With a literal love of gold and mind games that flummoxes his opponents and his fans, Goldust is one of the most bizarre Superstars in WWE history.

The “bizarre one” reminds our longtime fans of wrestling legends Gorgeous George and the Exotic Adrian Street with his blond wig (which he removes before his matches), a flowing golden robe and ring attire and black and gold face paint. He resembles an Oscar statue and has a penchant for theater, viewing his matches as mini movies for his Shattered Dreams Production.

During the early years of his WWE career, he had his “director” Marlena (his then-wife Terri Runnels) at his side. The pair captured the imagination of our fans, and their risqué personas helped lay the foundation of the Attitude Era years.

Goldust was deceiving – he was as tough a Superstar as there’s ever been in WWE. He used his appearance to throw his opponents off their game so that he could devastate them with a reverse suplex and brain-buster combination he called the Curtain Call. He surprised his foes with his brawling ability and surprisingly vicious mean streak.

However, Goldust’s in-ring abilities shouldn’t have surprised anyone; after all, wrestling was in his blood. He's the son of the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and grew up watching his dad endure countless ring wars. But Dustin Runnels did not want to live in his legendary father’s shadow. He wanted to forge his own legacy in the squared circle.

His championship résumé speaks for itself: He is a two-time United States Champion (as Dustin Rhodes in World Championship Wrestling), won the World Tag Team Championship once (with King Booker) and a three-time Intercontinental Champion. Goldust took the machismo out of Razor Ramon en route to winning his first Intercontinental Championship, and our fans still talk about his Hollywood Backlot Brawl with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper at WrestleMania XII. His battles with a young Triple H also helped prepare the future Game for his multiple world championships.

Publicly and privately, Dustin Runnels lamented on his struggle to live up to his father’s legacy. But he should be very proud – as Goldust, he provides WWE with some of its most provocative, and sometimes humorous, moments. One thing is for sure, no one will ever forget the name of Goldust.

Following Cyber Sunday 2008, Goldust returned to the active roster wreaking havoc on the psyche of the Braggodocious Italian Superstar, Santino Marella. With the bizarre one back on the ECW roster full-time, it will be interesting to see who will be the next Superstar to fall victim of the Golden One's mind games.

Source: WWE.com