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| Bill Dundee | |
|---|---|
 Dundee in 2018 | |
| Birth name | William Cruickshanks |
| Born | (1943-10-24)24 October 1943 (age 81)[1] Angus, Scotland[1] |
| Children | 2 |
| 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 | December 14, 2019 |
William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943)[1] is an Australian retiredprofessional wrestler and author better known by hisring nameBill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father ofJamie Dundee and was the father-in-law of wrestlerBobby 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 theMemphis Territory, where he regularly teamed and feuded withJerry Lawler andJimmy Valiant for years. Dundee and Lawler ventured to theAmerican Wrestling Association in 1987 and captured theAWA 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 theNWA'sJim Crockett Promotions,Central States Wrestling andFlorida Championship Wrestling in 1986, where he teamed withJimmy Garvin and feuded withSam Houston for theNWA Central States Heavyweight Championship. He also briefly managedThe Barbarian and TheMOD Squad while in those territories.
In 1993, Dundee signed withWorld Championship Wrestling asSir William, the manager forLord Steven Regal, he was fired in October 1994 due to a contract dispute.
Dundee worked as abooker for Memphis, Louisiana and Georgia.
He frequently appears onJackson, Tennessee, talk radio station WNWS 101.5 with Dan Reeves and on a talk show onPublic-access television cable TV channels in West Tennessee. He still promotes indy cards acrossTennessee and inSouthaven, Mississippi. He currently runs a podcast on Anchor namedIf You Don't Want the Answer, Don't Ask the Question.
On 20 July 2019, Dundee, at 75 years old, defeatedTony Deppen to win the unofficial WOMBAT Television Championship forGame Changer Wrestling inTullahoma, Tennessee. He retired from wrestling in December 2019.
Dundee's son also became a wrestler under the nameJamie Dundee. On the 7 September 2023 episode of theYouTube seriesStory Time withDutch Mantell, Jamie revealed that his father is suffering from late-stagedementia.[3]
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.
