Derrick Dukes (born January 4, 1965) is an American retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. He best known for his appearances in 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 owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

in the late-1980s as one-half of the

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

"The Top Guns" with

Ricky Rice Ricky Rice is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearance with the Minneapolis-based promotions Pro Wrestling America and the American Wrestling Association. Professional wrestling career Early career Trained ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1986–1988)

Dukes and Rice, who had formerly competed in

Eddie Sharkey Eddie Sharkey (born February 4, 1936) is an American professional wrestling trainer. He is often called "The Trainer of Champions". He has been instrumental in training some of the biggest names in the sport. He was also the owner of Pro Wrestl ...

Pro Wrestling America Pro Wrestling America is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the 1980s and early 1990s. Founded and promoted by retired wrestler Eddie Sharkey, a longtime veteran of the American Wrestling Association ...

, were one of several brought into central Canada by promoter Tony Condello in 1986.

American Wrestling Association (1988–1989)

While in the AWA, Rice and Dukes feuded with

Badd Company Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. They used the song "Bad Company", by the band of the same name as their theme song. His ...

over the AWA tag team titles but broke up shortly after appearing at '' SuperClash III'' with

Wendi Richter Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she ...

in a mixed 6-person tag team match against Badd Company and Madusa Miceli on December 13, 1988. After participating in the "Superstars of Wrestling" tour of Europe in early 1988, Dukes then feuded with

Colonel DeBeers Edward Wiskoski (born January 10, 1945) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association under the ring name Colonel DeBeers from 1985 to 1990. Early life Wiskoski was the fi ...

in 1989 and lost a "Loser Gets Painted Yellow" match at ''War in the Windy City'', however the controversial nature of the match caused it to be subsequently cut from the televised broadcast.

Various promotions (1989–1992)

After AWA folded, Dukes would return to Pro Wrestling America where he lost to the Lightning Kid in a match for the PWA Iron Horse Television Championship on April 20, 1990.

Catch Wrestling Association (1992)

In 1992, Dukes wrestled in Germany and Austria with the

Catch Wrestling Association The Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) was a professional wrestling organization based in Austria and Germany that was founded in 1973. It was run by Otto Wanz. The CWA featured a traditional brand of mat wrestling mixed with various “Strong Man ...

Late career (1992–2001)

In 1995, he returned to Pro Wrestling America and teamed with former

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (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 Nation ...

wrestler

Charlie Norris Charles Norris (born October 21, 1965) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993. He spent the majority of his career in Minnesota-based Pro Wrestling America (PWA), w ...

as "Thunderblood" winning the PWA Tag Team titles from the Storm Troopers and remained tag team champions until the promotion's closure in early 1996. In 1999 he toured Japan with Worldwide Pro Wrestling. Dukes retired in 2001.

Boxing career

Dukes pursued a career in boxing for a brief period during the early 1990s. His most famous bout came against former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

All Pro

Mark Gastineau Marcus Dell Gastineau (born November 20, 1956) is an American former football player who was a defensive end for the New York Jets from 1979 to 1988. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was one of the quickest and most feared pass rushers of his generatio ...

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combin ...

on June 8, 1991. Gastineau knocked Dukes out in the first round of the fight, however it was later found out that Dukes took a

dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

. In 1999, Dukes lost to Innocent Otukuwu in

Lula, Mississippi Lula is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 204. Geography Lula is located near the northern border of Coahoma County. U.S. Route 49 passes southwest of the town, and U.S. Route 61 pass ...

on July 31, and Chris Brown in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

on September 7, in an attempt at a comeback.

Championships and accomplishments

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

WWC Television Championship The WWC Television Championship is a tertiary championship that is currently defended in the World Wrestling Council. The title was initially created in 1986 and used until 2003, then from February 3, 2007 until July 11, 2008. The title was brought ...

( 1 time) *International Wrestling Association **IWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** PWA Iron Horse Television Championship ( 3 times) ** PWA Tag Team Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) - with

and

*''

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

'' ** PWI ranked him # 153 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1991 *St. Paul Championship Wrestling **SCW Northern States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dukes, Derrick 1965 births 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century African-American people African-American boxers African-American male professional wrestlers American male boxers American male professional wrestlers Boxers from Ohio Living people People from Barberton, Ohio Professional wrestlers from Ohio WWC Television Champions