What would have happened to Eddie Gilbert if he hadn't died?

[Ellsworth Toohey]

When Eddie died in 1994, he was on literally his last legs as a pro wrestler.  He was too small (and flaky) to ever get hired by the WWF, he had burned his bridges in Memphis, in Smoky Mountain, in ECW, in Texas, in sleazy Japanese indy feds.  He died in a scuzzy apartment in Puerto Rico.

 

If Eddie hadn't died, I have to wonder what exactly would have happened to him.  The territory system that had sustained Eddie for 15 years was on its last legs. There was no Continental or Mid-South for Eddie to go slinking off to after pissing off McMahon or someone at Turner like he had done in years past.

 

  I think eventually he would have flaked out on WWC and burned his bridges in Puerto Rico, and then what.  He'd probably work his father's outlaw shows until those finally fell apart, but then after that he'd probably be out of wrestling entirely. 

 

Maybe he'd be lucky and get a job as a TV jobber on Nitro/Thunder ala Chris Adams, Greg Valentine and others, but I think even then he'd probably have a meltdown and get fired after throwing a fit to a road agent about having to job to Mortis or Goldberg.

[Charlie M.]

Probably would have been a booker that bounced around from company to company, no?

[Harbinger]

He would've became a walk on linebacker for last years 49s & won the Super Bowl for them. Or he'd been the first Zombie on record.

[rzombie1988]

I could have seen him doing stuff in IWA:PR, having an ECW run and probably doing XPW at some point. WCW might have been possible too.

[jstout]

Maybe working various "outlaw" indies in Tennessee-Georgia-Kentucky-North Carolina-Virginia and opening up a wrestling school somewhere.

[Phantom Lord]

Well with the recent trend of hell freezing over (Warrior, Bruno back in the WWE), I think if Eddie lived he would have made it to the WWE eventually to at least get a legends deal from them. Have him come out and do the stuff they won't have Lawler do anymore in Memphis and Nashville.

[caley]

Was just reading about him today (re-reading Mick Foley's book) and how WCW tried to bring him in with Foley for his second run and Gilbert turned it down because he was so proud of his matches with Foley that he didn't want to tarnish their legacy.  I think WCW probably would have eventually won him over.  Or Vince would have thrown money at him when the roster got so thin and WCW was raiding their talent.

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Works for Vince for < 12 months doing a TL Hopper/Goon equivalent gimmick, before ending up on the Saturday Night circuit...

[MORELOCK]

Well with the recent trend of hell freezing over (Warrior, Bruno back in the WWE), I think if Eddie lived he would have made it to the WWE eventually to at least get a legends deal from them. Have him come out and do the stuff they won't have Lawler do anymore in Memphis and Nashville.

Eddie was great, but thinking he'd come anywhere near doing Legend stuff on WWE TV is grossly overstating his importance to the modern WWE audience.

[Andrew POE!]

I think Gilbert would have done 'one last run' in the WWE feuding with Jerry Lawler (back when Lawler was still able to wrestle) before becoming a road agent for WWE and eventually a booker at TNA.

[Nick]

If he hadn't died in 1995, Gilbert probably would've died in 1996 or 1997.

[odessasteps]

If he hadn't died in 1995, Gilbert probably would've died in 1996 or 1997.

This is what i was thinking.Gilbert just seemed self-destructive.

[Jenalysis]

He might have ended up a manager, or in TNA, or maybe even in AAA.

[Ultimo Necro]

I loved Eddie Gilbert as a kid.

 

I suspect he would probably have ended up in IWA:MS, having boodbaths with Bull Pain, Mean Mitch Page and Tracy Smothers.  He would have wrestled Punk & Cabana when they came through in 02-03 and then took credit for making them!

 

Actually quite sad now, wish I could have seen Gilbert vs. Punk in IWA:MS in 2002!

[cool arrow]

He might have ended up a manager, or in TNA, or maybe even in AAA.

 

How well did he get along with Jeff Jarrett?

[Chris Migs]

Maybe he buries the hatchet with Heyman and does an ECW run. That sort of feels right.

[Greggulator]

Eddie GIlbert's one of the greatest ever.The Mark Henry angle we all loved when he lured in Cena? That was Eddie Gilbert sucker jobbing Tommy Rich perfectly. I'm sure I could go back and find so many other things people stole from Gilbert over the eons.Gilbert would have been PERFECT for someone in the mid-90s. Remember how crazy over Pillman got? Eddie could have done that role even better. He also could have very easily eased into a Regal role in WWE with comedy stuff -- dude had a great temper tantrum shtick and his KING OF PHILADELPHIA stuff in ECW was golden. He had absolutely no shame whatsoever; that's a huge strength in playing a heel.If Eddie sobered up, he would have been really good during the Monday Night Wars.

[mco543]

Eddie Gilbert was always a guy I'd heard good things about but never really got into or took the time to watch, but there are some amazing people on YouTube who uploaded his Memphis feud with Dundee and Lawler from 1990ish and it's fucking amazing. Eddie Gilbert was so great, Every wrestling fan needs to check out that feud, with Lawler and Dundee going against Eddie, Doug, Dirty White Boy, Dirty White Girl, John Tatum, and the ringside photographer who turned heel Sam Lowe.

 

 

This feud, the King of Philadelphia thing from ECW, the matches with Cactus, the Russian angle from Mid-South. I love Eddie Gilbert, even coked up Eddie Gilbert in Smokey Mountain was interesting because it showed how he could've been used as the Loose Cannon like Pillman. It's a shame he died so young because even though he would've never stuck around long in a major promotion, he would've done some great stuff in that surely short amount of time.

[SovietShooter]

I suspect he would probably have ended up in IWA:MS, having boodbaths with Bull Pain, Mean Mitch Page and Tracy Smothers.  He would have wrestled Punk & Cabana when they came through in 02-03 and then took credit for making them!

 

Yeah, I had the same thought after reading the OP.  If Gilbert doesn't OD in '95, I see him as a cross between Ian Rotten, Jerry Lawler, and Tracey Smothers.  Just a guy going out there and bleeding in front of 25 people a night for a pittance, and cutting profanity laced anti-WWE/WCW/ECW promos. 

 

I think the best case scenario would be if he got some kind of break in WCW/WWE and humbled himself, and got a spot that belonged to a guy like Disco Inferno or Road Dogg. 

[Hagan]

If he had gotten clean, he definitely would have had that elder statesman role on the indy scene in the late 90s-2000s. Probably ends up in ECW managing the Triple Threat or something and later in ROH. Seems like the type of guy who would have gotten a producer tryout at some point.

 

If he doesn't stay clean but keeps it somewhat under control...yeah, he's doing the Tracy Smother route in Southern indies. Probably would still be doing it today actually. Maybe he ends up doing shit in Mexico.

 

Great performer, though. Also the hilarious for that Steve Corino/Missy Hyatt sleaze story.

[Ace]

I think Gilbert would have done 'one last run' in the WWE feuding with Jerry Lawler (back when Lawler was still able to wrestle) before becoming a road agent for WWE and eventually a booker at TNA.

 

I think Eddie would've been given a shot booking WCW first.

[zev]

1997 or 1998: Returns to ECW to feud with Heyman. "This was my company first." Loses to Sandman and Dreamer and leaves when they won't let him book house shows.

1999 or 2000: Feuds with Norman Smiley and others over the WCW Hardcore Title. Books WCW Saturday Night for a few weeks after convincing Dusty Rhodes to "focus on that show Thunder so it doesn't lose every week in the ratings to Smackdown." Leaves when they give the booking job to Mike Graham.

2002 or 2003: Forms Hot Stuff International v2.0 in NWA-TNA. He lives his own boyhood dream by capturing the NWA World Title (for two week) in a clusterfunk of a run-in filled 5 man match. Leaves when management gets tired of him trying to bring in all his old buddies from Memphis to take over the X Division.

2004 - 2008: More bad shape low profile years, because it's Eddie Gilbert we're talking about here. Looks awful in shoot interviews.

2009-2010: Convinces a money mark to fund an NWA territory to "just do a couple of shows a month for the old school fans." Never puts anyone over, until getting beat in a "Loser Goes Away Forever" match to Adam Pearce.

2011: Facebook or Twitter feud with Missy Hyatt.

2012: Salvation comes in the form of DDP Yoga. Gets a "You still got it" chant and a standing O at the Chikara Trios Tourney Night 1.

2013: Bray Wyatt's dad.

[LooseCannon]

Does Eddie Gilbert marry any other women of wrestling in your alt-history timeline?

[zev]

 

Does Eddie Gilbert marry any other women of wrestling in your alt-history timeline?

 Sure, why not?1998: Dates Sherri Martel, everyone expects him to propose and thus "scoring" the Martel-Hyatt-Miceli trifecta.1999: Surprises everyone with a Las Vegas quickie wedding to one of the Spice Girls. Let's say AC Jazz, or Spice if someone wiki looks ups AC and discovers her to be already married.2002: Divorce is finalized citing irreconciable differences. Testimony offered by the wife says that Eddie was a "miserable jerk that kept complaining about how Vince and Patterson wouldn't let him book the Invasion."

[mco543]

If anything he ends up marrying someone who was in ECW from 93-95 who isn't Beulah, or Francine.