On a recent edition of his “The ARN Show” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson discussed working with Dustin Rhodes in WCW, Ricky Steamboat’s retirement in 1994, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Dustin Rhodes’ in-ring work: “Dustin was like an old-school throwback. But he was tall, and he moved around that ring really well. He was strong enough to bounce you around if he needed to. I mean, he just — he didn’t have a weightlifter body, but he was like Barry Windham. He was strong enough that if he needed to suplex you, he could suplex you. If he needed to stand you straight up, vertical suplex, he was strong enough to do that.”
On mentoring Dustin Rhodes: “It means a lot, because he’s not bullsh**ting. All I did was pass on what his dad did for me, you know? I was not a big star in the business when Dusty first started using me with Jim Crockett Promotions. And then working with me in single matches. You know, there’s a trust level there. So, I wanted to pass that on to Dustin. The main thing after we shot that angle on TV that I wanted Dustin to understand that, ‘We’re going to set it up where the first time I come through the ropes and you come through the ropes legally, somebody gets their a*s whipped. And that somebody is me. And go until you blow up.’ Cause it’s not like, ‘Come in and start running high spots.’ It’s, ‘Come in and just beat the holy hell out of me. If I roll out, come get me, throw me back in. Kick my a*s. If I roll out again. I’ll let you know when I need to get away.’”
On whether Dustin could’ve gotten over as The Natural instead of Goldust in WWE: “No, because he wouldn’t have gotten pushed. Everything was showbiz. And that time, Vince made him [a] showbiz character. That’s how he saw him. Dustin Rhodes did not — he didn’t exist, really.”
On Ricky Steamboat’s retirement in 1994: “A loss for the industry as a whole. You cannot replace Ricky Steamboat with anybody. I don’t care. There is nobody that you can replace him with. He had it all. Take ‘Steamboat vs.’ and write anybody down you want to beside him as an opponent, and he will make it work. He was just that good. He was as good as anybody’s ever been.”
