Dick Beyer

Beyer began as a babyface wrestler in the mid-1950s,[3] and he was voted 1955 Rookie of the Year by the Wrestling Life magazine.[4] His career as masked wrestler The Destroyer began in 1962 in Los Angeles. Beyer traveled to California after Freddie Blassie praised Beyer’s heel skills to local promoter Jules Strongbow, who informed him he would wrestle as the masked Destroyer.[2][6] Beyer's original mask was hard to see through and itchy,[4] but Ox Baker lent him a mask made from a woman’s girdle, which served well for Beyer.[5][6] He boasted about his East Coast academic background to help develop his heel character. He used the figure four leg lock (which became his signature finisher)[6] on his way to the Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) championship on July 27, 1962 in a win over Freddie Blassie, who convinced him that the mask gimmick would give him a large push.[4] He defended the championship for ten months.[3]

In early 1963, Beyer wrestled three sold-out matches against Giant Baba at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.[3][6] In May 1963, he traveled to Japan for the first time in his career, to wrestle Rikidōzan in a match watched by over 70 million TV viewers, being Japan's highest rated show at the time.[2][6][7] Beyer was also the last person to hold a victory over Rikidōzan before his death.[7][3] In June 1964, he returned to Los Angeles and beat Dick the Bruiser for another WWA championship run, losing it to Bob Ellis in September, regaining it in November, and finally dropping it in March 1965 to Pedro Morales.[3][4]

Beyer in 1969 as Dr. X

Between 1966 and 1972, Beyer wrestled as Doctor X while in Minneapolis.[4] He had matches with many of the top names in the business including his real brother-in-law Billy Red Lyons, who handed him his first American Wrestling Association (AWA) defeat on Minneapolis television, with a figure-four leglock.[3][4] In August 1970, he took a chance at revenge against his former partner Blackjack Lanza. He stood in the center of the ring with announcer Marty O'Neill, who told the fans that Doctor X was a former coach from Syracuse University. Doctor X then removed his mask, handed it to promoter Eddie Williams, and wrestled the match as Dick Beyer. In other AWA cities, Beyer was unmasked by Lanza or Paul Diamond. In these matches, his name was said to be Bruce Marshall. He wanted to lose the mask because he and his family were set to go to Japan, where he would be The Destroyer again. During 1972, he had several battles with "Crippler" Ray Stevens. Their last match saw him written out of the AWA with a purported broken leg.

From 1973 to 1979, Beyer wrestled in Japan on a deal with Giant Baba and NTV of Tokyo.[2] He feuded with Mil Máscaras in a series of seven matches, stating on his style, "He was the best competitor that I ever wrestled. He never gave you anything – it's true – but I didn't give him anything either. You talk about a shoot or a half-shoot, and that's the kind of match that it was."[8] He also helped promote All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for Baba and established himself as a gaijin tarento in a late-night TV show called Uwasa No Channel.[7] His appearance on the musical-comedy show only furthered the Destroyer’s popularity in Japan, which led to him recording a Christmas album for his fans.[2] He held the PWF United States Championship until 1979, when he left AJPW and the championship was abandoned. Beyer was also the first American wrestler signed to a Japanese promotion.[3] His retirement match took place on July 29, 1993, where, he, his son Kurt Beyer, and Giant Baba defeated Haruka Eigen, Masanobu Fuchi, and Masao Inoue.[7][4]