Rock 'n' Roll Express

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Rock 'n' Roll Express
The Rock 'n' Roll Express, c. 1985; Morton (left) and Gibson (right).
Tag team
MembersRobert Gibson
Ricky Morton
Billed fromMemphis, Tennessee
Music City, USA
Debut1980

The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a

World Wrestling Federation. On March 31, 2017, the Rock 'n' Roll Express was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Jim Cornette
. On April 15, 2023, the Rock n Roll Express was inducted into the ASW's Hall of Fame at the "Seventeenth Year Anniversary Rock N Roll Forever" show at the Madison Civic Center in Madison WV.

History

Formation

Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson both teamed with each other in 1980 with Robert's brother Ricky in Memphis without the Rock N' Roll Express name.[1]

The Rock 'n' Roll Express was formed with

The Galaxians, the Bruise Brothers (Porkchop Cash and Troy Graham), and the team of Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage.[2]

They soon made their way to Mid-South Wrestling where they started a feud with the

Mid-South Tag Team Championship.[3] During the celebration, The Rock 'n' Roll Express shoved Cornette's face into the celebratory cake.[3]
The rivalry between the two teams carried on into the Mid-Atlantic area.

Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1988)

The Rock 'n' Roll Express, circa 1987

The Rock N' Roll Express went to the

Starrcade in 1985, they recaptured the title,[5][6] only to lose them on a prime time WTBS special to the Midnight Express, Superstars on the Superstation, on February 7, 1986. This title change is significant because televised matches between major contenders were rarely shown in those days. They won the title back in Philadelphia on August 16, 1986, and held them until a Saturday night prime time match on WTBS' World Championship Wrestling against Rick Rude and the Raging Bull Manny Fernandez. The Rock 'n' Roll Express won the belts back when Rude, still a champion, simply left the NWA to go work for Vince McMahon in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Needing to save face, promoter Jim Crockett had Ivan Koloff
substitute for an 'injured' Rude, and the Express won the belts for what proved to be the final time.

During their time in JCP, the Rock 'n' Roll Express achieved enormous popularity. At times the company would run two shows in one night, with the Rock 'n' Roll Express often headlining the "B" team cards. They would often outdraw the concurrent "A" team shows with bigger-named talent. On one occasion, this led them to receive a jealous reprimand from booker Dusty Rhodes after they sold out Charlotte, while the A team card with Rhodes did less than half the gate in Baltimore. Morton and Gibson were so popular during this time period that they were actually asked to leave Carowinds Amusement Park because they were creating a mob and it was shutting down the park. It was a common occurrence for the fans to swarm them as they did their ring entrance which drew a huge crowd reaction when their music (Electric Light Orchestra's Rock 'n' Roll Is King and later Ricky Morton's Boogie Woogie Dance Hall) began.[7] Fans would also hang out at their houses, and at the height of their popularity, the Charlotte police would station an officer at their homes to keep fans away. Robert Gibson says they went nine months without a day off during this period, and when they repeatedly requested time off, Jim Crockett told them that it would cost them too much money in lost ticket sales. They eventually would fake injuries to get days off.[8]

In November 1986 at

Steel Cage match to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[6] After a series of matches running from late August through early October, they lost their title for a fourth and final time (They would win four more in later years, but only the first four were also recognized by World Championship Wrestling later) in the fall of 1987 to Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard thanks to a pre-match attack by their longtime rivals, The Midnight Express. Morton suffered an injured arm in the attack which led to Gibson beginning the match alone. Eventually Morton would join the match in a sling, but the match ended when Gibson told the referee to stop the match due to Morton's injury. They feuded heavily with The Four Horsemen members Ric Flair
, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, who constantly mocked them and attacked them outside of the ring.

During late 1987, the Rock 'n' Roll Express feud with the Midnight Express heated up again which led to an historic scaffold match on November 26, 1987, at Starrcade 87 in Chicago. Morton and Gibson defeated Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane eight minutes into the match. As 1988 began, they entered into a brief feud with the Sheepherders. On January 23, 1988, in Cincinnati, Ivan Koloff & the Warlord defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express in twelve seconds, with Morton and Gibson leaving the company after the match. After a several month absence, Ricky and Robert did an interview with

Clash of the Champions II where they discussed returning to the NWA. On June 26 at the start of The Great American Bash Tour, Ricky and Robert defeated the Sheepherders in their return match. They won several more matches against the Sheepherders, as well as a few others until a pay dispute led to Robert Gibson departing JCP again in late July. Ricky Morton stayed on and wrestled singles matches, as well as tag team and six man matches with a variety of partners such as Nikita Koloff, Brad Armstrong, and Steve Williams. Morton had his last match on September 23, 1988, before leaving JCP again.[9]

AWA and return to the NWA/WCW (1988–1992)

In 1988, The Rock 'n' Roll Express went to Memphis and AWA. They had a brief feud with The Midnight Rockers in the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), over the AWA World Tag Team Championship. Their first match on February 15, 1988, ended in controversy, causing the AWA World Tag Team title to be held up. A week later, on February 22, a rematch for the held-up titles was held and The Midnight Rockers won them back. In all, the Rock 'n' Roll Express spent April to May, and October to December 1988 in the AWA having short runs with Verne Gagne. Robert Gibson stated that they went to the AWA out of respect to Wahoo McDaniel who was wrestling there at the time. On February 2, 1989, in Kansas City they had a match with The British Bulldogs, and they also did a brief tour in Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling during 1988.

On January 3, 1990, Morton and Gibson made their return to the NWA. During the early part of the return they had TV matches with the Midnight Express, the Horsemen, and

Alexandra York) pinned Robert Gibson at 17:23 after Morton came off the top and hit Gibson in the back with a computer as York distracted referee Bill Alfonso
on the apron. The former partners had more matches over the next several weeks, mostly won by Morton. Morton and Gibson continued their singles careers until Robert was released by WCW in November 1991. Morton stayed on in WCW as a heel until the summer of 1992.

SMW, USWA, WCW, and WWF (1992–1996)

In late July 1992, Ricky Morton briefly feuded with

World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1993, splitting pay per view matches for the two promotions. The Rock 'n' Roll Express defeated the Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Dr. Tom Prichard) at WCW's SuperBrawl III event and the Bodies (this time Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) defeating the Express for the SMW Tag Team Championship at the Survivor Series. Defending the SMW tag title at the event was part of an agreement between the WWF's Vince McMahon and SMW's Jim Cornette.[14]

Back in SMW in May 1994, The Rock 'n' Roll Express lost their title to the team of

The Dynamic Duo
, whom they lost the titles to in April 1995.

In April 1995, they defeated Dick Murdoch and Randy Rhodes to win the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championship. In June 1995, they were stripped of the titles, as their USWA match with PG-13 ended in controversy. A week later, they defeated PG-13 to win back the NWA World Tag Team titles and win the USWA World Tag Team Championship, making them double champions, but it didn't last, as they lost the USWA titles back to PG-13 a week later. In July 1995, they scheduled to feud with The Thugs over the SMW Tag Team Championship, and set to turn heel, but in August 1995, Morton was suspended after an altercation between his girlfriend Andrea Callaway and Tracy Smothers' girlfriend Angela Lambert, leaving Gibson on his own. As a result of Morton's suspension, they vacated the NWA World Tag Team titles. When Morton returned to SMW, Gibson had turned heel and joined Jim Cornette's Militia, but the proposed feud between the two didn't materialize as the promotion folded shortly after his return.

After SMW's closure, they reunited in the USWA and resumed their feud with PG-13.

Return to WCW (1996–1997)

On June 3, 1996, Morton and Gibson made their return to World Championship Wrestling on

Meng and The Barbarian).[16] Morton and Gibson appeared sparingly going forward on Saturday Night and WCW Pro
. They left in 1997 to participate in independent federations.

World Wrestling Federation (1998)

A year later, they were in the WWF for a brief stint as part of the

The New Midnight Express
having an NWA Tag Team Title match at the WWF Pay Per View Unforgiven against them.

Independent Circuit (1998-present)

After WWF in May 1998 they worked for the independent circuit. They went to work for Ohio Valley Wrestling and Power Pro Wrestling until 1999.

As of 2023, they still team together.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003, 2016)

In early 2003, Morton and Gibson appeared in

The Broken Hardys' TNA World Tag Team Championship
.

AWWL (2005)

Starting in 2005, they would team up again, often wrestling against the Midnight Express in the Mid-Atlantic area. On June 7, 2008, they defeated The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton) at the NWA 60th Anniversary Show in Atlanta, Georgia.

PWA (2009)

In 2009, the Rock 'n' Roll Express joined Booker T's Pro Wrestling Alliance in Houston, Texas and became PWA Tag Team Champions.

WWE Hall of Fame (2017)

On February 6, 2017, the WWE announced it would be honoring the Rock 'n' Roll Express by inducting the team into the WWE Hall of Fame at the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on March 31, 2017. On March 20, WWE officially announced that the team will be inducted by Jim Cornette.[20] They recently captured the Viral Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championships at VPW's Holiday Havoc on December 9, 2017.

National Wrestling Alliance (2019–present)

On April 5, 2019, the NWA announced that the Rock 'n' Roll Express would compete in the

Thomas Latimer & Royce Isaacs) to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship for the fifth time.[21]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2019–2020)

On September 28, 2019, the Rock 'n' Roll Express made their

twelve-man tag team elimination match versus Bullet Club (Jay White, Kenta, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens, and Gedo
).

All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)

The Rock 'n' Roll Express made their

Proud n Powerful, where Morton executed a Canadian Destroyer on Santana followed up by a suicide dive onto Sammy Guevara
and Ortiz.

On the August 12 episode of Dynamite, The Rock 'n' Roll Express were involved in a segment with

Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard to celebrate Tag Team Appreciation Night. However, after a scuffle between Tully Blanchard and Ricky Morton, FTR would attack The Rock 'n' Roll Express.[22]

The New Rock 'n' Roll Express

Over the years, when Morton and Gibson were not teaming with each other, they each had different tag team partners, calling themselves "The New Rock 'n' Roll Express." Ricky Morton teamed with Ricky Fuji while in Japan for FMW, and with Brad Armstrong, Kid Kash, or his cousin Todd in the independent circuit in the U.S., while Robert Gibson teamed with Marty Jannetty in IWA Japan as "The Rock 'n' Rockers," which played off both the Rock 'n' Roll Express and Jannetty's famous tag team with Shawn Michaels, The Rockers. Ricky Morton also teamed on occasion with Jack Ward ("JT Walker"), a professional wrestler billed from Paintsville, Kentucky.

Brawl in the Fall and The Pastor of Pain On November 1, 2014, The Rock n Roll Express were contracted for a match at "The Brawl in the Fall" at a church in rural North Carolina. Approximately 30 minutes before match time, Gibson approached the promoter (George South) to ask for $500 above the previously agreed compensation. South refused, sending Gibson into a fit of rage. Gibson then kicked a toilet in the church restroom, breaking the seat, and departed the venue. The Student Pastor at the church joined Morton's corner under the ring name "The Pastor of Pain"(PoP). This version of The New Rock n Roll express was victorious over "The Dawsons" with a roll up by Morton for the pinfall. The Dawsons immediately attacked Morton from behind. When The Pastor of Pain came to the aid of Morton the Dawsons attempted a clothesline, but PoP ducked under and delivered a devastating double clothesline of his own.

Championships and accomplishments

1During this win, the title was awarded to them and the records are unclear as to where this occurred and which promotion they wrestled for at the time.

Luchas de Apuestas record

See also: Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
The Rock 'n' Roll Express (hairs)
The Bruise Brothers
(titles)		 Morristown, Tennessee SMW House Show September 11, 1993 [35]
Chris Candido and Brian Lee (Tammy Sytch's hair) The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton's hair) Johnson City, Tennessee SMW Fire On The Mountain 1994 August 6, 1994 [36]

References

  1. ^ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=28&nr=78&page=2&year=1980&promotion=111. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ Classic Memphis Wrestling:Rock n Roll Memphis (DVD). HighSpots.
  3. ^ a b Hess, Jason (April 2, 2009). "Historical perspective on Houston's top-drawing card featuring Bill Watts in April 1984". PW Torch. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  4. ^ Cawthon, Graham (April 2, 2009). "Mat Memories: Shelby City Park action once aired from Boston to LA". The Star. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  5. ^ Adamson, Matt (2008-01-28). "Going Old School: Starrcade '85". 411mania. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  6. ^ a b Molinaro, John (December 17, 1999). "Starrcade, the original "super card"". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ Garvin, Ron. "Ronnie Garvin Full Shoot Interview 2016". www.thehanibaltv.com. Nicholson Productions, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  8. ^ "The Steve Austin Show – Robert Gibson of the Rock 'n' Roll Express". Podcastone. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "JCP 1987". History of the WWE. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  10. ^ "WCW 1990". History of the WWE. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  11. ^ "USWA 1992". WWF Old School. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Titles History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  13. ^ "Tag Team Profiles: Rock 'n' Roll Express". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  14. ^ Mooneyham, Mike (1995-12-10). "Smoky Mountain Wrestling: Death Of A Promotion (Part One)". The Wrestling Gospel. Archived from the original on 2008-01-08. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  15. ^ a b Altamura, Mike (December 13, 2001). "Sunny days, wintry nights The thrills and spills of Tammy Lynn Sytch". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ "WCW 1996". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  17. ^ "1998". thehistoryofwwe.com. 16 January 2023.
  18. ^ Martinez, Ryan (2009-03-29). "This Day In History: WWWF Becomes WWE, WrestleManias III And XIV, Benjamin Defeats The Game And More". PW Insider. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  19. ^ "Rock N Roll Express to appear at Total Nonstop Deletion". Pro Wrestling Sheet.
  20. ^ Melok, Bobby (March 20, 2017). "Jim Cornette to induct The Rock 'n' Roll Express into the WWE Hall of Fame". WWE. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  21. ^ "Title Changes At Nwa Taping (Spoiler)". PWInsider.com. 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  22. ^ "AEW Dynamite 8/12/20 Results: Jericho vs. Cassidy II, 2 Title Matches & Tag Team Appreciation Night". Fightful.
  23. ^ "Gerweck.net - Rock N Roll Express Continue to Win Tag Team Titles". www.gerweck.net. 16 September 2018.
  24. ^ "RIcky Morton and Robert Gibson, "The Rock and Roll Express", named CAC's 2022 Tag Team Award Winners! - News - Cauliflower Alley Club". 9 April 2022.
  25. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  26. ^ "Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  27. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "MACW « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  28. ^
    ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  29. ^ Solomon, Marcus (12 March 2014). "Wrestling News Center: PWE: ELITE RANKINGS".
  30. ^ "Traditional Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  31. ^ "UPW Steel Cage Challenge". Cagematch. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  32. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "VPW Tag Team Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  33. ISSN 1083-9593
    .
  34. ^ "Rock 'n' Roll Express to enter WWE Hall of Fame". WWE.
  35. ^ "SMW House Show Results (September 11, 1993)". Cagematch.
  36. ^ "SMW Fire On The Mountain 1994 Results (August 6, 1994)". Cagematch.

Further reading

  • Oliver, Greg and Steve Johnson (2005). "Top 20: #9 The Rock 'n' Roll Express". The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. ECW Press.
    ISBN 978-1-55022-683-6
    .

External links
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