Dusty Rhodes

Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. was billed as the son of a plumber, and he leaned into it. Where other wrestlers chiseled themselves into Greek statues, Rhodes kept the everyman build and turned his interviews into electric wire, spinning the "American Dream" persona into something crowds believed in. He won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times, collected United States and tag-team gold across Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW, and became one of seven men inducted into every major wrestling hall of fame. After he hung it up, he worked backstage in WWE's NWA developmental territory, shaping the next generation. His sons Dustin and Cody both became wrestlers. Vince McMahon said no one ever personified charisma quite like him. Dusty Rhodes died June 11, 2015, at sixty-nine.