Bobby Eaton

[Matt D]

There are a ton of Eaton singles matches from 90-99 on youtube, but a lot of them are

[WingedEagle]

The two Flair matches from 12/89 and 1/90, the TV title win over Arn at SuperBrawl I, and vs. Terry (Terrence) Taylor at Havoc 91 are good starts. I don't know his pre MX days very well. Or SMW.

 

Sounds like a plan, can certainly check out all of those. Anything from the 80s?

 

There are a ton of Eaton singles matches from 90-99 on youtube, but a lot of them are

 

Short can be good. Any that stand out above the pack?

[Loss]

He had some good early 80s Memphis matches too. The ones that stand out from memory were expiration of time studio matches against Steve Keirn and Bill Dundee from 1982.

[Matt D]

Honestly? I have no idea. Almost all of them look interesting but I don't have the time to delve deep.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Th5H5_S4zGyHhRjNBzAcBN0SxJ-WiRkc2VHGWySArGA/edit?usp=sharing

 

There. 60+ matches. It took me 15 mins to put together. Have at it.

[WingedEagle]

Thanks for that, much appreciated. BOBBY EATON!

[Grimmas]

It would be really interesting to see how people compare Eaton and Bret Hart. Eaton looks good even in throwaway 5 minute matches in the 90s whereas Bret looks average in 10 minute throwaway matches. Bret Hart is someone you will hear being hyped as high as a top 10 guy for some people, when I don't think he comes close to Eaton and you don't see him being touted as a top 10 guy.

 

I'm not going to judge people on how they work throwaway TV matches. Sure that is part of the package, but where is an Eaton's single's match that comes close to a top 10 Bret single's match?

[JerryvonKramer]

If people wanted to be super duper nit picky about my BIGLAV system, I don't differentiate between number of good matches worked as singles or as tags. Which means to say, that on the topic of singles vs. tags, my "great matches" factor is basically neutral.

 

Although arguably singles guys get more chances to score points elsewhere.

 

I have a big update coming soon. And it will be interesting to see where Bret and Eaton finish relative to each other after latest refinements.

 

I think, going on memory, they both gained one and Eaton is 31 whereas Bret is 29, which will probably amount to a significant gap.

 

However, once I rework the variety metric in detail, I expect Bret to shoot up to about 34, but we'll see.

[DR Ackermann]

Well Eaton spent about the bulk of his prime working in tags. The vast majority of his main event matches and major opportunities were in tags as well. His work with Flair in 90-91 is probably on the same level as some of Hart's 10 best. Where are the Hart tags that come close to Eaton's top 10 tags? Also why wouldn't you factor in what amounts to the bulk or large percentage of a wrestler's output when rating them?

[WingedEagle]

Well Eaton spent about the bulk of his prime working in tags. The vast majority of his main event matches and major opportunities were in tags as well. His work with Flair in 90-91 is probably on the same level as some of Hart's 10 best. Where are the Hart tags that come close to Eaton's top 10 tags? Also why wouldn't you factor in what amounts to the bulk or large percentage of a wrestler's output when rating them?

 

Definitely a miscommunication here. I think I have a pretty good sense of which MX tags are necessary for Eaton, but am not familiar with what's considered his top singles work. More curious than anything else.

 

That being said, if anyone wants to throw some underappreciated MX tags, go right ahead. I just can't rattle off what, if anything, are considered his standout singles affairs. Not sure there's enough there to move the needle on him at all but at worst I'll enjoy a different look at him.

[Grimmas]

Well Eaton spent about the bulk of his prime working in tags. The vast majority of his main event matches and major opportunities were in tags as well. His work with Flair in 90-91 is probably on the same level as some of Hart's 10 best. Where are the Hart tags that come close to Eaton's top 10 tags? Also why wouldn't you factor in what amounts to the bulk or large percentage of a wrestler's output when rating them?

Everything is factored in, but the original statement was that Eaton was better at throwaway matches than Bret, so how is Bret better?

[DR Ackermann]

Winged Eagle, my last post was in response to Grimmas. Grimmas, yes he is. Whereas Hart tends to step up in big matches, Eaton is consistently good. How is Bret better, you ask? Couldn't tell you. I don't think he is.

[Grimmas]

Winged Eagle, my last post was in response to Grimmas. Grimmas, yes he is. Whereas Hart tends to step up in big matches, Eaton is consistently good. How is Bret better, you ask? Couldn't tell you. I don't think he is.

That's fair and I can see someone preferring Eaton.

 

However Bret not being able to work a throwaway TV match doesn't matter to me. Bret's case is built on how he performs in big matches and I really think he is one of the best at those. From a logically, storytelling way. That always includes insanely great selling. I don't think too many people's matches have so much thought and purpose behind them with such great finishes.

 

Eaton beats Bret in a lot of categories, it's just not the categories that matter to me.

[DR Ackermann]

From a logically, storytelling way. That always includes insanely great selling. I don't think too many people's matches have so much thought and purpose behind them with such great finishes.

 

 

That's how I would describe Bockwinkel. Personally I never got that impression from Hart. Nothing he does stands out that much for me. But that is probably best discussed in another topic

[JerryvonKramer]

1. How much credit do you give Bobby for 95-00 WCW?

 

2. Is there a case for cutting off his peak later than 92?

[WingedEagle]

Some might point to the SMW appearances to extend it but that that would seem to credit anything solid as peak.

[Boss Rock]

Bobby's someone I want to see a case made for. He finished 28 in 2016 which is incredibly high, and yet I've never gotten got that impression watching him. By no means was he a bad wrestler, on the contrary. He seemed like the perfect utility player whether it be a 5-10 TV match or as a tag wrestler. He also had really good execution. And yet the only Eaton match I've ever really loved is the tag against the Southern Boys. He's been solid if unspectacular in a lot of singles matches I've seen him in and while the Midnight-Rn'R series has plenty of good matches, I've never walked away thinking it was the greatest tag feud ever. I get the Cesaro comparisons, but I honestly like Cesaro a lot more.

[elliott]

I ranked Bobby Eaton 33rd in 2016 and I'm cool with that but its a little higher than I would expect him to land this time around. I love Eaton and the Midnight Express but when I look at my list and I see some of the people I have below him: Vader, Destroyer, MS-1 and some of the people who I didn't rank like Jaguar Yokota or Invader 1, I imagine Eaton falls a bit. He's definitely not off my list and could still wind up in the top 50. 33rd just seems unlikely. 

[KB8]

I had Eaton at number 34 in 2016, one spot lower than our dear elliot. He's maybe the best tag wrestler in US wrestling history and has amazing matches with like half a dozen tag partners. Him and Koko were the best Midnight Express that there never was, then he had the Condrey and Lane MX runs, then he had the Dangerous Alliance run where you could pair him with Eaton or Zbyszko or Rude or whoever the hell, and then he had the Blue Bloods stuff late into his career. An all-time great stooge, all-time great bumper, all-time great offensive wrestler, all-time great, period. His run in Georgia is also a hoot and he was already a killer TV match wrestler by 1981, so even if he maybe doesn't have an AMAZING singles run he certainly has a good one taken in its totality.

 

BOBBY EATON YOU SHOULD WATCH:

w/Sweet Brown Sugar v Dutch Mantell & King Cobra (Memphis, 7/19/82)

w/Dennis Condrey v Road Warriors (JCP, 4/18/86)

w/Stan Lane v The Fantastics (JCP WorldWide, 5/14/88)

w/Stan Lane v Rock n Roll Express (WCW WrestleWar, 2/25/90)

w/Arn Anderson, Rick Rude & Larry Zbyszko v Sting, Barry Windham, Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes (WCW Saturday Night, 2/22/92)

[MichaelZ]

I have been watching a lot of Bobby and it has felt really rewarding. I think there was a sense that he was a little high in the last go around but  I am seeing the basis of a well rounded case beyond the peak midnight express work.
 

The couple of matches I watched where he teamed with Koko were exciting. Great offense, great storytelling. 
 

He may not have that signature singles match but some matches like the ones vs Flair and Dustin are really good.
 

As a babyface in tv matches vs Arn and Abdullah he has a way of getting the crowd invested as the match goes on. 
 

The post prime stuff with people like Regal or Keirn doesn’t lead to special matches but he plays his role really well on both teams. 
 

He seems like a guy who never took it easy, always gave something for the crowd to latch onto or provided a memorable moment. He has a shot at my top 20 and I don’t see him falling too far past that.