Goldust Talks About His Past Drug Problems, How He Is Now, Praises Cody Rhodes & More

As PWMania.com rpeorted, Dustin Rhodes recently spoke with Mike Mooneyham of The Post & Courier about his return to WWE as Goldust and more. Here are some highlights:

His drug problems while with TNA:
“It was day in and day out, probably two years solid, and I can go through the list of things. A half gallon of vodka a day, probably 60 or 70 pills a day, plus other stuff like cocaine. It wasn’t good, but I didn’t care. I didn’t see the other way. I only thought about where I could get my next fix. I didn’t see what it had done to me or what it was doing to my family and everybody around me. And what it was doing to my career and especially my health. I was trying and trying and re-medicating myself. It just didn’t happen. Enough was enough, and about 3 or 4 in the morning I crawled out in the rain and my wife was with me. I was like, ‘I give up,’ and I got on the phone and told Dad I wanted to go to the WWE rehab center. I haven’t turned back. I’ve been clean and sober for five-and-a-half years.”

Where he’s at now:
“It was cool the way things worked out. I never could have imagined or dreamed where my career would be taking me the way it has with the Goldust character. It’s awesome. I think I’ve stumbled upon the fountain of youth or something. I’m 44 years old and I’m down to high school weight (225). But I’ve worked hard for it the past few years. Plus being with Cody gives me more motivation. I’ve really enjoyed this storyline we’ve been doing. Now I realize that I can get out there and be clear when I’m working and really give a (darn) and get through a match without taking all that (stuff). That’s really what it’s about. And I’m enjoying it. I know what’s going on now. It’s cool.”

Working with his brother Cody Rhodes:
“I’ve been watching him constantly for the past two or three years. In the beginning it was me sort of pushing for a match with Cody at Wrestlemania. Vince just kept saying no. It got to the point of me just turning on Raw to watch it. I suffered a shoulder injury in 2010. So I did the producing thing. Getting the chance to watch Cody grow has been very special since he is wise beyond his years.”

“The other night at the pay-per-view I gave Cody a tag and I just watched him. I thought to myself: ‘This kid’s got it.’ I felt good for him. He was just cleaning house, on fire, and the crowd was hot. It was very special. He’s really doing well, and I am very proud of him. He is the future. If he wants to do something that I don’t think is right, I tell him. I give him a different way to look at it and a different way to get into it. He trusts that. Sometimes he’s a little impatient and hotheaded, but at the end of the day we get on the same page. Whatever he can learn from me, that’s great. We’ve gotten so much closer since this has happened than we were in the past. It’s just awesome all the way around.”