Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2013 National Wrestling Alliance NWA World Heavyweight Championship (8 times) NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2005) NWA Hollywood Wrestling Los Angeles Battle Royal (1969) Pro Wrestling Illustrated Match of the Year (1973) vs. Dory Funk Jr. on May 24 Match of the Year (1979) vs. Dusty Rhodes on August 21 Match of the Year (1983) vs. Ric Flair on June 10 Stanley Weston Award (2006) Wrestler of the Year (1979, 1983) Ranked No. 8 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Class of 2004 Class of 2017 - Inducted as a part of a tag team with Larry "The Axe" Hennig St. Louis Wrestling Club NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (7 times) NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Stampede Wrestling Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995) St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2007 Tokyo Sports Match of the Year (1978) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta on January 20 World Championship Wrestling (Australia) IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Larry Hennig World Championship Wrestling WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1994) World Wrestling Association WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Council WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment King of the Ring (1986) Sam Muchnick Memorial Tournament (1986) WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2004) Slammy Awards (2 times) Best Ring Apparel (1987) Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Scholarship Award (1987) with Haku, Tama, André the Giant, Hercules, and King Kong Bundy Wrestling Observer Newsletter Match of the Year (1983) vs. Ric Flair at Starrcade Wrestler of the Year (1980, 1981) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996) Notes References External links 1943 births 2019 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers AWA World Tag Team Champions Deaths from lung cancer in Missouri IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia) NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA United National Champions NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions NWA World Heavyweight Champions People from Eldon, Missouri People from Nodaway County, Missouri People from Troy, Missouri Professional wrestlers from Missouri Professional wrestling executives Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling managers and valets Professional wrestling trainers PWF World Heavyweight Champions Stampede Wrestling alumni Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champions