by Stephen Von Slagle
The Sensational, Intelligent Destroyer was an instant hit with the fans, and when his paychecks began to increase dramatically, Beyer resigned himself to the fact that he would be a masked man for the rest of his career, instead of the few weeks he originally planned. Although The Destroyer made his presence felt as a villain originally, he wrestled “on both sides of the fence,” so to speak, and was often the fan favorite. His wrestling skill was undeniable, and separated him from his competition. In addition, he was admired for taking the long-held traditions of being a masked man very seriously, as all masked greats have done. Beyer has stated in interviews that, after leaving an arena, he would sometimes have to drive his car while wearing his famous hood for as long as an hour, just to make sure no fans would catch a glimpse of his face.
He won the prestigious WWA World Heavyweight title in 1962 and held the championship for nearly a full year before being defeated by archrival “Classy” Fred Blassie. All total, The Destroyer held the WWA World title on three different occasions. In 1963 and again in 1964, he teamed with Art Michalik to win the Pacific Northwest Tag Team title. Also in 1964, The Destroyer twice teamed with Hard Boiled Haggerty to win the WWA World Tag Team title. He also defeated “Mad Dog” Vachon to win the prestigious NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight title in the mid 1960s. However, when he entered Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association during the late 1960s, Gagne decided he wanted Beyer to remain a masked man, but use a different persona. Thus, the evil masked Dr. X was created. After transforming himself into Dr. X, Beyer continued to enjoy great success and he became one of the AWA’s top attractions. On August 17, 1968, Dr. X defeated Gagne in Bloomington, Minnesota to become the AWA World Heavyweight champion. Elsewhere, The Destroyer defeated Pedro Morales to win the Hawaiian version of the North American title in 1970 and, years later, The Destroyer won the Canadian International Heavyweight title in 1983.

The Destroyer vs. Rikidozan
Beginning in 1984, after thirty years in the business, Dick Beyer went into a state of semi-retirement. For the next eleven years, while wrestling on a limited part-time basis, Beyer also taught physical education in Akron, New York, as well as coaching football, swimming, and, of course, amateur wrestling. Realizing the correlation between the success of amateur wrestling in relation to future generations entering the pro ranks, Beyer often participated and helped promote amateur wrestling tournaments throughout the United States. As a result of his lifelong love and dedication to the sport, both genres of wrestling were much better off. Finally, on July 29, 1993, thirty-nine years after his pro debut, The Destroyer wrestled his final match, a six-man tag team bout in Japan with Baba and Beyer’s son Kurt against Masao Inoue, Haruka Eigan and Masa Fuchi.
Dick “The Sensational Intelligent Destroyer” Beyer passed away on March 7, 2019 at the age of 88.