Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives!
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Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives! |
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- Tim Dills Beginnings
Bobby Eaton is from Huntsville, Alabama. He grew up watching professional wrestling promoted by Nick Gulas. Eventually, Eaton helped set up the wrestling ring for events in Huntsville and by 1976, Eaton had become a pro wrestler. Eaton’s first few months weren’t all that eventful since he rarely won many matches. It was a learning process. Eaton stuck with the business and it began to pay off. The Gulas territory was large and used a lot of wrestlers. It wasn’t too long before Eaton’s athleticism and showmanship began shining through. By the fall of 1977, Eaton was beginning to have some success in the territory. His first major feud was with the well-known tag team billed as The Hollywood Blondes, which consisted of Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts (Roberts, for some reason, was billed as Dick Roberts by Gulas). The Blondes had been successful in Montreal, Los Angeles, Florida and in the Mid-Atlantic area. Much of this time they were managed by Sir Oliver Humperdink. However, Humperdink was no longer with them by the time they ventured into Gulas territory. The Blondes had a short run in the territory before working the Memphis end which had split from Gulas earlier in the year. Before leaving though they battled Eaton and a variety of partners including Cowboy Frankie Laine, Pistol Pez Whatley and Tojo Yamamoto. The end of 1977 and early part of 1978 brought a good deal of new talent to the area. With Eaton gaining more in-ring experience he got into the mix with this new talent. Eaton found himself teaming with Leapin’ Lanny Poffo, Dutch Mantel, The Mexican Angel (Francisco Flores) and George Gulas. Poffo and Eaton held the Mid-America tag titles. More... |
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Many
fans that recognize Bobby Eaton probably wonder if he can even speak.
More often than not on interviews Eaton stood beside his tag partners
and let someone else, usually manager Jim Cornette, do the talking. Most
fans that have followed the business of pro wrestling for any length of
time likely could care less about Eaton’s speaking ability. They
understand that Eaton speaks volumes inside the ring as one of the most
underrated and talented stars the business has ever seen.
