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EditorialThe Life & Career of "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton

The Life & Career of “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton

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On August 4, 2021, eWrestlingNews reported that one-half of the famed Midnight Express, “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, had passed away peacefully in his sleep. This news came only one month after the passing of his beloved wife Donna. In honor of this underrated performer’s passing, we here at eWrestlingNews present our deep dive into the life and career of wrestling’s most “Beautiful” performer.

Growing Up Eaton

On August 14, 1958, Robert Lee Eaton would be born in Huntsville, Alabama. Not much is known about Eaton’s childhood. However, it is known that Eaton was a huge professional wrestling fan. Eaton’s favorite promotion was NWA Mid-America, which was owned and operated by “The Dean of Promoters” Nick Gulas. While attending Chapman Middle School, at the age of thirteen, Eaton began setting up rings in his hometown for local shows. He later began training under Tojo Yamamoto to become a professional wrestler.

Getting Started

In May 1976, at 17 years old, Bobby Eaton made his in-ring debut – under his given name – with NWA Mid-America. In his first match, he would lose to Bearcat Wright. Eaton was allegedly a last-minute substitute for Wright’s missing opponent on the evening. It would not take long for fans, wrestlers, and Gulas himself to take note of Eaton’s in-ring acumen and athleticism. Thus, Gulas began to book Eaton in higher profile competitions on NWA Mid-America cards.

In Eaton’s major “breakthrough angle”, Eaton partnered with a variety of wrestlers against The Hollywood Blonds. No, not Pillman and Austin! It was none other than Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts teaming under the name. Eaton cycled through multiple partners and picked up significant victories. When The Hollywood Blonds decided to move territories, the storyline maintained that Eaton was responsible for driving the tandem out of NWA Mid-America.

In 1978, Eaton would partner with “Leapin'” Lanny Poffo to earn his first taste of championship gold in pro wrestling. In this match, Poffo and Eaton defeated Gypsy Joe and Leroy Rochester to win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship. Eaton and Poffo would hold the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship for a little over one month. Eaton would later go on to form a team with Nick Gulas’s son, George Gulas. This team, known as The Jet Set, would win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship three times throughout 1978 and 1979.

Near the end of 1979, Eaton would turn heel for the first time in his career by joining Tojo Yamamota’s stable. Eaton’s heel run did not last through the year, however, as he would rescue his former Jet Set teammate, George Gulas, from a two-on-one beatdown from The Blond Bombers (Larry Latham and Wayne Ferris). Eaton and Gulas would go on to engage in a brutal feud with Latham Farris, winning the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship once again. Eaton would also win the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championships three times, and the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship four times. However, the NWA Mid-America promotion would come to a close very soon.

Continental Wrestling Association

In 1980, Gulas’s NWA Mid-America closed due to dwindling ticket sales. In the downfall of NWA Mid-America, Eaton would begin working for Jerry Jarrett’s Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, Tennessee. On October 20, 1980, Bobby Eaton would win the CWA World Heavyweight Championship from Austin Idol. However, his reign would be short-lived, dropping it 7 days later to Billy Robinson. Eaton would win the title back next month, only to drop it directly back to Robinson again.

In 1981, Eaton would take a brief hiatus from CWA to compete in Georgia Championship Wrestling. On January 31, 1981, Bobby Eaton defeated Steve O to win the NWA National Championship. Eaton would successfully defend this championship against Charlie Cook, Steve O, and Steve Keirn. However, Steve O would win the championship back one month later at a GCW event in Atlanta, Georgia.

At the turn of the new year, Eaton would make his return to CWA and begin competing alongside Sweet Brown Sugar (the future Koko B. Ware). This team, known as “The New Wave” blended their athleticism and high-flying abilities to form a wildly successful team. The two men would win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship twice. Jimmy Hart would soon begin managing the group, leading to one more AWA Southern Tag Team Championship reign. Eaton and Sugar would later split up and feud, ending with Sugar leaving CWA via a Loser Leaves Town match. Despite this, Sugar would return to the promotion under the name “Stagger Lee”, which led to Eaton and Lee picking up the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship one more time.

The Dynamic Duo

Eaton would join the go on to join Bill Watts’s Mid-South Wrestling promotion. He would join The Midnight Express with Dennis Condrey under the management of Jim Cornette. Interestingly enough, this is not the first rendition of The Midnight Express. The Midnight Express had previously been composed of Randy Rose, Norvell Austin, and Dennis Condrey. However, Condrey and Eaton would go on to form a two-man team. It was at this point where Eaton would adopt the nickname “Beautiful”, bouncing off of Condrey’s already-established “Lover Boy” nickname.

In their first angle as a team, Eaton and Condrey faced off against the Mid-South Tag Team Champions, Magnum T.A. and Mr. Wrestling II. The duo would eventually win the titles when Mr. Wrestling II turned on Magnum T.A., attacking him during the championship contest. Afterward, The Midnight Express would begin a long series of matches against The Rock ‘N Roll Express, running deep into the 1990s and spanning over several promotions. The two teams would feud in Mid-South until Condrey and Eaton left the promotion in 1984. This would only be the beginning for The Midnight Express in professional wrestling.

Paving The Way

In 1985, Eaton, Condrey, and their manager, Jim Cornette, would sign with Jim Crockett Promotions; thus, giving them national exposure on TBS. Soon after signing with JCP, Condrey and Eaton would reignite their feud with The Rock ‘N Roll Express. This would lead to February 1986, at Superstars on the Superstation, where Condrey and Eaton would defeat Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship. They would spend the next six months defending the championship against their bitter rivals, eventually losing it to the duo.

Keeping The Magic

In early 1987, Dennis Condrey would withdraw from JCP. In his absence, “Sweet” Stan Lane would become Eaton’s partner in The Midnight Express. It would not take long for the team to claim gold, winning the NWA United States Tag Team Championship two months later. This would be the first of three NWA United States Tag Team Championship reigns for Eaton and Lane. The pair would begin working heel, winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard on September 10, 1988. Just as the feud began to heat up, Anderson and Blanchard would sign with the WWF, citing financial disagreements with Jim Crockett Promotions. This would lead to Lane and Eaton dropping the titles to Animal and Hawk in a brutal match one month later.

Turning face within their last tag team championship contest, Eaton and Lane would soon face off against a team that many had thought to be defunct – the original Midnight Express – Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose. This duo, led by Paul E. Dangerously, would attempt to prove themselves greater than the “new” rendition of The Midnight Express. However, as soon as the angle kicked off, Condrey removed himself from JCP once again. Jack Victory would go on to take Condrey’s place in the angle, cutting the feud short.

In the absence of Dennis Condrey, The Midnight Express turned their attention to Paul E. Dangerously’s other team – The Samoan S.W.A.T. Team. They would also contend for the NWA World Tag Team Championships against The Fabulous Freebirds, however, they would lose this match. Following the loss, Eaton and Lane would team alongside their former rivals, Hawk and Animal, to defeat The Samoan S.W.A.T. Team and The Fabulous Freebirds at The Great American Bash in a WarGames match. Following this, Cornette would stop managing Eaton and Lane at ringside.

Walking Your Own Path

The Midnight Express would soon return to their mischievous way. They would begin a feud with Flyin’ Brian and Tom Zenk over the NWA United States Tag Team Championship, which The Midnight Express would win in 1990. They would the belts to Rick and Scott Steiner three months later. Following a loss at WCW Halloween Havoc 1990, Eaton and Lane would split up. Cornette and Lane would leave WCW. Thus, for the first time in almost 10 years, there was no Midnight Express in professional wrestling.

On his own for the first time since 1979, Eaton would struggle to establish himself as a singles star. He would defeat multiple tag team wrestlers in singles competition, such as Brad Armstrong, Ricky Morton, and Tom Zenk. In 1991, Eaton would sign a two-year contract with WCW, establishing company trust in him as a singles competitor. On May 19, 1991, Eaton would defeat Arn Anderson to win the WCW World Television Championship in a high-profile victory. He would go on to have a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match against Ric Flair, however, Flair would win the match two pinfalls to one. On June 29, 1991, Eaton would lose the WCW World Television Championship to Steve Austin.

At this point, Eaton knew a change was necessary. Thus, Eaton would do the unthinkable in late 1991, and join forces with the dastardly Paul E. Dangerously.

The Dangerous Alliance

After helping the newly-debuted Rick Rude win the WCW United States Championship from Sting, Eaton would join forces alongside Rude, Larry Zbyszko, Arn Anderson, and Steve Austin. In this group, Anderson and Eaton would emerge as the tag team specialists of this stable. Thus, quickly rising the ranks, Anderson and Eaton would win the WCW World Tag Team Championship by defeating Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes. They would hold the belts for five months before dropping them to The Steiner Brothers.

Throughout their time as a stable, The Dangerous Alliance managed to wage war with Sting and Sting’s friends. This would come to a boiling point at WCW WrestleWar 1992 in a double-ringed War Games match, where Sting’s team would win in a 5-star Wrestling Observer Newsletter-rated contest. Following this match, Zbyszko would be kicked out of The Dangerous Alliance for causing the team to lose. The group would soon disintegrate when Paul left WCW. Eaton and Anderson would continue to team, with Michael Hayes taking over managerial duties.

In a shocking maneuver, however, Eaton would be fired by Bill Watts with claims of cost-cutting measures to blame. Thus, Eaton was on his own with something prove once again.

Smoky Mountain Rain

Jobless and partnerless, Eaton would soon turn to his former manager Jim Cornette. Cornette immediately welcomed Bobby Eaton to his promotion, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, with open arms. Eaton would team alongside The Heavenly Bodies – Stan Lane and Tom Prichard – to reign as the top heels in the promotion. During this run, on March 1, 1993, Bobby Eaton would defeat Tim Horner to win the SMW Beat The Champ Television Championship at an SMW TV taping. Eaton would hold the belt for 49 days before dropping it to Brian Lee on SMW TV. Following the announcement of Bill Watts’ removal from WCW management, Bobby Eaton would be rehired and make his return to the company.

Finding His Footing

For the next few years, Eaton would compete in WCW and New Japan Pro Wrestling rings. In WCW, Eaton would return to team with Chris Benoit in Benoit’s first stint with the company. Benoit and Eaton would mainly be used as enhancement talent for established teams, not amounting to much in the end. In his first tour with NJPW, Eaton would team with Tony Halme in tag team contests against the teams of Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh, Manabu Nakanishi and Masa Saito, and Riki Choshu and Takayuki Iizuka. On June 14, 1993, Eaton and Halme would compete against Hawk Warrior and Power Warrior for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. However, Eaton and Halme would not come out victorious on this encounter.

After Benoit left WCW, Eaton would go on to compete alongside Steve Keirn in a team known as Bad Attitude. However, this team would do nothing of note. Eaton would eventually return to NJPW for two more tours in 1994 and 1995 respectively.

A Major Shift

After the quiet end to Bad Attitude, Eaton would partner with Lord Steven Regal. In a series of vignettes, Regal would teach Eaton how to become a classy, English, sophisticated gentlemen. Bobby Eaton would transition gimmicks into Earl Robert Eaton – a man with the pompous and narcissistic skills necessary to win championship gold in WCW. Eaton and Regal would form a tag team known as The Blue Bloods. Their first feud would come against The Nasty Boys – Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags – who opposed everything which The Blue Bloods stood for. The Nasty Boys would come out on top of this feud.

Eaton and Regal would compete for the WCW World Tag Team Championships on multiple occasions, however, they would never come out victorious. This team would represent the last serious push for Bobby Eaton in World Championship Wrestling. Eaton and Regal would eventually split, and Eaton would be relegated to working WCW C-shows until his release from the company in March 2000.

Post-WCW Release

Following his release from WCW, Eaton would begin working the independent circuit. He would have a brief stint in ECW, but nothing would come of it. By November 2000, Eaton would begin wrestling primarily for NWA Mid-Atlantic. He would sign with WWF months later as a trainer for their developmental territories. He would be assigned to Power Pro Wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee. However, WWF would soon cut ties with PPW following the release of The Kat (Jerry Lawler’s then-wife). Following the closing of PPW, Eaton would move to Louisville, Kentucky, to work for Ohio Valley Wrestling. He would move to Cincinnati, Ohio later on to work for Heartland Wrestling Association. Eaton would be released from WWF in 2002.

Eaton would continue to wrestle sporadically throughout the years, returning to NWA Mid-Atlantic and Total Nonstop Action for short-lived runs and one-off appearances. In 2004, Condrey and Eaton would reunite as The Midnight Express until Condrey’s final match in 2011. On March 19, 2016, Eaton would wrestle his final match at RWC Seek 2 Destroy Cancer. In this match, Eaton would compete in a battle royal eventually won by PoPo Da Klown. Thus, Eaton’s 40-year career would promptly come to an end.

On August 4, 2021, Eaton would pass away mid-sleep in his Nashville, Tennessee home. A cause of death has not been announced.

The Legacy of Bobby Eaton

Highly regarded for his in-ring psychology and ability, “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton was an alleged masterclass of an individual. Often touted as one of wrestling’s kindest souls, Mick Foley claimed Eaton to be “one of the nicest people in the wrestling business” in his book Have a Nice Day. Former tag team partner of Eaton, William Regal, once noted that Eaton had “incredible precision to everything he did”. As a true ring general, and a solidified pure soul in a business of tainted ones, Bobby Eaton stands out as an underrated legend in the professional wrestling industry.

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