WWF Debut (1990-1991)
Runnels debuted as a fan favorite in the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1990, wrestling as Dustin Rhodes. His first match in the WWF (now WWE) was against
Paul Diamond on September 21, 1990.
[13] In December 1990, Rhodes defeated
Ted DiBiase in a televised ten-minute challenge match. On January 19, 1991, at the
Royal Rumble, Rhodes and his father
Dusty lost to Ted DiBiase and
Virgil in a tag team bout, and both left immediately after.
[14]
Debut of Goldust (1995–1996)[edit]
In August 1995, Runnels returned to the WWF, wrestling as a then
villain Goldust, nicknamed "the bizarre one" because of his somewhat spooky, mysterious and sexually suggestive mannerisms and presence. Using in-ring psychology to his advantage, Goldust often used lewd and flirtatious mind games to anger, confuse, and distract his opponents. He utilized such tactics as groping and excessive affection towards his opponent in the midst of delivering his onslaught. To that end, one of Goldust's trademarks is his exaggerated, suggestively breathy inhalation whilst caressing his own body; this all ends in him exhaling through a vicious biting sound at his adversary, intended to startle. The character was portrayed as a
drag queen obsessed with films and everything gold, which is a parody of the
Oscars statuette. Under the gimmick, Runnels wears a predominately gold jumpsuit (with tidbits of other colors, such as white and black); black and gold face paint; and during entrances and promos, a glittery gold robe and a platinum blonde wig over his short platinum blonde hair. Years later, Runnels stated that
Vince McMahon called him and offered him the gimmick and mentioned "
androgynous" several times; Runnels, wanting a separate identity from his father at the time, promptly accepted without knowing what the word "androgynous" meant, then promptly looked it up in the dictionary after getting off the phone with McMahon and shocked to see what it meant said to himself "What did I get myself in to?"
[15] Runnels himself admitted that the first few months of the gimmick were uncomfortable for him as it didn't match his personality at all, but decided to work with what was given to him and "run with it".
[15]
Goldust won his debut match on October 22, 1995, against
Marty Jannetty at the
In Your House 4 pay-per-view. He defeated the departing
Bam Bam Bigelow in Bigelow's last WWF match at the
Survivor Series.
[1] He then feuded with
Razor Ramon, whom he stalked and sent messages to throughout late 1995. The feud culminated at the
Royal Rumble on January 21, 1996, where Goldust defeated Ramon for the
Intercontinental Championship due to interference from the
1–2–3 Kid. This match also marked the debut of Goldust's
valet, Marlena, portrayed by his then wife
Terri. With her seductive, coolly unconcerned and mysterious character, Marlena complemented Goldust. Her gimmick consisted of sitting at ringside in a director's chair during Goldust's matches, advising him while smoking large brown cigars. A rematch between Goldust and Ramon at
WrestleMania XII was canceled after Ramon was suspended, with Goldust instead fighting
Roddy Piper in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl.
[16] At the end of the fight, Piper stripped Goldust of his ring attire to reveal him wearing women's
lingerie; Runnels revealed in 2018 (while making jokes at his own
butt) that it was his idea just three days before WrestleMania XII to wear a
slip and
thong underneath his ring attire and to have Piper strip him down, getting the approval from McMahon.
[15]
Goldust defended his Intercontinental Championship in bouts against
Savio Vega and
The Ultimate Warrior before losing to
Ahmed Johnson at
King of the Ring on June 23, 1996. In August 1996, Goldust briefly gained control over
Mankind and feuded with
The Undertaker. His attention soon turned to
Marc Mero and his then wife
Sable. Goldust and Marlena attempted to get Sable to join their team, but Mero won the feud and kept her by his side. He also had a
Ladder match with
Shawn Michaels at internet pay-per-view (iPPV)
Xperience for the
WWF Championship but lost the match.
In December 1996 Goldust entered a feud with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, when Helmsley began flirting with Goldust's valet: Marlena. This feud lead to the debut of Chyna as Helmsley's new bodyguard, who would manhandle Marlena and cause sympathy for Marlena & Goldust. This marked the first time Goldust changed into a fan favorite rather than the villainous character he was prior.
Various gimmicks (1997–1999)[edit]
In May 1997, Goldust revealed his identity as Dustin Runnels, the son of Dusty Rhodes. In the summer and fall of that year, he joined other wrestlers in their conflict with
The Hart Foundation, feuding in particular with
Brian Pillman, to whom he lost the services of Marlena for thirty days. Just before the thirty days were up, Pillman died of heart disease hours before the
Badd Blood event on October 5, 1997. In November 1997, Goldust split with Marlena and refused to cooperate with his
Survivor Series teammates, which once again turned him into a heel. This led to a feud with
Vader in December 1997 and the appearance of The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust (a reference to
Prince), managed by
Luna Vachon. He began mimicking celebrities and fellow wrestlers with characters such as "
Chynadust", "
Dust Lovedust", "
Dustydust", "
Hunterdust", "
Flashdust", "
Marilyn Mansondust", "
Sabledust", and "
Vaderdust" in early 1998.
[14]
By June 1998, Goldust feuded with
Val Venis, who had been involved with Terri during their separation. Now going by his real name, Dustin Runnels began speaking out (mostly in taped vignettes) on the increasingly edgy WWF product and promoting alternatives to watching the show such as reading the Bible. These vignettes were sponsored by the fictional group, "Evangelists Against Television, Movies and Entertainment", the acronym for which reads "EATME" – a thinly veiled joke on the WWF's part.
[17] Runnels declared himself a
born again Christian, alluding to "his" return, and walking through the crowd with signs reading "he's coming back!". While the return of
Christ was clearly implied, Runnels was in fact referencing the return of the Goldust gimmick, which he reprised in October 1998 against Val Venis and then in November 1998, he began feuding with
Jeff Jarrett over the attention of his manager,
Debra.
In early 1999, Goldust feuded with
Al Snow, upon stealing Head, Snow's mascot, and
The Blue Meanie, who had recently renamed himself "Bluedust" and adopted many of Goldust's mannerisms. After Goldust defeated Meanie at
St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Meanie became Goldust's apprentice. After
Ryan Shamrock became Goldust's valet, Meanie and Shamrock began vying for Goldust's attention. In the same time period, Goldust won the Intercontinental Championship again from
Road Dogg and then lost it to
The Godfather two weeks later. He would team up with Blue Meanie having a few matches against the
Hardy Boyz until Goldust left the company in June 1999.
