William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943) is an Australian retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and author better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and was the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton.

Career

Dundee was born in Angus, Scotland, and raised in Melbourne. At 16, he joined the circus as a trapeze artist. 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 Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

and

Jimmy Valiant James Harold Fanning (born August 6, 1942) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant. Early life Fanning was born in Tullahoma, Tennessee as the youngest of five children of James and Effie Fann ...

for years. Dundee and Lawler ventured to the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

in 1987 and captured the

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

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 Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

and

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...

in 1986, where he teamed with

Jimmy Garvin James Williams (born September 25, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy Garvin. A member of the Fabulous Freebirds, Garvin is best known for his appearances with promotions including the America ...

and feuded with

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

for the

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States championship was reactivated in 2002 seeing Shane Somers defeat. 7'1 Butch McClain becoming the 1st champion since 1989 & youngest at 19 years of age. Title history {{Professional wrestling title history middle {{BundleEn ...

. He also briefly managed The Barbarian and The MOD Squad while in those territories. In 1993, Dundee signed with

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

as Sir William, the manager for Lord Steven Regal, he was fired in October 1994 due to a contract dispute. Dundee worked as a booker for Memphis, Louisiana and Georgia. He frequently appears on

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

, talk radio station WNWS 101.5 with Dan Reeves and on a talk show on

Public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

cable TV channels in West Tennessee. He still promotes indy cards across

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and in

Southaven, Mississippi Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Memphis metropolitan area, Greater Memphis. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making it the List of municipal ...

. 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 Anthony Deppen (born May 3, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently working for Major League Wrestling (MLW), Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Television Champion; and on the independent circuit. Professional wre ...

to win the unofficial WOMBAT Television Championship for

Game Changer Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was original ...

Tullahoma, Tennessee Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma microp ...

. He retired from wrestling in December 2019.

Personal life

Dundee's son also became a wrestler under the name Jamie Dundee. On the 7 September 2023 episode of the

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

series ''Story Time with

Dutch Mantell Wayne Maurice Keown (born November 29, 1949) is an American professional wrestling manager, booker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Dutch Mantel (also spelled Dutch Mantell). Since May 2022, Mantell has co-host ...

'', Jamie revealed that his father is suffering from late-stage

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

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) *

( 1 time) *

Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame The Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame was a professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the United States Wrestling Association. The induction ceremony for the Class of 1994, the inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame, took place at the USWA' ...

**Class of 2017 *

Mid-South Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level riv ...

** Mid-South Television Championship ( 1 time) *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from 1940 until 1981. The company was founded in 1940 by Nick Gulas ...

/ Continental Wrestling Association / Championship Wrestling Association **

AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started wh ...

( 9 times)NWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com **

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...

( 14 times) – with Norvell Austin (1), Robert Gibson (1),

(4), Robert Fuller (1),

Tommy Rich Thomas Richardson (born July 26, 1956) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tommy "Wildfire" Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Wo ...

(2), Dream Machine (2),

Steve Keirn Stephen Paul Keirn (born September 10, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as ...

(2) and

Dutch Mantel Wayne Maurice Keown (born November 29, 1949) is an American professional wrestling manager, booker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Dutch Mantel (also spelled Dutch Mantell). Since May 2022, Mantell has co-host ...

(1) **

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) – with

¹ ** CWA International Heavyweight Championship (

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) ** CWA International Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Tel ...

** CWA Southwestern Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

CWA World Heavyweight Championship The CWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title of the German professional wrestling promotion Internationalen Berufsringer Verbandes (IBV), later renamed the Catch Wrestling ...

( 1 time) ** CWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Tommy Rich **

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship The NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that was originally defended in the United States of Tennessee and Alabama. The current champion is Jeremiah Plunkett. History In 1957 "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers be ...

( 1 time) **

NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-America Tag Team championship was a tag team title promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion NWA Mid-America that ran more or less exclusively in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, United States, from the 1940s until ...

( 1 time) – with Ricky Gibson ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Memphis version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 3 times) – with Big Bad John (2) and

(1) **NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

OVW Heavyweight Championship The OVW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling World heavyweight championship owned by the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) promotion. The original championship was designed and created in 1997 by Reggie Parks. The title was introduced o ...

( 1 time) *

Power Pro Wrestling Memphis Power Pro Wrestling (Power Pro Wrestling) was a Memphis, Tennessee based professional wrestling promotion that was founded by Randy Hales. It was affiliated with Memphis Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation. It was the ...

** PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jerry Lawler *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **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) *

Southeastern Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama, from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship W ...

NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship The NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship was the major tag team championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Alabama territory, Southeastern Championship Wrestling (SECW). It existed from 1974 until November 1986, when it became the NWA Con ...

( 1 time) – with Tommy Rich ** NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Championship ''(Southeastern version)'' ( 1 time) *Supreme Wrestling **Supreme Mid-America Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rob Royale *

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...

USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship The USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship formed in 1988, which consisted of the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship from World Class Championship Wrestling and the AWA World Heavy ...

( 1 time)USWA Southern Heavyweight/Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com **

USWA Junior Heavyweight Championship The USWA Junior Heavyweight Championship was a short-lived title in the United States Wrestling Association that lasted from 1990 to 1991. They used the old NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA Southeastern Ju ...

(

) **

USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight ...

( 3 times) ** USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) **

USWA World Tag Team Championship The USWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The Continental Wrestling Association and World Class Wrestling ...

( 3 times) – with Jerry Lawler (2) and Jamie Dundee (1)USWA World Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com *WOMBAT Wrestling **WOMBAT Television Championship (1 time, current) *

World Class Wrestling Association World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...

** CWA Southwestern Heavyweight Championship (

)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
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dundee, Bill 1943 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers Australian emigrants to the United States Australian male professional wrestlers AWA International Heavyweight Champions AWA World Tag Team Champions Living people OVW Heavyweight Champions People from McKenzie, Tennessee Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling executives Professional wrestling managers and valets Sportspeople from Angus, Scotland Scottish emigrants to Australia Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish male professional wrestlers USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champions USWA World Tag Team Champions CWA Southwestern Heavyweight Champions NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champions