Pro wrestler Bobby Eaton of Midnight Express tag team fame dead at 62

“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, who formed one-half of professional wrestling’s legendary Midnight Express tag team, died Wednesday, his sister said. He was 62.

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Eaton’s sister, Debbie Eaton Lewis, announced his death in a Facebook post on Thursday. A cause of death is not yet known, but he was reportedly hospitalized in Nashville, Tennessee, in late July after suffering a fall, People reported.

“I never wanted to have to post this, but my little brother, ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton, passed away last night,” Lewis wrote on Facebook. “When I find out all the details I will post them. Bobby was the kindest, loving person you would ever meet. I loved him so much and going to miss him.”

Eaton, a native of Huntsville, Alabama, debuted as a pro wrestler in 1976. He was noted as a tag team wrestler, joining fellow Alabama native Dennis Condrey and then Stan Lane to form the Midnight Express, AL.com reported. The team was managed by Jim Cornette.

Eaton and Condrey began teaming together in the Mid-South Wrestling promotion in 1983, Sports Illustrated reported. They also performed in World Championship Wrestling before joining Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985. The Midnight Express won tag team titles in all three wrestling promotions. Eaton also performed in the Alabama-based Continental Wrestling Association and Smoky Mountain Wrestling, according to AL.com.

Eaton was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame as part of the Midnight Express in 2019.

The Midnight Express was noted for its feud as heels against longtime rivals Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, who formed the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Sports Illustrated reported.

As a member of Paul Heyman’s Dangerous Alliance in WCW, Eaton won the promotion’s tag team championship with Arn Anderson in 1992, the magazine reported.

Eaton’s “impact and legacy will always be remembered,” the National Wrestling Alliance tweeted. “We send our love to his friends and family.”

Wrestler Thomas Laughlin, better known as Tommy Dreamer, told NBC News on Thursday that he was “gutted” after hearing about Eaton’s death.

“He was one of the best, but what a better person he was,” Laughlin said. “Once you met him, you realized he was a greater human being than the image you had as a professional wrestler.”

After joining WWE, Eaton worked with Koko B. Ware and “Lord” Steven Regal, according to AL.com.

Eaton’s wife Donna -- the daughter of pro wrestler Bill Dundee -- died in June, People reported. The couple had three children, according to NBC News.

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