Posted on by Editor
Craig Wilson
We return with a ‘Remember When?‘ piece, going back to the end of 1997 when Goldust dropped the golden part of his ring attire and became ‘T.A.F.K.A Goldust, to somewhat mixed reviews…
From the moment he set foot in the WWE in 1995, Dustin Runnels pushed boundaries with his portrayal of ‘Goldust’. 22 years on, the enigmatic, flamboyant, sexually ambiguous gimmick of “Goldust” has remained popular with Runnels donning the gold face paint to this day.
However, after two successful years after his debut, by late 1997, the ‘bizarre one’ was in a rut. A red-hot programme with Brian Pillman tragically came to an end with the latter’s death on the day of the Badd Blood PPV, where the two were met.
In November 1997, Goldust split with Terri and refused to cooperate with his Survivor Series teammates, which once again turned him into a heel. The following night on Raw, other events at Survivor Series would overshadow this heel turn, Jim Ross interviewed Goldust who appeared with ‘FU’ written on his cheek, meaning “Forever Unchained.” The segment ended with Vader appearing and powerbombing Goldust. This helped set up a short-lived feud between the pair and the eventual appearance of The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust (a reference to Prince), managed by Luna Vachon.
Appearing in various guises, Goldust would catch out Vader and cost him wins in other matches. It also memorably led to Vader appearing as Santa Claus on an episode of Raw is War. In addition, Goldust found himself managed by Luna Vachon. Gone was the golden attire of old. In its place, he began mimicking various celebrities and fellow wrestlers including “Chynadust”, “Dustydust”, “Hunterdust”, “Flashdust”, “Marilyn Mansondust”, and “Vaderdust”.
Dressed in increasingly over the top attire, even compared to previous standards, Goldust’s new character was reacting at the separation from his wife, something announced via sit down interviews with Jim Ross where Dustin Runnels was dressed in normal attire, not the gold bodysuit of old.
This all – the sit-down interviews and new gimmick – came just after Vince McMahon took to the screens promising that Raw would now be a more edgy product, a response to WCW and Nitro which was still winning the ratings war on a weekly basis.
Was this T.A.F.K.A Goldust character the embodiment of this new direction? I suspect many in the crowd, and those at home, would have hoped not. It was different and while the JR interviews were like nothing the company had really opted for on TV before – undoubtedly the redeeming factor of this whole thing – the rest left a lot to be desired. But it didn’t go away…
By June 1998, Goldust feuded with Val Venis, who had been involved with Terri during their separation. Now going by his real name, Dustin Runnels began speaking out (mostly in taped vignettes) on the increasingly edgy WWF product and promoting alternatives to watching the show such as reading the Bible. These vignettes were sponsored by the fictional group, “Evangelists Against Television, Movies and Entertainment”, the acronym for which reads “EATME” – a thinly veiled joke on the WWF’s part. Runnels declared himself a born again Christian, alluding to “his” return, and walking through the crowd with signs reading “he’s coming back!”. While the return of Christ was clearly implied, Runnels was in fact referencing the return of the Goldust gimmick, which he reprised in October 1998 against Val Venis and then in November 1998, he began feuding with Jeff Jarrett over the attention of his manager, Debra.
There is no doubting the longevity of the Goldust character. Here we are in 2018, 22 years after the he first appeared on our screens, and whilst he may be winding down and doesn’t occupy the same high-profile role he once did, long after it’s gone, the Goldust character will be remembered for years to come. It was edgy before the WWE even went down a new edgier path and made Dustin Runnels a star. But T.A.F.K.A run is thankfully a distant memory that only occupied six or so months of a near two-decade run with the WWE.