Bobby Fulton, 59, announced that he is retiring from wrestling this week on his Facebook page. Known as one half of the tag team The Fantastics with Tommy Rogers, Fulton, born James Hines, started wrestling when he was 16. His first match was in 1977, in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in which he defeated Mad Dog Michaels by disqualification.
"There's been a lot of contributing factors, but I no longer have the same love for this business I started with in 1977. Thank you to all for the support over the years, who knows I may drop in to see some old friends one day. I appreciate you all for the support over the years. Thank you!" he wrote on Facebook.
Fulton is a veteran of WCW, Mid-South, Memphis, Jim Crockett Promotions, Stampede Wrestling, and numerous others. With The Fantastics, he won numerous tag titles with partners Rogers, Tracy Smothers, Jackie Fulton, and others. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in December of 2019, though he announced in June he was in remission. Over the past several years, Fulton has appeared at indie events and wrestling conventions.
The Fantastics briefly appeared in WWF in June 1997 when Fulton wrestled Rogers in a Light Heavyweight Match. According to Fulton, they were hired by Jim Cornette to convince Vince McMahon to establish a light heavyweight division, which was eventually started.
He was inducted into the WAR Hall of Fame in 2017 along with Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn, Eddie Venom, Alexis Machine and “Beautiful” Brian Fury. Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him 286 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003, and 63 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" with Tommy Rogers in 2003.
He wrestled his last match on May 26, 2018 for his WCPBTW promotion. Although billed as a singles match against Nick "Kid" Curry, the son of Fred Curry, the event turned into a tag team match with Fulton and Nick Curry teaming up to beat Gary Wolfe and Robby Starr. After the match, Fulton took off his wrestling boots and left them in the ring, indicating his retirement as a pro wrestler. He has two sons, Dillon (The Good Doctor/War Eagle) and Jarron.