Dennis Stamp passes away after battling cancer

Dennis Stamp, best known to modern fans for his role in the movie “Beyond the Mat,” passed away today at the age of 68.

Stamp had been suffering from cancer.

Stamp was an amateur wrestling star in both high school and college in Minnesota and broke in under Verne Gagne and was named the 1971 AWA Rookie of the Year.

He worked a number of territories through the 70s, and was best known in West Texas, where the promotion favored legitimate wrestlers. He also had a good run in California. His full-time career ended with the death of the Amarillo territory, but he worked through the 80s as an enhancement talent on both WWF and AWA television shows.

He retired and worked at a pest control company. He was first diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and was not given a good prognosis. But he defeated the cancer, which came back in September.

In the movie “Beyond the Mat,” Stamp was shown talking with Terry Funk, hoping to be booked on the show with Funk’s so-called 1997 retirement match in Amarillo against Bret Hart, who was then the WWF champion. He was mad about not being booked, even though he hadn’t wrestled in years. Eventually he was booked as the referee of the match. He gained some cult popularity from that movie with the phrase “I’m not booked” and the shots of him training in case he gets called for a match, even though he hadn’t wrestled in years.

Stamp was a solid worker who held titles in a number of promotions during the 70s.