Eddie Gilbert

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[KrisZ]

God I loved Hot Stuff so much because he was immensely entertaining and one of the of best heels of all-time. Gilbert wasn't the most technical wrestler around but he could go when needed and when working as a heel in the Memphis style he was in his wheelhouse and just fantastic to watch.

 

That though is a problem with Eddie as there are people that don't get or like the Memphis style and they think Eddie as well as others like him aren't great workers because they don't break out a lot of moves but when it came to psychology Hot Stuff was an all-timer.

[goodhelmet]

I enjoy watching Eddie Gilbert but he doesn't have the singles matches that the other Memphis guys do. He has moments but not enough to crack my Top 100.

[Loss]

Eddie Gilbert has plenty of singles matches actually. By the 90s, Eddie Gilbert was doing the Lawler thing better than Lawler. He'll make my list for sure. Everyone should check out these matches:

 

- Gilbert vs Cactus Jack (Power Hour 3/23/90)

- Gilbert vs Jerry Lawler (WWA 11/09/90)

- Gilbert vs Jeff Jarrett (USWA-TX 12/29/90, 1/5/91 on the YB in error)

- Gilbert vs Jeff Jarrett (USWA-TX 2/22/91)

- Gilbert/Christopher vs Pritchard/DWB (USWA Studio 5/18/91)

- Gilbert vs Cactus Jack (TWA 8/3/91 3 match series)

- Gilbert vs Terry Funk (WWA 1/23/93)

- Gilbert vs Terry Funk (ECW 6/19/93)

 

I'm not a fan of it, but Lawler fans will love the Lawler-Gilbert match on 2/15/91 as well.

 

There are also a metric ton of Mid South Coliseum main events from 1990-1992 that look amazing that we sadly don't have in full.

 

He also has good babyface workrate matches with Pillman in 1989-1990 and some fun stuff with Flair in the same time frame. I liked the Samu feud.

 

Those are the 90s matches that make his case with more in the 80s to support it. I think this guy is criminally underrated.

[KrisZ]

Gilbert in USWA from 90-91 was pretty much the high point of his career as a worker especially inside the ring. He also had some fun matches in GWF after that as well against Simms, Patriot, etc

[goodhelmet]

I don't think all of those matches are great. Part of my dismissal of the Cactus matches is how much Foley has fallen out of favor with me over the years. I don't think any of those hold up to the best Tommy Rich singles stuff we have, nothing compared to Dundee, Lawler, Dutch or even the big Koko matches. I liken him more to Rick Rude who should have way more memorable performances for as long as he was around. In terms of angles and moments, he has tons of them... the Lawler feud, the broken neck, the New Fabs, Russians vs. Watts feud, breaking Doc's arm, etc. As one of the best wrestlers, he'll miss my cut.

[Loss]

When did you watch those matches? I've never heard you say anything about them.

[goodhelmet]

I watched the Cactus matches about 7 years ago when I picked them up from GB. Maybe longer? I watched almost every Memphis match/segment when putting together the yearbooks. Other promotions, I could walk away from. With Memphis footage, I was glued to the TV set. I watched the Funk matches when a compilation of Dylan Waco's favorite wrestler was being put together.

[Dylan Waco]

I watched a bunch of Gilbert tonight and I think he poses a real challenge. The deal with Eddie is that he's a great worker in the sense of getting over an angle as something huge, and it really doesn't matter where he is place on the card. Watching is mini-feud with Muta from 89 tonight, they did a ton of crazy and cutting edge stuff for the time (Eddie throwing fire and hitting a jobber instead of Muta, Missy Hyatt getting misted in the face by Muta, Eddie getting beaten wildly with a kendo stick at the end of a t.v. show, et.) and that was basically a time filling, under card feud, of little to no importance to the company. When you look at Eddie at his best in Mid-South and especially Memphis the delivery on those angles was just as good, but felt bigger because the promotions were fully behind it. So what you have with Eddie is a guy who had what many regard as the hardest part of wrestling down.

 

The problem with Eddie is that the matches just don't live up to what you would hope them too. Yes he has good psychology. He throws a great punch. He moves around and bumps well. He's a competent wrestler in just about every way really, But there is just something missing in the ring.

 

Don't get me wrong. I really like some of the stuff with Lawler. But for a guy who feuded with Lawler as much as Eddie did it bothers me that I can't think of a match they had that blew me away. I like the Funk and Cactus matches Loss points to above, and haven't watched them in years, but none of them had the feel of true classics to me the last time I saw them. Something like the Power Hour match with Muta is great for what it is, but it still feels a bit underwhelming and the volume of standout or interesting t.v. matches Gilbert has is much lower than you would expect out of a guy with his obvious talents.

 

In some respects I see Eddie as a Memphis bred version of Jake Roberts. Tremendous promo, great at getting over angles, excellent as both a face and a heel, and very capable in the ring - but the disparity between the out of the ring stuff and in the ring stuff is so large that it is frustrating.

 

Eddie was a favorite of mine as a kid. I liked that he was a smallish guy, from Tennessee, who always worked hard against bigger guys. I really want to include him on my ballot. But when I don't know if I can construct an argument for him based on ring work alone that is an honest one.

[Timbo Slice]

I think he can build a feud better than few guys in the history of wrestling. He can make you put down money for what he's about to sell you with the promos and angles alone. But I do feel underwhelmed when it comes to the payoffs with him. I don't think he'll be making it for me.

[Jetlag]

Gilbert vs. Finlay in Germany got reuploaded and its a tremendous match:

This probably won't sway the consensus on Eddie Gilbert but it's kind of a What could have been? as it's just a really heated long match in a smoked out German hall. The best Germany matches are kind closer to Memphis main events. This does a tremendous job building. Finlay brings his European style stiffness and snug holds, and Gilberts southern funk in this setting is wonderful. Gilbert mostly sticks to forearms and elbows but unloads a Lawleresque punch combo at one point. Finlay is an all out hell here barraging Gilbert with cheap attacks and rough moves, but the crowd is still split which amuses me. Last round was just great. It's insane they ran this and Liger vs. Schuhmann the same night.

 

[elliott]

I ranked Eddie Gilbert 79th in 2016 and I'm happy about that. I fucking love Eddie Gilbert. Even without all the footage we'd ideally have, we still have a picture of a great pro-wrestler who could work babyface or heel, singles and tags and was one of the best at getting angles over and cutting promos and all that extra stuff. I love his matches with Terry Funk, Jerry Lawler & Cactus Jack. The New Fabulous Ones team with Rich is fucking awesome. Eddie Gilbert rules.  I'm not a huge Finlay fan, but I'm super stoked to watch that match.

[Mr JMML]

His work in Memphis introduced me to him, his rivalry with Cactus Jack was very good but the match that turned him into a serious candidate for me was this famous tag team match from January 1989 that I recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. 

 

An awesome babyface perfomance by Steamboat and Eddie Gilbert.

[ZubazKid]

I also love his tag match with Ron Simmons against The Fantastics at Clash IV. Seems like a very random match, but turns out great. Gilbert gives a helluva FIP performance selling his shoulder and fighting & digging down until like the 3rd time he rams his shoulder to the post is just too much. It was in Chattanooga so Eddie was over like a God.

[Mr JMML]

11 minutes ago, ZubazKid said:

I also love his tag match with Ron Simmons against The Fantastics at Clash IV. Seems like a very random match, but turns out great. Gilbert gives a helluva FIP performance selling his shoulder and fighting & digging down until like the 3rd time he rams his shoulder to the post is just too much. It was in Chattanooga so Eddie was over like a God.

Eddie Gilbert is a great tag worker regardless of the partner.