5 Best Tag Team Partners Of Dusty Rhodes' Career (& 5 Worst)

The American Dream Dusty Rhodes is one of the most timeless and beloved figures in pro wrestling history. He had inimitable charisma and magnetism that made him one of the most successful babyfaces the business has ever seen.

Throughout his prolific career, Dusty had a number of tag team partners. Some of these partnerships worked out much better than others, be it because of in-ring chemistry, booking, or personality differences. While some of these wrestlers found great championship success during their tag team partnership with Dusty, others didn’t have the same luck. With that being said, let’s get into the list.

10 BEST: Magnum T.A.

Both Magnum T.A. and Dusty Rhodes are two of the biggest stars of their generation on their own. As a tag team, then, you can imagine the charismatic powerhouse they were. In addition to being allies in the ring, Magnum and Dusty were also close friends outside of it. Magnum has named Dusty Rhodes as the single greatest influence on his career and credits Dusty for much of his success. Their most memorable moment together is likely their WCW “fur coat” promo.

9 WORST: Buff Bagwell

This name might count as a surprise appearance since it’s more than likely that most friends don’t remember Buff Bagwell ever being a tag team partner of Dusty Rhodes. However, the two of them did in fact become NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions in 2005. They vacated the titles a few months later.

8 BEST: Dick Murdoch

There’s a strong case to be made that Dick Murdoch is the best tag team partner Dusty Rhodes ever had. After all, the Texas Outlaws have the longest list of accolades out of any tag team Dusty has been a part of; together they were NWA North American Tag Team Champions, NWA World Tag Team Champions, IWA World Tag Team Champions, and NWF World Tag Team Champions. In addition to being greatly successful, the Texas Outlaws were also immensely popular in every territory they visited.

7 WORST: The Red Rooster

Terry Taylor was a successful pro wrestler in the territories. Unfortunately, his career took a sharp turn for the worse when he went to WWE and was given the infamous “Red Rooster” gimmick.

The act turned Taylor into a feather-wearing jobber who became impossible to take seriously. Rooster and Dusty became allies once Rooster left his manager, Bobby Heenan. Their most famous outing as a tag team came at Survivor Series in 1989 where they fought alongside Tito Santana and Brutus “the Barber” Beefcake.

6 BEST: Nikita Koloff

When Magnum T.A. suffered a car accident that ended his career, Jim Crockett Sr needed a new tag team partner for Dusty Rhodes. The solution came in the form of “The Russian Nightmare,” Nikita Koloff. They were an oddball duo, for sure, but the two hit it off extremely well. They became known as “The Super Powers,” a reference to the Cold War that was raging at the time.

5 WORST: Jeff Jarrett

Dusty Rhodes’ time in TNA is an era that many of his fans would like to forget. Dusty was far past his prime at this point, and worked in TNA as both an onscreen personality and a booker. He, unfortunately, didn’t find great success with either. At one point, Dusty was allied with Jeff Jarrett and the Road Warriors of all people against Vince Russo. Jarrett and Dusty had some business disagreements, which makes the memory of their tag team work together all the more awkward.

4 BEST: Bugsy McGraw

Over the course of his career, Bugsy McGraw found the most success in Florida, specifically in CWF (Championship Wrestling from Florida). It was there that he defeated Dusty Rhodes for the NWA Florida Television Championship. Dusty came to admire his rival’s spirit, and the two of them became friends. Together, they won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship.

3 WORST: Ole Anderson

Ole Anderson is without a doubt most known for his time in the Four Horsemen. He and the rest of the Horsemen were arguably the toughest opponents Dusty ever came across. However, some time alone in Georgia had fans reconsidering whether Ole could actually be a nice guy. Dusty Rhodes saw some good in him and decided to team up with Ole to take on the nefarious tag team known as the Assassins. Ole immediately betrayed Dusty during their match, squandering all hope that there was a babyface somewhere in Ole.

2 BEST: Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant and Dusty Rhodes are two of the most recognizable wrestlers in history. While most fans know and love their individual work, a lot less know that they were once one of the most dominant teams in the NWA.

Together, they became NWA Florida Tag Team Champions and NWA United States Tag Team Champions. The two also became close friends outside the ring and pulled some funny (if not disgusting) pranks on each other.

1 WORST: Baron Von Raschke

In 1969, Dusty and Baron Von Raschke won the NWA American Tag Team Championship together. This came during their time working for Big Time Wrestling in the Dallas, Texas territory. While at this point in time, Dusty was not yet the American Dream, it remains an odd blight on his career that he was the tag team partner of a Nazi caricature. Unfortunately, Nazi-type heels were a staple of wrestling at the time, meaning that this was likely bound to happen at some point.