The WWE has finally announced their next entry into the 2017 Hall of Fame. The Rock N Roll Express will go into wrestling immortality as a part of the 2017 class. A lot of the current WWE fan base may not be familiar with the Rock N Roll but Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson are one of the greatest tag teams of all time. Formed in 1983 the Rock N Roll maybe the longest current running tag team as they still compete to this day. Competing in every major wrestling organization since their debut Morton and Gibson have left a major mark on the wrestling industry.
In 1983 in the Memphis territory, Jerry “The King” Lawler was working as head booker and needed a tag team and put together the young Morton and Gibson. The team was ripe for the 1980’s with their glam rock lifestyle. There were very popular in the territory and feuded with brothers Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage. The team then moved on to Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling where they would find their career nemesis The Midnight Express and Jim Cornette. The 2 teams fought over the Mid-South Tag Team titles in 1984 with each team holding the gold a couple of times. The Rock N Roll Express also had to contend with the team of Hercules Hernandez and Ted Dibiase for the belts.
The team would make their way to the NWA, specifically Jim Crockett Promotions. While working for Jim Crockett they found the national spotlight on WTBS. Wrestling in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) the team found a lot of teams to compete with such as Ivan Koloff and Krusher Krushchev, Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez and of course their old friends The Midnight Express. The Rock N Roll also found themselves in the crosshairs of the Four Horsemen. Whether it was Ricky Morton taking on Ric Flair or both him and Gibson taking on Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard for the tag team titles. The Horsemen frequently attacked Gibson and Morton backstage but the Rock N Roll never backed down.
The Rock N Roll Express took their act all over various companies and even got to take on the Midnight Night Rockers in 1998 in the Continental Wrestling Association over the AWA belts. The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannety) were molded as another version of the Rock N Roll Express and dressed very similar to the Express. From their they wrestling ECW, Smoky Mountain, WCW again and even a brief stint in the WWF. Ricky and Robert are pioneers in the tag team world and are definitely deserving of Hall of Fame induction.
Written By
Keith B. Holt
Follow on Twitter @Kholtjr
Share this:
