DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Marathon: Eddie Gilbert

For today’s July marathon show, host Karl Stern takes a look at one of the most conflicted minds in wrestling history, “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert.

The son of Tommy Gilbert, Gilbert was a second generation wrestler, who patterned himself after Jerry Lawler and had a brilliant mind for the wrestling business.  Like many creative people however, he burned brightly but quickly, and died at the far too young age of 33.

Gilbert started out young in wrestling, writing articles and selling programs for the Memphis promotion before finally breaking into the wrestling business.  He spent some of his early career in the WWF being mentored by Bob Backlund before being seriously injured in a car accident in 1983.  

Gilbert returned to the Memphis area where he began working on becoming the top heel in the promotion and had a great run for Bill Watt’s in the UWF managing a young Sting and Ultimate Warrior and Rick Steiner before coming into WCW to work and become involved in booking.  

He was married to Missy Hyatt and briefly Medusa Micelli, all of this before his 30th birthday.

Eddie Gilbert and Paul Heyman also booked Continental Wrestling for a short time in what might have been the prototype for ECW had Gilbert remained with Paul Heyman for that era. However, he and Heyman had a falling out and Gilbert left before the genesis of ECW. Gilbert’s mind for the wrestling business was universally respected. 

Karl takes a look at the special talent that was “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert on today’s edition of the July Classic Wrestling Marathon.

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