I know Dusty Rhode's got his following, but I still can't understand why.
Let's look at the Bret Scale:
Look: 1.5 (for the hair)
Talk: 10
Wrestling Ability: 5 (I'm being generous here)
Total: 17 (rounded up)
Look:
Plenty of young kids picked up their first dumbbell after seeing Snuka, Hogan, UW, etc.
I don't remember anyone in school picking up their first jelly doughnut with aspirations of looking like "The Dream."
And, you didn't see kids dressing like Dusty - especially during his WWF days; how much polka-dot merch do you think they shipped out from the Stamford warehouse?
The only time I saw anyone going for the Dusty look was during the killer whale shows at Sea World.
Talk:
I'm being somewhat generous. I didn't care at all for his WWF mic work. The "10" is more for his time down south, and his ability to connect with the demographic.
Wrestling ability:
Again, being generous. Most of those points are for psychology/story-telling. But, as far as technical ability, I watched a AJPW match between Abdullah & Dusty, and I think Rhodes threw elbows more times than he blinked.
Even with a couple of bonus points added in case you think I'm being harsh, he still barely breaks 20.
So how did he end up with the success he had when other more talented guys floundered?