Director, producer discuss ‘Biography: WWE Legends — The American Dream Dusty Rhodes’ for A&E

Championship Wrestling from Florida under the direction and tutelage of the late, great Eddie Graham is where “The American Dream” persona of Dusty Rhodes was born

But there is so much more to the story — that one and many others.

Robert Liano and Tony Cocuzza worked on a very interesting and special project. They were instrumental parts of a team responsible for “Biography: WWE Legends — The American Dream Dusty Rhodes.”

It will premiere at 8 p.m. Sunday, April 9 on A&E.

About Dusty Rhodes

Dusty and legendary announcer Gordon Solie were the Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell of professional wrestling. Those fans in Florida, very lucky to witness greatness weekly on Saturday morning TV or at venues throughout the Sunshine State. i.e. Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Jacksonville Coliseum, Miami Beach Convention Center, Orlando/Eddie Graham Sports Stadium, National Guard Armory in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach Auditorium.

That all catapulted Big Dust into becoming a megastar, a legend, one of the true greats in front of the camera and behind the scenes in professional wrestling/sports entertainment.

The son of a plumber, he played a major role in society during the 1970s and 80s. He bridged the gap among races, creeds and colors, all supporting him, all supporting that American Dream. He made fans believe in him and that concept.

For the Charlotte, North Carolina-based Jim Crockett Promotions, he not only grew his stardom in front of the camera but also behind it. Before any WrestleManias, there was the NWA’s annual supershow Starrcade, a Dusty creation for JCP/NWA, birthed in 1983.

Starrcade was regarded by the NWA and WCW as their flagship event of the year, much like what WWE did with WrestleMania.

Originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view, Starrcade was ahead of its time under the JCP banner for the NWA from 1983 to 1987. Ted Turner’s WCW then branded it from 1988 to 2000. Of note, while with WCW, Dusty supported the move to have FSU All-American football great Ron Simmons become the first Black American to win the WCW world title.

A larger wrestler with some girth, Dusty Rhodes was an athlete. He wrestled smart; he could work a 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-minute match. Ahead of his time, Rhodes was a babyface, one of the most popular wrestlers of his era, but he wrestled like a heel, fighting fire with fire.

So many outstanding feuds in CWF including Harley Race, Ric Flair, King Curtis, Big Cat Ernie Ladd, Ox Baker, The Masked Assassin, The Prince of Darkness Kevin Sullivan and of course Terry Funk. In the NWA/WCW, he and Tully Blanchard delivered a very memorable feud and to heighten that effort, Dusty worked very well with Blanchard, Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson (The Four Horsemen).

Not only in the NWA, he secured title matches in the AWA against Nick Bockwinkel and in the WWWF/WWE against Superstar Billy Graham. Talk about a busy schedule, Dusty was ranked in the upper top 10 in the AWA, NWA and WWWF simultaneously.

And talk about the promos. He was one of the all-time best on mic. From Hard Times, Bull of the Woods (moooow), The Midnight Rider, Funky Like a Monkey, The Bionic Elbow, The Dusty Finish, Polka Dots, Starracde and more. His iconic rivalry and promos with Flair set the path for an entire industry, and he even beat The Nature Boy for one of his three NWA world title reigns.

That is “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.

What you may not know is he was a family man, Virgil Runnels Jr., and from family birthed four children, including two sons, who also became pro wrestlers/sports entertainers — the very athletic Dustin Rhodes, aka the eclectic Goldust and the charismatic, handsome Cody Rhodes, aka Stardust.

Dusty’s influence on the business is still seen today. He worked with many current WWE superstars when they were training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

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