19 WWE Easter Eggs, References And In-Jokes You Never Noticed-16

16. SummerSlam ’89, Royal Rumble ’90, And WrestleMania VI Had Three Dusty Rhodes Parodies On The Card

In the mid to late ’80s, the WWF was at war with Jim Crockett Promotions, which branded itself as the NWA on TBS and later turned into WCW. The booker (head of creative and producer of the television shows) and one of their top babyface stars was “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. An all-time great promo and babyface worker, he was well-known within the industry for his ego as a booker, with there being times where wrestlers had to reference him on promos even if they weren’t in storylines with him.

As a key member of the office for the opposition, the WWF loved taking shots at him. The first big one came in 1987 when Ted DiBiase started in the WWF as the Million Dollar Man. When he signed, he went out to dinner with Bobby Heenan and Pat Patterson. Pat broached the topic of naming DiBiase’s bodyguard/manservant, who you all know as (Wrestling Superstar) Virgil.

Dusty’s real name is Virgil Riley Runnels. Heenan explained the thought process in DiBiase’s book: “At the time, Dusty Rhodes was the booker in Atlanta. He was burying everybody who was working in New York. So they needed a name for DiBiase’s servant. I said ‘How about Virgil?’”

The following year, in 1988, the WWF introduced a new gimmick for the One Man Gang: After undergoing a transformation where he found his “African roots,” he became “The African Dream” Akeem. He danced, wore a dashiki, and spoke in jive. Note the nickname: Yes, “The African Dream” Akeem was supposed to be making fun of “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes being a white guy who “acted black.”

Then, in 1989, Dusty Rhodes himself jumped to the WWF, only to be turned into something of a comedy figure as “The Common Man.” Stripping down his “man of the people” persona to an odd caricature, he was introduced on TV with videos where he worked “common man” jobs such as a plumber and a garbage collector. And he wrestled in really unflattering polka dots for some reason. And was romantically involved with a 55 year-old woman who looked even older.

These three characters co-existed in the WWF for well over a year, and if you want to go looking on WWE Network, three pay-per-view events including all of them: SummerSlam ’89, Royal Rumble ’90, and WrestleMania VI (Akeem wasn’t on Survivor Series ’89 and no Saturday Night’s Main Event episode has all three). Feels kind of like overkill, doesn’t it?