Eddie Gilbert (wrestler)

Early career (1977–1982) Gilbert wanted to become a professional wrestler by the second grade, and wrote articles and took photographs for newsstand and ringside magazines as a way to become involved in the business. He was once rumored to have missed his own high school graduation so he could make it to Memphis to lose in the first match on the undercard at the Mid-South Coliseum. After graduating from high school, On February 10, 1979, he and Ricky Reed defeated Jake Dalton and Haiti Charlie. and the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), as well as Philadelphia's Tri-State Wrestling Alliance promotion. Due to a pay dispute, Gilbert, along with his brother Doug (who wrestled under a mask as the Dark Patriot) left the GWF in 1992. In September 1991, Gilbert toured Japan with W*ING. During the tour, he primarily teamed with Tom Prichard against teams such as the Headhunters and Koichiro Kimura and Yukihiro Kanemura. He returned to W*ING in November 1993, this time wrestling as "the Boogie Man" and teaming with Leatherface. NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (1993) In 1993, Gilbert wrestled for NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling, where he again teamed with Doug. He also served as head booker for nearly six months, but gave up his position in September 1993 to Paul Heyman. At one point, Gilbert owned 49% of the company. Heyman would take the company in an even more extreme direction, and under the name Extreme Championship Wrestling just 11 months later which saw the company depart the NWA in controversial fashion. Due to ECW's notoriety under Heyman, the company quickly became the third biggest wrestling company in North America behind the WWF and WCW. Late career (1993–1995) Eddie Gilbert took with him the GWF North American Heavyweight Championship belt. He made a few defenses of the title in the USWA as the GWF World Heavyweight champion, despite being stripped of the belt and not being recognized as such by the GWF. Gilbert returned to the USWA until early 1995 when he worked one night for Smoky Mountain Wrestling before traveling to World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico to wrestle and book. His last wrestling match was against a bear. ==Personal life==

Gilbert's first marriage was to a woman named Terrie Bardwell Dykes. The two divorced, and Gilbert married wrestling valet Missy Hyatt in October 1987 and they divorced in 1989. Gilbert was also briefly married to Debrah "Madusa" Miceli in 1990, but the marriage only lasted four months. In early 1994, Gilbert filmed a shoot interview with Bob Barnett titled "Looking For Mr. Gilbert." Gilbert spoke openly about his life and career at a time when professional wrestlers rarely appeared on film out of character and almost never spoke publicly about the behind-the-scenes machinations of the wrestling business. The footage from the interview was later marketed on home video and sold through wrestling newsletters, as well as at independent wrestling shows, the first of its kind. "Looking For Mr. Gilbert" is now considered the first professional wrestling "shoot video", and in the decades since, countless professional wrestlers have conducted sit-down shoot interviews, most notably in RF Video's Shoot Interview series and Kayfabe Commentaries' YouShoot interview series. ==Death==

On February 18, 1995, Gilbert died of a massive heart attack in his sleep at his apartment in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. == Championships and accomplishments ==

banner in the former ECW Arena. • Cauliflower Alley Club • Family Award (2011) – with Doug Gilbert and Tommy Gilbert • Central States Wrestling • NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Romero • Continental Wrestling Association • AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time) • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Tommy Gilbert (2), Tommy Rich (1), and Ricky Morton (1) • CWA International Heavyweight Championship (2 times) • Eastern Championship Wrestling • ECW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dark Patriot • ECW Tag Team Championship Tournament (1993)  – with Dark Patriot • GWF Television Championship Tournament (October 1991) • Hardcore Hall of Fame • Class of 2009 • Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame • Class of 2024 • Jim Crockett Promotions • NWA United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rick Steiner • Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame • Class of 2017 • NWA Tri-State / Mid-South Wrestling Association / Universal Wrestling Federation • Mid-South Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with The Nightmare • NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Ricky Morton (1), and Tommy Gilbert (2) • NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (1 time) – with Tommy Gilbert • UWF World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Sting • UWF World Television Championship (1 time) • Pro Wrestling Illustrated • PWI ranked him #83 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 • United States Wrestling Association • USWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) • USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time) • USWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brian Christopher • USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (4 times) • GWF World Heavyweight Championship (actually GWF North American Championship brought over to USWA) • Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995) • World Wrestling Council • WWC North American Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommy Gilbert • Wrestling Observer Newsletter • Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (1983) Broken neck angle • Best Booker (1988) ==See also==