The Rock and Roll Express © vs The Midnight Express
NWA World Tag Team Title Match
02/02/86
With tag team wrestling, like any other brand of wrestling, there are always going to be the guys who set the trends and become the prototype for many to follow. What is mindblowing, however, is that arguably the prototype for both face and heel tag teams came along at the same time during the 80s. Whilst there are naturally other variants of the face and heel dynamic, there are more teams that owe a nod to the Rock and Roll Express and the Midnight Express than stars in the sky it would seem.
By the time 1986 came around, the two teams (in their current iteration in the case of the Midnight Express) had honed their craft and battled each other across Mid-South and World Class before heading to Jim Crockett Promotions. It was easy to forget that both teams had only been together for less than three years at this point, so polished and in tune each had become as a team.
Over many years, the Rock and Roll Express often got their hands raised against the team that would effectively be their nemesis, but on Superstars on the Superstation, a taping aimed at putting some big JCP matches on television, the Midnight Express would go over on the biggest stage for both teams so far.
The Midnights had dogged the champions, both on TV and at the live shows, and this was a chance for Gibson and Morton to get their revenge. The Midnights, realising how important this chance is, and jumped the champs, only for Morton to slingshot both men to the outside from the apron in one pull! The fans were crazily into the Rock and Roll Express, and the champs maintained control in the early stages of the match, with the Midnights happy to ‘show ass’ as they collided mid-ring, whilst Eaton takes a brutal back body drop on the floor at ringside from Morton in a bump that was painful to watch.
The Rock and Roll Express began to work Condrey’s leg, innovatively turning a flipping wishbone into a double punch on Eaton on the apron. Eventually, Condrey managed to tag out to Eaton, and a caught dropkick turned into a slingshot into Condrey’s knees turned the tide. The Midnights would then utilise the slepper in an attempt to wear down Gibson, this time seemingly playing the Morton role. Every time Gibson seemed to get near to Morton for the tag, the Midnights would cut him off and prolong the punishment.
A flash pinfall off of a sunset flip almost allowed Gibson to steal victory and a missed Rocket Launcher shortly after would finally give the opening for the hot tag to Morton. The versatility of Gibson and Morton shows through as Morton works Gibson’s usual role to perfection, bumping Eaton and Condrey around the ring with frenetic offense. A double dropkick – the Rock and Roll’s trademark finisher – is landed, only for the referee to get bumped in the process.
Though the teams complimented each other in terms of attitude and offense inside the ring, Jim Cornette in the Midnight’s corner just added that extra sizzle to these encounters. With the referee down, Cornette ends up getting dragged into the ring. This sets up the finish, with Morton getting nailed with the loaded tennis racket. A revived referee is able to make it over to count the three to crown the Midnight Express the new NWA World Tag Team Champions! An interview with the new champions sells the Rock and Roll beatdown hard, as Eaton spends the segment laying on the floor throughout.
It would be the Rock and Roll Express who would end the Midnight’s reign almost two hundred days later as their perpetual feud continued ad infinitum. The legacy of these two teams can be seen far and wide, but perhaps is best embodied by the enjoyment of the work of American Alpha and the Revival in recent years – two teams clearly influenced in part by the two Expresses.
