Dusty Rhodes Dead

     Former professional wrestler Dusty Rhodes died on Thursday at the age of 69. Rhodes, known for his gimmick as The American Dream, was one of the most popular wrestlers in history and won the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship on three occasions.
     Rhodes was a staple and the top box-office draw for Florida Championship Wrestling during the 1970s and 1980s. He performed on local television and at venues in South Florida including the Hollywood Sportatorium, the Knight Center, the West Palm Beach Auditorium and the Orange Bowl. Rhodes held the Florida Heavyweight Championship belt numerous times from 1978 to 1983.
     Following his stint in Florida, Rhodes moved on to Mid-Atlantic Wrestling to work for Jim Crockett Promotions. He would appear regularly on Superstation WTBS in Atlanta during the mid-1980s as the top fan favorite. Rhodes would win almost every championship belt in the organization which included the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the United States Championship, the NWA Television Championship and the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with the Road Warriors.
     His best year was in 1986 when he captured the NWA Heavyweight Championship from Nature Boy Ric Flair. He would hold the belt for just several weeks during his third reign as champion before Flair regained it. Rhodes was involved in a War Games match at the Orange Bowl in July 1986 which had over 50,000 in attendance. His team consisting of him, Nikita Koloff and the Road Warriors defeated The Four Horsemen in that match.
     Rhodes had two stints with what is now known as World Wrestling Entertainment. He joined the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1977. Rhodes battled Superstar Billy Graham for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in a feud, but was unable to capture the title.
     He would rejoin that organization then known as the World Wrestling Federation in 1989 and never won any of their titles when he left in 1991. Rhodes was known to wear black trunks that had yellow dots on them during this tenure.