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100-672: The building is located at 10 10th Street, in the Civic Center district of the city. It is next to the Oakland Museum , Laney College , Lake Merritt , and near the Lake Merritt BART station . The Beaux-Arts style landmark was built in 1914; the architect was John J. Donovan. The structural engineer was Maurice Couchot. Originally known as the Oakland Civic Auditorium , it was renamed in honor of Henry J. Kaiser after

200-770: A ECW on TNN episode that was taped in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On March 12, 2000, Dusty pinned Steve Corino in a singles match at the Living Dangerously PPV in Danbury, Connecticut. He continued to remain undefeated until he put over Corino at the CyberSlam event on April 22 at the ECW Arena . His final appearance came at an ECW TV taping in Toledo, Ohio, where he accompanied The Sandman to ringside in his match against Rhino , who

300-583: A Ladder match . On the August 13 NWATNA PPV, Rhodes and America's Most Wanted defeated Glenn Gilbertti and Simon Diamond and Johnny Swinger the following week Rhodes lost a bullrope match to Glen Gilbertti after Christopher Daniels interfered. On the October 1 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes and Jarrett defeated A.J. Styles and Russo. The following week Rhodes got a shot at the NWA title against Styles but lost when he passed out during

400-504: A "grand plaza." The plaza would have been elevated, so that both the parking lot and adjacent roads would still have been usable, and it would have extended all the way to the edge of the lake. Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt (CALM), an Oakland group proposed an alternative plan involving a remake of the 12th Street Dam halving the number of traffic lanes from six to three in each direction. The underpasses and overpasses were proposed to be eliminated, with stoplights installed where

500-530: A 1984 renovation. The city closed the facility in 2006 and its future was uncertain for a decade. In 2006, Oakland voters defeated a ballot proposition advocating a library space in the building. The facility was owned by the City of Oakland until 2011, when it was sold to the local redevelopment agency for $ 28 million. However, the redevelopment agency was dissolved by the State of California in 2012, so ownership reverted to

600-473: A Texas Bullrope match on November 23 in which Rhodes defeated Sullivan. Rhodes began appearing with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2003, returning to the ring to feud against the villainous Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction. on the January 15 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes, Road Warriors and Jeff Jarrett lost to Vince Russo and Triple X . on the January 22 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes called out Nikita Koloff to reform

700-453: A backstage booker and producer in WWE's NXT developmental territory. Billed as "the son of a plumber", Rhodes did not have a typical wrestler's physique; his character was that of the " common man ", known for the personality exhibited in his interviews. WWE chairman Vince McMahon remarked that no wrestler "personified the essence of charisma quite like Dusty Rhodes". Virgil Riley Runnels Jr.

800-507: A confrontation between the two couples, Savage's ex-manager Miss Elizabeth allied herself with Rhodes and Sapphire and was instrumental in helping them win the WWF's first mixed tag-team match during WrestleMania VI . Rhodes suffered a foot injury a few weeks later, leading to his temporary removal from the house show circuit and replaced by Roddy Piper . He returned on May 12 and resumed his house show series against Savage. This time his dominance

900-580: A heated storyline with "Macho King" Randy Savage and his manager/partner Sensational Queen Sherri , who in turn found a rival in Sapphire. Rhodes began facing the former WWF World Champion on the house show circuit. As with Boss Man he was victorious in every encounter, although each would come by countout. On the March 25, 1990 episode of WWF Superstars he finally faced Savage in a televised encounter; Rhodes won via disqualification after Queen Sherri interfered. After

1000-535: A house show on May 29 in Montreal, Quebec. Substituting for Jake Roberts , he defeated Ted DiBiase . Promotional vignettes began airing, the first coming on the June 3rd edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling with Rhodes appearing as the yellow polka-dotted " Common Man " Dusty Rhodes, a gimmick some felt was intended to humiliate him due to his synonymy with the rival JCP/WCW. Rhodes was introduced to WWF audiences through

1100-506: A match that featured Jimmy Valiant as the special guest referee, Jarrett retained the title after Terry Funk made a surprise appearance and interfered. This led to Rhodes challenging Funk to a Falls-Count-Anywhere Bunkhouse match, which Rhodes won. This would be Rhodes' final appearance with CCW until August, where he would team with his son Dustin against Phi Delta Slam . On July 15, 2005, Rhodes participated in Ballpark Brawl IV in

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1200-550: A raft of current and future stars, including Terry Funk , Dick Slater , Bam Bam Bigelow , Al Perez , The Nasty Boys , Scott Hall , Dustin Rhodes , Mike Awesome , Dallas Page and The Big Steel Man (Fred Ottman, who would become Tugboat in the WWF). Dusty Rhodes made his debut for the company on March 4, 1989, at an event in Titusville, Florida, when he teamed with Steve Keirn to defeat

1300-667: A rule-breaking heel with Hart as his manager , teaming with Don Jardine , better known as The Spoiler. In 1968, Rhodes left Texas and entered the Kansas City territory, tagging with fellow Texan Dick Murdoch to form the tag team The Texas Outlaws . The team traveled both nationally and internationally, appearing in Big Time Wrestling (Texas), NWA Western States Sports (Texas), NWA Detroit, National Wrestling Federation (NWF), Championship Wrestling from Florida , World Championship Wrestling (Australia) , Tri-State Wrestling ,

1400-412: A series of vignettes in which he would gregariously and enthusiastically perform working class roles (including that of a plumber , butcher's apprentice , gas station attendant , taco cook, trash collector and pizza delivery man ), eventually being recognized by others at the end of the skit ("Hey! Aren't you...?"). Rhodes continued to wrestle DiBiase on house shows that month and was undefeated. He

1500-555: A shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship on June 2 but they failed to win the titles. On the June 4 episode of Impact, Rhodes gave an interview with Mike Tenay but got punked out by NWA champ Jeff Jarrett. On the July 14 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes, Larry Zbyszko and 3Live Kru defeated Jarrett, Ken Shamrock , Hernandez , Chad Collyer and Onyx . On the August 25 NWATNA PPV, Russo suspended Rhodes from TNA and banned him from

1600-677: A solo wrestler, primarily in Florida , referring to himself as the "American Dream", a working class hero, and aligning himself with Eddie Graham. In 1977, Rhodes wrestled for Vince McMahon, Sr. 's World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) on and off for lengthy periods of time until 1983. During that time, Rhodes main-evented twice in Madison Square Garden, both times challenging for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship against reigning champion Superstar Billy Graham . Rhodes won

1700-435: A symphony hall and other facilities. Before the end of WWII, Oakland's City Manager at the time, Charles R. Schwanenberger , began raising hopes for renewed development in the district. Revised plans called for a new main public library, a central fire station, police administration building, and a new jail in the area. The long-delayed widening of the 12th Street dam, at the time a traffic bottleneck for motorists, destroyed

1800-511: A television taping on July 25, 1994, in Macon, Georgia, he came to ringside and attacked Parker, before being overwhelmed by the manager and Bunkhouse Buck . After being rescued by Ricky Steamboat and Dustin, he made an appearance in Dustin's corner on the August 6th edition of WCW Saturday Night when his son faced Bunkhouse Buck. After delivering a bionic elbow to Buck when the referee was distracted, Dustin

1900-479: A victory over Kamala . Later in the month, he appeared for IWA Mid-South in a tag team match with Ian Rotten in a victory over Chris Candido and Steve Stone. Rhodes made three appearances for the Japanese promotion HUSTLE in 2004, the first being on January 4 in a six-man tag team match with Steve Corino and Tom Howard against Mil Mascaras , Dos Caras , and Sicodelico Jr. , which Rhodes' team lost. The second

2000-500: A victory over Kid Kash . Rhodes participated in the first WrestleReunion , competing in an eight-man tag team match with D'Lo Brown , The Blue Meanie , and Tom Prichard against Steve Corino, Andrew Martin , Evil Clown, and the Masked Superstar. Rhodes faced Tully Blanchard at a Starrcade Tribute Show on November 19, where he was managed by Magnum T. A. and where Blanchard was managed by J. J. Dillon . Rhodes ended up losing

2100-552: A wrestler. Before departing, Rhodes was defeated by The Big Steel Man on May 13, 1989, for the PWF title at an event in Sarasota, Florida. His final match with the company was on May 20, where he wrestled Steel Man at an event in Fort Lauderdale. During the spring Rhodes also returned to the AWA for a few appearances. Nine days after his final PWF match, Dusty Rhodes made his untelevised debut at

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2200-731: Is a residential and public building district on the east side of Oakland 's Central Business District. Its borders are roughly Downtown and Harrison Street to the west, the East Lake Neighborhood and Lakeshore Avenue to the east, the Lakeside Apartments District and 14th Street to the North, and Chinatown and 11th Street to the South. Since the era of Mayor Francis Mott and later under Mayor John Davie's administration from 1915–1931, various redevelopment plans have been proposed for

2300-471: Is often considered to be one of the most innovative and creative bookers in the history of professional wrestling. As previously mentioned, his work in the development of "supercards" and gimmick matches did much to enhance the quality of entertainment and move the industry forward, as evident by other major promotions following with their own major cards and gimmicks. At the same time, however, he and JCP had an "old school" philosophy that did not bode well with

2400-547: The American Wrestling Association (AWA), and International Wrestling Enterprise (Japan). Rhodes did not have a typical wrestlers' physique, but he was well known for his personality, charisma and interviews. In 1974, Rhodes's character became a hero after tag team partner Pak Song and manager Gary Hart turned on him during a match in Florida against Eddie and Mike Graham . This led him to break out as

2500-813: The Four Horsemen and The Russian Team in 1985. They were one of the more dominant tag teams in the promotion until 1986, when Magnum's career was ended in a car accident. Subsequently, he teamed with Nikita Koloff as The Super Powers . Rhodes was also a two time World Six-Man Tag Team Champion with The Road Warriors . Rhodes had feuds with Abdullah the Butcher , Terry Funk , Kevin Sullivan , Blackjack Mulligan , Nikita Koloff, Harley Race , Superstar Billy Graham, "Crippler" Ray Stevens and, most notably, The Four Horsemen (especially Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard ). Rhodes, Flair and Race fought each other many times over

2600-851: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Rhodes won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times; twice by defeating Race and once by defeating Flair. During a taping which took place at The Omni on September 29, 1985, Rhodes would save Flair from a beatdown at hands of Ivan and Nikitia Koloff and Krusher Krushchev, only for Flair to then turn on Rhodes and have Ole and Arn Anderson assist him in breaking Rhodes' ankle; this also forced Rhodes to vacate his NWA Television Championship . In October 1985, during his feud with Flair, Rhodes gave an interview that became known as his "Hard Times" promo, arguably his most popular promo : First of all, I would like to thank

2700-856: The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus . In 1942, the Circus moved across the bay to the San Francisco Civic Auditorium and then in the mid-1960s to the Cow Palace . In the 1950s and 1960s the Roller Derby played there hundreds of times. The auditorium hosted the Oakland Symphony Orchestra until 1972, and the arena was home to the Oakland Skates roller hockey team in 1996. For almost 70 years, from 1919 until 1987,

2800-497: The Turner Broadcasting System following their purchase of the company) during a November 26 altercation with The Road Warriors . Furious with the interference, Rhodes booked a storyline in which Road Warrior Animal pulled a spike out of his shoulder pad and jammed it in Rhodes' eye, causing a severe laceration. Rhodes was then fired from WCW. Meanwhile, in late 1988 during the acquisition of Jim Crockett Promotions

2900-716: The United States Championship , and after the match Dusty came out to the ring to celebrate. That led to a slowly simmering feud with The Assassin ( Jody Hamilton ), who continually challenged Rhodes. On the June 12, 1993 edition of WCW Saturday Night the Assassin vowed to track down Dusty's mother if that is what it took to gain a response. On the October 30 edition of WCW Saturday Night the Assassin (now representing Paul Orndorff) again challenged Rhodes. A week later United States Champion Dustin Rhodes announced that his father would be in his corner in his upcoming defense against

3000-631: The WCW/New Japan Supershow II . Teaming with his son Dustin Rhodes once more, the duo defeated Kim Duk and Masa Saito in Tokyo, Japan. He began making house show appearances early in the year, usually in tag-team matches involving Dustin that saw Paul E. Dangerously tied to Dusty as part of the stipulation. On the May 16, 1992 episode of WCW Worldwide he seconded Nikita Koloff in his match with Big Van Vader ; he battled Vader's manager Harley Race to

3100-511: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF). When the WWF introduced Mike Jones as Ted DiBiase 's bodyguard, Bobby Heenan suggested naming the character Virgil as an inside joke on Dusty's real name. Also in the late 1980s, Rhodes became synonymous with what would become known as the " Dusty finish ", a trick ending in which a wrestler would win a match while the referee was knocked out, and the decision would be overturned. Rhodes

Kaiser Center for the Arts - Misplaced Pages Continue

3200-562: The "I Quit Bunkhouse Riot" as a member of Homicide 's team. On December 12, Rhodes defeated Jerry Lawler at an International Wrestling Cartel show that also featured Mick Foley as the special guest referee. Rhodes returned to ROH on March 13, 2004, where he competed alongside The Carnage Crew in a Scramble Cage match against Special K, which the Carnage Crew won. On July 24, Rhodes returned to Full Impact Pro (FIP) and defeated Gangrel . In October, he appeared for Northeast Wrestling in

3300-575: The 12th Street Dam. A new use for the Kaiser Convention Center was proposed in 2006: a redevelopment designed to nucleate a cultural and educational district with the neighboring Oakland Museum of California and Laney College . In July 2006, the Oakland City Council approved a bond measure to expand the city's library system and convert the closed Center into a replacement for the city's aging main library, but Oakland voters defeated

3400-535: The 80's the band started performing "runs" of shows over the course of three to seven days. On November 23, 1969, Western swing pioneer and TV personality Spade Cooley received a 72-hour furlough from Vacaville prison to play a benefit concert for the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Alameda County. During the intermission, after a standing ovation, he died of a heart attack. He was to be paroled on February 22, 1970. On November 30, 1979, Bob Marley and

3500-603: The April 29 episode of Impact, Rhodes announced that MMA fighter Tito Ortiz will referee the World title match at Hard Justice (2005) . In May 2005, TNA President Dixie Carter asked Rhodes to move onto a creative team, which included Jeremy Borash , Bill Banks, and Scott D'Amore . Rhodes resigned as booker, waiting out the rest of his contract with TNA, which expired soon after. Rhodes made his first indy circuit appearance on April 12, 2003, for Ring of Honor (ROH), when he participated in

3600-470: The Assassin's charge Paul Orndorff. Dustin successfully retained against Orndorff at Clash of the Champions XXV ; Dusty became involved after the match and attempted to unmask the Assassin. As 1994 progressed Dusty became involved in another angle with his son and The Stud Stable , offering commentary on the May 21, 1994, edition of WCW Saturday Night on Col. Robert Parker 's efforts against Dustin. At

3700-523: The Asylum a few days later on the August 27 episode of Impact, Rhodes showed up in the front row, and got attacked by Scott D'Amore and ejected again. On the September 1 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes under a mask billed as Midnight Rider teamed with Konnan and B.G. James to defeat Team Canada ( Eric Young and Bobby Roode and Johnny Devine ). On the September 8 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes defeated Scott D'Amore with Russo as

3800-528: The Gardens of the Oakland Auditorium, and dashed hopes for a Civic Center at that site. Following the war, a planning document for "Civic Center and Lake Merritt Improvement" was adopted as a part of the city's Master Plan. This plan called for more than a dozen public buildings to be grouped between Harrison and Fallon and between 14th and 10th Streets in a rectangle, continuing past the Oakland Auditorium and

3900-497: The July 22 edition of WWF Superstars; following a match between Big Boss Man and Jim McPherson he intervened to prevent Boss Man from using his nightstick against the defeated opponent. This transitioned Dusty into his first World Wrestling Federation feud. Rhodes made his in-ring debut on the August 13th edition of Wrestling Challenge when he pinned Greg Valentine after his opponent was distracted by Ronnie Garvin . That month he began his house show series against Big Boss Man and

4000-551: The November 30, 1998, episode of Monday Nitro , when Rhodes, who was guest refereeing a match between Barry Windham and Dean Malenko after being appointed by Eric Bischoff , defected back to WCW by disqualifying Windham and awarding the match to Malenko. Bischoff then fired Rhodes. On the December 28, 1998, edition of Monday Nitro , Ric Flair faced Eric Bischoff for control of the company for 30 days. After Flair submitted Bischoff, Dusty

4100-503: The October 19 edition of World Championship Wrestling, Rhodes was announced as being in the corner of Ron Simmons when the latter was scheduled to face Lex Luger for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Halloween Havoc 91. Rhodes would go on to be Simmons' cornerman that night, although Luger retained his championship. Dusty Rhodes made his return to the ring after nearly a one-year absence on January 4, 1992, at

Kaiser Center for the Arts - Misplaced Pages Continue

4200-570: The PWF as a developmental territory and to bring Rhodes into the WWF. He refused, as his desire was to grow the territory into a national brand that could compete with WCW and the WWF. However the Professional Wrestling Federation's backers did not have a desire to fund the company at a level necessary to enhance the territory further. In May he decided to part ways with the PWF and join the World Wrestling Federation as

4300-531: The Roman Catholic Church proposed a replacement for the St. Francis de Sales Cathedral , which was damaged in the 1989 earthquake and subsequently demolished. The diocese hired a Swiss architect who designed a grand cathedral featuring curving steel beams coming to a point some fifteen stories high. The diocese proposed situating the cathedral directly in front of the Kaiser Convention Center and surrounding it with

4400-610: The School Administration Building on East 10th Street in a curve around the south end of Lake Merritt. A moratorium on new construction was imposed on the entire area pending development of the Civic Center, much to the chagrin of property owners. Today parts of the plan have been realized on solid land on the west side of the lake, to include government office buildings, a courthouse, post office library, community college campus, and museum grounds. The district features

4500-521: The Superpowers, but Nikita turned on him. On the February 26 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes and Vader defeated Don and Ron Harris by disqualification. On the March 19 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes, Jeff Jarrett and D-Lo Brown defeated Erik Watts , Brian Lawler and David Flair in a six-man tag team match a week later Rhodes defeated David Flair in a Bunkhouse match. On the April 9 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes defeated Brian Lawler in

4600-618: The Theatre and local arts organizations. The arena space was originally planned to be office space, but in 2023 it reopened with its original function as event space. The Calvin Simmons Theatre was reopened in 2024. The building was renamed as the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in 2023. During the 1918 flu pandemic the auditorium was used as a makeshift infirmary. Until 1941, Kaiser Arena hosted

4700-565: The Wailers played at the Oakland Auditorium on the Survival Tour . On August 6, 1988, the arena hosted a stop of NWA wrestling's Great American Bash tour. The Main Event featured a WarGames match between The Four Horsemen and the team of Dusty Rhodes , Lex Luger , and The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering . Megadeth played an ill-fated show on October 3, 1988, in which frontman Dave Mustaine

4800-452: The World's Heavyweight Champion. I don't have to say a whole lot more about the way I feel about Ric Flair; no respect, no honor. There is no honor amongst thieves in the first place. He put hard times on Dusty Rhodes and his family. You don't know what hard times are, daddy. Hard times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work, they got four or five kids and can't pay their wages, can't buy their food. Hard times are when

4900-625: The arena was home to the annual Christmas Pageant (later the Oakland Children's Holiday Pageant) involving at least 1,700 youngsters from 70 city schools. The organizer, professional ballerina and dance teacher Louise Jorgensen, went to each school to train the children for their role as elves, toys, poinsettias or fairies. Elvis Presley performed at the convention center on June 3, 1956, and again on October 27, 1957. On December 28, 1962, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to an audience of 7,000 at

5000-454: The athlete of the day supposed to look. My belly's just a lil' big, my heiny's a lil' big, but brother, I am bad. And they know I'm bad. There were two bad people... One was John Wayne and he's dead brother, and the other's right here. Nature Boy Ric Flair, the World's Heavyweight title belongs to these people. I'mma reach out right now, I want you at home to know my hand is touchin' your hand for

5100-576: The auditorium to mark the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation . Ike & Tina Turner performed at the Oakland Auditorium on January 13, 1967. From 1967 through 1989, the Grateful Dead , an American rock band, performed at the convention center 57 times. Their first 23 concerts at the convention center were billed at "Oakland Auditorium", and later, starting in 1985, the venue changed to "Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center". In

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5200-442: The auto workers are out of work and they tell 'em to go home. And hard times are when a man has worked at a job for thirty years, thirty years, and they give him a watch, kick him in the butt and say "hey a computer took your place, daddy", that's hard times! That's hard times! And Ric Flair you put hard times on this country by takin' Dusty Rhodes out, that's hard times. And we all had hard times together, and I admit, I don't look like

5300-507: The backstage as the match began. Later that summer Dusty was again in the corner of Ron Simmons, this time on August 2, 1992, when he defeated Big Van Vader to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship . He later joined the broadcast team, usually working with Tony Schiavone on Saturday Night . He was paired with Schiavone and Bobby Heenan on pay-per-views. On February 25 his son Dustin defeated Paul Orndorff to win

5400-518: The behalf of DiBiase. That fall his son Dustin Rhodes began making televised appearances within the WWF; on the October 13 edition of WWF Superstars Dusty lost to Randy Savage by countout after being distracted by DiBiase attacking Dustin. Afterwards, Rhodes dropped the polka dot attire and adopted his traditional, Jim Crockett-esque attire. At the 1990 Survivor Series he led "The Dream Team" (himself, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart , and Koko B Ware ) against "The Million Dollar Team . Unlike last year's edition,

5500-437: The best-known members of the Midnight Express . He also briefly resurrected his feud with Tully Blanchard in CCW, earning two consecutive victories over him, the second being in a Bunkhouse Brawl . On April 9, 2005, Rhodes challenged Jeff Jarrett (who was still contracted to TNA, but due to TNA's then-affiliation with the NWA, he was allowed to appear for other affiliated promotions) for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In

5600-410: The changes that were brought with fast moving media such as cable TV, etc. The long-standing storylines and the frequent use of the aforementioned "Dusty finish", techniques that had worked well during the NWA's territorial days, had now started to leave many fans dissatisfied with the promotion's booking. Rhodes was fired after Starrcade '88 , because of a taboo on-screen bloodletting (laid down by

5700-471: The city of Oakland. In 2015 the city chose a local developer, Orton Development, Inc. to renovate the facility. Heller Manus Architects was selected to lead the building seismic retrofit and renovation. The Calvin Simmons Theatre will return as a performing arts center, hosting live performances and providing event and practice spaces big and small for local arts organizations. The building’s basement will house music studios, makers’ spaces, and storage space for

5800-408: The dirt lot is being reclaimed by nature as a Greenfield . In recent years, mid-rise, mixed-use condominium buildings have been planned and constructed on the edges of the district. Several high-rise mixed-use projects ranging from 10-40 stories in height, have been proposed by a variety of developers. Some are still active in various stages of the planning process. In 2001, the Oakland Diocese of

5900-477: The district. Davie was fond of the lake, and took to rowing there daily for recreation. Davie attempted to fulfill his original dream of a "Civic Center" at the south end of Lake Merritt. Dredging material was used to fill, and make usable for the project, nearly a 100 acres (400,000 m ) of swampy land from 1st to 7th Streets and from Fallon Street to 5th Avenue. A new museum building was planned, along with an athletic center, an exhibition hall, an opera house,

6000-448: The duo of Mike Graham and Steve Keirn were attempting to revive the dormant CWF Championship Wrestling from Florida territory. Once Dusty departed from WCW they reached out to him, and ultimately partnered to launch the new Professional Wrestling Federation in February 1989. Rhodes had larger visions for the fledgling regional territory, which included a name change from FCW to the non-regional PWF. The new startup promotion featured

6100-427: The duo of The Big Steel Man and Dick Slater . A week later at the PWF Homecoming event in Tampa, Florida, he pinned Big Steel Man to become the first PWF Heavyweight Champion. Later that spring as the PWF began to grow Rhodes received a surprise backstage visit from Bobby Heenan , who inquired on the state of the company's business. Shortly thereafter Vince McMahon reached out to Rhodes and made an offer to acquire

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6200-415: The facility, stating their intent to reclaim this abandoned space for the people, but were kept away by police. The action and subsequent incidents that day resulted in over 400 arrests by the Oakland Police Department and in an undetermined cost to the city due to damage and vandalism. In March 2022, the unidentified, mummified body of a man was found within a wall of the building during renovations, which

6300-410: The federal Social Security Administration Building on Jackson Street, two Alameda County government office buildings, the Alameda County Law Library, Oakland's Main Library on 14th Street, The Alameda County Courthouse on Lake Merritt, Oakland's historic Fire Alarm Building on Oak Street, the Oakland Museum on 12th Street, and the Kaiser Convention Center anchoring the east end of the neighborhood near

6400-406: The figure-4. On the October 15 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes and America's Most Wanted defeated Legend, Sonny Siaki and Ekmo Fatu. On the November 26 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes and Jarrett wrestled to a no contest in a Lumberjack Fan Strap match. After taking a few months off Rhodes returned on May 19, 2004, where he and James Storm defeated Dallas and Kid Kash in a " Bunkhouse Brawl " this led to the duo getting

6500-479: The first match on September 26 via countout, and lost the second, a Texas Death match , on October 24. Graham won after a mid-ring collision, falling on Rhodes for the three count. He eventually began working as a booker and wrestler with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in the Mid-Atlantic, which eventually purchased World Championship Wrestling (WCW), formerly Georgia Championship Wrestling. Rhodes also teamed with Magnum T. A. as "America's Team", who opposed

6600-439: The flames of the Oakland firestorm of 1991 were clearly visible from the hall's entrance as Bill Graham stood and greeted patrons at the top of the entry a mere five days before his untimely death. From 1997 through 1999 the arena played host to the University of California, Berkeley 's women's basketball team while the team's on-campus venue, Haas Pavilion , was being renovated. In January 2012 Occupy Oakland marched on

6700-429: The gathering of the biggest body of people in this country, in this universe, all over the world now, reachin' out because the love that was given me and this time I will repay you now. Because I will be the next World's Heavyweight Champion of this hard time blues. Dusty Rhodes tour, '85. And Ric Flair, Nature Boy... Let me leave you with this. One way to hurt Ric Flair, is to take what he cherishes more than anything in

6800-437: The historic Hotel Oakland, now a senior residence, at its west end, and the 1920s Peralta Apartments on Jackson Street. The district also features 2–4 story mixed-use buildings at its southwest corner with apartments above ground-floor retail spaces. The district is heavily sprinkled with government buildings to include Oakland's historic Civic Center Post Office on the city block bounded by Alice, Jackson, 13th and 12th Streets,

6900-496: The latter's departure to the WWF and the Big Gold Belt controversy . Rhodes also served as the on-screen manager of Ron Simmons from 1991 to 1992, first forming a relationship with the former All-American during the summer of 1991. In a match that was advertised on World Championship Wrestling, on October 12, 1991, Dusty served as the special guest referee in a match at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, that saw Simmons and Barry Windham team up to defeat Mr. Hughes and Lex Luger . On

7000-439: The library bond measure in the November 2006 election. The district is also heavily sprinkled with 'infill' parcels which have a variety of daily commercial use. Most are used as parking for the districts drive-in workforce, and nighttime bar and nightclub patrons. One is used as a preschool playground. One parcel at the Southeast corner of 12th and Jackson, which was formerly the site of a retail building, has been leveled, and

7100-461: The losses were under 1 minute as the WWF leveraged Rhodes departure. On December 28, 1990, he teamed with Jim Duggan to face Slaughter and General Adnan at Madison Square Garden. The match, which would be televised on Prime Time Wrestling on January 7, 1991, ended when Rhodes submitted to Slaughter. The conclusion to the feud with DiBiase came at 1991 Royal Rumble , where Dusty teamed with his son Dustin against Virgil and DiBiase. The Rhodes Family

7200-411: The many, many fans throughout this country that wrote cards and letters to Dusty Rhodes, The American Dream, while I was down. Secondly, I want to thank Jim Crockett Promotions for waitin' and takin' the time 'cause I know how important it was, Starrcade '85 it is to the wrestling fans, it is to Jim Crockett promotions, and Dusty Rhodes The American Dream. With that wait, I got what I wanted, Ric Flair

7300-419: The match. On December 3, 2005, Rhodes returned to Carolina Championship Wrestling for one night only to face Terry Funk in an "I Quit" match , which Rhodes won. Rhodes made his final major appearances on the independent circuit before returning full-time to WWE in mid-2006, defeating Jerry Lawler by disqualification at a Southern Championship Wrestling (SCW) show and also earning a victory over Steve Corino in

7400-491: The process. Hall then pointed to Rhodes as he revealed an nWo shirt. The three began to drop repeated elbows on Zbyszko before Rhodes announced, "That's tradition, WCW! Bite this!". Announcer Tony Schiavone left the broadcast booth in shock, but later returned ripping Rhodes for his actions for most of the rest of the night. As a member of the nWo, Rhodes served as the manager of The Outsiders , Hall and Kevin Nash . This lasted until

7500-741: The program. The duo would bicker throughout the show, which lasted throughout the summer of 2001 and represented the last "original" programming of the old WCW. After both WCW and ECW were bought by WWE (WWF), Rhodes went to compete in his own promotion, Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling with ex-WCW and ECW superstars in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. During this time he feuded with Terry Funk and Steve Corino in other territories. In 2002, Rhodes competed in Pro Pain Pro Wrestling based in Philadelphia feuding with Kevin Sullivan . This would lead to

7600-607: The results were far different. DiBiase was teaming with Rhythm & Blues and a mystery partner, the latter who turned out to be the newly arrived Undertaker . The future Hall of Famer would dispatch Ware and later pin Rhodes, with Ted DiBiase ultimately remaining as the sole survivor. Around this time in the fall Dusty Rhodes received an offer to return to World Championship Wrestling as its head booker. He now began to lose regularly, falling again in defeat to Ted DiBiase in house shows during December 1990 but also losing to Rick Martel, Virgil, and new top heel Sgt. Slaughter . Some of

7700-518: The ring for three more house show matches that fall, teaming with Dustin to defeat the Stud Stable. His last in-ring match for World Championship Wrestling in this run came on November 24, 1994, in Albany, Georgia, where Dusty and Dustin Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson and Bunkhouse Buck in a steel cage. Through 1995 he was exclusively on commentary for WCW and did not participate in any in-ring angles. Dusty

7800-464: The ring name "Dusty Rhodes". Upon meeting Rhodes, Gary Hart suggested that he change his ring name to "Lonesome Rhodes", a character Andy Griffith portrayed in the film A Face in the Crowd . Rhodes reportedly replied: "Well...I don't plan on being 'Lonesome'. I think I'll stick with Dusty." Hart took an immediate liking to Rhodes and convinced Von Erich of the young wrestler's potential. Rhodes became

7900-442: The road intersects with 12th Street and 1st Avenue. The beach was proposed to be widened, with a gently sloping lawn leading up to the roadway, new walking and bike paths in each direction. Crosswalks with pedestrian-activated stoplights were proposed to replace the tunnels under the freeway. Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as " The American Dream " Dusty Rhodes ,

8000-601: The special guest referee. On the October 29 episode of Impact, Rhodes started his campaign to replace Vince Russo as the Director of Authority. Later, he became the Director of Authority at their November 7, 2004 pay-per-view , Victory Road . At the same time, Rhodes acted as head booker and writer. On the April 8, 2005, episode of Impact, Rhodes made the on-air decision to make all matches at Lockdown PPV in Six Sides of Steel. Then on

8100-504: The team folded. In 1967, Rhodes saw an advertisement in the newspaper for Tony Santos' professional wrestling promotion Big Time Wrestling, based in Boston . Rhodes drove to Boston, and despite not having any wrestling experience, bluffed his way into working for the company by using his real life friendships with Bobby Duncum and the Funk brothers. Billed as Dusty Runnels, one of his first matches

8200-487: The woman to come in the ring and dance with her after a victory. She would become his manager and was named "Sapphire". As Dusty represented "The Common Man", she was intended to represent the "common woman". On November 23, 1989, at The Survivor Series he led a quartet dubbed The Dream Team composed of Brutus Beefcake , Tito Santana , and The Red Rooster to victory against The Enforcers (Big Boss Man, The Honky Tonk Man, Rick Martel , and Akeem ). Rhodes would finish

8300-843: The world and that's the World's Heavyweight title. I'm gon' take it, I been there twice. This time when I take it daddy, I'm gon' take it for you. Let's gather for it. Don't let me down now, 'cause I came back for you, for that man up there that died 10–12 years ago and never got the opportunity to see a real World's Champion. And I'm proud of you, thank God I have you, and I love you. Love ya! The promo apparently resonated with wrestling fans so much that people came to him in arenas in tears to thank him for "honoring their plight". In 2015, an ESPN article referred to "Hard Times" as Rhodes' best interview, writing, "In just over three minutes, Rhodes fully encapsulated every ounce of his charm by endearing himself to blue-collar mid-America". During his stint as booker, JCP were engulfed in aggressive competition with

8400-491: The year dispatching Boss Man in house show matches around the country, sometimes in "ball and chain" encounters. Having finished the year with just one untelevised loss, Dusty entered 1990 as a dominant force within the World Wrestling Federation. He competed in the 1990 Royal Rumble and eliminated Bret Hart before in turn being thrown over the top rope by Earthquake . After dispatching the Boss Man, he next became embroiled in

8500-646: Was a United States Heavyweight Champion , and multi-time World Television , World Tag Team and World Six-Man Tag Team Champion . He also won many regional championships, and is one of seven men inducted into each of the WWE , WCW , Professional Wrestling , and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Halls of Fame. His sons, Dustin and Cody , both pursued careers in professional wrestling, currently performing for All Elite Wrestling and WWE , respectively. Following his retirement from wrestling, he made occasional on-air appearances on WWE television and pay-per-views and worked as

8600-496: Was able to gain the pinfall. This ultimately led to Dusty's second match since departing the WWF, where he would team with Dustin to defeated Terry Funk and Buckhouse Buck at Clash of the Champions XXVIII . After a vignette that saw Dusty travel to "The Scrap Bar" to recruit The Nasty Boys, he teamed with them and Dustin to defeat Buck, Arn Anderson, Terry Funk, and Rob Parker in a War Games match at Fall Brawl 94 . He returned to

8700-520: Was amongst those who came out to the ring to celebrate with The Nature Boy. He left WCW in 2000 and went to Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), making an appearance at the Guilty As Charged PPV on January 8, 2000, where he was attacked by former ECW World Heavyweight Champion , "King of Old School" Steve Corino . On January 28, 2000, he wrestled his first match in over five years, teaming with Tommy Dreamer to defeat Corino and Raven at

8800-712: Was an American professional wrestler , booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation , later known as WWE. Rhodes was considered a star wrestler and presented the persona of an American everyman, the American Dream personified. Rhodes is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Rhodes was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion , and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling , he

8900-722: Was born on October 11, 1945, in Austin, Texas . After graduating from Albert Sidney Johnston High School in Austin, Rhodes played baseball and football at West Texas State (now known as West Texas A&M University ). Turning professional, Rhodes tried out for the American Football League 's Boston Patriots , but was cut. He then played for the Hartford Charter Oaks in the Continental Football League until

9000-543: Was defeated in a match that saw Virgil turn face afterwards. This would mark the end of Dusty Rhodes' career as a full-time in-ring competitor. Rhodes returned to WCW in 1991 as a member of WCW's booking committee, making his first appearance only 11 days after his last WWF appearance at the Royal Rumble. On the May 25 edition of World Championship Wrestling he launched an interview segment called "The Bull Drop Inn". Booking disagreements between Rhodes and Ric Flair led to

9100-485: Was dominant, defeating the rulebreaker in every encounter. Rhodes scored his first televised win against Boss Man on the August 21 edition of Prime Time Wrestling . At SummerSlam 89 he appeared on his first-ever WWF PPV, defeating The Honky Tonk Man . Meanwhile, on the road his dominance continued as he remained undefeated against the Boss Man. In October a Rhodes fan, Sapphire , began to be featured at ringside during his televised matches. Rhodes would eventually invite

9200-572: Was for the BTW World Heavyweight title against champion Frank Scarpa in the Boston Arena . Having little money, Rhodes slept in his car and spent Thanksgiving with Rufus R. Jones in a Boston soup kitchen . Rhodes moved on to Fritz Von Erich 's Texas territory World Class Championship Wrestling in 1968, at that time also called Big Time Wrestling. It was in Texas where Rhodes first adopted

9300-482: Was later identified as that of a 44-year-old homeless man who had been missing since August 2020. On March 26, 2024, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. held a rally to announce his Vice Presidential running mate Nicole Shanahan in front of an audience of several hundred. Civic Center, Oakland, California 37°48′2.87″N 122°15′53.54″W  /  37.8007972°N 122.2648722°W  / 37.8007972; -122.2648722 Oakland's Civic Center neighborhood

9400-615: Was more profound as he started to defeat The Macho Man by pinfall around the country. This continued until June 3, 1990, when Dusty's lengthy undefeated streak was finally ended by Savage in West Palm Beach, Florida. Rhodes began teaming with Sapphire to face Savage and Sherri on house shows, resuming his winning streak and remaining undefeated. Later that summer Sapphire began to receive gifts from an unnamed benefactor during Dusty's televised matches. At SummerSlam Sapphire no-showed her scheduled match with Queen Sherri. Later that night Dusty

9500-436: Was on March 7, where he teamed with his son Dustin against Shinjiro Otani and Satoshi Kojima , which he also lost. The third was on May 8, where he defeated Corino. Starting in December 2004, Rhodes made regular appearances for Carolina Championship Wrestling (CCW), where his first match for the promotion saw him team up with The Rock 'n' Roll Express to take on Dennis Condrey , Bobby Eaton , and Stan Lane , all three of

9600-639: Was originally on the side of WCW when its battle with the New World Order (nWo) began in 1996. At Souled Out 1998 , Larry Zbyszko asked Rhodes, who was working the PPV broadcast, to accompany him to the ring for his match against Scott Hall . Zbyszko won the match by disqualification due to interference by Louie Spicolli . Rhodes entered the ring, delivering his trademark elbow smashes to Spicolli as Zbyszko stood and grabbed Hall. Rhodes went to elbow Hall, but seemingly inadvertently hit Zbyszko instead turning heel in

9700-554: Was pinned however on June 6 in a dark match against DiBiase at a WWF Superstars taping in Madison, Wisconsin. Many years later, this match was included as part of the WWE Unreleased: 1986–1995 DVD set. It was said that Rhodes was asked to lose in this match to test his willingness to put over other talent. Aside from this defeat, "The American Dream" remained undefeated against the upper-level heel . Rhodes made his televised appearance on

9800-466: Was scheduled to face Randy Savage in a one-on-one encounter; prior to the match Ted DiBiase announced that Sapphire had left Rhodes for The Million Dollar Man's money. Distracted and distraught, Rhodes was pinned by Savage. Dusty immediately transitioned to a feud with The Million Dollar Man. Unlike his previous series with Boss Man and Savage, this time Rhodes would come out on the losing end. He lost numerous house show matches after Virgil interfered on

9900-555: Was seconded by Steve Corino. Dusty then returned to WCW where he reignited the feud once more with long-time nemesis Ric Flair. On the WCW Greed PPV on March 18, 2001, he entered a WCW ring for the final time, teaming with Dustin Rhodes to defeat Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett . Following the purchase of WCW, the World Wrestling Federation allowed Turner South to continue to air classic matches on their "WCW Classics Program". Much like Heenan and Monsoon, Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair hosted

10000-408: Was severely intoxicated and began ranting against his former band Metallica (who were present at the show), and began verbally assaulting several audience members. He would also go on to denounce Metallica bassist Jason Newsted , and replacement guitarist Kirk Hammett . On the evening of October 20, 1991 as the bands Anthrax , Public Enemy and Primus performed inside while across Lake Merritt

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