Bobby Eaton
Encyclopedia
Robert Lee "Bobby" Eaton (born August 14, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler
, who made his debut in 1976. Eaton is most famous for his work in tag team
s, especially his days as one-half of the team the Midnight Express. Under the management
of Jim Cornette
, Eaton originally teamed with Dennis Condrey
and, later on, with Stan Lane
. He has also worked with a number of other tag team partners, including Koko B. Ware, Steve Keirn
, and "Lord" Steven Regal
.
In his career, Eaton wrestled for extended periods of time for various wrestling promotions: Mid-America Wrestling, Continental Wrestling Association
, Mid-South Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling
, Jim Crockett Promotions
, World Championship Wrestling
, and Smoky Mountain Wrestling
. He has also made brief guest appearances for Extreme Championship Wrestling
and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
, in addition to appearances for a considerable number of independent
wrestling promotions over the years. He currently performs part-time, teaming with either Lane and/or Condrey under the Midnight Express name.
, Eaton was a fan of professional wrestling, especially the NWA Mid-America professional wrestling 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, while attending Chapman Middle School, when he helped set up wrestling ring
s in his hometown. He later trained under Tojo Yamamoto
to become a professional wrestler.
). 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
(brother of the more well-known "Macho Man" Randy Savage), and together they won the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship
from Gypsy Joe and Leroy Rochester
. It was Eaton's first title 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 title 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
.
with Chris Colt, designed to establish Eaton as more than just a good tag team competitor. 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 world wide 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.
When Nick Gulas' wrestling promotion closed due to dwindling ticket sales, Eaton briefly wrestled for a promotion in Georgia. Before long Eaton returned closer to home, working for promoter Jerry Jarrett
's Continental Wrestling Association
(CWA), which was centered in Memphis, Tennessee
. During his early days in the promotion, Eaton faced Stan Lane
several times in tag team competition. Eaton's most successful partnership in the CWA, in terms of title wins, was with Sweet Brown Sugar (later known as Koko B. Ware), nicknamed "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 after he won a "Losers Leaves Town" match against Sugar.
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 title before losing it to The Fabulous Ones
(Stan Lane
and Steve Keirn
). Afterward, Eaton teamed up with The Moondogs
(Rex
and King
) 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.
, 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 nickname he still uses when wrestling. 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 title when Mr. Wrestling II turned on Magnum T.A., attacking him during the title match and allowing Eaton and Condrey to win the title 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 title 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 all over the United States still book those two teams against each other today, 20 years after the rivalry started.
The Midnight Express had a short stay in World Class Championship Wrestling
in Texas
, where they feuded mainly with The Fantastics
(Bobby Fulton
and Tommy Rogers
).
(JCP) and were given national exposure on JCP's televised programs on SuperStation TBS. Shortly after joining JCP, the Midnight Express reignited their feud with the Rock 'n' Roll Express and won the NWA World Tag team title
from them in February 1986. During the course of their heated angle, Eaton and Condrey lost the title back to the Rock 'n' Roll Express six months later. Eaton and Condrey also had long running feuds with The New Breed
(Chris Champion
and Sean Royal
) as well as The Road Warriors
(Animal
and Hawk
). The feud with the Road Warriors included a high profile Scaffold match at Starrcade 1986, which the Midnight Express lost.
In early 1987, Condrey left JCP for undisclosed reasons, and "Sweet" Stan Lane took his place as part of the Midnight Express. In May 1987, after teaming for only a few months, Eaton and Lane became champions when they won the NWA United States Tag team title
for the first time, a title they would win three times during their time together. A year later the team was cheered on despite being heels, as the Midnight Express won the NWA World Tag Team Title from Arn Anderson
and Tully Blanchard
on September 10, 1988. Unfortunately this potentially classic feud was cut short when Anderson & Blanchard signed with the WWF over money issues. The Midnight Express' run with the title lasted a little over a month-and-a-half before the Road Warriors took the gold from them in a brutal match up, which saw the heel Road Warriors brutalize the now-popular Midnight Express.
Now the fan favorites, the Midnight Express had to contend with a team thought to be disbanded forever: The Midnight Express. "The Original Midnight Express" consisted of Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose, who had been previously teaming together under the Midnight Express name in the AWA. The duo was led by long-time Jim Cornette nemesis Paul E. Dangerously
, in a storyline that saw them trying to prove the originals were better than the new version. The surprise appearance of the Original Midnight Express gave Dangerously's team the initial momentum in the feud, but soon after, Condrey left the promotion once more. This forced the bookers to bring in Jack Victory
as a replacement as Condrey's disappearance cut the promising feud short.
The Midnight Express then turned their attention to Paul E.'s new team, The Samoan S.W.A.T. Team as well as a new version of the Fabulous Freebirds
. Eaton and Lane were defeated by the Freebirds in the finals of a tournament for the vacated World Tag Team Titles. Following this loss, the Midnight Express teamed with their former enemies The Road Warriors and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to defeat the SST and the Freebirds in a WarGames match
at the Great American Bash. Following this feud, Lane and Eaton began having issues with a young new team in the NWA known as "the Dynamic Dudes" (Shane Douglas
and Johnny Ace
). The Dudes admitted that the Midnight Express was one of their favorite teams and asked if Cornette would be their manager as well. Cornette agreed to manage the young team, to the displeasure of the Midnight Express. After arguing with the Express, Jim Cornette stopped accompanying Eaton and Lane to the ring, choosing to only actively manage the Dudes. At the Clash of Champions IX, the two teams met with Jim Cornette appearing in a neutral corner, forced to choose between the teams. The Express started out very aggressively, especially for a team that was supposed to be fan favorites, and when the night was over, the Midnight Express had once again established themselves as heels with Jim Cornette in their corner; Cornette had never stopped siding with the Express.
After returning to their cheating ways, the Midnight Express started a storyline with the up and coming team of Flyin' Brian
and "Z-Man" Tom Zenk
over the United States Tag team title. The Express won the title from the young team in early 1990, but lost the belts to The Steiner Brothers
(Rick
and Scott
) three months later. After a loss at the WCW pay-per-view Halloween Havoc 1990, the Midnight Express split up, as Jim Cornette and Stan Lane left the federation, while Eaton chose to remain in WCW. For the first time in almost a decade, there was no Midnight Express.
. Eaton's highest profile match as a singles wrestler came when he faced off against WCW World 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 TV Title reign was short-lived, as he came face to face with newcomer "Stunning" Steve Austin
, who cheated his way to win the title from Eaton. After dropping out of the Television Title picture, Eaton went on to feud with The York Foundation
until Paul E. Dangerously reappeared in WCW.
Late in 1991, Paul E. Dangerously formed the faction The Dangerous Alliance
, where Eaton was joined with Arn Anderson, Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Larry Zbyszko
. In what seems to be a recurring pattern in Eaton's career, he again teamed up with a former opponent, this time Arn Anderson. Because both Anderson and Eaton had primarily worked as tag team wrestlers, teaming came naturally to them. They soon won the WCW World Tag Team Title, defeating Ricky Steamboat
and Dustin Rhodes for the championship and holding 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 title except the WCW World Title, 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.
(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 title, known as the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship
.
When Bill Watts was ousted from his position in WCW in favor of Eric Bischoff
, 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. Benoit and Eaton, while gelling in the ring, never showed any signs of being presented as a permanent team; they did not have matching ring outfits or a team name.
After Benoit left to return to Japan, in Eaton's next venture in tag teaming, under the name "Bad Attitude", he teamed up with Steve Keirn, formerly of the Fabulous Ones. Bad Attitude'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
.
. A series of vignettes followed, in which Regal educated Eaton on how to be a man of class and sophistication. Eaton was then shown being knighted as "Earl
Robert Eaton" by the (supposed) Queen of England on WCW Main Event
, April 2nd 1995. The team made their ring debut, dubbed The Blue Bloods, on WCW Saturday Night
, April 8th 1995. The duo was later joined by "Squire
" David Taylor, with all three alternating in the ring under the name of the Blue Bloods. (Originally, it was supposed to be a tag team consisting of Regal and Jean-Paul Levesque
, with Sherri Martel
as their valet, but Martel had since managed Harlem Heat
, and Levesque had left for the WWF).
The Blue Bloods initially feuded with the Nasty Boys
(Brian Knobbs
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 WCW 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. The next year "Lord" Steven Regal became WCW World Television Champion
, but the team only appeared on PPV once together, when Regal and Taylor lost to the Steiner Brothers at World War 3 in November. Not long after, Eaton was moved out of the group, turning on and feuding with his partners after finally rejecting the snob nature of the gimmick.
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 wrestled mainly on WCW's weekend show, WCW Saturday Night
, occasionally winning against wrestlers low in the rankings and losing to wrestlers above him. He also became a trainer at the WCW Power Plant
and worked backstage for WCW as a road agent until he was released in the closing months of the company in 2000.
Eaton made a one night only appearance for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
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 to date. Eaton is still competing on the independent wrestling circuit, taking select bookings, mainly in the United States.
, Mick Foley praised Eaton as being at once one of the most underrated superstars in the business, and its nicest, commenting that "it was damn near impossible to pay for anything with Bobby around, though I will confess to not trying that hard". This opinion was supported in The Stone Cold Truth by Steve Austin.
In addition to his personality, he is also popular with other wrestlers due to his wrestling style. Wrestling Eaton is known as "a night off", because Eaton is so skilled that the action looks very convincing but does not hurt the opponent.
Eaton is married to Bill Dundee's daughter, Donna. 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. Eaton and Donna have three children: Dustin, Dylan, and Taryn. Dylan is a professional wrestler.
On September 6, 2006 Dave Meltzer reported that Eaton was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack
. Two days later, after being released from the hospital, Eaton released a statement through the Wrestling Observer website saying that he did not have a heart attack but was diagnosed with high blood pressure with a hint of diabetes.
1 This Mid-Atlantic promotion, while having revived some of the championships used by the previous Mid-Atlantic promotion, is not the same promotion once owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. and went on to be renamed World Championship Wrestling
after it was sold to Ted Turner in November 1988.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, who made his debut in 1976. Eaton is most famous for his work in tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
s, especially his days as one-half of the team the Midnight Express. Under the management
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
of Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
, Eaton originally teamed with Dennis Condrey
Dennis Condrey
Dennis Condrey is an American professional wrestler, best known as being one half of the tag team Midnight Express....
and, later on, with Stan Lane
Stan Lane
Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane is an American professional wrestler, trained by Ric Flair, who started wrestling in 1974 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. For a brief time in Florida, he was nicknamed Nature Boy...
. He has also worked with a number of other tag team partners, including Koko B. Ware, Steve Keirn
Steve Keirn
Stephen "Steve" Paul Keirn is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for being part of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, with Stan Lane, and later for a run in the World Wrestling Federation as Skinner, a gimmick that portrayed him as a tobacco spitting alligator hunter from...
, and "Lord" Steven Regal
Darren Matthews
Darren Kenneth Matthews , is an English professional wrestler, author and color commentator currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown brand under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Steven Regal...
.
In his career, Eaton wrestled for extended periods of time for various wrestling promotions: Mid-America Wrestling, Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
, Mid-South Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
, Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
, World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
, and Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette...
. He has also made brief guest appearances for Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
, in addition to appearances for a considerable number of independent
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
wrestling promotions over the years. He currently performs part-time, teaming with either Lane and/or Condrey under the Midnight Express name.
Professional wrestling career
Growing up in Huntsville, AlabamaHuntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, Eaton was a fan of professional wrestling, especially the NWA Mid-America professional wrestling promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
. 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, while attending Chapman Middle School, when he helped set up wrestling ring
Wrestling ring
A wrestling ring is the ring stage on which professional wrestlers wrestle.-Configuration and construction:The configuration and construction of the "traditional" ring is very similar to that of a boxing ring, though the wrestling version has three ring ropes...
s in his hometown. He later trained under Tojo Yamamoto
Tojo Yamamoto
Harold Watanabe was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tojo Yamamoto. He was born in Hawaii.-In-ring career:...
to become a professional wrestler.
Early career
In 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 substitute 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 really 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 RobertsDale Hey
Dale Hey is a retired professional wrestler better known as Buddy Roberts.-Professional wrestling career:Dale Hey grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He started wrestling in 1965 as Dale Valentine, the "brother" of Johnny Valentine...
). Eaton fought the Blonds with a variety of partners, including his old trainer Yamamoto and "Pistol" Pez Whatley
Pez Whatley
Pezavan Whatley was a professional wrestler in the 1980s and early 1990s who wrestled primarily under the ring name Pez Whatley.-Career:...
. 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
Lanny Poffo
Lanny Mark Poffo , better known by his ring name "Leaping" Lanny is an American professional wrestler. Poffo was born in Calgary, Canada, to Angelo Poffo, an Italian American Catholic, and Judy, a Jewish American. He is also the brother of wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage...
(brother of the more well-known "Macho Man" Randy Savage), and together they won the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship
NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship
The NWA Mid-America tag-team championship was a tag-team title promoted by the NWA Mid America promotion that ran more or less exclusively in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky from the 1940ties until 1980...
from Gypsy Joe and Leroy Rochester
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog...
. It was Eaton's first title 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 title three times. During their time as a team, the two were involved in a storyline feud with Terry Gordy
Terry Gordy
Terry Ray 'Bam Bam' Gordy, Sr. was a professional wrestler who was best known in North America for being a member of the Fabulous Freebirds.-Career:...
and Michael Hayes
Michael Hayes (wrestler)
Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...
before Gordy and Hayes became famous under the name The Fabulous Freebirds
Fabulous Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team that attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name.-History:The Fabulous...
.
Singles competition
In the spring of 1979, Eaton started a feudFeud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Chris Colt, designed to establish Eaton as more than just a good tag team competitor. The feud between the two was so heated that it saw Colt suspended for piledriving
Piledriver (professional wrestling)
A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs his opponent, turns him upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The most common piledrivers are the basic belly-to-back, or Texas piledriver, and the...
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
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
(good guys) in NWA Mid-America. During 1979 and 1980, Eaton worked a series of singles matches against Dennis Condrey
Dennis Condrey
Dennis Condrey is an American professional wrestler, best known as being one half of the tag team Midnight Express....
, a man he would later team up with to gain world wide fame.
At the end of 1979, Eaton turned heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
(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
Larry Latham (wrestler)
Larry Booker was a professional wrestler best known as Larry Latham, Iss Spot and Moondog Spot.-Career:...
and Wayne Ferris
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
) 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.
When Nick Gulas' wrestling promotion closed due to dwindling ticket sales, Eaton briefly wrestled for a promotion in Georgia. Before long Eaton returned closer to home, working for promoter Jerry Jarrett
Jerry Jarrett
Jerry W. Jarrett is an American promoter and former professional wrestler, and the father of wrestler Jeff Jarrett. He is the co-founder and former part-owner of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
's Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
(CWA), which was centered in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. During his early days in the promotion, Eaton faced Stan Lane
Stan Lane
Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane is an American professional wrestler, trained by Ric Flair, who started wrestling in 1974 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. For a brief time in Florida, he was nicknamed Nature Boy...
several times in tag team competition. Eaton's most successful partnership in the CWA, in terms of title wins, was with Sweet Brown Sugar (later known as Koko B. Ware), nicknamed "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
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
three times (twice with manager Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
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 after he won a "Losers Leaves Town" match against Sugar.
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 title before losing it to The Fabulous Ones
The Fabulous Ones
The Fabulous Ones was a professional wrestling Tag team consisting of Stan Lane and Steve Keirn that was active between 1982 and 1987 with brief reunions during the 1990s...
(Stan Lane
Stan Lane
Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane is an American professional wrestler, trained by Ric Flair, who started wrestling in 1974 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. For a brief time in Florida, he was nicknamed Nature Boy...
and Steve Keirn
Steve Keirn
Stephen "Steve" Paul Keirn is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for being part of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, with Stan Lane, and later for a run in the World Wrestling Federation as Skinner, a gimmick that portrayed him as a tobacco spitting alligator hunter from...
). Afterward, Eaton teamed up with The Moondogs
Moondogs
The Moondogs were a professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation and in two Memphis promotions: the Continental Wrestling Association and the United States Wrestling Association...
(Rex
Randy Colley
Randy Colley is a retired professional wrestler better known as Moondog Rex.-Professional wrestlling career:Colley competed in the World Wrestling Federation, where in 1981 he won the WWF Tag Team Championship with Moondog King as the Moondogs...
and King
Larry Latham (wrestler)
Larry Booker was a professional wrestler best known as Larry Latham, Iss Spot and Moondog Spot.-Career:...
) to face Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
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.
The Midnight Express
Soon after Eaton joined Mid-South Wrestling under promoter Bill WattsBill Watts
William F. "Bill" Watts is a former American professional wrestler and promoter. Watts was famous under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a tough, no-nonsense promoter in the Mid-South area of the United States, which grew to become the UWF.In 1992, he was the Executive...
, he became part of the Midnight Express. Eaton teamed with former rival Dennis Condrey under the management of Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
to form a new version of the tag team. The Express had previously been a group of wrestlers consisting of Condrey, Randy Rose
Randy Rose
"Ravishing" Randy Rose is a professional wrestler.-Career:Randy Rose competed in 1981 in Alabama's Southeast Championship Wrestling and formed The Midnight Express with Dennis Condrey and Norvell Austin. They dominated the tag team scene there until Condrey signed with Mid-South Wrestling in 1984...
and Norvell Austin
Norvell Austin
Norvell Austin is a retired American professional wrestler who made his debut in the late 1960s. Austin worked for most of his career in the Southern United States, most often in tag team competition. Norvell Austin is most famous for teaming with Sputnik Monroe in one of the first "mixed races"...
, 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 nickname he still uses when wrestling. At first, The Express was booked in an angle with the Mid-South Tag Team Champions
UWF Tag Team Championship
The UWF Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Universal Wrestling Federation from 1986 until the promotion closed in 1987. It was formerly known as the Mid-South Tag Team Championship from 1979 until 1986 when Mid-South Wrestling became the UWF.-Title history:...
Magnum T.A.
Magnum T.A.
Terry Wayne Allen is a retired American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Magnum T.A..-Early years:...
and Mr. Wrestling II
Mr. Wrestling II
John "Johnny" Walker , better known as Mr. Wrestling II, is a retired American professional wrestler. As Mr...
. The highlight of the angle saw Eaton and Condrey tarring and feathering
Tarring and feathering
Tarring and feathering is a physical punishment, used to enforce unofficial justice or revenge. It was used in feudal Europe and its colonies in the early modern period, as well as the early American frontier, mostly as a type of mob vengeance .-Description:In a typical tar-and-feathers attack, the...
Magnum T.A. in the middle of the ring. The Express first won the tag team title when Mr. Wrestling II turned on Magnum T.A., attacking him during the title match and allowing Eaton and Condrey to win the title 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 title against. They began a long series of matches against The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton
Ricky Morton
Richard Wendell "Ricky" Morton is an American professional wrestler who has worked for such wrestling organizations as Jim Crockett Promotions, the American Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and Total Nonstop Action...
and Robert Gibson
Reuben Kane
Robert Gibson is a professional wrestler. He is famous as half of the tag team known as Rock 'N Roll Express, with Ricky Morton.-Early career:Cain started wrestling as Robert Gibson in 1977...
) 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 all over the United States still book those two teams against each other today, 20 years after the rivalry started.
The Midnight Express had a short stay in World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, where they feuded mainly with The Fantastics
Fantastics
The Fantastics are a professional wrestling tag team composed of Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers.-History:While in the Mid-Southern area, Terry taylor was teamed with a budding young wrestler named Bobby Fulton, who at the time was a jobber on TV but showed promise...
(Bobby Fulton
James Hines
James Hines is a professional wrestler better known as Bobby Fulton of The Fantastics.-Career:James Hines started wrestling as a 16 year old in 1977 as Jimmy Hines....
and Tommy Rogers
Thomas Couch
Thomas R. Couch is a professional wrestler better known as Tommy Rogers of The Fantastics.-Career:Couch started wrestling in 1980 as Tommy Rogers in North Carolina...
).
National spotlight
In 1985 Eaton, Condrey and Cornette signed with Jim Crockett PromotionsJim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
(JCP) and were given national exposure on JCP's televised programs on SuperStation TBS. Shortly after joining JCP, the Midnight Express reignited their feud with the Rock 'n' Roll Express and won the NWA World Tag team title
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
from them in February 1986. During the course of their heated angle, Eaton and Condrey lost the title back to the Rock 'n' Roll Express six months later. Eaton and Condrey also had long running feuds with The New Breed
New Breed (tag team)
The New Breed was a professional wrestling tag team, formed in 1986, consisting of Chris Champion and Sean Royal.-History:In 1986, Chris Champion and Sean Royal were put together as a tag team in Florida Championship Wrestling. Their gimmick had them claiming to be from the future, specifically the...
(Chris Champion
Christopher Ashford-Smith
Christopher Ashford-Smith is an American professional wrestler better known under the ring names Chris Champion or Yoshi Kwan...
and Sean Royal
Sean Royal
Sean Royal was a professional wrestler from Tampa, Florida, in the United States.-Career:Sean Royal started wrestling in 1986 in Florida Championship Wrestling in a tag team with Chris Champion called The New Breed They claimed to be from the year 2002 and came to the ring to the tune of the...
) as well as The Road Warriors
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
(Animal
Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...
and Hawk
Road Warrior Hawk
Michael James Hegstrand was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors or The Legion of Doom , with Road Warrior Animal.-Early life:While living in Chicago, Hegstrand met Joe Lauranaitis, who would be later...
). The feud with the Road Warriors included a high profile Scaffold match at Starrcade 1986, which the Midnight Express lost.
In early 1987, Condrey left JCP for undisclosed reasons, and "Sweet" Stan Lane took his place as part of the Midnight Express. In May 1987, after teaming for only a few months, Eaton and Lane became champions when they won the NWA United States Tag team title
NWA United States Tag Team Championship
The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used by several championships that were or currently are under the National Wrestling Alliance 's supervision:...
for the first time, a title they would win three times during their time together. A year later the team was cheered on despite being heels, as the Midnight Express won the NWA World Tag Team Title from Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...
and Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen....
on September 10, 1988. Unfortunately this potentially classic feud was cut short when Anderson & Blanchard signed with the WWF over money issues. The Midnight Express' run with the title lasted a little over a month-and-a-half before the Road Warriors took the gold from them in a brutal match up, which saw the heel Road Warriors brutalize the now-popular Midnight Express.
Now the fan favorites, the Midnight Express had to contend with a team thought to be disbanded forever: The Midnight Express. "The Original Midnight Express" consisted of Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose, who had been previously teaming together under the Midnight Express name in the AWA. The duo was led by long-time Jim Cornette nemesis Paul E. Dangerously
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
, in a storyline that saw them trying to prove the originals were better than the new version. The surprise appearance of the Original Midnight Express gave Dangerously's team the initial momentum in the feud, but soon after, Condrey left the promotion once more. This forced the bookers to bring in Jack Victory
Jack Victory
Kenneth "Ken" Rinehurst is an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Jack Victory. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1998 and 2001.-Career:Rinehurst debuted in 1985 in the Universal Wrestling Federation...
as a replacement as Condrey's disappearance cut the promising feud short.
The Midnight Express then turned their attention to Paul E.'s new team, The Samoan S.W.A.T. Team as well as a new version of the Fabulous Freebirds
Fabulous Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team that attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name.-History:The Fabulous...
. Eaton and Lane were defeated by the Freebirds in the finals of a tournament for the vacated World Tag Team Titles. Following this loss, the Midnight Express teamed with their former enemies The Road Warriors and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to defeat the SST and the Freebirds in a WarGames match
WarGames match
The WarGames match was a gimmick match used originally in the National Wrestling Alliance and later held annually in World Championship Wrestling , usually at their Fall Brawl pay-per-view event in September.-History:...
at the Great American Bash. Following this feud, Lane and Eaton began having issues with a young new team in the NWA known as "the Dynamic Dudes" (Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
and Johnny Ace
Johnny Ace
Johnny Ace , born John Marshall Alexander, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, was an American rhythm and blues singer. He scored a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s before dying of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound....
). The Dudes admitted that the Midnight Express was one of their favorite teams and asked if Cornette would be their manager as well. Cornette agreed to manage the young team, to the displeasure of the Midnight Express. After arguing with the Express, Jim Cornette stopped accompanying Eaton and Lane to the ring, choosing to only actively manage the Dudes. At the Clash of Champions IX, the two teams met with Jim Cornette appearing in a neutral corner, forced to choose between the teams. The Express started out very aggressively, especially for a team that was supposed to be fan favorites, and when the night was over, the Midnight Express had once again established themselves as heels with Jim Cornette in their corner; Cornette had never stopped siding with the Express.
After returning to their cheating ways, the Midnight Express started a storyline with the up and coming team of Flyin' Brian
Brian Pillman
Brian William Pillman was an American football player and professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling....
and "Z-Man" Tom Zenk
Tom Zenk
Thomas Erwin "Tom" Zenk is a former Mr. Minnesota Bodybuilder, and most notably a American professional wrestler, also known by his nickname Z-Man.-Early career:...
over the United States Tag team title. The Express won the title from the young team in early 1990, but lost the belts to The Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers are the professional wrestling tag team of American brothers Robert "Rick Steiner" Rechsteiner and Scott "Scott Steiner" Rechsteiner...
(Rick
Rick Steiner
Robert Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler, better known under his ring name Rick Steiner.Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling, where he was an eight time World Tag Team Champion...
and Scott
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...
) three months later. After a loss at the WCW pay-per-view Halloween Havoc 1990, the Midnight Express split up, as Jim Cornette and Stan Lane left the federation, while Eaton chose to remain in WCW. For the first time in almost a decade, there was no Midnight Express.
Dangerous Alliance
For the first time since 1979, Eaton was a singles competitor, and he faced an uphill struggle to establish himself. He wrestled his former opponents in tag team competition such as Brad Armstrong, Ricky Morton and "Z-Man" Tom Zenk, but it was not until he turned face during the early parts of 1991 that he started to move up the rankings. At SuperBrawl I, Eaton defeated Arn Anderson to win the WCW World Television ChampionshipWCW World Television Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
. Eaton's highest profile match as a singles wrestler came when he faced off against WCW World Champion
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation . It existed within WCW between 1991 and 2001. Following the acquisition of WCW by World Wrestling...
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
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 TV Title reign was short-lived, as he came face to face with newcomer "Stunning" Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, who cheated his way to win the title from Eaton. After dropping out of the Television Title picture, Eaton went on to feud with The York Foundation
York Foundation
The York Foundation was a professional wrestling heel stable in that worked in World Championship Wrestling between 1990 and 1992. The stable was led by businesswoman Alexandra York with each member of the stable adopting business suits & attitudes after joining the stable.-History:Miss Alexandra...
until Paul E. Dangerously reappeared in WCW.
Late in 1991, Paul E. Dangerously formed the faction The Dangerous Alliance
Dangerous Alliance
The Dangerous Alliance was a heel professional wrestling stable that made a name for itself in World Championship Wrestling in the early '90s and the American Wrestling Association in 1987, with Adrian Adonis, Randy Rose, and Dennis Condrey making up the AWA incarnation of the group.-American...
, where Eaton was joined with Arn Anderson, Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Larry Zbyszko
Larry Zbyszko
Lawrence "Larry" Whistler is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino during the early 1980s....
. In what seems to be a recurring pattern in Eaton's career, he again teamed up with a former opponent, this time Arn Anderson. Because both Anderson and Eaton had primarily worked as tag team wrestlers, teaming came naturally to them. They soon won the WCW World Tag Team Title, defeating Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
and Dustin Rhodes for the championship and holding 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 title except the WCW World Title, 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
WarGames match
The WarGames match was a gimmick match used originally in the National Wrestling Alliance and later held annually in World Championship Wrestling , usually at their Fall Brawl pay-per-view event in September.-History:...
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
Dave Meltzer
David A. Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles...
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.
Departure and return
When Eaton found himself without a job, he reached out to former manager Jim Cornette. Cornette had started his own wrestling federation, Smoky Mountain WrestlingSmoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette...
(SMW) and welcomed Eaton with open arms. Eaton joined up with "The Heavenly Bodies
The Heavenly Bodies
The Heavenly Bodies was a professional wrestling tag team famous for having worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and various independent promotions...
" (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard
Tom Prichard
Thomas Prichard is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, working in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling as a trainer using his ring name 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 title, known as the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship
SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship
The SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. The title was created in 1992 and was active until SMW closed its doors on November 26, 1995. The storyline concept of the title was that the...
.
When Bill Watts was ousted from his position in WCW in favor of Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Eaton was rehired. Once back on the roster, Eaton teamed up with a young Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
in Benoit's first stint with WCW. Together they were mainly used to help establish rising teams or give established teams opposition. Benoit and Eaton, while gelling in the ring, never showed any signs of being presented as a permanent team; they did not have matching ring outfits or a team name.
After Benoit left to return to Japan, in Eaton's next venture in tag teaming, under the name "Bad Attitude", he teamed up with Steve Keirn, formerly of the Fabulous Ones. Bad Attitude'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
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
.
Blue Blood
After Bad Attitude quietly ended, Eaton was placed with British snob "Lord" Steven RegalDarren Matthews
Darren Kenneth Matthews , is an English professional wrestler, author and color commentator currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown brand under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Steven Regal...
. A series of vignettes followed, in which Regal educated Eaton on how to be a man of class and sophistication. Eaton was then shown being knighted as "Earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
Robert Eaton" by the (supposed) Queen of England on WCW Main Event
WCW Main Event
WCW Main Event is a televised wrestling program of World Championship Wrestling that aired from 1988 to 1998. For most of its run, it was the promotion's secondary show and aired on Sunday evenings on TBS. The show originally aired in 1988 as NWA Main Event...
, April 2nd 1995. The team made their ring debut, dubbed The Blue Bloods, on WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...
, April 8th 1995. The duo was later joined by "Squire
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
" David Taylor, with all three alternating in the ring under the name of the Blue Bloods. (Originally, it was supposed to be a tag team consisting of Regal and Jean-Paul Levesque
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, with Sherri Martel
Sherri Martel
Sherri Schrull was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri....
as their valet, but Martel had since managed Harlem Heat
Harlem Heat
Harlem Heat was a professional wrestling tag team made up of two real-life brothers, Booker and Lane Huffman. Booker Huffman took the ring name of Booker T, and Lane Huffman took the ring name of Stevie Ray...
, and Levesque had left for the WWF).
The Blue Bloods initially feuded with the Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, active from the mid to late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawling...
(Brian Knobbs
Brian Knobbs
Brian Yandrisovitz , better known as Brian Knobbs, is an American professional wrestler, best known as one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Jerry Sags.-The Nasty Boys:...
and Jerry Sags
Jerry Sags
Jerome Saganovich is an American professional wrestler best known as Jerry Sags. He is one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Brian Knobbs.-Career:...
), their complete opposites in terms of "sophistication" and presentation. They also feuded with Harlem Heat
Harlem Heat
Harlem Heat was a professional wrestling tag team made up of two real-life brothers, Booker and Lane Huffman. Booker Huffman took the ring name of Booker T, and Lane Huffman took the ring name of Stevie Ray...
(Booker T
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
and Stevie Ray
Lane Huffman
Lane Steven Huffman is a retired American professional wrestler who is better known as Stevie Ray. He is best known as being part of the tag team Harlem Heat with his younger brother Booker T...
) over the WCW World Tag Team Championship
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
, but never took the belts, and engaged in a short "Snobs versus Rednecks" program with the Stud Stable
Stud Stable
The Stud Stable was a professional wrestling heel stable in World Championship Wrestling, Southeast Championship Wrestling and the Continental Wrestling Association.-History:...
(Bunkhouse Buck
Jimmy Golden
James "Jimmy" Golden is an American professional wrestler, who is better known as Bunkhouse Buck.Golden has many relatives in wrestling: his cousins are Robert & Ron Fuller, his father is Billy Golden and his uncle is Buddy Fuller and his nephew is Eddie Golden. His grandfather is Roy Welch...
and Dick Slater
Dick Slater
Richard Van Slater , better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, is a retired American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid 1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling .Slater began wrestling with Mike...
). In all of 1996 the team members made only one pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) appearance, as individuals in the "Lethal Lottery" during May's Slamboree. The next year "Lord" Steven Regal became WCW World Television Champion
WCW World Television Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
, but the team only appeared on PPV once together, when Regal and Taylor lost to the Steiner Brothers at World War 3 in November. Not long after, Eaton was moved out of the group, turning on and feuding with his partners after finally rejecting the snob nature of the gimmick.
The Blue Bloods storyline represented the last serious push
Push (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a push is an attempt by the booker to make the wrestler win more matches and become more popular or more reviled with the fans depending on whether they are a heel or a face...
that Eaton was given by the WCW booking team. After the run with Regal and Taylor ended, Eaton wrestled mainly on WCW's weekend show, WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...
, occasionally winning against wrestlers low in the rankings and losing to wrestlers above him. He also became a trainer at the WCW Power Plant
WCW Power Plant
The WCW Power Plant was a professional wrestling school located in Atlanta, Georgia and owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling. The Power Plant, which was developed from a school operated by Jody Hamilton, was in operation throughout the 1990s...
and worked backstage for WCW as a road agent until he was released in the closing months of the company in 2000.
Post-WCW
In 2003, Eaton worked for NWA Mid-Atlantic, forming a new version of the Midnight Express with Ricky Nelson. This Midnight Express version was very short lived, and Eaton instead began touring with Dennis Condrey (and sometimes Stan Lane) as the Midnight Express. This version of the Midnight Express still performs together on select independent wrestling cards in the United States.Eaton made a one night only appearance for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
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 to date. Eaton is still competing on the independent wrestling circuit, taking select bookings, mainly in the United States.
Personal life
Although Eaton has wrestled as a heel for most of his career, he is regarded as one of the nicest guys in the wrestling business. In his 1999 book Have a Nice DayHave a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks
Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks is an autobiography of former World Wrestling Entertainment and TNA wrestler Mick Foley. It details his life all the way from his upbringing in New York to winning the WWF Championship from The Rock in December 1998...
, Mick Foley praised Eaton as being at once one of the most underrated superstars in the business, and its nicest, commenting that "it was damn near impossible to pay for anything with Bobby around, though I will confess to not trying that hard". This opinion was supported in The Stone Cold Truth by Steve Austin.
In addition to his personality, he is also popular with other wrestlers due to his wrestling style. Wrestling Eaton is known as "a night off", because Eaton is so skilled that the action looks very convincing but does not hurt the opponent.
Eaton is married to Bill Dundee's daughter, Donna. 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. Eaton and Donna have three children: Dustin, Dylan, and Taryn. Dylan is a professional wrestler.
On September 6, 2006 Dave Meltzer reported that Eaton was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Two days later, after being released from the hospital, Eaton released a statement through the Wrestling Observer website saying that he did not have a heart attack but was diagnosed with high blood pressure with a hint of diabetes.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
-
- Alabama Jam (Diving leg drop)
- Signature moves
-
- Diving knee drop
- Figure four leglock
- Missile dropkick
- Slingshot backbreakerBackbreakerA backbreaker refers to professional wrestling moves which see a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee...
- Swinging neckbreaker
- With The Midnight Express
- Finishing moves
- Rocket Launcher
- Signature moves
- Double flapjack
- Drop toe-hold / Elbow drop combination
- Finishing moves
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Jim CornetteJim CornetteJames Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
- Baby DollNickla RobertsNickla Ann Roberts is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, better known by her ring name, "The Perfect 10" Baby Doll...
- Paul E. DangerouslyPaul HeymanPaul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
- Michael HayesMichael Hayes (wrestler)Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...
- Jimmy HartJimmy HartJames "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
- Jimmy Falcon
- Theodore LongTheodore LongTheodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:...
- Jeeves
- Tojo YamamotoTojo YamamotoHarold Watanabe was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tojo Yamamoto. He was born in Hawaii.-In-ring career:...
- Terri RunnelsTerri RunnelsTerri Lynne Boatright Runnels is a former World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation professional wrestling manager, television host and occasional wrestler....
- Jim Cornette
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton
- "The Sultan of Swing"
- "Earl" Robert Eaton
Championships and accomplishments
- Georgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
- NWA Georgia Television ChampionshipNWA National Television ChampionshipThe NWA National Television Championship was a secondary singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Georgia Championship Wrestling territory. It started as the NWA Georgia Television Championship. It was later renamed the National TV Championship...
(1 time)
- NWA Georgia Television Championship
- International Wrestling Cartel
- IWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis CondreyDennis CondreyDennis Condrey is an American professional wrestler, best known as being one half of the tag team Midnight Express....
- IWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis Condrey
- Jim Crockett PromotionsJim Crockett PromotionsJim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
/ World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
- NWA United States Tag Team ChampionshipNWA United States Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used by several championships that were or currently are under the National Wrestling Alliance 's supervision:...
(3 times) – with Stan LaneStan LaneWallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane is an American professional wrestler, trained by Ric Flair, who started wrestling in 1974 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. For a brief time in Florida, he was nicknamed Nature Boy... - NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)WCW World Tag Team ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
(2 times) – with Dennis CondreyDennis CondreyDennis Condrey is an American professional wrestler, best known as being one half of the tag team Midnight Express....
(1) and Stan Lane (1) - WCW World Tag Team ChampionshipWCW World Tag Team ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
(1 time) – with Arn AndersonArn AndersonMartin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW... - WCW World Television ChampionshipWCW World Television ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
(1 time)
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship
- Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
1- NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(1 time) – with Rikki Nelson
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
- Continental Wrestling AssociationContinental Wrestling AssociationThe Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
- AWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipAWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
(4 times) – with Sweet Brown SugarJames Ware (wrestler)James Ware , better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware, is a retired American professional wrestler who made his professional wrestling debut in 1978. He gained most of his popularity in the World Wrestling Federation when he was known as the Birdman...
(2) and Duke Myers (2) - CWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipCWA World Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version)The CWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the American promotion, the Continental Wrestling Association. It existed from 1979 to 1981..-Title history:...
(1 time) - NWA Mid-America Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Mid-America Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title defended in the US states of Tennessee and Alabama.The title began in 1957 and lasted first 1980 when it was first abandoned when Jerry Jarrett took over the Mid-American titles from Nick Gulas...
(11 times) - NWA Mid-America Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-America Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-America tag-team championship was a tag-team title promoted by the NWA Mid America promotion that ran more or less exclusively in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky from the 1940ties until 1980...
(6 times) – with Lanny PoffoLanny PoffoLanny Mark Poffo , better known by his ring name "Leaping" Lanny is an American professional wrestler. Poffo was born in Calgary, Canada, to Angelo Poffo, an Italian American Catholic, and Judy, a Jewish American. He is also the brother of wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage...
(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 BarberJerry BarberCarl Jerome "Jerry" Barber was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.Barber was born in Woodson, Illinois, and was one of nine children raised on a Jacksonville, Illinois farm. He turned professional in 1942. Among his seven tour victories, was the 1961 PGA Championship at...
(1), George Gulas and Arvil Hutto (1), George Gulos and The Mexican Angel (1), and Secret Weapon and Tojo YamamotoTojo YamamotoHarold Watanabe was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tojo Yamamoto. He was born in Hawaii.-In-ring career:...
(1)
- AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
- Mid-South Wrestling Association
- Mid-South Tag Team ChampionshipUWF Tag Team ChampionshipThe UWF Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Universal Wrestling Federation from 1986 until the promotion closed in 1987. It was formerly known as the Mid-South Tag Team Championship from 1979 until 1986 when Mid-South Wrestling became the UWF.-Title history:...
(2 times) – with Dennis Condrey
- Mid-South Tag Team Championship
- NWA BluegrassNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Bluegrass Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis Condrey
- NWA Rocky TopNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Rocky Top Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis Condrey
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #27 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992
- PWI ranked him #91 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (1987) with Stan Lane
- Smoky Mountain WrestlingSmoky Mountain WrestlingSmoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette...
- SMW Beat the Champ Television ChampionshipSMW Beat the Champ Television ChampionshipThe SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. The title was created in 1992 and was active until SMW closed its doors on November 26, 1995. The storyline concept of the title was that the...
(1 time)
- SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship
- World Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dennis Condrey
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Hall of FameWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameThe Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to the sport. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is not...
(Class of 2009Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameThe Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to the sport. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is not...
) with Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane as the Midnight Express - Most Underrated Wrestler (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. NewsPaul NeuPaul Neu is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known under the ring name PN News and for his stints in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...
vs. Terrance TaylorTerry TaylorTerry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
and Steve AustinStone Cold Steve AustinSteve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
in a Scaffold match at The Great American Bash
- Hall of Fame
1 This Mid-Atlantic promotion, while having revived some of the championships used by the previous Mid-Atlantic promotion, is not the same promotion once owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. and went on to be renamed World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
after it was sold to Ted Turner in November 1988.