Bill Dundee Explained

Bill Dundee
Birth Name:	William Cruickshanks
Birth Date:	1943 10, df=yes^[1]
Birth Place:	Angus, Scotland
Children:	Donna Dundee–Eaton (deceased) Jamie Dundee
Names:	Bill Dundee William Dundee Sir William Dundee Squire William
Weight:	214lb
Billed:	Australia
Debut:	1962
Retired:	2019

William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943)^[1] is an Australian retired professional wrestler and author better known by his ring name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and was the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton.^[2]

Career

Dundee was born in Angus, Scotland, and raised in Melbourne. At 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 in 1987 and captured the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice.

As a singles wrestler, he held the Southern Heavyweight Championship belt several times from 1975 to 1985. Also, he 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 2019 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 and in Southaven, Mississippi. He currently runs a podcast on Anchor named If You Don't Want the Answer, Don't Ask the Question.

On 20 July 2019, Dundee, at 75 years old, defeated Tony Deppen to win the unofficial WOMBAT Television Championship for Game Changer Wrestling in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Personal life

Dundee's son Jamie Dundee, also became a wrestler. On the 7 September 2023 episode of the YouTube program 'Story Time With Dutch Mantell', he said his father is suffering from late-stage dementia.^[3]

Books

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

Championships and accomplishments

• American Wrestling Federation
  • AWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[4]
• Central States Wrestling
  • NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[5]
• Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Class of 2017^[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] [10]}
  • AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jerry Lawler^{[11] 1}
  • CWA International Heavyweight Championship (4 times)^[12]
  • CWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rocky Johnson^[13]
  • CWA Southwestern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^{[14] [15]}
  • CWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[16]
  • CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommy Rich
  • NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[17]
  • NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Gibson^[18]
  • NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version) (1 time)
  • 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)^[19]
• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[20]
• Power Pro Wrestling
  • PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jerry Lawler^[21]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 56 of the 100 top tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Jerry Lawler in 2003
• Pro Wrestling This Week
  • Wrestler of the Week (21–27 June 1987)^[22]
• Southeastern Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommy Rich^[23]
  • NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (Southeastern version) (1 time)^[24]
• Supreme Wrestling
  • Supreme Mid-America Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rob Royale
• United States Wrestling Association
  • USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[25]
  • USWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[26]
  • USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^{[27] [28] [29]}
  • USWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Jerry Lawler (2) and Jamie Dundee (1)^[30]
• WOMBAT Wrestling
  • WOMBAT Television Championship (1 time, current)
• World Class Wrestling Association
  • CWA Southwestern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^{[14] [15] 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.

External links

• Memphis Wrestling history

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bill Dundee profile. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20091129043412/http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/b/bill-dundee.html. 29 November 2009. 2009-11-28. Online World of Wrestling.
2. Web site: An Exclusive Interview with Bobby Eaton . 2007-04-05 . May 1999 . DDT Digest . https://web.archive.org/web/20070407232640/http://www.ddtdigest.com/features/eaton.htm. 7 April 2007 . live.
3. Web site: Jamie Dundee on Gives Sad Bill Dundee Health Update . .
4. Book: Royal Duncan & Gary Will . Wrestling Title Histories . Archeus Communications . 2000. 4th . 0-9698161-5-4 .
5. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/centralstates/nwa/cs-h.html NWA Central States Heavyweight Title history
6. Web site: Next Official Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony . Official Memphis Wrestling . 22 September 2021.
7. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/midsouth/mswa/mswa-tv.html Mid-South Television Title history
8. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/cwa/awa-s-h.html NWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Title history
9. Book: Royal . Duncan . Gary . Will . Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present . Waterloo, Ontario . 2000.. (Memphis, Nashville) Tennessee: Southern Tag Team Title [Roy Welsch & Nick Gulas, Jerry Jarrett from 1977] . 185–189. Archeus Communications . 2006 . 0-9698161-5-4.
10. Web site: Southern Tag Team Title . Wrestling-Titles . 19 January 2020.
11. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/awa-t.html AWA World Tag Team Title history
12. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/cwa/cwa-int-h.html CWA International Heavyweight Title (Memphis) history
13. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/cwa/cwa-int-t.html CWA International Tag Team Title history
14. Book: Will . Gary . Royal . Duncan . Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present . Archeus Communications . 2000 . Pennsylvania . Texas: CWA Southwestern Heavyweight title [Jarrett] . 272 . 0-9698161-5-4.
15. Web site: CWA Southwestern Title . ProWrestlingHistory.com . 19 November 2016.
16. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/cwa/tn-cwa-h.html CWA World Heavyweight Title history
17. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/nwa/midam-h.html NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title history
18. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/nwa/midam-t.html NWA Mid-America Tag Team Title history
19. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/nwa/tn-us-j.html NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title (Mid-America) history
20. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ky/ovw/ovw-h.html OVW Heavyweight Title history
21. Web site: Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994 . 17 April 2020 . 17 April 2020 . . Brian . Hoops.
22. Pro Wrestling This Week . . Joe . Pedicino . Joe Pedicino . Gordon (hosts) . Solie . Gordon Solie . . . Atlanta, Georgia . 27 June 1987 .
23. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/al/secw/se-t.html NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title (Northern Division) history
24. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/al/secw/se-us-j.html NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title (Southeastern/Continental) history
25. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/uswa/uswa-h.html USWA Southern Heavyweight/Heavyweight Title history
26. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/uswa/uswa-j.html USWA Junior Heavyweight Title history
27. Book: Will . Gary . Royal . Duncan . Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present . Archeus Communications . 2000 . Pennsylvania . Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich] . 0-9698161-5-4 . 268–269.
28. Web site: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title . 30 March 2017 . Wrestling-Titles.
29. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tx/tx-h.html Texas Heavyweight Title history
30. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tn/uswa/uswa-t.html USWA World Tag Team Title history