The Midnight Express And Rock 'N' Roll Express' Rivalry Explained

As recalled by Voices Of Wrestling, the Midnight Express and Rock 'n' Roll Express came of age in the wrestling business at a time when marquee rivalries were booked as a way to sell tickets to the shows. Their feud, however, was primarily showcased on television, making it unique for the era and a great way to give the participants — "Loverboy" Dennis Condrey and "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton of the Midnights and Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson of the Rock 'n' Rolls — exposure as young, up-and-coming grapplers in the early-mid 1980s.

The two Expresses' feud first heated up when both teams were competing for Bill Watts at Mid-South Wrestling, as documented by Doing the Favor. While Watts typically preferred "legitimate tough guys" as a promoter, he took a different approach with Morton and Gibson, using music videos to hype them up as a top tag team. As for the Midnights, they debuted for Mid-South with a bang, winning tag team gold and maintaining an intense rivalry with the Rock 'n' Rolls.

From 1985 to 1987, both teams were mainstays of the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions, where they traded title reigns and renewed their beef on a regular basis. When Condrey left JCP in 1987, he was replaced by "Sweet" Stan Lane, who added a new dimension through his martial arts-inspired moves but also had great chemistry with Eaton.

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