Bill Dundee

William "Bill" Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943 in Angus, Scotland)^[1] is a Scottish born-Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee.^[1] Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton.^[2]

Career

Dundee was born in Angus, Scotland, and raised in Melbourne. At the age of 16, he joined the circus as a trapeze artist.^[1] He started wrestling in Australia in 1962 and finally arrived in the United States as "Superstar" Bill Dundee in 1974 with his tag team partner George Barnes.

Dundee made a name for himself in the Memphis Territory where he regularly teamed and feuded with Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Valiant for years. Dundee and Lawler ventured to the American Wrestling Association together in 1987 and captured the AWA World Tag Team Titles twice.^[3]

As a singles wrestler, he held the Southern Heavyweight Championship belt several times from roughly 1975 to 1985 and also had a successful team with "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel that wreaked havoc in Tennessee.

Dundee had a brief run in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions, Central States Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling in 1986 where he teamed with Jimmy Garvin and feuded with Sam Houston for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship. He also briefly managed The Barbarian and The MOD Squad while in those territories.

He also had a run in World Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s as Sir William, the manager for Lord Steven Regal.

Dundee worked as a booker for Memphis, Louisiana and Georgia.

Dundee is still active as of 2014 in Memphis Wrestling where he has been a heel and a baby-face. He frequently appears on Jackson, Tennessee talk radio station WNWS 101.5 with Dan Reeves and on a talk show on Public-access television cable TV channels in West Tennessee. He still promotes indy cards across Tennessee.

Dundee is involved in promoting wrestling and MMA fighting and working as a Marketing Director for Cole Brothers Circus.

Books

If You Don't Want The Answer, Don't Ask The Question: Bill Dundee's Life Story createspace

Personal life

Dundee's son Jamie Dundee, also became a wrestler, whereas his daughter Donna, married wrestler Bobby Eaton. His grandson, Dylan Eaton, wrestles as well.

In the early 1990s he partnered with Doug Hurt, brother of Jerry Lawler's manager, in the opening of a furniture store in Evansville, Indiana called "Superstar Dundee Furniture". The store collapsed about a year after opening.

In 1998, he was a sales manager for American Cable and promoted satellite sales in the West Tennessee area.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Diving crossbody^[4]
• Signature moves
  • Piledriver^[1]
  • Small package^[1]
• Managers
  • Jimmy Hart
  • Ronald Gosset
  • Tessa
  • Rick Joyner
• Wrestlers managed
  • Masahiro Chono
  • Buddy Landell
  • Lord Steven Regal
  • Jimmy Garvin
  • The Barbarian
  • The MOD Squad
• Nicknames
  • "Superstar"^[1]

Championships and accomplishments

• American Wrestling Federation
  • AWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[5]
• Central States Wrestling
  • NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[6]
• Mid-South Wrestling Association
  • Mid-South Television Championship (1 time)^[7]
• NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association / Championship Wrestling Association
  • AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (9 times)^[8]
  • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (14 times) – with Norvell Austin (1), Robert Gibson (1), Jerry Lawler (4), Robert Fuller (1), Tommy Rich (2), Dream Machine (2), Steve Keirn (2) and Dutch Mantel (1)^[9]
  • AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jerry Lawler^[10]1
  • CWA International Heavyweight Championship (4 times)^[11]
  • CWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rocky Johnson^[12]
  • CWA Southwestern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • CWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[13]
  • CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommy Rich
  • NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[14]
  • NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Gibson^[15]
  • NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version) (1 time)^[8]
  • NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (3 times) – with Big Bad John (2) and Tommy Rich (1)^[9]
  • NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[16]
• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[17]
• Power Pro Wrestling
  • PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jerry Lawler
• Pro Wrestling This Week
  • Wrestler of the Week (June 21–27, 1987)^[18]
• Southeastern Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommy Rich^[19]
  • NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (Southeastern version) (1 time)^[20]
• United States Wrestling Association
  • USWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[21]
  • USWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[22]
  • USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[21]
  • USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[23]
  • USWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Jerry Lawler (2) and Jamie Dundee (1)^[24]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #56 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Jerry Lawler in 2003
• World Class Wrestling Association
  • CWA Southwestern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)²

¹Dundee's and Lawler's reigns with the AWA World Tag Team Championship began on cards hosted by the CWA through the interpromotional relationship between the AWA and CWA that also allowed the defense of the AWA Southern Heavyweight and Southern Tag Team Championships primarily within the CWA.
²The CWA Southwestern Heavyweight Championship was promoted in both the CWA and WCWA while the promotions had a working relationship in 1989 and 1990.

References

External links

• Memphis Wrestling History
• Profile at OWW