Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, currently performing on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

. He is the current GCW Television Champion, after pinning Matt Cardona at GCW Say You Will. For most of his career, Morton has performed with Robert Gibson as The Rock N' Roll Express, described as "the consummate

baby face Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

". Morton has wrestled for multiple promotions in the United States including the

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ref ...

Mid-South Wrestling The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...

, the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

, and

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

, as well as the Japanese promotions

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

, and

Wrestle Association R Wrestle Association R (formerly known as Wrestle and Romance and abbreviated as WAR) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded and run by Genichiro Tenryu as the successor to Super World of Sports, and which lasted from 1992 to 200 ...

. Morton has held dozens of championships throughout his career, including the

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Created in 1945, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World Junior ...

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship The USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship formed in 1988, which consisted of the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship from World Class Championship Wrestling and the AWA World H ...

USWA World Tag Team Championship The USWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The Continental Wrestling Association and World Class Wrestling ...

, and

WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship contested in World Championship Wrestling throughout 1991. It was considered a revived version of the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship that was used in Jim Crockett Promotions ...

. He has been inducted into the

NWA Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. Inductees receive commemora ...

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...

, and

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ind ...

. His skill at driving audiences into a sympathetic frenzy by convincingly

selling Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the Goods and services, goods or services, c ...

pain gave rise to the expression "playing Ricky Morton".

Professional wrestling career

Continental Wrestling Association (1977–1985)

Morton was trained by his father, Paul, and by veteran wrestler Ken Lucas. He debuted in 1978, facing

Ken Wayne Ken Wayne (1925–1993) was an Australian actor of radio, theatre, film and television. He made his film debut in '' Sons of Matthew'' (1949) and appeared in a number of movies including ''Dust in the Sun'' (1958). He was also well known for hi ...

in his debut match. He wrestled primarily for the

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, often teaming with Lucas or Eddie Gilbert. Morton quickly became a popular performer thanks to his "athletic prowess", "sensational looks", and "spiky blond mullet". His popularity with female fans saw him dubbed a "

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia East Asia possess ...

". In early 1983, promoters

Jerry Jarrett Jerry Winston Jarrett (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, Jarrett is a key figure in the history of professional wrestl ...

and

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Apr ...

paired Morton with Robert Gibson as

The Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known ...

in an attempt to replicate the popularity of

The Fabulous Ones The Fabulous Ones were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Stan Lane and Steve Keirn that was active between 1982 and 1991 with brief reunions during the 1990s. The Fabulous Ones competed primarily in North American territories such as ...

. They won the Mid-South Tag Team Title three times and feuded with the team that would become their archrivals, The Midnight Express of

Bobby Eaton Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the managemen ...

and

Dennis Condrey Dennis Condrey (born February 1, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the Continental Wrestling Association, Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s. ...

. Because of his small stature and good looks, he was usually made the "

Face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

in Peril", meaning he would be the one to take most of the punishment in the matches to get the fans behind the team. He was also the one that always suffered a humiliation or "injury" to further the storyline the team would be involved in. Nowadays, this is sometimes referred to as "Playing Ricky Morton". At this time they also teamed in Joe Blanchard's South West wrestling territory feuding with The Grapplers. In 1984, Morton took part in a high-profile angle with

Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

which saw Savage piledrive him through a table at ringside.

NWA Tri-State / Mid-South Wrestling (1981, 1984–1986, 1987)

In 1981, Morton began wrestling for

NWA Tri-State The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...

. He formed a tag team with Eddie Gilbert, winning the

NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship The NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship was a tag team title created in 1962, and contested in the National Wrestling Alliance's Tri-State territory, which was promoted by Leroy McGuirk (Arkansas and Oklahoma) and Jack Curtis and Aurelian "Gri ...

twice. His second reign ended in August 1981 when he left the promotion. In 1984, Morton and Gibson began wrestling regularly for

, the successor to NWA Tri-State. They won the Mid-South Tag Team Championship three times during 1984, trading the titles with The Midnight Express. Their third and final reign lasted until March 1985, when they lost to Steve Williams and

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...

. They continued to appear with Mid-South Wrestling until June 1985. Morton and Gibson reappeared with Mid-South Wrestling, by then renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation, throughout 1986. At the "Superdome Extravaganza"

supercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

in the

Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

in June 1986, Morton unsuccessfully challenged

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

for the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is i ...

Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1988)

In 1985, both teams moved on to the

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

and became famous due to the national television exposure of TBS. Ricky and Robert had a major feud with the "Russians",

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...

and

Nikita Koloff Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson on March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, where ...

and won the NWA World Tag Team Title. They traded the title again with the Russians and lost them to their hated rivals the Midnight Express on February 2, 1986 during '' Superstars on the Superstation'' due to their

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...

. Cornette used his

tennis racket A racket, or racquet, is a sports implement used for striking a ball or shuttlecock in games such as squash, tennis, racquetball, badminton and padel. In the strictest sense a racket consists of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a ...

on Robert to help his team win. Fearing that his self-proclaimed sex appeal with women was being threatened by Morton, NWA Champion

began a feud with Morton in 1986. In the spring of that year, Morton was having an interview at ringside when Flair came onto the set and insulted Morton's fans (who consisted mostly of

tween Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...

girls) by calling them "teenyboppers in their training bras." He gave Morton a training bra as a "gift from one of Flair's girlfriends" and told Morton that he couldn't handle real, grown-up women. In response, Morton stomped on Flair's sunglasses. This led to a fight and then a series of matches, the most notable being their

Steel Cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

at the 1986 Great American Bash. To help build Morton as a serious title contender, it was pointed out that he once went to a one-hour draw with then- AWA Champion

Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel (December 6, 1934 – November 14, 2015) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s. Bockwinkel ...

. Morton never won the title but he proved that he was of the same caliber as Flair was in the ring. At one point in the

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with Flair, after a six-man tag team elimination match in which Morton pinned Flair to become the winner, Flair and the other three

Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand tha ...

invaded the Rock 'n' Roll Express' dressing room and attacked Morton, rubbing his face on the concrete floor, causing a grotesque-looking facial injury. They also broke his nose in another attack. Horsemen member

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a ...

would also make fun of Morton, calling him "Punky Morton," which was a play on the popular 1980s

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

Punky Brewster ''Punky Brewster'' is an American sitcom television series about a young girl (Soleil Moon Frye) being raised by a foster parent (George Gaynes). The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984, to March 9, 1986, and again in syndication from Octobe ...

''. The term used to belittle Morton backfired when fans began to use it as a term of endearment. Morton and Gibson won the title back from the Midnight Express and feuded with Ole and Arn Anderson for the rest of the year. They culminated this feud with a win over the Andersons in a cage match at

Starrcade Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1 ...

on November 28. This victory started the Horsemen's dissatisfaction with Ole, who was kicked out of the stable just months later. Morton and Gibson then lost the title to

Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling ...

and Manny Fernandez on December 6, 1986, whom they feuded with from December 1986 to June 1987. When Rude left for the

, the title was given back to the Rock & Roll Express, with the explanation that they won the title accompanied by footage of a prior non-title match won by the Rock & Roll Express where they pinned the champions. Morton and Gibson then feuded briefly with the New Breed,

Sean Royal Sean Vellenga (born February 1, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sean Royal. Professional wrestling career Early career (1984–1986) Sean Royal made his professional wrestling debut in 1984 afte ...

and

Chris Champion Christopher Dennis Ashford-Smith (February 17, 1961 – August 22, 2018), better known by his ring name Chris Champion, was an American professional wrestler. He primarily worked for various National Wrestling Alliance member territories, inclu ...

, but this feud ended when the New Breed were injured in an auto accident. Their next feud was with Arn Anderson and

Tully Blanchard Tully Arthur Blanchard (born January 22, 1954) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and manager. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s as a member of ...

, who won the title from them on September 29, 1987 after Jim Cornette's new Midnight Express of

and

Stan Lane Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane (born August 5, 1953) is an American retired professional wrestler and color commentator. He is best known for his appearances with the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Jim Crockett Promotions and World Champi ...

attacked them and injured Morton's arm and shoulder. Morton came out in the middle of the match and blindly tagged Gibson and courageously tried to wrestle but the Horsemen soon took advantage and Gibson gave up the match to save Morton more pain. They feuded for a few months with the Horsemen keeping the titles by getting themselves disqualified, and injuring Gibson's ribs.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988)

In May 1988, Morton and Gibson toured Japan with

, competing in the Super Power Series and facing teams including Samson Fuyuki and

Toshiaki Kawada (born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), whom he worked for from his debut in 1982 up until 2008. In All Japan, he was a 5 time Triple Crown Heavyweight ...

, Shinichi Nakano and

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...

, and Isamu Teranishi and

Masanobu Fuchi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is also a director and the co-head booker. Fuchi has exclusively worked for All Japan since his debut in 1974, and holds the record for the longest ...

. They returned for a second tour in October 1988, this time competing in the October Giant Series. In the final match of their tour they unsuccessfully challenged Fuyuki and Kawada for the

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA fou ...

United States Wrestling Association (1989)

In 1989, Morton and Gibson went to

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestling ...

were they feuded with Wildside (

and

Mark Starr Mark Ashford-Smith (December 26, 1962 – June 7, 2013) was an English professional wrestler best known by his ring name Mark Starr. He competed as a member of several tag teams. Wrestling career Continental Wrestling Association (1986–198 ...

) and The Blackbirds,

King Parsons King Bailey Parsons Jr. (born June 11, 1950) is a former professional wrestler better known by his ring name Iceman King Parsons. Professional wrestling career Parsons started wrestling in 1979 after being trained by Nick Kozak. King started fo ...

and Action Jackson. Later that year he teamed with his cousin, Todd Morton and won the CWA Tag team titles.

World Championship Wrestling (1990–1993)

They returned to

in 1990. Gibson injured his knee and Morton teamed with Big Josh and

Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog (or JYD), a nickname ...

to win the

. On June 12, 1991, at Clash of the Champions XV, Morton was in the ring to accept an invitation by Alexandra York to join her York Foundation. Gibson appeared and said he was healthy and ready to go and to everybody's shock, Morton turned on Gibson and beat him down before leaving with York, Mr. Hughes and Terrence Taylor. He changed his name to Richard Morton and they soon added

Tommy Rich Thomas Richardson (born July 26, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tommy “Wildfire” Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion and Smoky Mountain Wrestling ...

, who became Thomas Rich. They feuded with Gibson,

Dustin Rhodes Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE ...

and Bobby Eaton and won the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Title. At

The Great American Bash The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National Wr ...

in July 1991, Morton defeated Gibson. In October 1991 at

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view ...

, Morton lost to

Flyin' Brian Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Ch ...

in a bout for the newly created

WCW Light Heavyweight Championship The WCW Light Heavyweight Championship was a Professional wrestling championship#Weight class championships, professional wrestling championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1991 and 1992. Conceived in 1991, th ...

. They disbanded in early 1992 and Morton was used as a preliminary heel

jobber Jobber may refer to: Athletics * Job (professional wrestling) - A professional wrestler who routinely loses a match. * Wichita Jobbers, a minor league baseball team in the Western Association from 1905 to 1911 Commerce * A person or corporation ...

where he teamed with various heels like

Diamond Dallas Page Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. In the course of his wrest ...

. Morton made his last WCW TV appearance in a match against Barry Windham on July 18, 1992. Morton and Gibson returned to

in January 1993 feuding with

The Heavenly Bodies The Heavenly Bodies is a professional wrestling tag team famous for having worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and various independent promotions. Over the years, there have been multiple variations of the team, ...

. They appeared at

SuperBrawl III SuperBrawl III was the third SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on February 21, 1993 from the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina in the United S ...

and defeated Heavenly Bodies.

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1992–1995)

In 1992, Morton joined

and reformed the Rock & Roll Express with Gibson on August 8, 1992 during a match in Johnson City, Tennessee. They went back and forth to the two promotions. They feuded with two versions of

for the next year and a half,

and

Tom Prichard Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is a retired American professional wrestler and author. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard. Professional wrestling career Early career (1979–1986) Tom Prichard began his career in Los Angeles ...

, and Prichard and

Jimmy Del Ray David Everett Ferrier (November 30, 1962 – December 6, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray. Del Ray was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as one ...

. They feuded with

The Gangstas The Gangstas was a professional wrestling tag team and stable, consisting of New Jack and Mustafa Saed in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The group originally started as a three-man group with D'Lo Brown in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), ...

(

New Jack Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingnes ...

and

Mustafa Saed Jamal Mustafa (born Terrance Ladd Blalock) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Mustafa Saed. He is best known for his appearances with Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 1990s. Prof ...

) in 1994 and went to the NWA to win the Tag Title again in 1995. During 1995 he also teamed briefly with David Jericho. Later that year, he reunited with Gibson and they feuded with

PG-13 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...

. Both Morton and Gibson left USWA in 1996.

World Wrestling Federation (1993, 1994)

In 1993, Morton and Gibson debuted in the

on the September 27, 1993, episode of ''WWE Raw, Monday Night Raw'', defeating Barry Hardy and Gillberg (wrestler), Duane Gill. Recognized on WWF television as the SMW Tag Team Champions, they went on to defend the championship in bouts on ''WWF All American Wrestling'' and ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling, WWF Superstars''. At Survivor Series (1993), Survivor Series on November 24, 1993, they lost the championship to The Heavenly Bodies (1990s tag team), The Heavenly Bodies (

and

), leaving the WWF thereafter. Morton and Gibson briefly returned to the WWF in July 1994, joining the WWF Summer Fest tour of Germany and losing a series of matches to The Smoking Gunns.

Wrestle Association R (1993, 1994)

In July 1993, Morton and Gibson toured Japan with WAR (wrestling promotion), Wrestle Association R, facing Último Dragón and Yuji Yasuraoka in a series of bouts. They returned for a second tour in November 1994 as part of the WAR-ISM 1994 event, facing members of Fuyuki-Gun on several occasions.

World Championship Wrestling (1996)

Morton and Gibson returned to World Championship Wrestling on the June 3, 1996 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro''. They briefly feuded with The Four Horsemen (professional wrestling), The Four Horsemen. They remained with the promotion until October 1996.

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1996, 1997)

In May 1996, Morton and Gibson wrestled four bouts for the Japanese promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). At the FMW 7th Anniversary Show in Kawasaki Stadium, Morton, Gibson and Ricky Fuji defeated Boogie Man, José Estrada Jr., Crypt Keeper, and Freddy Krueger in a six-man tag team bout. Morton returned for a second tour with FMW in April 1997, participating in the "Fighting Creation" tournament as part of a three-man team with Fuji and Hayabusa (wrestler), Hayabusa. At the FMW 8th Anniversary Show in Yokohama Arena, he and Fuji defeated Dragon Winger and Hido. Morton returned once more in August 1997, teaming with Fuji in the "Super Dynamism" tournament. During the tournament, Morton, Fuji, and Jinsei Shinzaki lost to Mr. Gannosuke, Mike Awesome, The Gladiator, and Corporal Kirchner, Super Leather in a "Professional Wrestling Death match, no ropes barbed wire Professional wrestling match types#Street Fight, street fight".

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1997)

Morton debuted in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based promotion

at House Party (1997), ECW House Party 1997 on January 11, 1997. He teamed with

in a loss to

; following the bout, Morton and Rich faced one another in an impromptu match that was won by Rich. He returned to ECW the following month at Crossing the Line Again, losing to Stevie Richards, Big Stevie Cool.

World Wrestling Federation (1998)

In January 1998, both Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson returned to World Wrestling Entertainment, WWF as part of the NWA (wrestling stable), "NWA" angle as the NWA Tag Team Champions. They lost the titles to The Headbangers on February 17 episode of WWE Raw, Raw Is War. They competed at WrestleMania XIV for the tag team battle royal won by The Road Warriors, The Legion of Doom. In the spring they feuded with the NWA Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express (professional wrestling), New Midnight Express Bart Gunn and Bob Holly. This took them to their match at Unforgiven: In Your House which Gunn and Holly won.

Independent circuit (1998–2003)

After leaving WWF in May 1998, they went to work for Ohio Valley Wrestling and Power Pro Wrestling until 1999. Morton then appeared on Juggalo Championship Wrestling's JCW Vol. 1 in a battle royal. On September 7, 2002 he defeated his former rival

at Ultimate Championship wrestling.

NWA Total Nonstop Action (2003)

In 2003, they briefly were part of Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme, S.E.X. group in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). They feuded with America's Most Wanted (professional wrestling), America's Most Wanted. Morton lost to Kid Kash on July 30.

Late career (2003–present)

Since leaving TNA, Morton wrestles all over the independent circuit in the Southeast and on the East Coast and often wins regional titles. Occasionally, he teams with Gibson as the Rock 'N Roll Express. In 2003/2004, he, along with Robert Gibson, joined the All World Wrestling league/Big Time Wrestling. On March 31, 2007 in Logan, West Virginia, Morton defeated

in an NWA Legends Match during ASW's Rumble In The Jungle show. On April 27, 2007 in

at the ''PMG Clash of Legends'' event put on by Memphis Wrestling, Morton and Kid Kash captured the MW Southern Tag Team Championship, defeating Too Cool#Too Cool 2, Too Cool II. On June 30, 2007 The Rock & Roll Express (Ricky and Todd Morton) beat Big and Tasty (Sweet William Valentine and Playboy Mike Trusty) to win the AWA Supreme Tag Team titles. On October 24, 2007 The Rock & Roll Express lost the AWA Supreme Tag Team Titles to Chaos Theory (Khris Kaliber and Karma). On January 4, 2014, Morton defeated Chase Owens to win the

. He re-lost the title to Owens on March 7. In 2014, Morton opened a wrestling school (The School of Morton) in Chuckey, Tennessee. In 2016, The Rock N' Roll Express made a special appearance as part of TNA's weekly televised program ''Impact Wrestling (TV series), Impact Wrestlings Total Nonstop Deletion episode, where they took part in the Tag Team Apocalypto match along with other tag teams. In 2017, The Rock N' Roll Express were inducted into the

. The team made their New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut during the Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2019 event, 3 events promoted by NJPW in the United States. In 2019, Morton and Gibson wrestled three bouts for

and also appeared in All Elite Wrestling. The Rock N Roll Express participated in the 2019 edition of the Jim Crockett Cup, but were defeated by The Briscoe Brothers in the first round. During the NWA television tapings on October 1, 2019, they won the NWA World Tag Team Championship. In January 2020, Morton entered a rivalry with Nick Aldis, leading to a Heavyweight Championship match on ''NWA Powerrr'' which Morton lost.

Other media

Morton made his WWE video game debut as DLC for WWE 2K18 along with Robert Gibson.

Personal life

Morton's father, Paul, was a professional wrestling referee. His cousin Todd Morton also wrestled, occasionally teaming with Morton. Morton was arrested in October 2005 for failing to pay child support. Morton contended that the outstanding payments were due to the child support amount having been set when he was earning a significant income working for major promotions as a part of The Rock N' Roll Express, and failed to reflect the much lower amount he was able to earn on the independent circuit. At least two benefit shows were put together in February 2006 to raise money towards his legal fees. A United Wrestling Association show in Alcoa, Tennessee on February 2, 2006, raised $2,475 for this cause. On February 15, 2006, Morton was released under the condition that he continue working and making efforts to catch up on the delinquent payments owed to his ex-wife. He returned to the ring the next night for the United Wrestling Association. In September 2007, while camping with his children at a Tennessee park, Morton was rearrested on the same charges. It was estimated he owed a remaining balance of $63,000. A website was established, and raised enough funds to secure his bail. Morton currently operates School of Morton in Chuckey, Tennessee, where he lends his ring experience to all his students. He also still works the

and cameos in several films and videos.

Championships and accomplishments

*304 Wrestling **304 Championship (1 time) *3XW Wrestling **3XW Tag Team Championships (1 time) with Kerry Morton *Appalachian Mountain Wrestling **AMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *All Star Wrestling (Virginia) **ASW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **ASW Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **ASW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Robert Gibson *All Star Wrestling (West Virginia) **ASW Legends Championship (1 time) *Allied Independent Wrestling Federations **AIWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **AIWF United States Championship (1 time) **AIWF All Star Champion (1 Time) ** AIWF Hall Of Fame (Class Of 2015) *Alternative Championship Wrestling **ACW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *American Pro Wrestling **APW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Wrestling Superstars Live, AWA Supreme **AWA Supreme Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Todd Morton *Appalachia Mountain Wrestling **AMW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Appalachia Pro Wrestling **APW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Carolina Wrestling Association **CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Cauliflower Alley Club **Tag Team Award (2022) – with Robert Gibson *Championship Wrestling **CW Triple Crown Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Wayne Adkins *Continental Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Association / Championship Wrestling Association **AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (AWA Southern Tag Team Championship#Title history, 8 times) – with Sonny King (1), with Ken Lucas (4), Eddie Gilbert (1), and Robert Gibson (2) **CWA Heavyweight Championship (CWA Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time) **CWA Tag Team Championship (CWA Tag Team Championship#Title history, 2 times) – with Robert Gibson (1), and Todd Morton (1) **CWA World Tag Team Championship (CWA World Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Robert Gibson *Exodus Wrestling Alliance **EWA Heavyweight Championship (5 times) *Extreme Wrestling Federation **EWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **EWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Hamrick *Great American Wrestling Federation **GAWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with David Jericho *Joe Cazana Promotions **JCP Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Kerry Morton *

**WCW World Tag Team Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' (List of WCW World Tag Team Champions, 4 times) – with Robert Gibson **

(WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Titles#Title history, 2 times) – with Thomas Rich and

(1), and Terrence Taylor and Tommy Rich, Thomas Rich (1) *Korean Pro-Wrestling Association **

(List of NWA World Tag Team Champions, 1 time) – with Robert Gibson *Memphis Wrestling **MCW Southern Tag Team Championship, Memphis Wrestling Southern Tag Team Championship (MCW Southern Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Kid Kash *

**UWF World Tag Team Championship, Mid-South Tag Team Championship (UWF World Tag Team Championship#Title history, 3 times) – with Robert Gibson *Mid-South Wrestling Association **MSWA Tennessee Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **MSWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Robert Gibson *National Wrestling Alliance **

(NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time) **

(List of NWA World Tag Team Champions, 3 times) – with Robert Gibson¹ **NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament (1995) **The Anderson Brothers Classic 5 Tournament (2011) **

(NWA Hall of Fame#2006, Class of 2006) *NWA Mid-America **NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Ken Lucas *NWA Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling **NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship, MACW Tag Team Championship (NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship#title history, 4 times) – with Robert Gibson (3) and Brad Armstrong (wrestler), Brad Armstrong (1) *

Rocky Top **NWA Rocky Top Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brad Armstrong *NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling **NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling#2013, Smoky Mountain Cup (2013) *National Wrestling Alliance, NWA Southwest **

(List of NWA World Tag Team Champions, 1 time) – with Robert Gibson *NWA Texas **NWA Top of Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Phoenix *

**NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version), NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship (NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version)#Title history, 2 times) – with Eddie Gilbert *NWA Wildside **NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship, NWA Wildside Tag Team Championship (NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Robert Gibson *North American Championship Wrestling **NACW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Buff Bagwell *North Carolina Wrestling Association **10th Annual Ivan Koloff Tag Team Tournament (2018) – with Chase Stevens *Omni Pro Wrestling **OPW Rock 'n' Roll Cup Tag Team Tournament (2006) – with Aaron Armor *Peach State Wrestling **PSW Cordele City Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' **PWI Tag Team of the Year, Tag Team of the Year (1986) – with Robert Gibson ** Ranked No. 56 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 1991 **Ranked No. 95 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 **Ranked No. 4 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Robert Gibson in 2003 *Professional Wrestling Federation **PWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum **Class of 2021 – Inducted as a member of The Rock 'n' Roll Express, The Rock 'N' Roll Express *Renegade Wrestling Alliance **RWA Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) - with Robert Gibson *

**SMW Tag Team Championship (SMW Tag Team Championship#Title history, 10 times) – with Robert Gibson *Southern Michigan Championship Wrestling **SMCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Southern States Wrestling **SSW Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **SSW Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Bobby Fulton (1), Beau James (1), and Ricky Harrison (1) *Southwest Championship Wrestling **Texas All-Star USA Tag Team Championship, SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship (Texas All-Star USA Tag Team Championship#Title history, 3 times) – with Ken Lucas (2) and Eddie Gilbert (1) *Supreme Championship Wrestling **SCW Hall of Fame (Class of 2009) *Total Combat Wrestling **TCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Robert Gibson *Traditional Championship Wrestling **TCW World Tag Team Championship (2 time) – with Dustin Heritage (1) and Robert Gibson (1) *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Robert Gibson *

(USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time) **

(USWA World Tag Team Championship#Title history, 2 times) – with Robert Gibson *United Wrestling Association **UWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **UWA United States Championship (1 time) **UWA Southern Heavyweight Champion (1 time) * UPW Pro Wrestling **UPW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) *Viral Pro Wrestling **VPW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Robert Gibson *Virginia Championship Wrestling **VCW Championship (1 time) *Virginia Wrestling Association **VWA/CCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *World Organization of Wrestling **WOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Robert Gibson *''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' **

(Class of 2014) – with Robert Gibson *WWE **

(Class of 2017 — with Robert Gibson) *Xtreme Maximum Championship Wrestling **XMCW Legends And Superstars Championship (1 time) **XMCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommy Gibson ¹One of their reigns with the title began in Memphis, Tennessee, though the records are unclear as to which promotion hosted the card. During another reign, the championship was awarded to them, though there's no indication of where the titles were awarded nor which promotion they were wrestling for at the time.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Ricky 1956 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people People from Nashville, Tennessee Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestlers from Tennessee USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champions WWE Hall of Fame inductees NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions NWA World Tag Team Champions WCW World Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions