Team wrestling star Bobby Eaton has died aged 62

Legendary “Beautiful” professional wrestler Bobby Eaton has passed away, the National Wrestling Alliance announced Thursday. He was 62 years old.

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

Eaton’s cause of death was unclear.

His friend, wrestler Thomas Laughlin, better known as Tommy Dreamer, told NBC News on Thursday he was “gutted.”

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

Eaton’s sister wrote on Facebook that “Bobby was the nicest and most loving person you have ever met. I loved him so much and will miss him.”

She posted dozens of photos, writing, “I thought I would have my brothers forever. I wasn’t ready to lose one.”

She shared that Eaton knew when he was 3 that he wanted to wrestle.

Eaton composed half of “The Midnight Express”, first with Dennis Condrey, then with Stan Lane. He was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019, along with the rest of the wrestlers who made up the team.

The Huntsville, Ala., Native broke into the business at the age of 17 and won his first tag team title two years later, according to WWE. He had a career of almost 40 years.

The other wrestlers viewed Eaton as underrated and one of the nicest people in the business.

“If you’ve studied pro wrestling with real attention, you’ve studied Bobby Eaton. And understand how special he was in the ring,” said WWE wrestler Adam Copeland. wrote on Twitter. “Every time I met him outside of that, he was an even better person.”

Wrestler Dax Harwood tweeted: “‘There will never be another …’ is always said, but it is absolutely true; ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton was literally one of a kind. Rest in peace, Bobby. The business wrestling didn’t deserve you, but I’m glad I got you. “