This began one of the most anticipated feuds in the tag team division, with Eaton and Lane facing off against Condrey and Rose. [1] The Midnight Express's final feud in the SECW was with the local heroes Jimmy Golden and Robert Fuller, who managed to drive the group out of SECW. The WWE did try to create The New Midnight Express, consisting of Bob Holly and Bart Gunn, in 1998. What Is The Legacy Of The Midnight Express In Wrestling? The Midnight Express was the name used by several professional wrestling tag teams of changing members, usually under the management of Jim Cornette. The Crocketts found out about it and they didnt like it. I told them I wish they would have told him. Jim Cornette came up with an idea to bring in the perfect team to feud with Eaton and Lane and continue making revenue for Crockett. This severely hurt the Midnight Express program, because Paul Heyman and Jim Cornette were the backbones of each tag team. On the other hand, Gibson had the best hot tag in the business and together, they were the perfect compliment to the hated heels that were The Midnight Express. (LogOut/ "Basically we went up thereErnie Ladd had called us in Charlotte because we were the NWA world tag team champions back when you didnt just win that all the time," Cornette said during a shoot interview. The original plan was that when the Midnights put over Watts and JYD, they would be done in the territory. Before the feud could go full throttle, Dusty Rhodes was fired as booker. The group started in 1980 with Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose in Southeast Championship Wrestling. Dennis Condrey took his ball and went home. That proved to be a complete flop though and is not considered by most fans as part of their history. [2] In the book The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams Condrey explains that the name did not stem from the movie Midnight Express (although later versions of the Midnight Express would use the film's theme by Giorgio Moroder as their theme music), but from the fact that they all dressed in black, drove black cars, and were out partying past midnight.[3]. Bobby Eaton stayed because he had a family and needed the steady paycheck. On December 30, 1989, they defeated Phil Apollo and Vic Steamboat, who was subbing for Apollo's partner Eric Sbraccia, who no-showed, to win the ICW Tag Team Championship. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Thus, the third incarnation document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The Midnight Express is considered by many to as the best tag team in wrestling history and for good reason. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. 
With Condreys veteran professionalism and Eaton being possibly the best young in-ring talent in the country at the time, pairing them with the baby-faced trash-talking Cornette was a stroke of genius. Paul Heyman) as a manager. As one-half of the Midnight Express, Eaton teamed with Dennis Condrey before later being paired with Stan Lane. The Kings headlined the territory in the mid-1970s, with hot feuds against Don Carson and Jackie Fargo, Jerry "the King" Lawler and Australian import "Superstar" Bill Dundee, and the Gibson brothers, Ricky and Robert. A great example of that is the flapjack, one of the most common moves in wrestling today, which was invented by Cornette. Powerhouse Hobbs and QT Marshall for the ROH Tag Titles, Hook vs. Ethan Page for the FTW Title, Darby Allin vs. Lee Moriarty, WWE Smackdown on-site report: Results of three dark matches, notes on the live crowds reactions to Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio, Sami Zayn, and more, 4/7 NXT Level Up results: OConnors review of Oro Mensah vs. Joe Gacy,Sol Ruca and Dani Palmer vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson, andDante Chen vs. Boa, NWA 312 results: Tyrus vs. Chris Adonis for the NWA Championship,Kamille vs. La Rosa Negra for the NWA Womens Title, La Rebelion vs. Magnum Muscle for the NWA Tag Team Titles,Cyon vs. EC3 for the NWA National Title, Thom Latimer vs. Bully Ray. The Midnight Express's title run only lasted a little over a month and a half before the Road Warriors (who had recently turned heel on Sting) took the gold from them in a brutal match.[1]. The Kings would trade the Mid-America tag team titles back and forth between themselves and the babyface contingent, but the pair eventually split up, with Hickerson taking a babyface role and Condrey leaving the territory in 1979. Midnight Express feud. Before that, things had been hot for The Express had until this point been a group of wrestlers, but now worked exclusively as a two-man team. When the issues were resolved, Cornette and the Midnight Express returned to the promotion. The Express won the titles from the young team in early 1990, but lost them to The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) three months later. Dennis Condrey Leaves And Is Replaced By Stan Lane The Midnight Express would encounter a huge problem in 1987 when Condrey left the group all of a sudden. WebAt the last minute, Dennis Condrey once again decided to leave the NWA, rather than take his PPV payoff and give Crockett and Scott the satisfaction. By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet), The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast with Dennis Condrey New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Well, Dusty (Rhodes) found out about it and asked if we were staying or going. The one who got pinned would have to leave the promotion. I went to Dusty and he said, Dennis you tell Cornette if he doesnt want to Perfect Destroyed the WWF Title, There Was Superstar BillyGraham, Top Five Lowlights in The Rhodes FamilyName, Clash and Burn: The Birth of the Super Show Called SuperClash, Beginner's guide to New Japan Pro Wrestling, History of the WWE Intercontinental Title, Styles Clash: Clash of The Champions Revisited, The Many Failures That 14 Year Old Me Would Never See Coming, Wrestling With A Grin: The Brighter Side of the Squared Circle of. Condrey returned to Alabama (now known as Continental) in the Spring of 1989 and would become the CWF Heavyweight Champion. For whatever reasonand theres no end of speculationthe second iteration of the Midnight Express ended in March of 1987 when Condrey quit the company. Fans were convinced that Rose would be out of the picture and that Condrey would have to defend the tag titles against the babyfaces by himself. In 1974, Condrey teamed up with Phil Hickerson, and became known as the Bicentennial Kings, and was managed by "Kangaroo" Al Costello. Watts said we need to find your manager, so I said OK. How about Jimmy Hart and I was open for whatever he wanted to do. In 2017, the WWE inducted the Rock & Roll Express into its nominal hall of fame. He said, "See you tomorrow." During the November 5 episode of World Championship Wrestling, Jim Cornette received an anonymous phone call. 
[5] Shortly after joining JCP, the Midnight Express reignited their feud with the Rock 'n' Roll Express from whom they won the NWA World Tag team titles in February 1986 on Superstars on the Superstation. [8] He was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling and works with the rookies on the NXT roster. 04/29/20, Dennis Condrey talking about the scaffold match: Corny was scared to death. WebRavishing Randy Rose and Loverboy Dennis Condrey, two-thirds of the Original Midnight Express, sat down with us and spoke about their run as a team in this exclusive new interview. According to Cornette, the reason Jim Crockett Jr booked this match was because Crockett was not a fan of Randy Rose of the Orginal Midnights. 32 of the 100 best tag teams during the, The Border Patrol (Agent Gunn and Agent Maxx), Team Extreme (Khris Germany and Kit Carson), Disturbing Behavior (Jeff Daniels and Tim Renesto), The Usual Suspects (A.J. Eventually, Rose lost the mask to the Armstrongs, and Bass left the territory. Due to various differences over the direction of the Midnight Express, Cornette, Lane, and Eaton also left JCP briefly, a few months after Ted Turner purchased the company and it was renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In reality, Condrey and AWA owner Verne Gagne were in a dispute over money owed to Condrey and he, Rose, and Dangerously all left the promotion in early 1988 while still being promoted as champions; the AWA decided to retroactively declare the Midnights/Rockers match in December to be a title change in favor of the latter. The Midnight Express would continue to occasionally wrestle on the independent circuit even after their full-time in-ring careers were over and would have their last match in 2011, fittingly against The Roll N' Roll Express. The original Midnight Express eventually were fired. Dennis also opens up about almost ending up in the WWF after being recruited by Vince McMahon and why it didn't work out. We told him we were not interested because we are making good money here in the Carolinas. 
From 1980 to 1983, Condrey, Rose, and Austin blazed a path of viciousness and lawlessness throughout the Southeastern territory. The pair hung on to the Southeastern tag straps, no matter what, feuding with the Armstrongs, Robert Fuller, and Jimmy Golden. On May 16, 1987 the combination of Eaton and Lane won the NWA United States Tag team titles for the first time, a title they would win three times during their time together. He said Dennis I cant fall off there. Before that, things had been hot for The truth was, they were just getting started. They held the NWA world tag team titles for six months before dropping them to the Rock & Rolls, and they drew money with talented young tag team The New Breed, as well as headlining Starrcade 1986 against the Road Warriors in a scaffold match. After dispatching of a couple of no-name teams, the Express was challenged by the masked Dynamic Duo, billed from Gotham City, who pinned the Express and unmasked as Ace and Douglas. He would also wrestle in the Mid-Atlantic area as well. If youre a wrestling fan from that period, you know the story: the only team to hold the world and US tag team titles simultaneously, the headlining feuds against some of the greatest talents in the world (and the underneath feud against the Dynamic Dudes) nothing could knock the Midnight Express off the tracks. If anything, the Midnights were now having better matches than ever, and Lane brought a fresh (and good-looking) face that impressed many of the female fans. After losing the title back to Condrey and Rose on July 27, 1981, Austin turned on Armstrong and joined up with Condrey and Rose to form a stable (group) known as The Midnight Express. Together the three men won the AWA Southern Tag Team title in the CWA and invoked the "Freebird Rule" to allow any two of the three men to defend the titles on a given night. As the show quickly approached, Dennis Condrey found out that Randy Rose was to be fired and replaced. For whatever reasonand theres no end of speculationthe second iteration of the Midnight Express ended in March of 1987 when Condrey quit the company. It was 1988 and one of the hottest tag teams in the NWA was the Midnight Express managed by Jim Cornette. WebIn March 1987, Dennis Condrey suddenly left JCP without giving any reason, leaving Eaton without a partner. Dennis Condrey talking about the scaffold match: Corny was scared to death. This version of the Midnight Express disbanded in October 1990 when Cornette and Lane left WCW. It seems like such a deceptively simple formula, but it worked constantly. The names and faces changed over time, but the train kept rolling. So I said, look Im leaving this to yall because I love both of those guys, I think the world of them. Each week Conrad Thompson will examine Arns days in the territories, becoming an Anderson, creating the Four Horsemen in the NWA, becoming a Hall of Famer, and being a producer behind the scenes for years for WWE proving The Enforcer has a story unlike anyone else. Jim Cornette was supposed to bleed lightly in the segment, but since Cornette was inexperienced in blading himselfhe cut himself too much and bled profusely. Rhodes felt that Condrey was unreliable and the feud wouldnt work. 
Jack Victory was brought in as his replacement and the match went forward. "Bill saw brilliance in Corny," Jim Ross said during an interview, "and he knew that there was something there, because Corny, as a TV character, was very easily disliked. Currently living in India, he covers wrestling on The Sportster. In 1981 they were joined by Norvell Austin. Team, After dethroning Magnum and Wrestling II, Cornette "threw a party" on Mid-South TV to congratulate Condrey and Eaton. It was must-see TV for the fans, even though a real resolution was never possible. While WCW was searching for a suitable replacement for Dusty Rhodes as booker, Jim Crockett Jr was used as the interim booker. (LogOut/ The original Midnight Express had its origins in 1981 when Rose, Condrey and Norvell Austin formed a stable under that name in the Alabama-Tennessee territory. He left overnight giving no notice to Cornette, Eaton, or the NWA. "I know it must all sound crazy to you, but this place is crazy.". Rose and Condrey were a natural fit as a tag team, and the first thing they did was relieve Bob and Brad Armstrong of the Southeastern tag team titles. Condrey signed to World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2010 as a developmental trainer. As the show quickly approached, Dennis Condrey found out that Randy Rose was to be fired and replaced. Lane would go on to be one of the original Heavenly Bodies with Tom Prichard in Cornettes Smoky Mountain Wrestling. (Use code PWS for a nice surprise). From 2004 until 2011 various combinations of Condrey, Eaton, and Lane competed as The Midnight Express on the independent circuit. As the show quickly approached, Dennis Condrey found out that Randy Rose was to be fired and replaced. This thread is archived New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast 9 4 comments Best [deleted] 4 The two Expresses had a series of matches which differed from the way tag team wrestling was presented at the time and drew attention both locally and nationally. There, he reunited with his original tag team partner Randy Rose, using the Midnight Express name and adopting Paul E. Dangerously (a.k.a. RELATED: 10 Best Wrestlers Managed By Jim Cornette, Ranked. That was not always the case though. The Midnight Express will go down in wrestling history as one of the best tag teams in wrestling history if not the very best. Dennis Condrey talking about the scaffold match: Corny was scared to death. [3] They also started a legendary feud with the Rock 'n' Roll Express that carried over into the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985. The feud with the Road Warriors included a high-profile Scaffold Match at Starrcade 1986, which the Midnight Express lost and Jim Cornette famously hurting his knee when he fell off the scaffold. Partners for Eaton were proposed. It got to the point that fans posted countdown signs in the arenas for when their favorites could return. Without their managers in their corners, the feud was lackluster at best. Steele and Murder One), The Kingz of the Underground (Ryan Genesis and Scot Summers), The Heatseekers (Elliot Russell and Sigmon), This page was last edited on 3 April 2023, at 11:23. Vince said he could double our money. He was reliably funny and over-the-top during interviews, never at a loss for words. In a famous angle, the pair painted Robert Fullerthen a young babyfacewith black paint. Powerhouse Hobbs and QT Marshall for the ROH Tag Team Titles, 4/7 AEW Rampage results: McGuires review of Darby Allin vs. Lee Moriarty,Hook vs. Ethan Page for the FTW Title,Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart,TBS Champion Jade Cargill and Taya Valkyrie meet face-to-face,The Acclaimed, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker in an eight-man tag match, Swerve Stricklands announcement, 4/7 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powells review of Sami Zayn vs. Jey Uso, Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar vs. Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest, Imperium vs. Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch, Rhea Ripley and Triple H appearances, FREE PODCAST 4/8 PWTorch Dailycast Nick & Toms Intercontinental Adventure: Nick & Tom review huge WWE week, McNeill & Radican interview Mean Street Posse & Smash Bros. (164 min. Supposedly, he was going through some personal issues, including a divorce, and needed to step away. They had announced their presence in JCP, and in the process, done what some would have deemed impossible: made the fans cheer for Jim Cornette. "Loverboy" Dennis and "Ravishing" Randy called themselves "The Midnight Express", and claimed the right to the name, which had since been used by Condrey and Eaton (and later by "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton and "Sweet" Stan Lane) in the NWA. The Express then became involved in a feud with the Mongolian Stomper and his storyline son "Mongolian Stomper Jr.", with whom they traded the Southeastern title. 
But Watts went even further. Theyre gonna take over the world.". document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Dennis Condrey Discusses Leaving The Midnight Express, The Scaffold Match & More. Those people, they still love us and thats unheard of for me. We made a deal with Vince while we were there in New York. With two of the promotions best talkers in Paul E Dangerously and Jim Cornette hyping their respective teams and building the feudit seemed that the Battle of the Midnight Express was going to be a surefire hit. In March 1977, he began wrestling for Jerry Jarrett's promotion in Memphis. The Midnight Express had a short stay in World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas where they feuded mainly with The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers). So we got on plane and flew up there (to Connecticut) with the private plane. After the Bicentennial Kings broke up in 1979, Condrey formed the Big C's with Don Carson. "Which came first, the chicken or the egg? He has won awards from press associations in several states, including a General Excellence award from the Georgia Press Association while sports editor at The Statesboro Herald. 
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