The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a

professional wrestling 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 ...

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 ...

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 as the Universal Wrestling Federation), followed by a stint with

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 ...

(JCP). They held the NWA World Tag Team Championship nine times, with the first four times in JCP. They also feuded with

The 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 th ...

. In the late 1980s, they were contenders for the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part ...

's AWA World Tag Team Championship. By 1991, the team was losing momentum, and Morton turned

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exer ...

on his partner 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 ...

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 1992, the team reformed 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 ...

, where they held the SMW Tag Team Championship ten times. The duo also worked 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 ...

. On March 31, 2017, the Rock 'n' Roll Express was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Jim Cornette.

History

Formation

The Rock 'n' Roll Express was formed with Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson in 1983 in Memphis by head booker

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 Ap ...

. They were originally paired together as an alternative to the popular team of The Fabulous Ones (

Steve Keirn Stephen Paul Keirn (born September 10, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as w ...

and Stan Lane) when they could not wrestle in certain towns. The

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

of The Rock 'n' Roll Express was a couple of high flying wrestlers who loved

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

music, as it was a popular genre of music at the time. In 1983 and 1984, the team participated in a series of matches against The Galaxians, the Bruise Brothers ( Porkchop Cash and Troy Graham), and the team of Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage. They soon made their way to Mid-South Wrestling where they started a feud 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 ...

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 ...

, and manager Jim Cornette). The feud began when Cornette threw a celebration for the Midnight Express after they won the Mid-South Tag Team Championship. During the celebration, The Rock 'n' Roll Express shoved Cornette's face into the celebratory cake. The rivalry between the two teams carried on 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).

Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1988)

The Rock N' Roll Express went to the

(NWA)'s

(JCP) in 1985 and won four NWA World Tag Team Championships over the next couple of years. On July 9, 1985, the team debuted in JCP against the team of

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship. Early life Perras was ...

and Krusher Khrushchev, whom they defeated to begin their first reign as champions. The reign lasted until October 13 of that same year. At Starrcade in 1985, they recaptured the title, only to lose them on a prime time WTBS special to the Midnight Express, '' Superstars on the Superstation'', on February 7, 1986. This title change is significant because televised matches between major contenders were rarely shown in those days. They won the title back in Philadelphia on August 16, 1986, and held them until a Saturday night prime time match on WTBS' ''

'' against Rick Rude and the Raging Bull Manny Fernandez. The Rock 'n' Roll Express won the belts back when Rude, still a champion, simply left the NWA to go work for

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

in the

(WWF). Needing to save face, promoter Jim Crockett had

substitute for an 'injured' Rude, and the Express won the belts for what proved to be the final time. During their time in JCP, the Rock 'n' Roll Express achieved enormous popularity. At times the company would run two shows in one night, with the Rock 'n' Roll Express often headlining the "B" team cards. They would often outdraw the concurrent "A" team shows with bigger-named talent. On one occasion, this led them to receive a jealous reprimand from booker Dusty Rhodes after they sold out Charlotte, while the A team card with Rhodes did less than half the gate in Baltimore. Morton and Gibson were so popular during this time period that they were actually asked to leave Carowinds Amusement Park because they were creating a mob and it was shutting down the park. It was a common occurrence for the fans to swarm them as they did their ring entrance which drew a huge crowd reaction when their music (

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical ...

's Rock 'n' Roll Is King and later Ricky Morton's Boogie Woogie Dance Hall) began. Fans would also hang out at their houses, and at the height of their popularity, the Charlotte police would station an officer at their homes to keep fans away. Robert Gibson says they went nine months without a day off during this period, and when they repeatedly requested time off, Jim Crockett told them that it would cost them too much money in lost ticket sales. They eventually would fake injuries to get days off. In November 1986 at Starrcade, The Rock 'n' Roll Express defeated Ole Anderson and

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 ...

in a Steel Cage match to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship. After a series of matches running from late August through early October, they lost their title for a fourth and final time (They would win four more in later years, but only the first four were also recognized by

later) in the fall of 1987 to Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard thanks to a pre-match attack by their longtime rivals, The Midnight Express. Morton suffered an injured arm in the attack which led to Gibson beginning the match alone. Eventually Morton would join the match in a sling, but the match ended when Gibson told the referee to stop the match due to Morton's injury. They feuded heavily with

members

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 ...

, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, who constantly mocked them and attacked them outside of the ring. During late 1987, the Rock 'n' Roll Express feud with the Midnight Express heated up again which led to an historic scaffold match on November 26, 1987, at Starrcade 87 in Chicago. Morton and Gibson defeated Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane eight minutes into the match. As 1988 began, they entered into a brief feud with the Sheepherders. On January 23, 1988, in Cincinnati, Ivan Koloff & the Warlord defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express in twelve seconds, with Morton and Gibson leaving the company after the match. After a several month absence, Ricky and Robert did an interview with Bob Caudle at Clash of the Champions II where they discussed returning to the NWA. On June 26 at the start of The Great American Bash Tour, Ricky and Robert defeated the Sheepherders in their return match. They won several more matches against the Sheepherders, as well as a few others until a pay dispute led to Robert Gibson departing JCP again in late July. Ricky Morton stayed on and wrestled singles matches, as well as tag team and six man matches with a variety of partners such as Nikita Koloff, Brad Armstrong, and Steve Williams. Morton had his last match on September 23, 1988, before leaving JCP again.

AWA and return to the NWA/WCW (1988–1992)

In 1988, The Rock 'n' Roll Express went to Memphis and AWA. They had a brief feud with

The Midnight Rockers The Rockers were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty who teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for NWA Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestlin ...

in 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 re ...

(CWA), over the AWA World Tag Team Championship. Their first match on February 15, 1988, ended in controversy, causing the AWA World Tag Team title to be held up. A week later, on February 22, a rematch for the held-up titles was held and The Midnight Rockers won them back. In all, the Rock 'n' Roll Express spent April to May, and October to December 1988 in the AWA having short runs with Verne Gagne. Robert Gibson stated that they went to the AWA out of respect to Wahoo McDaniel who was wrestling there at the time. On February 2, 1989, in Kansas City they had a match with The British Bulldogs, and they also did a brief tour in Japan for

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 ...

during 1988. On January 3, 1990, Morton and Gibson made their return to the NWA. During the early part of the return they had TV matches with the Midnight Express, the Horsemen, and The Fabulous Freebirds. On July 7, 1990, they challenged

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

for the NWA World Tag Team Championship at The Great American Bash in the semi-main event, but lost. On September 22, 1990, in a match against Doom at a house show in Jacksonville, Florida, Robert Gibson suffered a torn ACL when Butch Reed came off the top rope on his extended knee while Ron Simmons was holding it. Morton would state years later on a podcast with Ric Flair that the injury actually occurred the day before the match when Robert's wife hit him with a car. Ricky says that he told Robert to just get to the ring and go down right after the start of the match so that he could be paid while injured. Gibson was forced to miss a considerable amount of time throughout the rest of 1990 and the first half of 1991 while recovering from

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pa ...

which was performed by

Dr. James Andrews James Andrews (born May 2, 1942) is an American orthopedic surgeon. He is a surgeon for knee, elbow, and shoulder injuries and is a specialist in repairing damaged ligaments. Practicing in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Andrews has become one of the best ...

. On June 12, 1991, at ''

Clash of the Champions XV ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). T ...

'' in Knoxville, Tennessee, Morton turned on a returning Gibson to join the York Foundation, which led to a match between Morton and Gibson at The Great American Bash on July 14, 1991. Richard Morton (managed by Alexandra York) pinned Robert Gibson at 17:23 after Morton came off the top and hit Gibson in the back with a computer as York distracted referee Bill Alfonso on the apron. The former partners had more matches over the next several weeks, mostly won by Morton. Morton and Gibson continued their singles careers until Robert was released by WCW in November 1991. Morton stayed on in WCW as a heel until the summer of 1992.

SMW, USWA, WCW, and WWF (1992–1996)

In late July 1992, Ricky Morton briefly feuded with Eddie Gilbert in the

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), and before his brief USWA run ended, Gibson joined him for a few tag team matches. They reunited on August 8, 1992, in

(SMW) and feuded with The Heavenly Bodies, winning the tag team title ten times. The feud with the Heavenly Bodies, which had been ongoing for approximately a year, included a barbed wire cage match and a Texas death match. The rivalry carried over to both

and the

(WWF) in 1993, splitting pay per view matches for the two promotions. The Rock 'n' Roll Express defeated the Heavenly Bodies ( Stan Lane and Dr. Tom Prichard) at WCW's SuperBrawl III event and the Bodies (this time Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) defeating the Express for the SMW Tag Team Championship at the Survivor Series. Defending the SMW tag title at the event was part of an agreement between the WWF's

and SMW's Jim Cornette. Back in SMW in May 1994, The Rock 'n' Roll Express lost their title to the team of Chris Candido and Brian Lee, who were managed by Tammy Fytch. The duo, however, won the title back in August. After that feud ended, they feuded with The Gangstas over the titles. During that feud, they had Jim Cornette as their manager. Soon after the Gangstas feuded, Cornette betrayed Morton and Gibson, as they feuded with The Dynamic Duo, whom they lost the titles to in April 1995. In April 1995, they defeated Dick Murdoch and Randy Rhodes to win the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championship. In June 1995, they were stripped of the titles, as their USWA match with PG-13 ended in controversy. A week later, they defeated PG-13 to win back the NWA World Tag Team titles and win the USWA World Tag Team Championship, making them double champions, but it didn't last, as they lost the USWA titles back to PG-13 a week later. In July 1995, they scheduled to feud with The Thugs over the SMW Tag Team Championship, and set to turn heel, but in August 1995, Morton was suspended after an altercation between his girlfriend Andrea Callaway and Tracy Smothers' girlfriend Angela Lambert, leaving Gibson on his own. As a result of Morton's suspension, they vacated the NWA World Tag Team titles. When Morton returned to SMW, Gibson had turned heel and joined Jim Cornette's Militia, but the proposed feud between the two didn't materialize as the promotion folded shortly after his return. After SMW's closure, they reunited in the USWA and resumed their feud with PG-13.

Return to WCW (1996–1997)

On June 3, 1996, Morton and Gibson made their return to World Championship Wrestling on

Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United ...

, facing and losing to Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, and preliminarily reigniting an old WCW rivalry. They made their second appearance on ''

'', August 5, 1996, losing to WCW World Tag-Team Champions Harlem Heat. Their third appearance came three weeks later, where they faced Ric Flair and Arn Anderson again on ''Nitro'' in Lakeland, Florida. They lost to Flair and Anderson, but three days later in Orlando, Florida at a WCW Worldwide taping, the Rock 'n' Roll Express gained their first victory in their comeback, defeating

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant sp ...

. Their next appearance came on ''WCW Saturday Night'' on September 30, where they fell to

The Faces of Fear The Faces of Fear was a professional wrestling tag team of The Barbarian and Meng in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that existed between 1996 and 1999. The two were first paired together in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as part of T ...

( Meng and The Barbarian). Morton and Gibson appeared sparingly going forward on Saturday Night and '' WCW Pro''. They left in 1997 to participate in independent federations.

World Wrestling Federation (1998)

A year later, they were in the WWE for a brief stint as part of the NWA angle (managed by former rival James E. Cornette). They then used The Rockers' old theme music. Their first appearance came on ''Monday Night RAW'' when they faced

Skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

and

8-Ball Eight-ball (also spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes or rarely highs and lows) is a discipline of pool played on a billiard table with six pockets, cue sticks, and sixteen billiard balls (a ...

on January 12, 1998, in State College, Pennsylvania, and lost via disqualification. During their time in the company, they appeared at WrestleMania XIV in March 1998 in a tag team battle royal, which was won by the Legion of Doom 2000. They also had feuds with L.O.D. 2000 and The New Midnight Express having an NWA Tag Team Title match at the WWF Pay Per View Unforgiven against them.

Independent Circuit (1998-present)

After WWF in May 1998 they worked for 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 ...

. They went to work for

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. ...

and Power Pro Wrestling until 1999.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003, 2016)

In early 2003, Morton and Gibson appeared in

TNA TNA may refer to: Organisations * Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka * The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya * The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body * Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade union ...

as 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 (SEX) faction. The duo feuded with

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

, Chris Harris and

James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling. He started his career in 1997 and after working on several independent prom ...

. In late 2003 and early 2004, they worked for the All World Wrestling League, owned by Eddie and Thomas Farhat, the sons of the "Original Sheik"

Ed Farhat Edward George Farhat (June 7, 1926 – January 18, 2003) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Sheik (often called The Original Sheik to distinguish him from The Iron Sheik, who debuted in 1972). Farhat is cred ...

. The duo returned to TNA for the special Total Nonstop Deletion, participating in the Tag Team Apocalypto open invitational for

The Broken Hardys The Hardys, also known as The Hardy Boyz, are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy, who are currently appearing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The team is currently inactive due to Jeff ...

' TNA World Tag Team Championship.

AWWL (2005)

Starting in 2005, they would team up again, often wrestling against the Midnight Express in the Mid-Atlantic area. On June 7, 2008, they defeated The Midnight Express (

and

) at the NWA 60th Anniversary Show in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

PWA (2009)

In 2009, the Rock 'n' Roll Express joined Booker T's Pro Wrestling Alliance in Houston, Texas and became PWA Tag Team Champions.

WWE Hall of Fame (2017)

On February 6, 2017, the WWE announced it would be honoring the Rock 'n' Roll Express by inducting the team into the WWE Hall of Fame at the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on March 31, 2017. On March 20, WWE officially announced that the team will be inducted by Jim Cornette. They recently captured the Viral Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championships at VPW's Holiday Havoc on December 9, 2017.

National Wrestling Alliance (2019–present)

On April 5, 2019, the NWA announced that the Rock 'n' Roll Express would compete in the Crockett Cup (2019) on April 27, 2019, in Concord, North Carolina. They were defeated by The Briscoe Brothers ( Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) in the first round. On October 1, 2019, during the second day of NWA Power television tapings, The Rock 'n' Roll Express defeated The Wildcards (

Thomas Latimer Thomas Erwin Latimer (April 6, 1879 – November 6, 1937) was an American lawyer who served as the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1935 to 1937. His mayoral term coincided with a period of labor unrest in th ...

& Royce Isaacs) to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship for the fifth time.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2019–2020)

On September 28, 2019, the Rock 'n' Roll Express made their

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 sha ...

(NJPW) debut at Fighting Spirit Unleashed (2019) in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. They teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi and defeated ''

Los Ingobernables de Japón (Spanish for "The Ungovernables of Japan" and often spelled without the accent as ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' in English-speaking countries), also shortened to ''L.I.J.'', is a Japanese professional wrestling stable, based in the New Jap ...

'' ( Bushi,

Shingo Takagi , known by his ring name Shingo Takagi (鷹木信悟, ''Takagi Shingo''), is a Japanese professional wrestler and former bodybuilder, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the provisional KOPW 2022 champion in his first ...

, and Tetsuya Naito), it was also referee

Tiger Hattori , known as is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, referee and manager best known for his work as a referee in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Hattori is the current foreign liaison officer of NJPW. Hattori has been active in pro wrestlin ...

's final match in the United States. On September 29, at Fighting Spirit Unleashed in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, they teamed with Tanahashi and Chaos (

Hirooki Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is also known for being the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with his Chaos stablemates, Tomohiro Ishii ...

, Tomohiro Ishii, and Yoshi-Hashi) in a twelve-man tag team elimination match versus Bullet Club ( Jay White, Kenta, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens, and

Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in E ...

All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)

The Rock 'n' Roll Express made their All Elite Wrestling (AEW) appearance on the October 30, 2019 episode of ''

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and patented in 1867. It rapidl ...

'' to crown the inaugural

AEW World Tag Team Champions The AEW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a standard tag team championship, being contested by teams of two wrestlers. ...

, but were ambushed by Proud n Powerful (Santana and Ortiz). At AEW Full Gear, the two participated in the aftermath of the opening tag team match between The Young Bucks and Proud n Powerful, where Morton executed a Canadian Destroyer on Santana followed up by a suicide dive onto Sammy Guevara and Ortiz. On the August 12 episode of Dynamite, The Rock 'n' Roll Express were involved in a segment with FTR and Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard to celebrate Tag Team Appreciation Night. However, after a scuffle between Tully Blanchard and Ricky Morton, FTR would attack The Rock 'n' Roll Express.

The New Rock 'n' Roll Express

Over the years, when Morton and Gibson were not teaming with each other, they each had different tag team partners, calling themselves "The New Rock 'n' Roll Express." Ricky Morton teamed with Ricky Fuji while in Japan for FMW, and with Brad Armstrong, Kid Kash, or his cousin Todd in the independent circuit in the U.S., while Robert Gibson teamed with

Marty Jannetty Fredrick Martin Jannetty (born February 3, 1960) is an American professional wrestler who has worked for promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Championship Wres ...

in IWA Japan as "The Rock 'n' Rockers," which played off both the Rock 'n' Roll Express and Jannetty's famous tag team with

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one ...

, The Rockers.

Championships and accomplishments

*Appalachian Mountain Wrestling **AMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) * Cauliflower Alley Club **Tag Team Award (2022) * 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 ...

(

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 ...

) **

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) ** CWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) *

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 4 times) *Korean Pro-Wrestling Association ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) * Mid-South Wrestling Association ** Mid-South Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) *

** NWA World Tag Team Championship (

) **

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 Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling ** MACW Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) * NWA Southwest ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) * 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) *Mid-South Wrestling Association **MSWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) * Pro Wrestling Alliance ** PWA Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) *Pro Wrestling Elite **PWE Tag Team Championship *

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 Tag Team of the Year award in 1986 **PWI ranked them # 4 of the best 100 tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003. * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum **Class of 2021 *Rocket City Championship Wrestling **Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) *

** SMW Tag Team Championship ( 10 times) *Traditional Championship Wrestling **TCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) ** USWA World Tag Team Championship (

) * UPW Pro Wrestling **UPW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) *Viral Pro Wrestling **VPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *World Organization of Wrestling **WOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *

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) * WWE ** WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2017) ¹During this win, the title was awarded to them and the records are unclear as to where this occurred and which promotion they wrestled for at the time.

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

References

External links

2017 Interview with Robert Gibson: Robert did an interview with a local magazine about his career in September 2017Memphis Wrestling HistoryThe Official Rock-n-Roll Express Fan Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rock 'N' Roll Express, The American Wrestling Association teams and stables Extreme Championship Wrestling teams and stables Impact Wrestling teams and stables Independent promotions teams and stables Jim Crockett Promotions teams and stables National Wrestling Alliance teams and stables New Japan Pro-Wrestling teams and stables Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Smoky Mountain Wrestling teams and stables USWA World Tag Team Champions United States Wrestling Association teams and stables World Championship Wrestling teams and stables WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWE Hall of Fame team inductees WWE teams and stables