I totally totally completely agree. Sad thing is... Times have changed. About 60% of this audience believed ALL the action was completely "real" "violent", HOWEVER you wanna out it, and the other 40% didn't care if every punch/kick/faceplant brought blood or not - they were TOTALLY invested in the characters and back story and it was very obvious. Add tons of female fans for the obvious teen sex appeal.... and it's MAGIC!! -- This kind of pop really isn't available today because this generation knows all about the show and the talent... In 1984 I was 15, I TOTALLY believed these guys hated each other and the action was LEGIT CHAIN WRESTLING and the hair pulling spots ARE REAL..just carried out in a specific perfect way. These 2 teams were the 2 BEST WRESTLING TEAMS EVER... In whatever iteration you want. Today's fans just want to be entertained and are too "smart" for their own good. The only POP you get is when a hero or Hall of famer returns. When this was filmed, we the GENERATION (BIRTH TO 25YRS) were TOTALLY BOUGHT IN. Sadly that will never happen again.
Never gonna happen though cos wrestling is dead, replaced by some sports entertainment politically correct BS that is heat free and resembles balletic stunts more than a fight.
That crowd reaction is never going to happen again because the business has been exposed for last 20 years at least. Not to mention the product has been horse shit from WWE, AEW, TNA, etc.
For the first ten and a half minutes of this match there are two bumps (if you can call them that) robert pushes bobby down, the ref pulls dennis down by his hair. That’s it. These guys were real “workers” screw your work rate or whatever. These guys knew how to build a match like an opera. I wish i was in that crowd.
Chris Carelock Agreed!!! It’s crazy how the crowd’s energy goes beyond just watching this video. It’s because they were invested in this match. Every little thing that is done gets a reaction.
@@deanjackson1153 Exactly. All those flips and bullshit. That's why guys like Benoit didn't deserve a championship. Bret was another guy who could wrestle a match but really stayed too focused on the match and not entertaining the crowd. He got better at it near the end of his run in WWE. Eddie Guerrero though could do this and he did deserve a championship.
I like that ref. He seems to be inviting Bobby to come get him (while hiding behind the RnRE!) and then chases him right out of the ring. And I’ve never seen anybody sell better than Ricky Morton. In half their matches, he looked like he was going to be deceased by the end of it.
That's because this is what Southern wrestling was built upon. Every week or two there would be a show to buy a ticket for someplace, and a fresh audience to entertain. You don't see that anymore. Sad.
even as a teenager i appreciated corny's mic work back in the early and mid 80s. he could infuriate people like no other and was great at building heat.
Jim was told when he first became a manager to "go piss people off." It seems he took that as a challenge and learned to love his work. I have to admit, it does sound like a dream job to me.
@feelings Are Not Arguments I thought Lawler threw the best punch, Bobby Eaton got started in the Memphis territory he might have learned to punch from the King. I heard Jerry say on his podcast that a poor punch is one of his pet peeves.
Classic tag team wrestling from the by gone territory era. This was not uncommon across much of America but no more. So much fun and now years later even more fun to watch again.
Man. Anyone who doubts how over The Rock and Roll Express was, just put on headphones and listen to the beginning of this video. When Ricky gets up on the ring apron, and the whole crowd can see them for the first time, the pop is bigger than anything I've heard on a wrestling show in YEARS. Absolutely unreal.
Man does this bring back the memories...I remember being an 11 year old kid and the rise and fall of energy they created hit me like a ton of bricks...
Memphis, this match is out of Houston, and they had an unbelievable run with Bill Watts in Louisiana. Morton, Gibson, Eaton, Condrey/Lane, & Cornette just all had amazing chemistry together. These guys got over HUGE everywhere they went. Damn shame they never made it to New York. Can you imagine what it could've been like? The Midnights & The Rock & Roll, for the WWF Tag Team Titles, at Wrestlemania 3 (just picked 3 as an example,) with the Andre/Hogan main event? Would've been epic!
@@jnicholson79jn | "Damn shame they never made it to New York... " Ricky Morton said in an interview that Vince did call him and Robert back in 1985, but turned Vince down because they were already happy with what they were doing at that time. The Rock 'n' Roll Express DID go to the WWF/E for a couple of short runs in 1993 and 1998, but their draw was not the same as it was years earlier. Though The Midnight Express (Condrey, Eaton, Lane) never wrestled in WWF/E, only Cornette worked for Vince for a few years.
@@MoniqueFromPlymouth Yeah, cant really count that 90s run. They were working for SMW at the time, so their appearances were promotional, at best. I've seen the interview you're talking about, or one similar. Seemed like Ricky Morton really regretted not going. Said the royalties from just one of those WWF action figures could've been more than they ever made in their lives. Like they say, hindsight is 20/20. Interesting that Robert didnt really seem to care either way. Really mellow laid back kind of guy.
@@jnicholson79jn | True that 1993 was under SMW. But their 1998 run was on their own, as SMW was defunct by '95. By that point (even I knew watching them on TV at that time) Vince got The Rock 'n' Roll Express 10 years too late. For many years, I thought after they lost the NWA tag belts to Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard in September 1987, going to the WWF/E would have been the move to make... Vince could have had Ricky & Robert quickly come in and win the WWF/E tag belts from the Hart Foundation by surprise in October of that year (basically one month after they lost the NWA straps) instead of Strike Force.
Been watching all of these old matches because of corney and I must say... He is definitely right about the heat back then they brought on. These are some amazing videos to watch and try to put yourself in that time period. I was born in 82' in Michigan so my wrestling days were WWF late 80s which had about a quarter of the heat this did live.
I've never seen that spot before, where Morton is getting double-teamed in the opposite corner, so Gibson storms the ring, stuns both opponents, and then hip tosses his own partner into position for the tag!
They used to use it all of the time. Ricky would sell and sell like he was dying and Robert couldn't take it anymore. there were variations; but, they were innovative hin how they did the hope spots.
I do not know how many times i have watched this match, dozens maybe even close to a hundred over my lifetime and it is still amazing. I have been to a Motley Crew concert that wished the audience was that amped
The wrestlers were great, but credit must be given where its due. This ref was awesome. He was there in the emotion, the calls were good AND HE HAD SOME MOVES, ready to thrown down with Midnight Express!!!
Great match. I still have these two teams clash in my NWA tabletop wrestling game. And for added excitement I can book em in scaffold matches. Brings back some great times for sure.
Wow! Many subtle moves I've never seen (or maybe noticed) before. Not the least of which is hurling your own partner into your home corner to tag yourself in. Amazing!
Morton worked about 12 of the 14 minutes in the match. Sold his tail off before giving Gibson the hot tag. Standard RnR formula, but one that the crowd absolutely loved for many years.
Beautiful Bobby was the best heel ever , this match reached it's peak in 85/86 I remember those days , those teenie bopper girls would squeal so loud when they(R&R Express) came in the arena it would bust your ear drums, it was funny as hell, used to go to alot of the matches in Greensboro NC in the 70's and 80's it was a fun time back then.
one of the many things i loved about the NWA was that their rosters of wrestlers would have real rivalries and feuds that would last pretty much their tenure with the companies while wwf feuds only lasted to the pay per veiw
Man! What a match and this crowd reacted hostile towards Cornette and The Midnight Express! This match is one of my all time favorite tag matches to watch! This match should be taught in wrestling school on how to get over with a hot crowd and learn some techniques that made These two teams the greatest of all time and made this tag team feud the greatest tag team feud of all time!
I loved the Rock n' Roll Express as a kid watching Houston Wrestling. JYD and Hacksaw Jim Duggan also. Cornette was a great bad guy. Not many could pull off the deviant manager like he could.
Every participant in this match added to how good it was even down to the referee knowing where to be so he wouldn't see the hair pulling by Gibson. Small details that are lost in the flip flop and fly matches we have now. Thanks Vince......
The coolest story I've heard about the RnR Express was with the time keeper. The match was a time limit and want to say it was a 20 minute time limit...could be wrong. But anyways Ricky said that the ending was supposed to me a draw or no contest due to time limit. The match kept going and going until finally RnR pinned their opponent. Ricky said he was thinking damn this match should have been up on time. After the match RnR was asking around about the time keeper and if they fell asleep or went to get a beer or something because he didn't keep time or didn't call time. They were standing around and this guy was acting strange.....come to find out he was the time keeper. The time keeper tells Ricky that he kept turning the timer back so the 20 minutes wouldn't sound off and end the match. He said he just knew RnR could pull off the win with a little extra time snuck in to help RnR get the pin. Ricky said a little extra time was almost twice the schedule time limit. But thats how good they were....they had people believing it was 100% legit. Ricky was also great at working tothe point the fans felt they should help him out. The Road Warriors were bad ass and so were The Steiner Brothers along with a few other teams but none of them were like RnR with the fans. Hardees in the towns near the event would have RnR signings and the fans would shut the town down. You needed to drive past Hardees you better find an alternate route cause it would be a minute before the roads cleared.
well i got to say! back then kayfabe was actually a real thing. today wrestling is harder to get over than it used to be. back then it was much easier to piss off the crowd than it wouls be in tdays times.thats why wrestling was better back then! no doubt about it!!!!
That one guy who comes down to try and kick Cornys ass after the racket shot was amazing. Over 10 mins before any real action in this match and it's captivating all the way through.
I wish I could've heard the verbal exchange outside the ring between Boyd Pierce and Jim Cornette. I loved Boyd's suit. I'd love to have seen that wardrobe closet.
The Rock n Roll express just might have been the most popular thing to ever come down the pike.I swear some crowds made them look like they were more loved than the Beatles and Elvis put together.There's never been such a natural rivalry as Rock N Roll against their doppelgangers "From the Dark Side"
Indeed...A lost ART of working the mic. Cornette was a master for drawing heat, who doesnt remember The Fantastics feud and Cornettes constant interference to tip the scales in favor of The Midnight Express ....Great matches
