Bobby Fulton

Bobby Fulton
Fulton in August 2014
Birth name James Hines
Born (1960-10-04) October 4, 1960
Chillicothe, Ohio
Residence Chillicothe, Ohio
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Bobby Fulton
Jimmy Hines
Billed height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Billed weight 220 lb (100 kg; 16 st)
Billed from Los Angeles, California
Debut June 17, 1977
Retired May 26, 2018

James Hines (born October 4, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobby Fulton. He was one half of the tag team The Fantastics with Tommy Rogers.

Professional wrestling career

James Hines started wrestling as a 16 year old under the name Bobby Fulton. His first match was on June 17, 1977 in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in which he defeated Mad Dog Michaels by disqualification. In the main event of that same card, he participated in a Battle Royal in a losing effort.

He spent his early career in Ohio, training and wrestling with the likes of Lord Zoltan, Fred Curry, Bull Curry and Dr. Jerry Graham. He worked for the WWWF on the Allentown and Hamburg television tapings where he faced Steve Travis and Fred Curry. He worked for Nick Gulas's Nashville territory, where he paired up with Eric Embry as the "brother" tag team of Bobby and Don Fulton.

He then moved on to Stu Hart's Calgary territory working with the likes of Bret Hart, The Dynamite Kid, The Cuban Assassin, Bobby Bass, Ross Hart, Bruce Hart, Giant Haystacks and Davey Boy Smith. Then it was on to the short-lived Knoxville territory forming a tag team with Terry Taylor called "The Fantastic Ones". After the territory closed, Hines and Taylor split up.

He then moved on to the Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association territory where he worked preliminary matches. He then went to Southwest Championship Wrestling in San Antonio, Texas for Joe Blanchard, battling Adrian Street and Eric Embry in a series of scaffold matches. His new tag team partner Tommy Rogers started for Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling. There the Fantastics (Fulton and Rogers) formed and feuded with the Midnight Express.

In 1984, the team continued their feud with The Midnight Express in World Class Championship Wrestling that later extended into Jim Crockett Promotions.

In 1986, they had a feud with The Sheepherders (who would become the "Bushwhackers"), Butch Miller and Luke Williams in the Universal Wrestling Federation.

In 1987, back in WCCW, they feuded with the Rock 'n' Roll RPMs (Mike Davis and Tommy Lane). They won the feud by winning a scaffold match at the "Parade of Champions" on May 3, 1987. The Fantastics also made an appearance at the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico.

They next went to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions to continue their feud with The Midnight Express and to win the NWA United States Tag Team Titles on two occasions. They also defeated The Sheepherders to win the vacant NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship.[1] In 1989, they left and have been wrestling, sometimes together, sometimes not, in the independent circuit around the United States, and in All Japan Pro Wrestling.

In 1990, he started his own territory in Ohio called James Hines presents Big Time Wrestling (which was a precursor to Smoky Mountain Wrestling). The federation was based primarily in Circleville, Ohio. Hines brought in talent like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Ronnie Garvin, Abdullah the Butcher, Cactus Jack, Wahoo McDaniel, Jake Roberts, and many more to participate in regular cards held in Circleville at the Pickaway County Fairgrounds Coliseum. Hines was the Big Time Wrestling champion several times, and also often teamed with his brother, Jackie Fulton, as the Fantastics, on these cards. These cards inspired wrestlers like Shark Boy and many others to become pro wrestlers. Fulton and Ivan Koloff ran a wrestling school in North Carolina in the early 90's. The Fantastics (Bobby and Jackie Fulton) then made regular appearances in All Japan and in Smoky Mountain Wrestling.

The Fantastics made a brief appearance in the WWF in June 1997 when Fulton wrestled Rogers in what was billed as a Light Heavyweight Match. According to Fulton, they were brought in at the request of Jim Cornette to convince Vince McMahon to start a Light Heavyweight Wrestling Division, which eventually started. Contrary to popular belief, the match was not part of the tournament for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.

In October 2015, Fulton announced he will undergo a retirement tour called the "Fantastic Finale," which will end in 2017.

On June 10, 2017, Fulton teamed up with "Big Time" Josh Lewis to win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championships from The East and West Express in NWA Supreme. The East and West Express regained the championship on June 23, 2017.

In March 2016, Hines started promoting events again under the banner World Classic Professional Big Time Wrestling, in which he had an ongoing rivalry with ECW original Shane Douglas. Some of the stars who have appeared in WCPBTW include Sting, Tito Santana, Ricky Morton, Ronnie Garvin, Cowboy Bob Orton, Tony Atlas, Kevin Sullivan, J.J. Dillon, Jimmy Valiant, The Sandman, Sabu, The Barbarian, Buff Bagwell, Bobby Eaton, The Honky Tonk Man, Bushwhacker Luke, Bill Dundee, Tracy Smothers, and Tommy Rich.

Fulton wrestled his final match on May 26, 2018 for his WCPBTW promotion. What originally began as a singles match against Nick "Kid" Curry, the son of Fred Curry, turned into a tag team match that saw Fulton and Nick Curry team up to defeat Gary Wolfe and Robby Starr. Following the match, Hines took off his wrestling boots and left them in the ring, signifying his retirement as a professional wrestler.

Personal life

Hines became a born-again Christian and also has been preaching the Christian gospel since October 2003. He has two sons, Dillon and Jarron. Hines is also a fan of the Original Sheik.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ "NWA Supreme - Current Champions and Title History". www.nwasupreme.com. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  2. 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  3. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=149840
  4. ↑ http://limaohio.com/features/lifestyle/228303/war-to-present-hall-of-fame-wrestling-action
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