Bobby Eaton

American professional wrestler

Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the management of Jim Cornette, he originally teamed with Dennis Condrey and, later on, with Stan Lane. He also worked with a number of other tag team partners, including Arn Anderson, Koko B. Ware, Steve Keirn, and Lord Steven Regal.

Over the course of his career, which lasted from 1976 to 2015, Eaton wrestled for extended periods of time for various wrestling promotions: NWA Mid-America, Continental Wrestling *ociation, Mid-South Wrestling, World Cl* Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling, and Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He also made brief guest appearances for Extreme Championship Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and a considerable number of independent wrestling promotions over the years. He held a large number of championships, including the NWA/WCW World Tag Team Championship on three occasions. Eaton was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019.

1 Early life
2 Professional wrestling career
- 2.1 NWA Mid-America (1976–1980)
- 2.2 Continental Wrestling *ociation (1980–1983)
- 2.3 Mid-South Wrestling (1983–1985)
- 2.4 World Cl* Championship Wrestling (1984–1985)
- 2.5 Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling (1985–1992)
  - 2.5.1 The Midnight Express (1985–1990)
  - 2.5.2 World Television Champion (1991)
  - 2.5.3 The Dangerous Alliance (1991–1992)
- 2.6 Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1993)
- 2.7 New *an Pro-Wrestling (1993, 1994, 1995)
- 2.8 Return to WCW (1993–2000)
  - 2.8.1 Tag teams and singles appearances (1993–1995)
  - 2.8.2 The Blue Bloods (1995–1996)
  - 2.8.3 Final years and departure (1996–2000)
- 2.9 Late career (2000–2015)
3 Professional wrestling style and persona
- 3.1 Reputation
4 Personal life
- 4.1 Family
- 4.2 Health issues
- 4.3 Death
5 Championships and accomplishments
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Early life

Eaton grew up in Huntsville, Alabama where he attended Chapman Middle School and Lee High School. As a youth, he was a fan of professional wrestling, especially the NWA Mid-America promotion. This promotion was operated by Nick Gulas, who staged wrestling shows in the Alabama and Tennessee region. Eaton's first involvement in the sport came at the age of 13 when he helped set up wrestling rings in his hometown. He later trained under Tojo Yamamoto to become a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

NWA Mid-America (1976–1980)

Eaton in 1979

In May 1976, at the age of 17, Eaton made his debut in NWA Mid-America. He entered his first match, a loss to Bearcat Wright, as a last-minute subs*ute for Wright's absent opponent. He quickly became a regular in Mid-America and continued to train with the more experienced wrestlers. Before long, fans, as well as promoter Nick Gulas, noticed Eaton's athleticism and showmanship. Gulas decided to "promote" Eaton up the ranks of NWA Mid-America, giving him matches later in the show, closer to the main event. The angle that helped elevate Eaton's name up the card in the promotion took place after the introduction of the tag team The Hollywood Blonds (Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts). Eaton fought the Blonds with a variety of partners, including his old trainer Yamamoto and "Pistol" Pez Whatley. When the Blonds decided to move to a different wrestling promotion, the storyline maintained that Eaton was responsible for driving them out of NWA Mid-America.

In 1978, Eaton teamed with Leapin' Lanny Poffo, and together they won the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship from Gypsy Joe and Leroy Rochester. It was Eaton's first *le win, and he and Poffo held it for a little over a month. Eaton went on to form a team, known as The Jet Set, with George Gulas, Nick Gulas's son. Together, Eaton and Gulas held the tag team *le three:times. During their time as a team, the two were involved in a storyline feud with Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes before Gordy and Hayes became famous under the name The Fabulous Freebirds.

In the spring of 1979, Eaton started a feud with Chris Colt, designed to establish Eaton as more than just a good tag team compe*or. The feud between the two was so heated that it saw Colt suspended for piledriving Eaton on the concrete floor, making it appear Eaton had been seriously injured. Eaton suffered no injuries, however. At that time, the piledriver was banned in most federations and treated as a move that could potentially paralyze a wrestler. This was done to give the move more "shock value". Eaton conclusively defeated Colt, earning a place as one of the top faces (good guys) in NWA Mid-America. During 1979 and 1980, Eaton worked a series of singles matches against Dennis Condrey, a man he would later team up with to gain worldwide fame.

At the end of 1979, Eaton turned heel (bad guy) for the first time in his career by joining Tojo Yamamoto's group of wrestlers, whom the fans hated. Although Eaton is now thought of mainly as a heel, his fans were surprised at the time. Eaton's heel run did not last long before he rescued his former Jet Set partner, George Gulas, from a two-on-one attack by The Blond Bombers (Larry Latham and Wayne Ferris) to return to the fan-favorite side once more. After reuniting the team, Eaton and Gulas had one final run with tag team champions and worked an intense feud with Latham and Ferris.

Continental Wrestling *ociation (1980–1983)

When Nick Gulas' wrestling promotion closed due to dwindling ticket sales, Eaton briefly wrestled for Georgia Championship Wrestling, even capturing the National Television Championship. Before long Eaton returned closer to home, working for promoter Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling *ociation (CWA), which was centered in Memphis, Tennessee. During his early days in the promotion, Eaton faced Stan Lane several times in tag team compe*ion. Eaton's most successful partnership in the CWA, in terms of *le wins, was with Sweet Brown Sugar, named "the New Wave". The two wrestlers blended their athleticism and high flying abilities to form a very successful team. The New Wave held the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship three times (twice with manager Jimmy Hart in their corner). After achieving success as a tag team, it was decided that Eaton and Sugar should split up and feud with each other. This storyline resulted in Eaton "forcing" Sugar out of the promotion via a Loser Leaves Town match.

Sugar's disappearance was soon followed by the appearance of a masked man called Stagger Lee, who looked and wrestled like Sugar. The storyline of Sugar returning under the mask to fight the heels helped make the masked man instantly popular with the crowd. Eaton, along with the rest of Jimmy Hart's stable "the First Family", tried in vain to unmask Stagger Lee.

Eaton turned face and re-teamed with Sugar, although they maintained the storyline that Eaton's partner was actually "Stagger Lee" and not Sugar. The team regained the tag team *le before losing it to The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn). Afterward, Eaton teamed up with The Moondogs (Rex and Spot) to face Jerry Lawler and the Fabulous Ones. During the match, one of the Moondogs accidentally hit Eaton with their trademark bone, costing their side the match. After the match ended, the Moondogs, as well as Jimmy Hart, turned on Eaton, beating him down until he was saved by Stagger Lee.

Mid-South Wrestling (1983–1985)

Main article: The Midnight Express

Soon after Eaton joined Mid-South Wrestling under promoter Bill Watts, he became part of the Midnight Express. Eaton teamed with former rival Dennis Condrey under the management of Jim Cornette to form a new version of the tag team. The Express had previously been a group of wrestlers consisting of Condrey, Randy Rose and Norvell Austin, but with Eaton's arrival, the Midnight Express worked exclusively as a two-man team. To complement the nickname "Lover Boy" Dennis, Eaton was nicknamed "Beautiful" Bobby (a reference to the phrase "Alabama the Beautiful"). At first, The Express was booked in an angle with the Mid-South Tag Team Champions Magnum T.A. and Mr. Wrestling II. The highlight of the angle saw Eaton and Condrey tarring and feathering Magnum T.A. in the middle of the ring. The Express first won the tag team *le when Mr. Wrestling II turned on Magnum T.A., attacking him during the *le match and allowing Eaton and Condrey to win the *le without much opposition.

With Mr. Wrestling II and Magnum T.A. splitting up, the Midnight Express needed a new team to defend their newly won *le against. They began a long series of matches against The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) which ran well into the 1990s and spanned several wrestling promotions. The two teams feuded throughout 1984 in Mid-South Wrestling before the Midnight Express left the promotion. The Midnight Express versus Rock 'n' Roll Express series of matches were so well received by the fans that independent promoters continued to book them over a span of three decades and concluded with Eaton wrestling his final match against Ricky Morton.

World Cl* Championship Wrestling (1984–1985)

Main article: The Midnight Express

From December 1984 to June 1985, The Midnight Express had a short stay in World Cl* Championship Wrestling in Texas, where they feuded mainly with The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers).

Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling (1985–1992)

The Midnight Express (1985–1990)

World Television Champion (1991)

For the first time since 1979, Eaton was a singles compe*or, and he faced an uphill struggle to establish himself. He wrestled his former opponents in tag team compe*ion such as Brad Armstrong (whom he defeated at WrestleWar '91), Ricky Morton and "Z-Man" Tom Zenk (whom he defeated at Starrcade '90, but lost to at Clash of the Champions XIV), but it was not until he turned face during the early parts of 1991 that he started to move up the rankings. Per a Wrestling Observer Newsletter report, Eaton signed a two-year contract worth $170,000 a year in January 1991. At SuperBrawl I, Eaton defeated Arn Anderson to win the World Television Championship. Eaton's highest profile match as a singles wrestler came when he faced off against the World Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions XV in a two-out-of-three falls match. Eaton pinned Flair in the first fall, but ultimately lost to Flair two falls to one. His World Television Championship reign was short-lived losing the *le to newcomer "Stunning" Steve Austin, who leveraged his manager and Eaton's tights to get the pinfall victory. The match aired on tape delay on June 29, 1991, though was taped on June 3, nine days before the Clash, so Eaton was only mentioned as champion during the Top 10 rankings segment at that event.

Despite losing the *le, Eaton continued success throughout 1991. At The Great American Bash, Eaton teamed with P.N. News to defeat "Stunning" Steve Austin and Terrance Taylor in a scaffold match which was billed as "The Skywalkers II". At Clash of the Champions XVI: Fall Brawl, Eaton was in the opening battle royal, but was eliminated. He had two more successful singles matches against Terrance Taylor at Halloween Havoc and Firebreaker Chip at Clash of the Champions XVII.

The Dangerous Alliance (1991–1992)

Main article: The Dangerous Alliance

Late in 1991, Paul E. Dangerously formed the faction The Dangerous Alliance. Eaton joined the group when he *isted Rick Rude, with the storyline being that Dangerously had brought Rude to WCW, in defeating Sting for the United States Championship. In joining the group, Eaton became allies with Rude, Larry Zbyszko, and his two former rivals for the World Television Championship in Arn Anderson and Steve Austin. Shortly after the group was formed, Anderson and Eaton became its tag team specialists as both men had been successful tag team wrestlers in their careers; Anderson himself had been a two-time world champion teaming with Tully Blanchard in the Four Hor* and had also won the belts with Zbyszko earlier in the year. Eaton and Anderson quickly won the WCW World Tag Team Championship by defeating Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes, the team to whom Anderson and Zbyszko lost the belts, for the championship and held on to the belts for five months before they lost them to the Steiner Brothers.The Dangerous Alliance was a dominant force in WCW. At one point during 1992, they held every *le except the WCW World *le, which was held by their main opponent and arch enemy Sting. The war between the Dangerous Alliance and Sting and friends escalated until it was decided to settle it in a double-ring War Games match at WrestleWar 1992. Sting's team won when Sting forced Eaton to give up after Larry Zbyszko accidentally struck Eaton in the arm with a metal rod. This match would be given a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

In the aftermath of the War Games match, Zbyszko was kicked out of the Alliance for causing the Alliance loss. Soon after the Alliance disintegrated, Paul E. Dangerously left WCW. Eaton and Anderson continued to team after the Alliance fell apart, now managed by Michael Hayes. Eaton and Anderson worked in the tag team division until new WCW booker Bill Watts fired Eaton along with a number of other WCW regulars in a cost-cutting measure.

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1993)

When Eaton found himself without a job, he reached out to former manager Jim Cornette. Cornette had started his own wrestling federation, Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) and welcomed Eaton with open arms. Eaton joined up with "The Heavenly Bodies" (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard), and the three were booked as the top heels of the federation for a while. Eaton also won the federation's version of the TV *le, known as the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship.

New *an Pro-Wrestling (1993, 1994, 1995)

Eaton first toured through *an with New *an Pro-Wrestling in May 1993 during their Explosion Tour, teaming with Tony Halme and in various tag team matches, facing teams such as Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh, Manabu Nakanishi and Masa Saito, Shinya Hashimoto and Michiyoshi Ohara, Riki Choshu and Takayuki Iizuka and even Hawk Warrior and Power Warrior, known as the Hellraisers, with the latter putting their IWGP Tag Team Championships on the line on June 14, in which Eaton and Halme lost. In January 1994, Eaton went back to *an during their Fighting Spirit tour, wrestling only in tag team matches (with the exception of a singles match against Black Cat and another against Power Warrior) teaming with Rambo and Mike Enos. In November 1995 during their NJPW/WCW World in *an tour, Eaton, now under the "Earl Robert Eaton" character, toured with New *an for the last time, wrestling only two tag team matches in two days, teaming with Johnny B. Badd (the announcers mistakingly and constantly referred him as Bobby instead of Robert) in a losing effort against the Ookami Gundan (Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) and another losing effort alongside Lord Steven Regal against Kensuke Sasaki and Osamu Nishimura.

Return to WCW (1993–2000)

Tag teams and singles appearances (1993–1995)

When Bill Watts was ousted from his position in WCW in favor of Eric Bischoff in 1993, Eaton was rehired. Once back on the roster, Eaton teamed up with a young Chris Benoit in Benoit's first stint with WCW. Together they were mainly used to help establish rising teams or give established teams opposition. After Benoit left to return to *an, in Eaton's next venture in tag teaming, under the name "Bad At*ude", he teamed up with Steve Keirn, formerly of the Fabulous Ones. Bad At*ude's single noteworthy moment together came when they were present as Arn Anderson turned on tag team partner Dustin Rhodes. Otherwise, the team did not get much exposure. During this time, Eaton also made a couple of appearances in ECW due to a talent trade arrangement between WCW and ECW. His most well-known appearance was at the When Worlds Collide show on May 14, 1994, where he teamed with Sabu to beat Arn Anderson and Terry Funk.

The Blue Bloods (1995–1996)

Main article: The Blue Bloods

After Bad At*ude quietly ended, Eaton was placed with British snob Lord Steven Regal. A series of vignettes followed, in which Regal educated Eaton on how to be a man of cl* and sophistication. Eaton became Earl Robert Eaton and along with Regal, they formed The Blue Bloods. The team initially feuded with the Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags), their complete opposites in terms of "sophistication" and presentation. They also feuded with Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) over the World Tag Team Championship, but never took the belts, and engaged in a short "Snobs versus Rednecks" program with the Stud Stable (Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater). In all of 1996 the team members made only one pay-per-view (PPV) appearance, as individuals in the "Lethal Lottery" during May's Slamboree. Later that year, Regal won the World Television Championship. Not long after, Eaton was moved out of the group, turning on his partners, wrestling Regal for the television championship on two occasions.

Final years and departure (1996–2000)

The Blue Bloods storyline represented the last serious push that Eaton was given by the WCW booking team. After the run with Regal and Taylor ended, Eaton was simply known as Bobby Eaton and wrestled mainly on WCW Saturday Night and WCW WorldWide and at house shows, occasionally winning against wrestlers lower on the card and losing to wrestlers above him. Eaton helped train wrestlers at the WCW Power Plant. In early-1999, Eaton carried out motion capture work for the video game WCW Mayhem. Eaton was released from WCW in March 2000, ending a 15-year run with the company, just before the regime under Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo kicked in.

Late career (2000–2015)

Eaton in 2014

After his release from WCW, Eaton began working in the independent circuit. In July 2000, he made a brief return to ECW. By November 2000, he mainly wrestled for NWA Mid-Atlantic. In January 2001, Eaton signed with the World Wrestling Federation as a trainer for their developmental territories. In February 2001, he went to the WWF's Memphis developmental system, Power Pro Wrestling, where he aligned himself with Brandon Baxter and Victoria against Bill Dundee, Jerry Lawler and The Kat. However, the intense feud was cut short, as a month later, WWF cut ties with Power Pro, due to Lawler quitting the promotion over the Kat's firing in late February. Power Pro would eventually fold and Eaton moved on to Louisville for Ohio Valley Wrestling. He would also go to Cincinnati for Heartland Wrestling *ociation. Eventually, Eaton would be released in 2002.

After his WWF release, Eaton returned to the independents, returning to NWA Mid-Atlantic and also wrestled for IWA Mid-South. Eaton made a one-night only appearance for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on August 13, 2003, as a part of a Kid Kash storyline where Kash faced off against a series of 1980s wrestling stars such as Larry Zbyszko and Ricky Morton. Eaton lost to Kid Kash in his only TNA appearance.

In 2003, Eaton formed a new version of the Midnight Express with Rikki Nelson, whom he frequently teamed with in 2000. This Midnight Express version was very short-lived, and Eaton instead began touring with Dennis Condrey (and sometimes Stan Lane) as the Midnight Express in 2004. This version of the Midnight Express performed together on select independent wrestling cards in the United States until 2011 when Condrey worked his last match. On October 23, 2015, Eaton wrestled his last match of his nearly 40-year career, losing to Ricky Morton, also ending the 30-plus year feud between The Rock 'n' Roll Express and The Midnight Express.

Professional wrestling style and persona

At the outset of his career, Eaton wrestled as a babyface. After joining The Midnight Express, he adopted the villainous persona of "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. In the mid-1990s, upon teaming with Lord Steven Regal, Eaton became Earl Robert Eaton, a haughty supposed aristocrat.

Eaton wrestled in a technical style. His principal finishing move was the Alabama Jam, a diving legdrop. During his stint as Earl Robert Eaton, he renamed it the Tower of London. His signature moves included a spinning neckbreaker and an armbar DDT known as the Divorce Court for its purported ability to cause a shoulder separation.

Eaton was highly regarded for his psychology and timing. Former tag team partner William Regal noted Eaton's "incredible precision to everything he did", timing, control, and ability to improvise. Writing in 2006, ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta described Eaton as "one of the most flawless workers still active in the business". Fellow wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin described wrestling Eaton as "a night off" due to Eaton's in-ring offense that looked convincing but did not hurt his opponents.For much of his career, Eaton was a tag team wrestler. As one-half of The Midnight Express, he utilized "quick tags" and "innovative double-team maneuvers". Missy Hyatt described The Midnight Express as being able to "go forty-five minutes in the ring and never repeat a move".

Reputation

Eaton was often regarded as one of the nicest people in the wrestling business, even though he wrestled as a heel for a majority of his career. In his 1999 book Have a Nice Day, Mick Foley praised Eaton as being one of the most underrated superstars in the business, and its nicest, commenting: "t was damn near impossible to pay for anything with Bobby around, though I will confess to not trying that hard." Jim Cornette and Sean Waltman noted that Eaton would regularly travel with an extra suitcase filled with toiletries, socks, and other oft-forgotten items that he would give to anyone who needed them, which Steve Austin recalled in his 2001 autobiography The Stone Cold Truth.

Personal life

Family

Eaton was married to Bill Dundee's daughter Donna (born October 2, 1963). When they first started dating, they had to keep the relationship secret from her father, as her father had forbidden her from dating the wrestlers he was booking. When Dundee found out she was dating Eaton, he relented because Eaton was such a nice guy. Married in 1981, Eaton and Donna had four children: Jason (born 1982), Dustin (born 1984), Taryn (born 1986), and Dylan (born 1988); Dylan is also a professional wrestler.

Donna died on June 26, 2021, at the age of 57 from breast cancer.

Health issues

In September 2006, it was reported that Eaton was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. Eaton later released a statement saying that he did not have a heart attack, but was instead diagnosed with high blood pressure with "a hint of" diabetes. After that, he suffered with several health issues, especially cardiac problems which saw him hospitalized on several occasions. In June 2013, Eaton underwent successful surgery to have a pacemaker inserted. On July 24, 2021, it was reported that Eaton suffered a fall at his home in Nashville, breaking several fingers and injuring his hip.

Death

On August 4, 2021, just over a month after his wife's death, Eaton died in his sleep at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He was found dead by his daughter Taryn, who had recently moved in with him to monitor his health.

Championships and accomplishments

Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA Georgia Television Championship (1 time)
International Wrestling Cartel
- IWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis Condrey
Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling
- WCW World Television Championship (1 time)
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Stan Lane
- NWA/WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Dennis Condrey (1), Stan Lane (1) and Arn Anderson (1)
Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Cl* of 2017
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rikki Nelson
National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Hall of Fame (cl* of 2008)
NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling *ociation
- AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Sweet Brown Sugar (2) and Duke Myers (2)
- CWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (11 times)
- NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Lanny Poffo (1), George Gulas (3), Mexican Angel (1) and Great Togo (1)
- NWA Mid-America Television Championship (1 time)
- NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with George Gulas and Jerry Barber (1), George Gulas and Arvil Hutto (1), George Gulas and The Mexican Angel (1), and Secret Weapon and Tojo Yamamoto (1)
Mid-South Wrestling *ociation
- Mid-South Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Dennis Condrey
NWA Bluegr*
- NWA Bluegr* Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis Condrey
NWA Rocky Top
- NWA Rocky Top Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis Condrey
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Tag Team of the Year (1987) – with Stan Lane
- Ranked No. 27 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992
- Ranked No. 91 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Cl* of 2019 - Inducted as part of The Midnight Express with Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
- SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship (1 time)
World Cl* Championship Wrestling
- NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis Condrey
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Cl* of 2009) with Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane as the Midnight Express
- Most Underrated (1985, 1986, 1990, 1993)
- Tag Team of the Year (1986) with Dennis Condrey
- Tag Team of the Year (1987, 1988) with Stan Lane
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1991) with P.N. News vs. Terrance Taylor and Steve Austin in a Scaffold match at The Great American Bash

References

External links

Bobby Eaton at IMDb
Bobby Eaton's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database

Portals:BiographyUnited States

Bobby Eaton Is A Member Of

11 Year Olds

Bobby

Huntsville, Alabama