Jamie Dundee once said he never wanted to hear the name Jc Ice again. But not only is he hearing it, he is living it out, through cold-hearted actions toward his own father.
Not very long ago, family meant something in professional wrestling. Most wrestlers wouldn't even talk about the possibility of publicly feeduing with a family member. There may have been disputes among brothers, fathers, and sons, but that friction would never spill over into the ring. Never.
Well, the Harts Sullivans, Rottens and the Gunns have changed all that. Now family battles are almost commonplace. The damage done by these feuds tears families apart.
When Jamie Dundee first christened himself Jc Ice in 1990, he picked a fight with his father, veteran wrestler Bill Dundee. These two battles in singles and tag team matches through out the USWA. This father-son relationship, many thought, would never be the same.
"It was my first heart-breaking time in my life," recalled Bill Dundee. "I brought my son into wrestling. I trained him, and he was using everything I showed him against me. Even the nights I beat him, I wasn't really enjoying myself. There were times when I was ashamed of what I was doing."
But Dundee and son defined the odds. Last summer, Jamie seemed to have a change of heart. He split with his longtime PG-13 tag team partner, Wolfie D, and proudly returned to his birth moniker and reunited with his estranged father. They even began sharing an apartment in Memphis together.
"It was like old times," said the elder Dundee. "Jamie had learned from his mistakes, and we were starting over. It was very exciting. It made for the pain from the past few years of disappear, like it never happened."
But before anyone could get accustomed to the all-new Jamie Dundee, he returned to his nefarious ways and re-adopted the name Jc Ice. He and Wolfie D were back together again. And that wouldn't be the end of the transformation. The re-united PG-13 tandem caught the eye of the WWF manager Clarence Mason, who at the time, was helping Farooq assemble the Nation of Domination. It took but one telephone call to convince Jc Ice and Wolfie to join... much to the dismay of Bill Dundee.
"I wasn't crazy about Jamie and Wolfie getting back together, but I tried to understand," said Dundee. "But when his NOD thing came up, things got completely out of control."
The modest dwelling of the Dundee family soon became an informal meeting place for the NOD whenever members of the group were in town. Family gatherings gave way to visits from Mason, Farooq, and Crush, and members of the USWA branch of the organization. Jc was firmly entrenched. Bill Dundee warned his son to stay away, but it was no avail. Something had to give in.
"One night out of the blue, he asked me to join the NOD," recalled Bill Dundee. "He said something about it strengthening our father-son bond. But it was already tearing us apart. So I said No."
Ice didn't calmly accept his fathers refusal. He made his feelings crystal clear when he joined Wolfie in his attack on Bill. Dundee and fans were reliving the family feud all over again. But this time, it was all over again. But this time, it was more than just a difference in philosophy.
When asked about his father, Ice responded, well, icily. "Father? I have no father, not anymore. A father is a man who stands by his son and supports him. I don't have that. And if you're asking if Bill Dundee is my father, he's not. He's just another wrestler. Another stupid loser. Another target for the NOD.
They had seemed to come so far. Most felt that there past fights would tear Dundee and Ice apart forever. But they put there pride aside and forged ahead as a family. Unfortunately, Ice didn't get rulebreaking completely out of his system. His cold, black heart re-emerged. Perhaps it never went away.
"I think about that all the time now," said Bill Dundee. "Maybe he had me fooled all along. Maybe he was just laying in the weeds, waiting to make his first move and return to his old ways."
"Yo, I was just confused man," said Ice. "I didn't know what I wanted, so I settled for staying with Bill Dundee. We would still be together if he would just have wised up."
Dundee would have preferred that Jc stayed the way he was. The brief return of the prodigal son gave him false hope. The fading memories of their strong father-son relationship had returned to clear focus after they moved in together. But now those memories were fading again, and it breaks Bill Dundee's heart when his son refers to him by name rather than "dad". But it also enrages him.
After al, he was willing to forgive his son the first time he betrayed him. Ice was an up-in-coming wrestler who was corrupted by an evil element. But a second betrayal after the emotional reunion shows that Ice's name is indicative of the condition of his heart. Cold. Cold as ICE.
Bill Dundee knows what he has to do. Since he had been effectively disowned by his son, he must treat him like he would any other enemy. Always the professional who handles his business in the ring, this father must beat some sense into his son yet again.
"I honestly don't know how much good it will do," he said. "Maybe, just maybe, if I, well..."
Dundee's voice trailed off, but the anguished look on his face said a lot. He knows he might never have a good relationship with his son again. He also knows any pain he might inflict on his cold-hearted offspring will never match the pain of the betrayal twice over.
