Robert Gibson (born Ruben Gibson, July 19, 1958) 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 o ...

. He is best known as one half of the

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 ...

known as The Rock 'n' Roll Express, with

Ricky Morton Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. He is the current GCW Television Champion, after pinning Matt Cardona at GCW Say You Will. For most of his care ...

. He has competed in singles competition also, and has won various singles championships throughout his career. Gibson was inducted into the

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 i ...

as a member of The Rock 'n' Roll Express, on March 31, 2017.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1975–1983)

Gibson started wrestling as Robert Gibson in 1977. His first match was against Eddie Sullivan. He was trained by his brother Ricky Gibson and teamed with him in the southern territories.

The Rock 'N Roll Express (1983–2003)

In 1983, he formed the Rock 'N Roll Express with

. They feuded with The Midnight Express (

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 managem ...

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 198 ...

) in the CWA, several other territories, and, eventually, the feud carried over into the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

(NWA)'s

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 ...

in 1985. They won the NWA Tag Title four times while there and feuded with the Four Horsemen, Ivan and Nikita Koloff, and the team of Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez. Even though he and Morton were of similar build and wrestled a similar style, Gibson was always booked as the stronger and more powerful of the two. Gibson was injured in 1990 and when he returned to

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 Nati ...

(WCW) in 1991, Morton turned on him to join

The York Foundation The York Foundation was a professional wrestling heel stable in World Championship Wrestling between 1990 and 1992. It was led by tech-savvy businesswoman Alexandra York, and comprised former babyfaces who adopted informal wear and formalized t ...

. They feuded and Gibson teamed with Tom Zenk, but had no success and soon left WCW. Wrestled briefly as a singles in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council. He rejoined Morton in

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 ...

(SMW) and they feuded with the Heavenly Bodies led by

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 ...

. Shortly before SMW's demise, Gibson turned heel and joined "Cornette's Army". The team then had a run in the USWA, followed by stints in the WWF in 1993 and WCW in 1996. In 1998, they were part of the "NWA" angle in 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 var ...

(WWF) for a brief period. The Rock n' Roll express were awarded the NWA tag team championships before losing them to

The Headbangers The Headbangers are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh (Charles Warrington) and Thrasher (Glenn Ruth). As the name of the team implies, their gimmick is that they are a pair of metalheads, complete with heavy metal related T-sh ...

a month later. In 1998, he went on his own to wrestle for

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 ...

. On February 12, 2000, he returned to WCW as he lost to WCW World Television Champion Jim Duggan on WCW Saturday Night. Their last run in a big federation was with

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the prom ...

when they were part of

Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total No ...

's Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction.

Later career (2002–present)

He also appeared at one Wrestle Birmingham show in 2002 as "Robert Fuller Jr.", pretending to be the son of veteran wrestler Robert Fuller, a gimmick also used by other wrestlers. In late 2003/2004, Robert along with Ricky Morton, joined the newly formed "Original" Big Time Wrestling, under the banner of the All World Wrestling League. From 2007 to 2009, he worked for Ultimate Wrestling, a promotion in his home town of Pensacola, Florida, where he was one half of the first ever Ultimate Wrestling Tag-team Champions with Bobby Doll. In September 2010, he returned to Ultimate Wrestling. In 2014, The Rock-n-Roll Express was still wrestling on the independent circuit. In 2016, The Rock N' Roll Express made a special appearance as part of TNA's weekly televised program ''

Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...

s Total Nonstop Deletion episode, where they took part in the Tag Team Apocalypto match along with other tag teams. In February 2017, WWE played a video package of the Rock n' Roll Express and the announcement of their hall of fame induction set for pre- WrestleMania. 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. 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.

Personal life

Gibson has acknowledged during a fundraising event at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf that he is a hearing child of deaf parents. He knows sign language and often speaks with his hands in the ring before his matches. His brother Ricky Gibson died on September 15, 2006. Robert's mother and father are also deceased. The WWE acknowledged Ricky's death on WWE.com. Robert is engaged to Tami McMaster. He is part owner of Zeke's Deep Sea Fishing tours in Orange Beach, Alabama. In 2016, Gibson opened a wrestling school in Douglasville, Georgia, which also doubles as an independent wrestling promotion called All Pro Championship Wrestling. The Rock & Roll Express

Championships and accomplishments

*Appalachian Mountain Wrestling **AMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *All-Pro Championship Wrestling **APCW Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Jason Gibson and Mike Youngblood (2) * All-Pro Wrestling **APW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **APW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *All-Star Wrestling **ASW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

* Cauliflower Alley Club **Tag Team Award (2022) – with Ricky Morton *

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 4 times) – with Ricky Morton *Korean Pro-Wrestling Association ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Ricky Morton *NWA Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling ** MACW Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) - with Ricky Morton (3) and Brad Armstrong (1) *Mid-South Wrestling Association (Tennessee) **MSWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ricky Morton * Mid-South Wrestling Association ** Mid-South Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Ricky Morton *

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Ricky Morton¹ **

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 ...

( Class of 2006) *

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California ...

NWA Americas Tag Team Championship The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling ...

( 1 time) – with Ricky Gibson *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s ...

/ Continental Wrestling Association / Championship Wrestling Association **

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ...

( 5 times) – with Ricky Gibson (3),

Bill Dundee William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943) is a Scottish-born Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton. Car ...

(1), and Ricky Morton (1) **

CWA Tag Team Championship The CWA Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It lasted from 1988 through 1990, when it was abandoned and replaced with the United States Wrestling Association T ...

( 1 time) – with Ricky Morton ** CWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Ricky Morton ** NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-America Tag Team championship was a tag team title promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion NWA Mid-America that ran more or less exclusively in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, United States, from the 1940s until ...

( 1 time) – with Don Fargo * NWA Southwest ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Ricky Morton * NWA Wildside **

NWA Wildside Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was revived in 1998 by Music City Wrestling ...

( 1 time) – with Ricky Morton *New Age Championship Wrestling **NACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) * Pro Wrestling eXpress **PWX Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Vince Kaplack *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

**PWI ranked him #99 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the " PWI Years" in 2003 **PWI ranked him #4 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Ricky Morton in 2003. * 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 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 ...

** SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship ( 1 time) ** SMW Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) – with Ricky Morton * Southeastern Championship Wrestling **

NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship The NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Alabama territory known as Southeastern Championship Wrestling. It existed from 1974 until November 1986, when it became the NWA Continent ...

( 1 time) – with Ricky Gibson ** NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) *Traditional Championship Wrestling **

TCW Tag Team Championship The TCW Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team title of Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling. It was originally won by Scott Anton and Erik Watts who defeated Glacier and Jorge Estrada, coincidentally opponents for t ...

(1 time) – with Ricky Morton *Ultimate Championship Wrestling ** UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ricky Morton *Ultimate Wrestling **Ultimate Wrestling Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bobby Doll *

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 Wrest ...

** USWA World Tag Team Championship (

) - with Ricky Morton * UPW Pro Wrestling **UPW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) *Viral Pro Wrestling **VPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ricky Morton *World Organization of Wrestling **WOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Morton *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

** Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2014) – with Ricky Morton * WWE **

(Class of 2017 — with

) ¹One of their reigns began in Memphis, Tennessee, though the records are unclear as to which promotion they were wrestling for. Another reign began with them being awarded the title, though it is not revealed where they were awarded nor which promotion they were wrestling for at the time.

References

External links

Ruben Cain profile at CAGEMATCH.netThe Official Rock N' Roll Express web site
Bookings, videos and pictures {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Robert 1958 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Florida Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Sportspeople from Pensacola, Florida WWE Hall of Fame inductees NWA World Tag Team Champions SMW Beat the Champ Television Champions NWA Americas Tag Team Champions WCW World Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions