Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment. Runnels has also performed for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and is the son of Dusty Rhodes and half-brother of Cody Rhodes. 
Career
World Championship Wrestling (1991-1995)
In February 1991, Rhodes joined World Championship Wrestling, wrestling as "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes. He feuded with Larry Zbyszko until April 1991, when he refused to join Alexandra York's York Foundation, thus beginning a feud with Foundation member Terrence Taylor.
In October 1992, Rhodes and Barry Windham won the WCW World Tag Team Championship. One month later, Windham turned on Rhodes, beginning a feud. In January 1993, Rhodes won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. In the same month, he began a lengthy feud with Rick Rude that lasted until August. Rhodes lost the title to "Stunning" Steve Austin in December 1993.
In March 1994, Rhodes began feuding with Bunkhouse Buck and Col. Robert Parker. After Parker introduced Arn Anderson and Terry Funk as adversaries for Runnels, Runnels responded by bringing his father, a former enemy of Funk, to WCW. In December 1994, Parker introduced another opponent for Rhodes, The Blacktop Bully. In March 1995, Rhodes and The Blacktop Bully both bladed during a King of the Road match at the 1995 Uncensored pay-per-view after being instructed to by one person, they were fired as a result by another.
Return to the WWF (Second run; 1995-1999)
In September 1995, Rhodes returned to the World Wrestling Federation, wrestling under the name Goldust. The character was portrayed as being obsessed with films and gold. As Goldust, Runnels wrestled and won his debut match on October 22, 1995 against Marty Jannetty at In Your House in Canada. Runnels wrestled first in a gold and white and later a black and gold colored jumpsuit while wearing black and gold face paint and a platinum blonde wig over his short platinum blonde hair, with his appearance modeled after an Academy Award. Goldust utilized tactics such as groping his opponents and expressing affection towards them.  

Goldust initially feuded with Razor Ramon, who 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 his valet, Marlena, portrayed by his then-wife Terri. Marlena sat at ringside in a director's chair and advised Goldust while smoking a cigar. A rematch between Goldust and Ramon at WrestleMania XII was canceled after Ramon was suspended, with Goldust instead wrestling and losing to Rowdy Roddy Piper in a non-title "Hollywood Backlot Brawl".
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 wife Sable. Goldust and Marlena attempted to get Sable to join their team, but Mero won the feud and kept her by his side.
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 who he lost the services of Marlena for thirty days. Just before the thirty days were up, Pillman died hours before Badd Blood of heart disease on October 5, 1997. In November 1997, Goldust split with Marlena and refused to cooperate with his Survivor Series teammates. This led to a feud with Vader 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 May 1998, Rhodes burned his jumpsuit on television, thereby splitting with Luna and eventually getting involved with Terri Runnels once again. He feuded with Val Venis, who claimed to have impregnated Terri. After spending several months alluding to his return, Goldust reprized his gimmick in October 1998 and 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. Valentines 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. 
Throughout 1999, vignettes featuring footage of wrestlers began airing on television. The vignettes were originally referred to as GDTV (Goldust Television), with the intention of eventually revealing Goldust as the person behind them, but were renamed GTV after Rhodes requested and was granted a release from his contract.
Return to WCW (Second run; 1999-2001)
Rhodes returned to World Championship Wrestling in 1999, filming several vignettes for a fantastical, face-painted character named Seven. The character was dropped after Turner Standards and Practices expressed concern that it could be misinterpreted as a child abductor. Upon returning to WCW television, Rhodes removed his costume and delivered an interview in which he mocked unrealistic gimmicks. Rhodes began wrestling as "The American Nightmare" Dustin Rhodes, with his nickname a reference to his father's nickname, "The American Dream".
Rhodes feuded with Jeff Jarrett and Terry Funk before being suspended in 2000 due to an appearance on the WCW Live! Internet radio program in which he criticized WCW head writer Vince Russo, calling him a "sawed-off midget" and an "asshole". He returned to WCW television in February 2001, assisting his father in his feud with Jarrett and Ric Flair.
In March 2001, WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation, with the WWF neglecting to acquire Runnels' contract. In July 2001, Runnels began wrestling for his father's newly created Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling promotion, winning the TCW Heavyweight Championship.
Return to WWE (Third run; 2002-2003)
Rhodes returned to the World Wrestling Federation on January 20, 2002, taking part in the Royal Rumble and reprising his Goldust character. He feuded with Rob Van Dam before winning the Hardcore Championship on nine occasions. 
When the World Wrestling Federation was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment and the roster was divided into two brands, RAW and SmackDown, Goldust was assigned to the RAW brand, where he formed a tag team with Booker T. The duo engaged in numerous comedic vignettes, on one occasion hosting a segment entitled Booker T and Goldust at the Movies and delivering reviews of The Scorpion King, a film starring The Rock. In May 2002, Booker joined the nWo, with Goldust's request to join the faction rejected. In June 2002, Booker was ejected from the nWo by Shawn Michaels, sparking a feud between the nWo and Booker and Goldust. Booker and Goldust went on to compete in the tag team division, winning the World Tag Team Championship at Armageddon 2002 before splitting in January 2003.
Following the dissolution of the tag team, Rhodes developed a gimmick whereupon he contracted a stutter upon receiving an shock from a junction box during an attack at the hands of Batista and Randy Orton. Rhodes appeared sporadically thereafter, forming a tag team with Lance Storm in August 2003, and was released in December 2003 following a period of inactivity.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004-2005)
On February 4, 2004, he debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as "Lonestar" Dustin Rhodes, unsuccessfully challenging Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On February 18, Runnels and El Leon defeated Kevin Northcutt and Legend in a tag team bout. 
On March 7, in the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, he, wrestling as Dusty Rhodes, Jr., teamed up with his father and lost to Satoshi Kojima and Shinjiro Otani during a Hustle event.
In December 2004, he returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, once again wrestling as Dustin Rhodes. He feuded with Raven, Kid Kash, and Bobby Roode during his time there. His TNA contract expired in April 2005 and he chose not to renew it, leaving TNA.
Return to WWE (Fourth run; 2005-2006)
Rhodes returned to World Wrestling Entertainment on October 31, 2005 as Goldust, attacking Batista along with Vader. At Taboo Tuesday, Goldust and Vader unsuccessfully interfered in a Street Fight between Batista and Jonathan Coachman on behalf of Coachman. This run, however, only lasted two nights.
In January 2006, Goldust took part in the Royal Rumble and was assigned once again to the RAW brand until he was released from his WWE contract on  June 14, 2006 for no-showing an appearance.
All Japan Pro Wrestling (2007)
On January 28, 2007, it was announced that Rhodes would appear at the February 17, 2007 All Japan Pro Wrestling show in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. On February 15, Rhodes, identified as Gold Dustin, appeared at ringside during a match involving The Great Muta, resulting in a brawl between Rhodes and The Great Muta. On February 17, Rhodes and Jinsei Shinzaki were defeated by The Great Muta and Yoshihiro Tajiri in a tag team bout.
Return to TNA (Second run; 2007-2008)
On July 15, 2007, Dustin Rhodes returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at Victory Road and aligned himself with Christian Cage by helping him defeat "Wildcat" Chris Harris. In an interview on TNA Impact! conducted by Mike Tenay, Rhodes discussed accusations of having a split personality and stated that he was going to embrace it and let it out. TNA presented the interview as being an emotional breakdown on the part of Rhodes. On August 12 at Hard Justice, Rhodes debuted his new ring name, Black Reign, and a "new, darker and bizarre look". At Hard Justice, Chris Harris defeated Black Reign via DQ. The next week, the gimmick was explored even further, saying that Rhodes constantly switches between face "Dustin Rhodes" and heel "Black Reign". He was featured at Bound for Glory in a Monster's Ball match against Rhino, Abyss, and Raven. Reign challenged Abyss to a "Shop of Horrors" match at Genesis and lost. At Genesis, Reign's new partner, Rellik made his debut, attacking Abyss. At Turning Point, Black Reign and Rellik lost to Abyss and Raven in a Match of 10,000 Tacks. Originally this match was signed to be Abyss and Rhino vs. Rellik and Black Reign but, due to an injury, Rhino was replaced by Raven for this match.
On Impact!, he helped Rellik beat up Kaz. Later the same night, he appeared for an interview, as Dustin Rhodes, without his Black Reign make-up and stated that his "alter ego" has been scaring him since when he was a little kid. His interview was interrupted by the furious Kaz. Reign and his partner Rellik then began feuding with Eric Young and his new superhero gimmick Super Eric.
After 3 months of not showing up on TV Black Reign's profile was removed from the TNA roster page and he has been released from the company with a possibility to return in the future.
Return to WWE (Fifth run; 2008)
Rhodes is scheduled to return to the WWE at their annual pay-per-view event Cyber Sunday. He is one of the chosen three to be voted upon by fans to face Santino Marella for the WWE Intercontinental championship; also in the poll is The Honky Tonk Man and Roddy Piper.
In wrestling

Finishing and signature moves
As Black Reign
Blackout (Kneel out facebuster)
Schizophrenic (Vertical suplex lifted and dropped into a snap swinging neckbreaker)
Hangman's neckbreaker
Running stunner
Uppercut
Straight jacket choke
Signature foreign objects
Darkness Falls (Spike-tipped cane)
Misty the Rat
As Goldust
Curtain Call (Lifting falling reverse DDT, suplex slam - 1998-1999 or a scoop lift dropped into hangman's neckbreaker - 2002-2003)
Golden Globes / Shattered Dreams (Corner low blow kick)
Director's Cut / Shock Treatment (Snap scoop powerslam pin)
Oscar Treatment (Mat slam)
Butt Bump (Hip attack)
Bronco buster
Inverted atomic drop
Running one-handed bulldog
Uppercut
As Dustin Rhodes
Lonestar State of Mind (Lifting falling reverse DDT)
Snap scoop powerslam pin
One-handed bulldog - TNA; Used as a regular move in WCW
Uppercut
Inverted atomic drop
Managers
Bluedust
Dusty Rhodes
Terri Runnels
Ryan Shamrock
Luna Vachon
James Mitchell
Nicknames
The Natural (WCW; 1991-1995)
The Bizarre One (WWF; 1995-1999,2002)
The American Nightmare (WCW; 1999)
The Lone Star (WCW and TCW; 2001)
The Prince of Perversion / The Prince of Perv (WWE)
Theme music
"The Natural" (WCW) - WCW production theme
"Gold-Lust" (WWF/E) - Jim Johnston
"Black Reign Theme" (TNA) - Dale Oliver
Championships and accomplishments
American Combat Wrestling
ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
'''Coastal Championship Wrestling
CCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Florida
FCW Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
FCW Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Mike Graham
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1991)
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
TCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
World Championship Wrestling
WCW United States Heavyweight Champion (2 times)
WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Big Josh and Tom Zenk
WCW World Tag Team Champion (2 times) - with Ricky Steamboat and Barry Windham
World Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Entertainment
WWF Hardcore Champion (9 times)
WWF Intercontinental Champion (3 times)
World Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Booker T
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
5 Star Match (1992) with Nikita Koloff, Sting, Ricky Steamboat, and Barry Windham vs. Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, & Larry Zbyszko vs.  (May 17, WarGames match, WrestleWar) 
Most Improved (1991)
Rookie of the Year (1989)
Worst Gimmick (1995, 2007)
Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1997)
Personal life
Dustin was married to Terri Runnels in 1992 and together they have a daughter named Dakota, who was born on February 14, 1994. Dustin and Terri divorced after a seven-year marriage in 1999. Dustin and his girlfriend, Milena were married on December 20, 2002.At the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on March  31, 2007 he stated "All my life I've wanted to be just like my dad."
References
External links
 WWE Alumni Profile
  Dustin Runnels at the Internet Movie Database