Bobby Eaton

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 Association, Mid-South Wrestling, World Class 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.

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 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 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 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.

In the spring of 1979, Eaton started a feud 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 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.

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 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 was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019.

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.