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In 1988, WCW did the unthinkable and fired "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. This was a shocking moment because, for most of the decade of the 80s, there was not a more popular star in the NWA and Crockett Promotions than Dusty. He not only won over the hearts of fans in the company, but he won several titles and booked the company for a period of time. However, it was during his time as the head booker that Dusty stepped over the line and lost his job as a result.
Dusty Rhodes was a major star in the 1980s for Jim Crockett Promotions. His work with men like Harley Race and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair go down in history as some of the best feuds in NWA history. The Rhodes feud with the Four Horsemen had so many iconic moments that it rivals anything done anywhere else in the world in that era. However, after Turner Broadcasting bought WCW from Crockett Promotions, new rules and regulations went into place. This was where Dusty run afoul and learned that no one was above the new television network's rules - not even the American Dream.
RELATED: The Tragic Death & Legacy Of "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, Explained
Turner Broadcasting Set New Rules And Regulations For WCW
It was important to understand that when Turner Broadcasting bought WCW, along with the purchase came new rules and regulations. While Crockett Promotions was old-school wrestling at its finest, Turner was a major broadcast television company and that came with the infamous Standards & Practices. This meant that Turner had to watch out for sponsors and ensure that what they showed on TV was family-friendly, especially for its spot on Saturday night television. Crockett Promotions never had a problem with bad language or sexual situations. However, there was the increased violence of NWA wrestling - and the blood.
Dusty Rhodes rose up the ranks in the 1970s with the understanding that blood feuds sell tickets, and that was not what Turner Broadcasting wanted to see. One of the biggest new rules was there was no more blading on TV and blood was out the window. Years later, WWE put an end to blading and bleeding on television, and fans rejected this instantly. However, WCW put an end to blood on TV over a decade before WWE did it to appease advertisers. Despite the new rules and the orders from up high to eliminate blood from TV, Rhodes seemed to think he knew better, and he ignored the edict.
RELATED: Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes - 10 Things Fans Forget About Their Feud
Dusty Rhodes Was Booking A Feud With A Freshly Turned Road Warriors
Dusty Rhodes was the head booker for WCW in 1988 when Turner Broadcasting bought the company. He was in the process of booking an angle when the beloved Road Warriors turned heel and attacked him. This was a huge moment with the formerly beloved tag team betraying the most popular wrestler in the company. Rhodes knew how to sell angles, and he had done it well for years. When he feuded with the Four Horsemen, they created an angle where they attacked him in the parking lot and broke his arm. It was like nothing done before. When the Four Horsemen broke Ricky Morton's nose, the Rock 'N' Roll Express star believably got a world title shot.
Rhodes wanted to go the same route with the Road Warriors. He knew fans loved the Road Warriors, and it would take a lot for them to turn against them. That is why he felt they needed to do something gruesome and violent to him. The Road Warriors wore their spikes to the ring as part of their wrestling attire. This gave Rhodes the idea to have them use the spikes and bust him open. This worked as fans turned on the Road Warriors during the attack. However, Turner didn't care and stripped Rhodes of his head booker status before outright firing him from the company for bleeding on television.
Jim Ross said that he had no idea why Dusty did this, knowing it was against Turner's rules at that time. "I just figured he was gonna run a bluff," Ross remembered. "He's gonna see if they could get by with it, and you could apologize and tell them 'I'm not gonna do it again' and then still benefit off the angle." The problem is that Turner never gave Dusty a chance, and they fired him quickly. Ross remembered it was a sad moment for the company itself, but he said that Rhodes should have known better. For his part, Dusty Rhodes went to WWE and did the embarrassing polka-dot phase of his career.
