CMWaters
Ozymandius
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Post by CMWaters on Sept 18, 2022 19:52:39 GMT -5
I posed a similar question about Sean Waltman a while back, and with his recent match against Claudio for the ROH Title might as well explore here:
In the various promotions and various looks that he has gone through over the years, do you think that Dustin Runnels (or Dustin Rhodes if you prefer) should have had a shot at being World Champion at least once?
Hard for me to judge entirely, but two periods I could see:
1)Early days Goldust. Yes, good portions of that gimmick haven't aged well at all, but after his first I.C. title run I could (ignoring any backstage stuff) see him being the one to unseat Shawn Michaels as champion in place of Sid or Vader. Hint without outright saying it at the fact he beat a friend of Shawn's for a title, thus planned to do a "sequel".
2)Sometime in the post Jack Swagger World Heavyweight Title days. Because it was seen then as the lesser of the two World Titles, but still a World Title. A good thank-you run for Dustin, even if it wasn't a long reign.
Anyone else have any ideas or different opinions?
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tirtefaa
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Post by tirtefaa on Sept 18, 2022 21:05:57 GMT -5
I mean you named both of the times I would have probably made him champion. Early Goldust was so good that by the time the rest of the company caught up to him, they had already found ways to water him down and turning him face in late 1996 didn't help, but I still think if anyone should have dethroned Shawn Michaels first title reign, he would have been my pick.
His late career resurgence was well received, and since you mentioned Swagger...I would have been fine with him being the one to end that reign. However, another possibility would be in 2002 or 2003 during the Reign of Terror. Both he and Booker were both super over, and I would have been okay with Goldust getting a quick run with the title as a face in 2002, or getting a run in 2003 if Booker won the title at WrestleMania, leading to Goldust turning heel on him.
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Post by wildojinx on Sept 18, 2022 21:29:16 GMT -5
I can see him getting an upset win against Vader for the WCW title in 1993, but it would likely be as a transition champ, not a full fledged run.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Sept 18, 2022 23:50:01 GMT -5
Yeah, he could have. I'd have reservations about doing it at some points in his career due to his sobriety, but otherwise, yeah, he absolutely could have.
Hell, I honestly wouldn't hate it if TK had him win the ROH title, or if Billy had him win the NWA one through some circumstance or another.
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Post by Sir Woodrow on Sept 18, 2022 23:50:32 GMT -5
Should've won the ECW belt some time in 2009
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CMWaters
Ozymandius
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Post by CMWaters on Sept 19, 2022 2:05:15 GMT -5
Yeah, he could have. I'd have reservations about doing it at some points in his career due to his sobriety, but otherwise, yeah, he absolutely could have. Hell, I honestly wouldn't hate it if TK had him win the ROH title, or if Billy had him win the NWA one through some circumstance or another. Would Dustin winning it make him the oldest ROH champ at 53 if they did decide to do so? |
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Sept 19, 2022 2:08:52 GMT -5
Yeah, he could have. I'd have reservations about doing it at some points in his career due to his sobriety, but otherwise, yeah, he absolutely could have. Hell, I honestly wouldn't hate it if TK had him win the ROH title, or if Billy had him win the NWA one through some circumstance or another. Would Dustin winning it make him the oldest ROH champ at 53 if they did decide to do so? I think so? It'd be fairly close to PCO's age on winning it, so if Dustin would be oldest, it'd only be narrowly, depending on when this would happen. |
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Sept 19, 2022 2:28:44 GMT -5
There have been multiple times he could have and he has had the chops for it from an early stage
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Post by ThankGodForSidJustice on Sept 19, 2022 4:29:56 GMT -5
I think he might have been on a trajectory to win one as The Natural in WCW as obviously he had really good connections and to his credit he was also really producing in the ring. It seemed like in 93 in particular they were kind of setting him up to be kind of the next guy on the face side. Even if he didn't quite get to that level I don't think him getting a Ron Simmons type reign wouldn't have been that out of the question where he gets a surprise win on Vader or Flair then loses it back in like five months.
Hogan coming in eliminated any chance of him being champion as he was obviously going to be the #1 face and have a stranglehold on the title. The Studd Stable dragged on way too long and I think he lost a lot of luster as a result which was obvious at the end of his run with him losing on two straight PPV's to the Blacktop Bully. It was clear he was going nowhere and getting fired was really the best thing that could've happened to him not because it led to him going to the WWF and getting a character that would be really successful for him but if he stayed in WCW I really don't know where he would've fit in anymore.
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Post by Futureraven: Beelzebruv on Sept 19, 2022 8:55:03 GMT -5
I think he might have been on a trajectory to win one as The Natural in WCW as obviously he had really good connections and to his credit he was also really producing in the ring. It seemed like in 93 in particular they were kind of setting him up to be kind of the next guy on the face side. Even if he didn't quite get to that level I don't think him getting a Ron Simmons type reign wouldn't have been that out of the question where he gets a surprise win on Vader or Flair then loses it back in like five months. Hogan coming in eliminated any chance of him being champion as he was obviously going to be the #1 face and have a stranglehold on the title. The Studd Stable dragged on way too long and I think he lost a lot of luster as a result which was obvious at the end of his run with him losing on two straight PPV's to the Blacktop Bully. It was clear he was going nowhere and getting fired was really the best thing that could've happened to him not because it led to him going to the WWF and getting a character that would be really successful for him but if he stayed in WCW I really don't know where he would've fit in anymore. Think about an alternate timeline where Starrcade 95 is headlined by "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes v "Stunning" Steve Austin |
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Post by Natural Born Farmer on Sept 19, 2022 9:06:14 GMT -5
First exposure to him was as the Golddust character, and if he was ever going to be elevated to that level that was the time.
He did wrestle Shawn Michaels for the title at a house show I went to so I imagine it was at least considered, but maybe they didn't want the static that would come with a character designed to evoke gay panic as their top guy.
If he'd had his first run as Golddust even a few years later I think there would've been a good chance of at least a short reign.
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Post by Stu on Sept 19, 2022 9:48:28 GMT -5
Imagine if things still operates like they did in the territory days and guys would get championship runs just so the top guy could win it back at a big show. So many random guys would have title runs.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2022 10:08:18 GMT -5
Yeah, he could have. I'd have reservations about doing it at some points in his career due to his sobriety, but otherwise, yeah, he absolutely could have. Hell, I honestly wouldn't hate it if TK had him win the ROH title, or if Billy had him win the NWA one through some circumstance or another. Dustin seems like a humble guy who just wants to be that elder statesman that trains/works with/puts over the younger talent, despite being in insane shape and still being able to go at a higher rate than many that are half of his age. Honestly, Dustin is a much better technician than he's given credit for. I could see him winning the Pure title |
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Sept 19, 2022 10:35:03 GMT -5
He has the tools, but he's one of those guys where the timing has always been wrong, there's always been someone just a little bit hotter or with more upside waiting in the wings. If he were sober, he absolutely would have gotten a run as Champion of Smackdown around the time they were trying to make main eventers from the likes of Bradshaw.
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tafkaga
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Post by tafkaga on Sept 19, 2022 12:30:42 GMT -5
I love Dustin, but I don't see it.
Dustin in WCW was an upper midcard guy, very comfortable around the US title. I don't see him ever being a Sting, Luger, Magnum, or a Dusty Sr.
Goldust, maybe a short run, but I don't see him ever being a World title guy. I see the Goldust gimmick having a lot of parallels with the Undertaker gimmick. They can run him as a heel, but people are going to cheer him until they have no choice but to turn him babyface, and I don't think a babyface Goldust works as World champion.
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Post by Jindrak Mark on Sept 19, 2022 12:58:48 GMT -5
Not really. Every time when I could see it being a possibility there are usually always other people I'd have in front of him for the spot. He was in multiple companies throughout multiple eras and he was basically always a midcarder. Sometimes he was low-midcard, sometimes midcard and sometimes upper-midcard but he never felt like a main eventer to me. At best I could see Goldust being a challenger for HBK on an In Your House in 1996 but I wouldn't have put the title on him. Sid was the perfect guy to end that reign.
Even the taking JBL's spot in 2004 idea. I'd have given RVD, Booker or Rey the title then before I'd put it on Goldust. They were more over and felt like bigger stars yet they all had to wait until 2006 to finally get a world title.
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Post by Denny Zen is Cooking™ on Sept 19, 2022 13:32:43 GMT -5
He has the tools, but he's one of those guys where the timing has always been wrong, there's always been someone just a little bit hotter or with more upside waiting in the wings. If he were sober, he absolutely would have gotten a run as Champion of Smackdown around the time they were trying to make main eventers from the likes of Bradshaw. That's exactly what I came in here to say. It just felt like the timing was never right. Dustin had the pedigree, the size, the look and the skills to be a World Champion throughout his career. But in 1991-1994 WCW it felt like he had worked his way up to that level, then Hogan showed up and crowded out the main event scene and he decided to blade against Blacktop Bully and get fired. Original Goldust was a great character, but it was never going to win the World Championship. By the time WWF/E had gotten to a point where it was feasible for him to move back up to main event level his demons prevented that from happening. I would love to see him get one last "thank you" run with either the AEW or ROH championship before he retires. He's had one of the great careers in wrestling history to never be world champ for sure. |
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No Longer a Produceman
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Post by No Longer a Produceman on Sept 19, 2022 16:44:10 GMT -5
Sorry but not everyone is cut out to be world champ.
I've just never seen Dustin as World champ material.
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Post by The Rick Jericho on Sept 19, 2022 18:35:02 GMT -5
If Goldust didn't drop the the IC title and beat Ahmed clean, yeah, I can see Michaels vs. Goldust in a title vs. title match with Goldust winning.
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Post by simplydurhamcalling on Sept 19, 2022 18:38:52 GMT -5
Looking back I can't see a point where I think it would have fit naturally (excuse the pun). He was certainly talented enough but just never quite felt like he was at that level and I think it's mostly due to the gimmicks he had running at the time. As good as Goldust is/was it never quite felt like World Champion material to me.
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