WWE News: Update On The Cause Of Death For WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes


On Thursday, it was reported that a tragic death occurred in the world of pro-wrestling. WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes passed away at the young age of just 69-years-old. Dusty was a legend in the business and an icon of the “sports entertainment” side of wrestling. You would never mistake Rhodes for a great technical performer, but as a talker and entertainer, he was one of the best to ever lace up his boots. He also may be the only big man to ever make polka dots work, especially in a singlet.

He had legendary rivalries with people like fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and helped to make NWA a bigger national power than it already was. After his in-ring days, Dusty Rhodes went into booking and developing talent. He helped make WCW into what it was early on and was a big force during the Monday Night Wars. Eventually, Rhodes made his way to WWE, where he stayed until passing away yesterday.

It was unknown for some time what the cause of death was. However, TMZ was able to uncover what actually happened.

At exactly 5:56 a.m. Wednesday morning, emergency personnel were called to the home of Dusty Rhodes in Orlando, Florida. Rhodes took a fall and was hurt pretty bad from it. Rhodes was then rushed to a nearby hospital, where he ended up passing away on Thursday morning due to “numerous complications.”

There was some speculation that he hit his head, ultimately causing the death. However, that does not appear to be the case. It would appear that he landed on his back or somewhere similar. Rhodes’ kidneys shut down, and he became dehydrated, according to the Wrestling Observer.

TMZ also reports that family members rushed to be by his side the moment they learned the WWE Legend was in the hospital.

Legends remembered him after he passed, but younger talent in the business did as well. People like Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and many more WWE NXT stars shared personal stories.

Rhodes Family

Ric Flair, potentially his greatest rival, said about Dusty, “Today I lost one of my greatest opponents and greatest friends. He was the definition of heart and soul and I’m honored to have shared the ring with him countless times.He became the ‘American Dream’ because wrestling needed a hero they could respect, and he was the man for the job. Dusty Rhodes, I will miss you my mentor and friend.”

Sami Zayn wrote about Dusty Rhodes and what he meant to him via Twitlonger, as well as a fantastic story about Kevin Owens’ first time in the WWE Performance Center.

To pay respect to Dusty, Owens decided to not only change his Twitter name to “Kip Stern” (see Sami story to know why), but he also decided to honor Dusty by wearing polka dots at the WWE NXT live event which you can see below.

— Kip Stern (@FightOwensFight) June 12, 2015

Even TNA President Dixie Carter wrote about the death of The Dream, saying, “I am just heartbroken to know @WWEDustyRhodes has gone to the big ranch in the sky. You will always be so special to me Dream!!”

At the end of the day, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes meant a lot to several WWE Superstars and legends. However, he meant a lot to the fans as well. Most fans were gutted to find out he passed away. He was also very young even still, so passing away was not something one would ever think about with him. He had also been doing better with his health as recently as last week, which makes the passing even more shocking to people who knew him. Rhodes leaves behind his two sons, Dustin and Cody, known a Goldust and Stardust respectively by WWE fans. Both have Dusty’s gift of gab.

His impact on the business is too much to even comprehend. He did a ton of things before becoming a big-time member of WWE. Once he arrived, he became bigger behind the scenes than he was in front. The son of a plumber, Rhodes became an icon and accomplished “The American Dream.”

Dusty Rhodes — father, teacher, and legend. He will be missed.

[IMG Credits: Kevin Owens Twitter, phillyvoice.com, wrestling-edge.com]

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