DALLAS — Dustin Rhodes, son of legendary wrestler Dusty Rhodes, has been wrestling for for more than 35 years. And that extensive career will last a little longer, as he plans to be at All Elite Wrestling's "All In: Texas" event on July 12 at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
An AEW original, Rhodes has been with the company since it began in 2019 following his departure from WWE. Since his first match in AEW against his brother, Cody Rhodes, his run as been billed as "one last ride."
"I don't know how long it's gonna continue, but I don't see any end in sight right now, which is pretty cool," Rhodes said. "I hope to be a huge part of All In: Texas, July 12. This is our first U.S. stadium show, which is gonna be huge."
Tickets to the huge event, the first wrestling show to be held at the Texas Rangers' stadium, will be on sale to the general public on Dec. 9. But VIP packages went on sale Wednesday morning.
"Our pay-per-views are on another level really to be honest with you, and every pay-per-view just shock-and-awes me, man," Rhodes said. "This is the amount of talent we have and the stuff that we do. It keeps them coming back and that's what we want."
AEW has only held two stadium shows before, also titled "All In," but both were held at Wembley Stadium in London. As for why AEW's first U.S. stadium show is being held in the Dallas area, Rhodes said it was a historic sports town.
"Wrestling always does good here," he said. "Anywhere in Texas you go, they love pro wrestling. Even if they know it's scripted, they love to come and we love to entertain them."
Rhodes said some of his favorite memories are from wrestling in Texas because of the fans' nonstop energy.
"They don't get tired," he said.
This is not the first wrestling show to be held at an Arlington baseball stadium, as two were held in the late '60s headlined by Fritz Von Erich. And Dustin Rhodes will be following in his father's footsteps, as Dusty Rhodes also wrestled at one of them, the 1968 event, where he wrestled Duke Keomuka in the semi-main event.
"The Rhodes and the Von Erichs are synonymous with Texas, and I grew up watching the Von Erichs while my father was in Florida becoming a big star," Rhodes said. "I loved World Class [Championship Wrestling] and I actually got to wrestle there many times at the [Dallas] Sportatorium before they tore it down. I wish it was still standing. I would love to have a show there right now."
Rhodes wrestled at the Dallas Sportatorium just a year into his career, when he was working for the United States Wrestling Association, where he worked with wrestlers like Chris Adams, Buddy Landel and Robert Fuller.
And Rhodes said the Dallas crowds are still as hot as they were back then.
"With different era and different generations of people, their parents usually show the children, and then the children show their children and that's how the wrestling business has been so wonderful for so many years," Rhodes said.
Rhodes still works with the Von Erich family today, as he holds the Six-Man Tag Team Championship with Marshall and Ross Von Erich, the sons of Kevin Von Erich, in Ring of Honor, the sister promotion of AEW. They won the titles in Arlington during AEW's residency at Esports Stadium over the summer.
"They're very young, very hungry, so this is kind of a mentorship," Rhodes said. "Kevin said 'you guys listen to Dustin," and that meant the world to me, but to have Kevin there with the kids as we won the Ring of Honor six-man world tag team titles, it's beyond special. It's like my dad being there for me the first time I won a title. Just to see their dad in the ring with them, that had to feel amazing for them and it felt amazing to me, because I looked up to Kevin for so many years."
There is a kickoff party for ticket sales from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 20 at Texas Live! in Arlington free and open to the public. The event will include photo opportunities with wrestlers from AEW and it's sister promotion Ring of Honor, as well as exclusive merchandise and special giveaways.
Fans at the kickoff party will also have the opportunity to buy tickets to All In: Texas before sale to the general public starts. Wrestlers scheduled to be at the event include Dustin Rhodes, Athena, Jeff Jarrett, Sammy Guevara, The Outrunners and Abadon.