For a state that's often forgotten about, Indiana has produced its fair share of legends, real and fictional. A good chunk of them have come from basketball, including French Lick native Larry Bird, Indiana Pacers sharpshooter Reggie Miller, current Pacers point guard, and WWE fan, Tyrese Haliburton, and anyone who was involved in the production of the classic sports film "Hoosiers." Few, however, have come from the realm of pro wrestling, despite the fact that Indiana has a rich history with the sport. So it's probably a good thing that the biggest wrestling star to ever originate out of the "Hoosier State" is one of the most accomplished pro wrestlers in history; five time wrestling Hall of Famer Dick the Bruiser.
Born in Delphi, Indiana, Bruiser lived quite an eventful life over his 62 years; in addition to his wrestling career, he also played four seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers during the early 50s. When he finally stepped off the gridiron and into the wrestling ring in 1954, after training with Verne Gagne and Joe Pazandak, it kick started a 35 year career that saw Bruiser win multiple World Championships, 20+ Tag Team Championship reigns, garner a reputation for being one of the greatest heels ever, and become an inspiration to famous Indiana natives such as talk show host and comedian David Letterman. Through it all, he remained attached to his home state via his promotion, World Wrestling Association, which he bought, with help, in 1964 and ran till 1989, often serving as its top star. And though Bruiser died a few years later at the relatively young age of 62, his legacy has persevered, in no small part due to Dick the Bruiser Jr., Bruiser's son-in-law.
Yes, you read that right; Dick the Bruiser Jr. isn't Bruiser's son, but in fact his son-in-law, married to one of Bruiser's daughters. This wasn't out of character for the Bruiser family, as his other daughter, Michelle, married wrestler Spike Huber, who would later go on to become one of the several wrestlers Bruiser held a tag team championship with. Bruiser Jr. didn't get the same opportunity to hold tag team gold with his father-in-law, but he did manage to follow in Bruiser's footsteps, wrestling for years on the independent circuit in the Midwest after beginning his career in 1982. And while Huber was content to just be a wrestler up until his retirement in 2000, Bruiser Jr. became a promoter for a time as well, opening up WWA Bruiser Wrestling, named in honor of his father-in-law and his old promotion, in Fort Wayne during the 90s and running the promotion at least into the 2010s. Records for the promotion are scarce, however, beyond a Facebook page, and there's no sign that the promotion has run an event since 2013.
Still, the younger Bruiser has remained active in the Indiana scene, even though he appears to now be into his 70s. Cagematch records show that Bruiser Jr. would wrestle at least a handful of matches per year in the 2010s, primarily for midwestern promotion Pro Wrestling King. However, those records may be misleading, as they do not include any reference to Bruiser Wrestling, suggesting that Bruiser Jr. was wrestling more regularly than he appeared. Most recently, Bruiser Jr. has been associated with the Funkdafied Wrestling Federation, a promotion that had its roots on the east coast, but began promoting wrestling in Warsaw, Indiana back in 2014.
