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Virgil Runnels III

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{{Infobox Wrestler|name=Virgil Runnels III |image=Goldust.jpg |names=Dustin Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes Jr.
Seven
'''Goldust'''
The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust
Dustin Runnels |height=6 ft 6 in (198 cm) |weight=260 lb (117 kg) |birth_date = April 11, 1966 |death_date = |birth_place = Austin, Texas |resides= |billed= Hollywood, California |trainer= Virgil Runnels, Jr. Dusty Rhodes
Skandor Akbar |debut=September 13, 1988 |retired= |}} '''Virgil Runnels III''' (born April 11, 1966 in Austin, Texas; often called '''Dustin Runnels''') is an United States American professional wrestling professional wrestler who has competed in the World Wrestling Entertainment WWE and World Championship Wrestling WCW. He is mostly best-known for his WWE gimmick (professional wrestling) character of '''Goldust''', a sexually ambiguous movie star. He also wrestled in WCW and TNA as '''Dustin Rhodes'''. His father, Virgil Runnels, Jr., who wrestled as Dusty Rhodes, was one of the best-known wrestlers of the 1970s and 1980s. He is currently performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on the ''WWE RAW RAW'' brand under the Goldust moniker. =Career=

Early career
Virgil "Dustin" Runnels III was the co-captain of the East Mecklenburg High School Charlotte, NC varsity wrestling team in the 1987-88 school year. He also played varsity American football football during that same time. Runnels started wrestling as '''Dustin Rhodes''' in 1988 in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He debuted in the National Wrestling Alliance NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions in late 1988. He formed a tag team with Kendall Windham called the "Texas Broncos." They feud (professional wrestling) feuded briefly with Al Perez and Larry Zbyszko. In March 1989, Dustin was back in FCW. He teamed with Mike Graham and feuded with Rick Harris Black Bart. He also feuded with Kendall Windham over the FCW Title. In July 1989, he went to the CWA, where he continued to feud with Bart. He left for the World Wrestling Entertainment WWF in January 1990. He continued to feud with Bart on the undercard and eventually teamed with his father, Virgil Runnels, Jr. Dusty Rhodes, to feud with Ted DiBiase and Mike Jones (wrestler) Virgil.

World Championship Wrestling
In February 1991, he went to WCW, where he feuded with Larry Zbysko at mid-card level. In April, Terri Runnels Alexandra York offered him to join her York Foundation heel (professional wrestling) heel stable (professional wrestling) stable, but he turned her down. This started a feud with Foundation member Terry Taylor Terrence Taylor that lasted several months. York was in reality his first wife,Terri. In late 1991, he feuded with Television Champ Stone Cold Steve Austin "Stunning" Steve Austin over the title before forming a tag team with real life best friend Barry Windham. Windham was injured by Arn Anderson and Larry Zbysko, "The Enforcers", so Dustin got a new partner, Ricky Steamboat, and they won the tag team titles from them. For the next seven months (through June 1992), he feuded with Paul Heyman Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance of Anderson, Zbysko, Austin, Richard Rood Rick Rude and Bobby Eaton. He was in the "War Games" against the Dangerous Alliance with Steamboat, Windham, Sting (wrestler) Sting and Nelson Simpson Nikita Koloff as his partners. October 1992 saw him reform his team with Windham to win the Tag Team Titles. In November, Windham turned on him and started a brief feud. In January 1993, he won the WWE United States Championship United States Title and also began a feud with Richard Rood Rick Rude that would run through August. In October, he started feuding with Paul Orndorff and Steve Austin over the title, losing it to Austin in December. In March 1994, he became involved in a feud with Jimmy Golden Bunkhouse Buck and Robert Fuller Col. Rob Parker. Parker eventually brought in Terry Funk and Arn Anderson to feud with Dustin. Dustin brought in his father, Dusty, to help him. This feud lasted until December when Parker brought in Barry Darsow Blacktop Bully to feud with Dustin. Dustin and the Bully both were fired in March 1995 when they both "blading (professional wrestling) bladed" (cut themselves to look busted open) at the Uncensored pay-per-view PPV after they were told not to.

World Wrestling Federation
In July 1995, Runnels debuted in the WWF as '''Goldust'''. He played mind games with opponents to make them think he was a homosexuality homosexual. He started a feud with Scott Hall Razor Ramon, where through late 1995 he would appear to be stalking Razor and sending him lewd messages. The feud culminated at the Royal Rumble in January 1996, where Goldust won the WWE Intercontinental Championship Intercontinental Title from Razor. Goldust surprised everybody by bringing his real life wife, Terri, in as Terri Runnels Marlena. Her gimmick was to be a managing director director, and sat in a director's chair through his matches. Goldust and Razor Ramon were originally scheduled to have a rematch at WrestleMania XII, but these plans were dashed when Ramon was suspended by the WWF. Goldust then engaged in a feud with replacement opponent Roderick Toombs Rowdy Roddy Piper, which ended in a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl" at WrestleMania. Goldust lost this match, but not his Intercontinental Championship. His time as champion included feuds with Roderick Toombs Roddy Piper, Savio Vega, Jim Hellwig The Ultimate Warrior and Anthony Norris Ahmed Johnson, who finally won the title from Runnels. In August 1996, he briefly had mind control over Mick Foley Mankind and feuded with Mark Calaway The Undertaker. His attention soon turned to Marc Mero and his wife Rena Mero Sable. Goldust and Marlena attempted to get Sable to join their team but Mero won the feud and kept her by his side. In December 1996, Goldust and Marlena turned face and feuded with Triple H. In May 1997, Goldust revealed his identity as Dustin Runnels, son of Dusty Rhodes. He started painting his face half as Goldust, and left the other side as Dustin. He began a feud with Brian Pillman in August 1997 which saw Pillman steal Marlena from him. When Pillman died in October, Marlena came back to Dustin. In November, Dustin dumped Marlena and got a new valet, Luna Vachon. He started dressing up as different people, being Shaftdust etc. He feuded with Mero and Sable again with Luna. In May 1998, he split with Luna and burned his Goldust suit on TV and feuded with Sean Morley Val Venis. In October, he brought Goldust back and feuded with Jeff Jarrett over the attentions of Debra Marshall Debra. Early 1999 saw him feud with Allen Sarven Al Snow briefly after stealing Head, feud with Brian Heffron Bluedust and then join him to feud with Ken Shamrock, acquire Alicia Webb Ryan Shamrock as a valet to bicker with Bluedust, win the Intercontinental Title again and lose it two weeks later. During this period, mysterious taped vingettes appeared on Raw, supposedly from hidden cameras, showing wrestlers backstage flirting with valets, gossiping about other wrestlers, and other actions the victims certainly didn't want seeing the light of day. Originally named GDTV (standing for Goldust Television), it was re-named GTV when Runnels left the WWF. If the angle (professional wrestling) angle had been allowed to play out, it would have been revealed that Goldust was the "G/GD" in "GTV/GDTV", secretly filming people supposedly being another part of his mania.

Back to WCW
Runnels took some time off, patched up his differences with his father and rejoined WCW in several vignettes (in August 1999) as a strange, white face painted dream villain, '''Seven'''. When he actually debuted in the ring, he took the Seven suit off and cut a promo (professional wrestling) promo on stupid gimmicks. He became Dustin Rhodes again and feuded with Jeff Jarrett. During this time he referred to himself as "The American Nightmare", a play on his father's "American Dream" nickname. He feuded with Terry Funk in early 2000 after turning on him and was given time off due to differences with Vince Russo. He came back in February 2001 to help his dad feud with Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett. When Vince McMahon bought WCW a month later, he did not acquire Dustin's contract. In July 2001, he went to work for his father's new professional wrestling promotion promotion, Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling.

World Wrestling Entertainment
In January 2002, he returned as a heel again to the WWF as Goldust and won the WWE Hardcore Championship Hardcore Title several times. He formed an unlikely team with Booker Huffman Booker T and did comic backstage vignettes. One of these comedy scenes was "Booker T and Goldust at the Movies" where they reviewed The Scorpion King, starring The Rock (entertainer) The Rock (since Goldust was wearing a black wig, it is speculated that he was mocking Kelly Hu Kelly Hu's character Cassandra). The duo was also involved in a vignette involving the WWE's current promotion with 7-Eleven with Goldust humorously quoting the chain's food staples to bother Booker T ("If you give me a lick of your Slurpee, I'll let you have a bite of my wiener.") The team turned out to be surprisingly popular amongst fans and helped propel both men during that time. Goldust tried to join the nWo in July after Booker joined them, even appearing painted up in the black and white nWo colors during one appearance, but they didn't want him. He rejoined Booker when Booker was kicked out of the nWo. During that time they both turned face. He had several feuds with other wrestlers while Booker was his partner after this. Among them were Lance Evers Lance Storm & Jason Reso Christian, Christian & Chris Jericho and Lance Storm & William Regal. In January 2003, he split with Booker and was largely taken off TV. It was during this period that a new gimmick for Goldust was introduced; he was jumped backstage by Evolution members Randy Orton and Batista in a work (professional wrestling) worked assault, and accidentally hurled into an electrical junction box. The resulting shock gave Goldust a form of tourettism, causing him to stutter and yell random insults at people, and also preventing him from censoring himself; one memorable example had Goldust asking Christian, "Christian, why are you such a Dic... Dic... Dic... Dictator, Dictator?" He made occasional appearances before his contract ran out at midnight on December 31st 2003.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Runnels went to Japan to work for Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX Zero One as '''Dusty Rhodes Jr.''' (he had been billed as such in All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1990), but then quickly left and debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, under the stage name name Dustin Rhodes, along with his father, Dusty Rhodes, who was TNA's Director of Authority. He has feuded with Scott Levy Raven, David Cash Kid Kash, and Bobby Roode. Image:RhodesTNA.jpg right|thumb|Dustin Rhodes during his time spent in [[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] On April 24, 2005, Runnels was arrested and detained by Orange County, Florida authorities following a domestic dispute with his girlfriend at a hotel. He was later bonded and subsequently released, but the negative publicity generated by the incident, coupled with his father's subsequent (unrelated) departure from TNA, seemed to spell an end to his time with the promotion.

Return to WWE
On October 31, 2005, Runnels donned the Goldust costume again and made a shocking return to the WWE on RAW, along with Leon White Vader. Initially he was supposed to protect Jonathan Coachman from the likes of Steve Austin, but instead it was David Bautista Batista he had to deal with. Despite Vader and Goldust's assistance, Batista defeated Coachman at Taboo Tuesday. Goldust returned to the WWE again during the 2006 Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant at number 29 on January 29, 2006. He was eliminated shortly after by Rob Van Dam. Goldust also appeared the next night on WWE Raw. Runnels' more recent appearances may be attributed to his father Dusty Rhodes working for WWE as a booker. On The 2/10/06 edition of HEAT, it was confirmed that Goldust was back full time. Goldust also picked up a win over Lance Cade, using his Curtain Call finisher, marking his first win in WWE for years. The next week, Goldust defeated Trevor Murdoch by count-out after setting him up for The Shattered Dreams but took too long and Murdoch ran away from the match. During this week Goldust recently returned to the RAW Superstars page at WWE.com On the 3/10/06 edition of HEAT Goldust defeated Rob Conway, continuing his winning streak. He is currently going over with the fans, which may be one of the reasons he has been undefeated (since his return to WWE). Finally on 3/13/06 edition of Raw, Goldust was defeated by Adam Copeland Edge after Lita interfered. On 4/2/06 Goldust appearred at Wrestlemania 22 as "Oprahdust" talking to Booker T and his wife Sharmell Sullivan he told Booker T to unleash his "inner-freak" alongside Ted DiBiase, Eugene, Mae Young, The Fabulous Moolah, and Gene Snitsky =Wrestling facts=

Previous managers
*Terri Runnels *Gertrude Vachon Luna Vachon *Alicia Webb Ryan Shamrock *Brian Heffron Blue Meanie *Johnny Glitter *Virgil Runnels, Jr. Dusty Rhodes

Quotes
*''"And you will never forget the name of (takes a deep breath)... Goldust!"'' *''"I am the Prince of Perversion"''

Nicknames
*The American Nightmare *The Bizarre One *Lonestar *The Natural *The Prince of Perversion *The Prince of Purr

Finishing and signature moves
*'''''Curtain Call''''' (Suplex#Suplex slam Suplex slam, DDT (professional wrestling)#Lifting inverted DDT lifting inverted DDT or Neckbreaker#Shoulder neckbreaker shoulder neckbreaker) *''Shattered Dreams / The Golden Globes / Dust Buster'' (Professional wrestling attacks#Low blow Cornered running kick to opponent's groin) *''Shock Treatment / Director's Cut'' (Powerslam#Scoop powerslam Powerslam pin) *''The Oscar'' (Professional wrestling throws#Mat slam Mat slam) *Professional wrestling throws#Bulldog Bulldog *Professional wrestling throws#Inverted atomic drop Inverted atomic drop *''Butt Butt'' (Professional wrestling attacks#Hip attack Hip attack) *Professional wrestling attacks#Bronco buster Bronco buster (with pelvic thrusts) *Backbreaker#Catapult backbreaker Catapult backbreaker *Gold Plated Weapons ( In hardcore matches, Goldust would use weapons spray painted in gold) = Championships and accomplishments = *'''World Wrestling Entertainment''' :*3-time WWE Intercontinental Championship WWF Intercontinental Champion :*1-time WWE World Tag-Team Championship WWE World Tag-Team Champion (with Booker Huffman Booker T) :*9-time WWE Hardcore Championship WWF Hardcore Champion *'''World Championship Wrestling''' :*2-time WCW United States Championship WCW United States Heavyweight Champion :*2-time WCW World Tag Team Championship WCW World Tag Team Champion (once with Barry Windham, once with Ricky Steamboat) :*1-time WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Champion (with Matt Borne Big Josh and Tom Zenk) *'''National Wrestling Alliance''' :*1-time NWA World Tag Team Championship NWA World Tag Team Champion (with Barry Windham) *'''Florida Championship Wrestling''' :*1-time NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship FCW Heavyweight Champion :*1-time NWA Florida Tag Team Championship FCW Tag Team Champion (with Mike Graham) *'''Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling''' :*1-time TCW Heavyweight Championship TCW Heavyweight Champion *'''American Combat Wrestling''' :*1-time ACW Heavyweight Champion *'''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''' :*PWI ranked him # '''126''' of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked # '''87''' of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Barry Windham. :*Runnels won the 1991 PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Award as Dustin Rhodes. *'''Wrestling Observer Newsletter''' :*1989 Rookie of the Year :*1991 Most Improved Wrestler

Championship succession
{{start box}} | colspan = 3 align = center |'''WWE Intercontinental Championship''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Scott Hall Razor Ramon''' | width="40%" align="center" | | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Vacant''' |- First | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Vacant''' | width="40%" align="center" | Second | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Anthony Norris Ahmed Johnson''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Brian Gerard James The Road Dogg''' | width="40%" align="center" | Third | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Charles Wright (wrestler) The Godfather''' |- | colspan = 3 align = center | '''World Tag-Team Championship WWE World Tag Team Championship (RAW)''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Chris Jericho and Jason Reso Christian''' | width="40%" align="center" | First, with Booker T | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Darren Matthews William Regal and Lance Storm''' |- | colspan = 3 align = center | '''WWE Hardcore Championship''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Maven Huffman Maven''' | width="40%" align="center" | First | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Allen Sarven Al Snow''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Darren Matthews William Regal''' | width="40%" align="center" | Second | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Scott Levy Raven''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Darren Matthews William Regal''' | width="40%" align="center" | Third | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Scott Levy Raven''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Matthew Hyson Spike Dudley''' | width="40%" align="center" | Fourth | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Mark Lamonica Bubba Ray Dudley''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Matthew Hyson Spike Dudley''' | width="40%" align="center" | Fifth | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Mark Lamonica Bubba Ray Dudley''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Matthew Hyson Spike Dudley''' | width="40%" align="center" | Sixth | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Mark Lamonica Bubba Ray Dudley''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Mark Lamonica Bubba Ray Dudley''' | width="40%" align="center" | Seventh | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Scott Levy Raven''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Mark Lamonica Bubba Ray Dudley''' | width="40%" align="center" | Eight | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Scott Levy Raven''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Tom Laughlin (wrestler) Tommy Dreamer''' | width="40%" align="center" | Ninth | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Michael Manna Steven Richards''' |- | colspan = 3 align = center | '''TCW Heavyweight Championship''' |- | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''Scotty Anton''' | width="40%" align="center" | First | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''Scotty Anton''' {{end box}} = External links = {{wikiquote}}
- WWE Profile Category:1966 births Runnels, Virgil III Category:Living people Runnels, Virgil III Category:American professional wrestlers Runnels, Virgil III Category:People from Texas Runnels, Virgil III he:גולדסט

*** Shopping-Tip: Virgil Runnels III