WWE

WWE superstar Big Show says Doink the Clown's family is WRONG to go after the WWE for the wrestler's death ... claiming Vince McMahon does EVERYTHING he can to protect the talent.

The 7-footer was out in L.A. when we asked about the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of Doink's children -- which claims Doink's life spiraled out of control due to concussions he suffered in the ring.

"I think that everybody who steps through those ropes knows what could possibly happen," Big Show says.

"You gotta accept that responsibility as a talent if you step those ropes, whether you're a boxer, ultimate fighter or sports entertainer."

The mother of Doink the Clown's children is suing the WWE -- claiming the former wrestling star suffered serious brain injuries in the ring that led to his death ... and the WWE ignored the problem.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call made by Dusty Rhodes' wife moments after the wrestling legend collapsed at his Florida home ... and the 911 operator sounds inconvenienced by the whole ordeal.

The call was made on June 10th at 5:56 AM -- you can hear Dusty's wife say, "I need help. My husband has fallen. He's very sick. I need help."

The operator snipes back, "They're coming as fast as they can. Me talking to you is not stopping them."

Dusty's wife thanks the 911 operator and gets off the phone ... and that's when you hear the operator breathe a giant exasperated sigh.

Eventually, help arrived ... and Dusty was transported to a nearby hospital where he passed away the next day.

Rhodes was 69.

Dusty Rhodes' son Dustin Runnels (aka Goldust aka Dustin Rhodes) says his family is still shocked and "extremely sad" over the passing of the WWE legend ... telling TMZ Sports, "My dad was my hero."

Dustin followed in his father's footsteps and became a wrestling superstar himself ... and he tells us, "I owe everything to my father. I am who I am because of him. He was an amazing man."

"My dad was the greatest man I've ever known."

As we previously reported, Rhodes collapsed at his home in Florida on Wednesday and passed away at a local hospital the next day.

Dustin tells us his family is extremely sad ... "but thankful for the unbelievable amount of support they've received from around the world."

Some of the biggest wrestlers in the world have offered their condolences to the Rhodes family ... including Ric Flair and Roddy Piper, who shared one of his favorite memories of the American Dream.

Dusty Rhodes was a "national treasure" ... the human embodiment of 24-karat gold ... so says his former ring-mate Rowdy Roddy Piper who's honoring his friend with a HILARIOUS memory.

Piper was clearly emotional about the death of the wrestling legend when we saw him out in L.A. Thursday -- so we asked him to share a memory of Rhodes that would make him smile.

What we got was AWESOME -- a tale of smuggling a donkey (or a zebra) to the 12th floor of an apartment in Minnesota.

"He was in a league of his own," Piper says.

R.I.P.

Dusty Rhodes was laser focused on improving his health when he met with fellow wrestling legend Jerry Brisco last week, and feeling good about his prognosis.

Brisco -- who's known Rhodes for decades -- tells TMZ Sports they hung out in Orlando last Thursday, and Rhodes talked about how he was going to the doctor regularly. He'd been told he needed to bring his blood pressure down, and Brisco says Dusty's weight loss was helping.

Rhodes and Brisco were planning to go to an event Thursday night in Tampa to raise money for a wrestling wall of fame. Jerry says it won't be the same, but he's still going so he can gather with other wrestlers and fans to share Dusty stories.

11:37 AM PT -- Officials tell us ... emergency personnel responded to Dusty's home in Orlando, FL at 5:56 AM Wednesday morning after getting a call reporting a 69-year-old male had taken a fall.

We're told Rhodes was transported to a nearby hospital ... where he eventually passed away Thursday morning.

We're told Dusty's immediate family raced to be by his side as soon as they learned he was in the hospital.

Our sources tell us Dusty suffered "numerous complications" throughout the night ... which ultimately proved fatal.

WWE superstar Dusty Rhodes -- famously known as "The American Dream" -- has died at age 69 ... the WWE confirms.

Rhodes -- real name Virgil Runnels -- passed away Thursday morning.

Rhodes, who famously rocked polka dot tights during his legendary career, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.

Dusty had 4 children -- including two sons who also became wrestling superstars -- Goldust (Dustin Runnels) and Stardust (Cody Runnels).

The WWE issued a statement saying, "WWE extends its sincerest condolences to Runnels’ family, friends and colleagues."

WWE superstar Triple H posted a comment about his friend ... saying, "Saddened to hear the passing of Dusty Rhodes. Legend, teacher, mentor, friend...Love you Dream."

Hulk Hogan's daughter says she couldn't stand The Undertaker while she was growing up ... claiming she was in constant fear that the wrestling legend was gunning to steal her underwear.

Brooke explained her panty paranoia at the The Pool After Dark at Harrah’s in Atlantic City ... saying that she thought he got his name "Undertaker" because he would "take underwear."

Hogan says she was later convinced the guy was NOT a panty pilferer.

But get this ... on the flip side, Hogan says her FAVORITE wrestler growing up was "Macho Man" Randy Savage ... and she tells a pretty adorable story about the WWE legend.

Was Savage really a teddy bear in private?? OOOOOH YYYYEEEAAAHHHH.

Forget groomsmen .... A Syracuse couple got what they were after Saturday night when 3 huge wrestlers from the WWE barreled into their wedding reception.

Roman Reigns, R-Truth and Jimmy Uso (none the groom) were at a bar in the hotel when they heard the reception and made their way in. What they didn't know -- the bride, Beth Samuels and her freshly-minted hubby Matt were huge WWE fans.

Beth knew the WWE was having a show in Syracuse so she sent an email to the wrestling org inviting any of the wrestlers who might be looking for something to do.

Turns out the 3 guys didn't have a clue about the email ... they just dropped by and stayed 45 minutes.

WWE junkies can rejoice, because WWE Diva Sunny may get in the ring for a XXX face plant, because we've learned she's inclined to sign on with a huge porn company.

Sunny tells TMZ she's been mulling over Vivid honcho Steve Hirsch's 6-figure porn offer and is now 60/40 in favor of it.

But there's a snag. Hirsch really wants the scene set in a wrestling ring, but Sunny thinks the gag has been played out.

Sunny favors the more traditional setting, like a hotel room.

The 42-year-old won't get flak from her boyfriend. She says her 27-year-old man is excited and wants an advance screening.

Ronda Rousey doesn't want her pal David Spade worrying about her getting into WWE, and took a few moments to let him -- and all her fans -- know why she's determined to wrestle, and why it's low risk ... for her.

Ronda was leaving a book signing Thursday night when we asked her about Spade's comment that she should quit pining for pro wrestling ... because she might get hurt and screw up her UFC career.

Watch ... Ronda not only explains why she's still determined to return to the WWE, but also smacks down Spade's concerns. As she puts it ... she's more likely to stub a toe at home, than get injured while wrestling.

David Spade thinks Ronda Rousey should say buh-bye to all WWE action for the sake of her career -- but he's got a theory about why she keeps pushing to be a pro wrestler.

Spade -- who's a big fan of the UFC and Ronda -- was out in L.A. when he told us what he thought about Ronda saying she's down to be the next big thing in turnbuckle tussling.

FYI -- the WWE has a long history of having MASSIVE stars from the combat fighting world throw down with them, including Floyd Mayweather Jr., Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali himself.

David says Ronda would be taking a "backwards" move if she followed in those footsteps. As for why she wants to do it -- he thinks it has a lot to do with how much ass she's kicking in the Octagon.

Former WWE star Tammy Sytch is being welcomed in the porn star sisterhood with open arms -- and other stuff -- because the sex game's biggest names say she comes pre-trained for sex-on-cam.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Tammy, aka Sunny, is close to inking a six figure deal with Vivid Entertainment, and porn star Joanna Angel says she will fit right in -- "Porn is just like wrestling, it's sex on steroids, exaggerated. Wrestling is kinda like fighting on steroids ... it's the same thing."

For the record ... the WWE vehemently frowns on steroids.

That being said ... if Tammy wants to shoot a wrestling themed porn for her debut -- she'll have her pick of co-stars. Missy Martinez told us she's game to go a few rounds -- and Tanya Tate said, "She’s the first ever WWE Diva. I’d like to get pinned by her! Tag me in."

As for the big swinging male stars -- Nat Turner says what Tammy's really got going for her is ... "Dude's have been obsessed with her for years so she's already got the fan base. The more the merrier."

Like a Royal Rumble .. except that's not sweat on the mat.

No more "fake" fighting for Bill Goldberg -- the pro wrestling legend tells TMZ Sports he's gearing up for a REAL kickboxing fight ... and he's training with one of the biggest badasses in the biz.

The 48-year-old says he's flying out to Amsterdam to train with Rico Verhoeven -- the world heavyweight champ in the Glory kickboxing league -- and he's serious about fighting.

Goldberg says he's not delusional -- he doesn't think he's going to be the next great kickboxing champ ... but he really wants the opportunity to show off his combat skills in the ring.

So far, no word on when Goldberg hopes to schedule his first fight.

WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Lynn Sytch ... aka "Sunny" ... could be doing an entirely different kind of rear-naked choke in the VERY near future -- 'cause she's thiiiiis close to signing a monster porn contract.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Sunny -- widely considered the very first "WWE Diva" -- has been in talks with Vivid Entertainment, the same company that produced Chyna's "Backdoor to Chyna" video.

Vivid tells us the two sides have spoken several times and a 6-figure offer is on the table for Sunny to become a "genuine porn star" -- not just a 1-time sex tape thing.

"After the tremendous success of Chyna, this makes total sense. Hoping we can work it out," Vivid honcho Steve Hirsch tells us.

We're told the deal is "VERY close" to being done ... and that Sunny is prepared to start shooting right away.

No word on what the first title would be ... but here are some suggestions:
-- "Piledrivin'"
-- "N.W.O-face"
-- "Monday Night Raw Dog"
-- "HummerSlam"
-- "D-Generation Triple-X"
-- "The People's Anal"

Wrestling legend Diamond Dallas Page says he knows his friend Scott Hall has "stumbled" in his ongoing battle with substance abuse ... but says he still has Hall's back -- no matter what.

Page has essentially been a sober mentor for both Hall and Jake "The Snake" Roberts -- who both had serious issues with alcohol and drugs after becoming world famous wrestling stars.

Now, with Hall being escorted out of a wrestling event in NJ this weekend for allegedly showing up drunk, Page says he wants Hall to know he can count on him for support.

"Scott is going through a life process. He's stumbled along the way, but he is doing well over all. I've got his back."

Page adds, "Even Jake 'The Snake' has fallen a few times, but he is now one year sober and doing great."

DDP says he plans to speak with Hall soon ... and hopes he can help get Hall back on the sober path, asap.