Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl Explained
The Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl was an annual professional wrestling event held between 1996 and 1999 as a tribute to wrestler Eddie Gilbert and featured talent from the National Wrestling Alliance, World Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling, as well as local and established independent wrestlers.[1] [2] Each year, the event would feature the Gilbert family receiving a plaque from promoter Dennis Coralluzzo.[3] In 1998, the show came under some criticism when Coralluzzo was alleged to have used the in-ring plaque presentation to publicly attack Paul Heyman, as did the Gilbert family,[4] provoking a verbal altercation between himself and ECW fans in attendance.[3]
The show was also attended by older veterans who had worked with Gilbert during his career[2] and appeared both during the show and at a special "tribute dinner" and wrestling convention held during the weekend.[5] Mick Foley made an appearance at the first convention[6] and later expressed his regret in not wrestling the first show.[7] Brian Hildebrand was honored at the banquet two years later.[8]
Although the original shows were promoted by Coralluzzo and NWA New Jersey,[6] [9] [10] [11] other promotions have held similar events including IWA Mid-South in 1998[12] and Southeastern Championship Wrestling in 2002.[13] It has been suggested by some in the industry, such as former wrestlers Bob Blackburn and Buddy Landel, that the shows have been used to financially exploit Gilbert's death.[14] Landel, a regular performer for the NWA shows, initially declined Ian Rotten's offer to appear for IWA Mid South's memorial show for this reason.[4]
Show results
First Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl
February 3, 1996 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey (The Armory)
Second Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl
April 12, 1997 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey (West High School)
Third Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl
February 28, 1998 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Radisson Hotel)
Fourth Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl
October 2, 1999 in Vineland, New Jersey (Vineland High School)
See also
Further reading
- Lister, John. Slamthology: Collected Wrestling Writings 1991-2004. Adlibbed Ltd., 2005.
Notes and References
- Web site: Pro Wrestling Illustrated: Wrestling History. Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Pro Wrestling Illustrated. 2007. PWI-Online.com. 2009-10-24. 2010-04-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20100410051342/http://www.pwi-online.com/pages/wrestlingframe.html. dead.
- Web site: Eddie Gilbert, Page 3 . Dills, Tim S. . 2000 . Wrestlers . KayfabeMemories.com .
- Web site: The Ugly Truth . Moreland, Dan . 1999-09-29 . Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets . PWBTS.com .
- Web site: Buddy Landell Chat . Prodigy Communications . Prodigy (online service) . 1998-03-04 . Interviews . Solie's Title Histories .
- Web site: My Breakfast With Bockwinkel . March 1998 . Reports from the Field . DDTdigest.com .
- Web site: Dennis Coraluzzo Tribute . Rodeo, John . 2002-10-14 . Features . JohnRodeo.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20080712194211/http://www.johnrodeo.com/archives/feature-coraluzzo.html . 2008-07-12 . dead .
- Book: Mick Foley . Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.262) . HarperCollins . 2000 . 0-06-103101-1.
- Web site: As I See It: Brian Hildebrand 1962-1999 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090912130817/http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/2009/09/07/brian-hildebrand-1962-1999/ . dead . 2009-09-12 . Magee, Bob . 2009-09-07 . Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets . OnlineWorldofWrestling.com .
- Web site: Upcoming Shows: NWA New Jersey presents the 2009 Dennis Coralluzzo Invitational on September 26 at the PAL in Wayne, NJ. . https://web.archive.org/web/20090709131346/http://www.nwanj.com/updates.html . dead . 2009-07-09 . NWA New Jersey . 2009-07-21 . Upcoming Shows . NWANJ.com .
- Web site: National Wrestling Alliance News and Notes for 6/30 . National Wrestling Alliance . National Wrestling Alliance . Bill Behrens' News and Notes . NWAwrestling.com .
- Web site: National Wrestling Alliance News and Notes for 6/30 . Behrens, Bill . 2009-06-30 . IndyWrestlingNews.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20110713030824/http://www.indywrestlingnews.com/pressreleases/5963-national-wrestling-alliance-news-a-notes-for-630.html . 2011-07-13 . dead .
- Web site: Smart Mark Video update for 5/22 . Martin, Adam . 2009-05-11 . Wrestleview.com .
- Web site: As I See It - 3/21/2002: Wrestlemania Thoughts, Austin, and an Upcoming Remembrance of Eddie Gilbert . Magee, Bob . 2002-03-21 . Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets . PWBTS.com .
- Web site: Bob Blackburn Interview . Hartley, Jeremy . Earl Oliver . Earl Oliver . Interview . Solie Title Histories .