WWE ring announcer Eden, who is also the wife of WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes, revealed on her official Instagram account that Dusty Rhodes passed away of “natural causes” related to a brief illness. Below is what she posted:
Virgil “Dusty” Pop to us, passed yesterday of natural causes following a brief illness. His last moments were filled with love and surrounded by his family.
Also Read: Time Frame of Dusty Rhodes’ Death, NXT Crowd Pays Tribute – Click Here.
Dustin “Goldust” Runnels also commented on the death of his father and below is what he posted on his Facebook profile:
Yesterday my father passed away with his four children, my daughter and his wife of 38 yrs. he was our hero and the greatest father in the world. He is the reason why I am who I am today. He taught me so so many lessons in life. He had 1 thing that he wanted to be and that was he wanted to be forever young. Now he is. Now he is dancing with angels in heaven. He was my mentor, my hero and a dad that I strive to be like. I love you dad. Thank you for all the overwhelmingly amount of love and support. He would have been on cloud 9 with this.
Thank you all. Dustin Runnels
NXT Champion Kevin Owens wrote an emotional message to Dusty Rhodes on Twitlonger and you can read it below:
Dusty…
These past few weeks, I kept telling myself that I had to find time to stop by the Performance Center and talk to Dusty. I wanted to thank him for all of his help in the last year and make sure he knew how grateful I was for the chance I got to work with him. But I’ve been very busy and just couldn’t find the time.
Well, today, I learned that Dusty Rhodes has passed away.
There are no words to express the sadness I feel, not only because I won’t get to see him or talk to him or laugh with him again, but because I didn’t get to tell him how special he was to me.
So today, I invite you all to make time to tell the people in your lives how much they mean to you…You never know what tomorrow will bring.
I can only hope that even though I didn’t get to tell him directly, Dusty knew how much I appreciated and valued his help, wisdom, support and friendship. He was unlike anybody I’ve ever met in this industry and to say that I will always remember him and be thankful for the honor of having known him is an understatement.
In the meantime, the entire NXT crew is on its way to Pittsburgh where we will do what we do best. And you can bet every single second of tonight and every other NXT show this week are dedicated to the memory of the legendary, one-and-only Dusty Rhodes.
My thoughts are with his family and friends at this time…especially his children. Your father was an incredible coach and an even better man. He will be greatly missed.
Dusty used to call us “his NXT kids”… Well, I think I speak for all of us at when I say that tonight and every other night from here on out, we will give it our all for you, Dusty.
We’ll make you proud, Dream.
Thank you for the memories…thank you for everything.
Much love,
Kevin
