock for the submission. Surprisingly good match from these two.

Final Thoughts

A step up from last week’s show as the so-called “featured contest”, between Jack Swagger and The Miz, was a very watchable affair. More bad news for Tyler Breeze however, as the first match of the Goldust feud that began on last week’s Smackdown wasn’t even deemed worthy of a spot on this week’s live show. Hey, at least he won for a change.