Cross Rhodes
Goldust, Out of The Darkness
Dustin Rhodes
Published: 2010
Pages: 225
Synopsis: The unusual life story of Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes.
She lost it. She started screaming and telling me that she was going to sleep with Dakota. By then I had had more than enough. I said "I can't do this anymore. Get out right now."
As I was getting her things together and stuffing them into a bag, she continued screaming. I dragged her out of the bedroom where I had been trying to get Dakota back to sleep and put her bags outside the door. She was fighting to prevent me from throwing her out of the room. As soon as I got the door open, I eased her out and that was it. Or at least that was it until the police arrived.
My daughter was in the other room as I was trying to explain what happened. I never hit the woman or did anything at all violent. All I did was ease her out of the room. They didn't want to hear a word I had to say. It turned out that she had multiple drugs and alcohol in her body, things I didn't even know about. She was completely out of control.
Dustin Rhodes is one of those wrestlers that has been in the business forever; as the "Natural" son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes; 7even (very briefly) in WCW; as Black Reign in TNA and most recently having a career renaissance in AEW. Having said that, when most people talk about him, there's only one name that you'll never forget.... (deep breath) Goldust. Shockingly, The Bizarre One reigned for the better part of nearly 20 years, which is a hell of a lot longer than most people would have expected.
Rhodes' story is unique, and he has a knack for telling his tale in a straightforward and simple fashion. From being the Son of a Son of a Plumber who didn't see his famous father a lot, to moving up through the independent scene to semistardom, to donning the wig and gold spandex of his most controversial character to date, Rhodes gives a good (albeit brief) synopsis of his life so far.
Of course, the meat of this book (as suggested in the title) is Rhodes' struggles with alcohol and prescription pills, a concept that shouldn't be foreign to most wrestling fans.
However, Rhodes tackles the subject head-on, never blaming the wrestling industry, his father, Vince McMahon or anyone else for his addictions. Instead, you get a candid look at how these substances nearly ruined his life and destroyed his relationship with ex-wife Terri Runnels.
Having gone through rehab and trumpeting his sobriety, Rhodes emerged a much healthier person, as this book demonstrates. Sure, he's unlikely to headline WrestleMania at this stage in his career, but he's shown in recent years that he has a lot more still to give.
Rating: Oh Hell Yeah! Frankly, I would have liked to read more about his life, particularly in his WCW days, but that's a minor complaint. What you're left with is an inspiring story by a capable author, one that thankfully didn't end up in (ahem) shattered dreams.