People often quote names such as Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and lately CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as people who have opened doors for wrestlers who are smaller than your average competitor. Bill Dundee is left off that list and quite wrongly. As a man who stood only 5’7” and weighed only 214lb’s he spent the majority of his career on top of the Memphis based territory, and he did it with an Australian accent and a Scottish heritage. Not only was he a ground breaking wrestler though, he was also a very important man behind the scenes in the booking role of the aforementioned territory as well as various others.
Bill’s story starts off with an introduction to the man himself followed by a foreword by his ex-wife and testimonials from various people who have known him including Jimmy Valiant and Lance Russell. These small passages really set the tone for the book revealing that there really will be nothing held back. Then without any further ado Bill starts the journey that has been his life. He reveals his childhood in Scotland and the families choice to move Australia and what it was about being in Australia that instigated his career in professional wrestling. Once involved in the business Bill talks us through getting involved with World Championship Wrestling (Australia) and the eventual transition from Sydney, Australia to Tennessee, America. Now in America the story really begins and Bill takes us through the in’s and out’s of his long career starting with Nick Gulas and the Welch’s Mid-America territory and the eventual downfall of that very same territory revolving around Nick’s very own son. Bill talks about why he aligned with Nick’s booker Jerry Jarrett, when Jerry set up his own company the Continental Wrestling Association. Of course his story wouldn’t be complete if Dundee didn’t speak of his own storylines and feuds as he is going through this story. You can read stories about guys like Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Valiant, Dutch Mantell, Bobby Eaten, Jim Cornette, Jimmy Hart, and so many more. Bill also provides a fascinating look into what it was like to be both a booker and a top talent in the territory days and the strains that doing both jobs put on his personal life. The book continues and takes us through Bill’s time in Georgia Championship Wrestling and Mid-South Wrestling before ending back up in Memphis to take us through the declining years of the territory and how Jerry Jarrett was repeating Nick Gulas’ history. There’s stories of his time in Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling and just like every other part of his life Bill is open in both negatives and positives whilst discussing his time there. Then it is only fitting he takes us back to Memphis one last time to discuss the final closing of the doors of the Memphis territory he had known and loved for so long. The final chapters of this autobiography are quite unique in that Bill provides a bullet point list of the differences between “Then” and “Now” in wrestling, ‘Twenty Five Superstar Moments’ chalked up by Randy Hales, and then we get a glimpse into what Bill is doing at the time of writing the book, explaining how his life has come full circle. Bill then gives his thoughts on the Memphis Heat DVD before Mark James shares his ‘Closing Thoughts’ on the Superstar to finish the book off nicely.
Bill Dundee’s Life Story is a blunt and straight forward story. Whilst Dundee shares good and bad light on most if not all situations you could ever want to hear him talk about including the infamous Concession Stand Brawl and the Randy Savage ‘Pistol Whip’ incident; if you do not believe Memphis Wrestling was the greatest territory to ever exist, you will by the end of the book. He provides an extremely interesting look at the similarities between the product the CWA put on and what would later be known as ECW wrestling or the Attitude Era in the 1990’s. There are some hilarious stories and for a self published book it is arranged remarkably well. Pictures are featured at the end of each chapter to provide a visual of wrestlers, moments, and himself during the times just discussed, which I found a really nice touch. This would have to be recommended to any Memphis Wrestling fan or anyone a desire to learn more on the territory, not to mention of course fans of the Superstar Bill Dundee. A great read with facts and figures straight from Bill Dundee’s very own booking sheets kept for the duration of his tenure in Memphis.
– By Jimmy Wheeler
By Bill Dundee with Mark James
Published by Bill Dundee
Released December, 2011
Pages 250, Paperback