| Bill Dundee | |
|---|---|
Dundee in 2018 | |
| Birth name | William Cruickshanks |
| Born | 24 October 1943[1] Angus, Scotland[1] |
| Children | Donna Dundee–Eaton (deceased) Jamie Dundee |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bill Dundee[1] William Dundee[1] Sir William Dundee[1] Squire William[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 214 lb (97 kg; 15.3 st)[1] |
| Billed from | Australia |
| Debut | 1962 |
| Retired | 2019 |
William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943)[1] is a Scottish-born Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton.[2]
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.
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.
On 26 June 2021, his daughter Donna died at the age of 57 from breast cancer. Just over a month later, his son-in-law Bobby Eaton died on 4 August 2021 at the age of 62, just two weeks after suffering a fall at his home.
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.
