For the first time these two partners are back together for Reddit's largest professional wrestling community. Bubba Rogers worked a few dates to fulfill obligations, but Dusty Rhodes made the decision to pick Stan Lane who was a singles star in Florida at the time.
Sourav has been a fan of professional wrestling for almost two decades. Sourav Mahanty is a writer and enthusiast of all things sport. Bobby Eaton said they dropped Condrey off at his apartment one night. Together, they went to the New England area to wrestle for International Championship Wrestling. Thus, the third incarnation 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. Every great tag team needs the right dance partners and for The Midnight Express, these proved to be the team of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson - The Rock N' Roll Express. In 2003, Eaton worked for NWA Mid-Atlantic forming a new version of the Midnight Express with Rikki Nelson. The one who got pinned would have to leave the promotion. On almost going to the WWF in the mid-eighties: We had an offer, a great offer from Vince McMahon (and the WWF) that we couldnt refuse. [5] The two teams feuded throughout 1984 in Mid-South Wrestling before the Midnight Express left the promotion to work elsewhere. 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. The original Midnight Express eventually were fired. They were the best in the business at that point in time and instead of dissolving the team, Stan Lane was instead brought in as the replacement. Condrey retired shortly thereafter. One of those partners was the original Junkyard Dog, Norvell Austin. He put the Midnights over the team of Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling II for the Mid-South tag team titles, and then set up an angle that would draw sellouts and set records around the territory, and it worked on multiple levels. Thus, the third incarnation Bubba Rogers worked a few dates to fulfill obligations, but Dusty Rhodes made the decision to pick Stan Lane who was a singles star in Florida at the time. Yeah, something that should have gone a year or so, fizzles out due to circumstances beyond their control. As one-half of the Midnight Express, Eaton teamed with Dennis Condrey before later being paired with Stan Lane. Scott was not a fan of Jim Cornette or his Midnight Express and told Cornette that to his face. They dropped the tag team titles to Brad and Scott Armstrong, and Condrey left the territory. Tag Team wrestling was arguably at its peak during the 1980s when it was a legitimate top-of-the-card attraction and sold-out arenas all over the country. [1] They were then defeated at Halloween Havoc 1990 by Tommy Rich and Ricky Morton. At the time, the Midnights and McMahon were speaking different languages, as they were thinking pro wrestling, while McMahon seemed to be thinking entertainment.. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. After leaving Mid-South, the Midnight Express competed briefly in WCCW (Dallas) before moving on to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). As the show quickly approached, Dennis Condrey found out that Randy Rose was to be fired and replaced. 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. That was just the tip of the iceberg. Team, It was amazing. Despite the success the feud had generated early on, the battle between the Midnight Express and the Original Midnight Express eventually petered out. For the first time these two partners are back together for With the Midnights vs. the Rock & Roll, tag team wrestling had reached its apex. The Midnight Express soon turned heel as a result of a feud with the Dynamic Dudes (Johnny Ace & Shane Douglas). In the ring, The Midnight Express were far ahead of their time and innovators. Dennis Condreys abrupt departure from WCW would bring him to Verne Gagnes Midwest-based American Wrestling Association in 1987. 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. Bobby Eaton was a member of the Midnight Express tag team with Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane, and was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019. Well, Dusty (Rhodes) found out about it and asked if we were staying or going. And it was magic from the beginning. "Of course, the other Midnights went on and on, and we went on to go against them in WCW, and that was one of the hottest feuds (at the time), I believe.". The Midnights went from Mid-South to World Class. For more than three decades he has been the epitome of old school. Hear him as youve never heard him before every Tuesday at 6am Eastern as you gives you a peak behind the curtain for the first time ever. Often they would be booked in matches against old rivals the Rock 'n' Roll Express, including the NWA 60th Anniversary Show in Atlanta, Georgia on June 7, 2008, and their final match at JCW's "Legends & Icons" show in August 2011. Twitter: @TwoManPowerTrip Lane decided that he was going to quit as well, and after they said goodbye to Eaton (who decided to stay due to his family obligations), both men left and began heading north toward Charlotte, North Carolina; it was not until Anderson came looking for Cornette and Lane later that he realized they had quit after questioning Eaton of their whereabouts. They were having matches against The Rock N' Roll Express, the likes of which had not been seen at that point in time and played a huge part in taking tag team wrestling to the next level. Since they were not told ahead of time, Eaton was unable to take the day off to spend time with his wife and children. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. Fans would pay to see Condrey and Eaton get beat up, but what they really wanted was to see a babyface make Cornette shut his pie hole. Please remember to be civil when commenting and follow our rules. 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. But a defining moment that put the Midnights into another stratosphere for local fans was the day Randy Rose was left bloody and injured on TV by Ken Lucas and Eddie Boulder (Ed Leslie, long before his Brutus Beefcake days). They were The Midnight Express. I bought a house too. Theyre gonna take over the world.". The Midnight Express is considered by many to as the best tag team in wrestling history and for good reason. Jack Victory was brought in as his replacement and the match went forward. Jimmy bought a house. (LogOut/ Tom Prichard was thought about, but never officially suggested. It seems like such a deceptively simple formula, but it worked constantly. He never made a false step.". But he made a mistake by putting his hands on Watts. "Now were getting into death threat territorywere gonna bust Bill Watts open and leave him laying," Cornette told his podcast co-host, Brian Last. Jack Victory was brought in as his replacement and the match went forward. [8] He was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling and works with the rookies on the NXT roster. 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. During the November 5 episode of World Championship Wrestling, Jim Cornette received an anonymous phone call. He said Dennis, we want you and Bobby Eaton to come to Mid South with me in Oklahoma. This thread is archived New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast 9 4 comments Best [deleted] 4 Thus, the third incarnation ), FREE PODCAST 4/8 WKPWP Flagship from 10 Yrs Ago w/Keller & Powell: (4-2-2013) Final WrestleMania 29 hype including Rock-Cena, Punk-Taker angle with Paul Bearers urn (177 min. Collectively Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton held 53 tag team titles, setting the record in all of professional wrestling. The idea was the two teams would battle on pay per view and the person who was pinned would be forced to leave WCW. I said ok, I will tell Dusty. WebIn March 1987, Dennis Condrey suddenly left JCP without giving any reason, leaving Eaton without a partner. As the show quickly approached, Dennis Condrey found out that Randy Rose was to be fired and replaced. Partners for Eaton were proposed. At first Dusty was against the idea of bringing in the Original Midnight Express because Dennis Condrey had once abruptly quit the NWA and left. Jack Victory was brought in as his replacement and the match went forward. Watch The Original Midnight Express Attack Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane, Jim Cornette: Condrey again left the NWA, and Rosewho was not a favorite of new booker George Scottsoon left as well. Lane would go on to be one of the original Heavenly Bodies with Tom Prichard in Cornettes Smoky Mountain Wrestling. 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. Add to that, Jim Crockett Jr decided to sell his promotion to Ted Turner to form World Championship Wrestling. Now, with no booker and brand new ownership, the Midnight Express feud was put into limbo. The beginning of the angle took place in Atlanta, Georgia during a TV studio taping. He said, "See you tomorrow." In a recent interview with ESPN's Daniel Cormier that t Major League Wrestling crowned three new Champions duri NOAH Results: Sunny Voyage 2023 Day 9 Osaka, Japan (4/8), STARDOM Results: Live In Aomori Aomori, Japan (4/8), Dragon Gate Results: The Gate Of Passion 2023 Day 4 Kobe, Japan (4/8), Two Segments Set For WWE SmackDown This Friday, Robert Bushwhacker Butch Miller Passes Away Aged 78, Dana White Issues Statement On WWE & Endeavor Deal, Report: Jagger Reid & Rip Fowler Request WWE NXT Release, SPOILERS: Three New Champions Crowned At MLW War Chamber 2023 Tapings.
That was not always the case though. RELATED: 9 Wrestlers We Forgot Were Managed By Jim Cornette. By using this site, you agree to the legal terms set out in ourDisclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. 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. The Midnight Express would lose the titles to The Steiner Brothers 3 months later. Only it didnt work out that way. 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. When Bobby Eaton was sent to Mid-South Wrestling under promoter Bill Watts as part of a talent trade it was decided that he should be part of the new version of the Midnight Express. And the addition of Cornette turned out to be the straw that stirred the drink for the Midnights. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Dennis Condrey Discusses Leaving The Midnight Express, The Scaffold Match & More. Bobby Eaton was a member of the Midnight Express tag team with Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane, and was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019. 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. He was reliably funny and over-the-top during interviews, never at a loss for words. They held onto the belts until March 1990, when they left the promotion. He said, "See you tomorrow." Ultimately, the Jim Cornette version of the Midnight Express won the match. Its unbelievable they love us, and I could understand if I was a baby face back in the day but after what Bobby (Eaton), Jimmy (Cornette) and I did to them, its surprising. WebDennis also discusses his complete career including runs in Jim Crockett Promotions, Mid South, World Class, Memphis, the AWA and others! We werent interested at first because we were making great money in the Carolinas (for Jim Crockett Promotions).
We went over to a little room and Bill Watts came in. "He was so precise, no wasted motion, everything crisp. It was a time of transition as Fields sold out to his cousin, Ron Fuller, and the promotion switched its emphasis from touring eastern Louisiana and coastal Mississippi to the panhandle of Florida and the entirety of Alabama. They turned out in droves to watch the Midnight Express (and especially Cornette) get their comeuppance. How the Midnight Express was formed back in 1984: Well, we were in Memphis Tennessee, talking with the owner of Memphis at the time, Jerry Jarrett. 
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. 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. Change). Dennis Condreys abrupt departure from WCW would bring him to Verne Gagnes Midwest-based American Wrestling Association in 1987. This helps us provide free content for you to enjoy! "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. WebAfter their heel turn the Midnight Express started feuding with Flyin Brian and Z-Man Tom Zenk over the recently re-activated US Tag-Team titles, winning the gold from the young team in early 1990. 
He wanted to come out of retirement for a series of shows, teaming with Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter), who had lost a loser-leaves-town match and was working under a hood as Stagger Lee. Hello! Bobby Eaton said they dropped Condrey off at his apartment one night. 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. Dangerously slammed Cornette in the head with his cell phone, causing Cornette to bleed profusely, and then the debuting team, calling themselves the Orginal Midnight Express, swaggered away. Yes. Ive got take texts and emails, oh God, Im talking over 1000 something from the fans. "I sell," Morton once told an interviewer before pointing to Gibson, "and then I tag him.". In 1981 they were joined by Norvell Austin. Eventually, Rose lost the mask to the Armstrongs, and Bass left the territory. PWSTees.com Your favorite Pro Wrestling Stories, on a tee! After dethroning Magnum and Wrestling II, Cornette "threw a party" on Mid-South TV to congratulate Condrey and Eaton. There, he reunited with his original tag team partner Randy Rose, using the Midnight Express name and adopting Paul E. Dangerously (a.k.a. Nobody had a career like Arn Anderson. This severely hurt the Midnight Express program, because Paul Heyman and Jim Cornette were the backbones of each tag team. After confronting Ole Anderson, the booker at the time, over the scheduling, Cornette was told to "go home" if he disagreed. But Watts went even further. Meanwhile, Condrey eventually signed a contract to wrestle for the AWA, which at the time was recording television in Las Vegas; Condrey was living in Colorado at the time. 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 beat down the babyfaces, and Condrey was disqualified. Impact Wrestling Slammiversary lineup: Seven matches set for Saturdays pay-per-view, main event gets a new stipulation, 2/12 WWE 205 Live results: Anish Vs review of Jake Atlas vs. Tony Nese,Chase Parker and Samir Singh vs. Ashante Adonis and Mansoor, WWE Smackdown on Fox viewership: Final numbers for the brands first show post WrestleMania 36, Pruetts Blog: WWE WrestleMania 39 Week recap In-person notes from press junkets, Smackdown, the Hall of Fame, the WWE SuperStore, WrestleMania, and Raw, 4/7 AEW Battle of the Belts VI results: McGuires review of Orange Cassidy vs. Dralistico for the AEW International Title,Jade Cargill vs. Billie Starkz for the TBS Title,Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo vs. But the Lane & Eaton version of the Express rolled on. You can listen to other shows apart of the TMPT Empire including Shane Douglas Triple Threat Podcast, Taking You to School with Dr. Tom Prichard, Talking Tough with Rick Bassman, and the University of Dutch with Dutch Mantell. He decided that if WCW was going to break up his tag team, he would rather sit at home and not bother to work it. He was the only founding member of the unit that was left. While there are still some big names like FTR, The Young Bucks, The Usos, The Briscoes, and more, none of them are real main event players. Before that, things had been hot for He was in the right place at the right time. The membership changed over the years, but the train kept rolling, from Pensacola to Mid-South, to Texas, and finally all the way to Jim Crockett Promotions. Those people, they still love us and thats unheard of for me. Then he mentioned Jim Cornette and you know at that time he was a photographer for God sakes (laughs). But the meeting with Vince McMahon didnt go as expected. Condrey came back to team with Eaton in 2004 and,[7] along with Stan Lane, they have been wrestling as the Midnight Express in the independents and feuding with the Rock 'n' Roll Express and The Fantastics. "It meant that you didnt really win the title, but it meant that the promotion thought that you were the top team for business, so it was an honor back then to be the world tag team champions Ernie Ladd called and said, Well, you ought to come to the WWF, theyre makin a fortune up here. 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. WebArn Anderson on WHY Dennis Condrey left the Midnight Express in 1987 TheArnShow 42.1K subscribers Subscribe 1.2K 70K views 1 year ago Nobody had a career like Arn Anderson. WebAs a result, Dennis Condrey was fired and replaced by "Sweet" Stan Lane (who was wrestling in Florida as a solo wrestler after finishing his long-time partnership with Steve Keirn in the Fabulous Ones). Austin and Monroe headlined cards from Tennessee to Florida, working for Gulas, Eddie Graham, Bill Watts, and Fields. And they didn't see him again for two years. Condrey retired in 2011, after wrestling his last match on October 15, against Bill Mulkey at the AWE Night of Legends. Press J to jump to the feed. It got to the point that fans posted countdown signs in the arenas for when their favorites could return. The Express lived to fight another day. [4], Condrey would reunite with former partner Randy Rose in the AWA under manager Paul E. Dangerously. Jack Victory was brought in as his replacement and the match went forward. Dennis also opens up about almost ending up in the WWF after being recruited by Vince McMahon and why it didn't work out. Jim Crockett, Jr. already had a problem with Condrey due to his previous overnight disappearance and Scott had previous animosity with Rose, so Scott's appearance as top booker made for the catalyst to bury both teams and the feud. "I know it must all sound crazy to you, but this place is crazy.". When the issues were resolved, Cornette and the Midnight Express returned to the promotion. For his loyalty, Eaton received a singles push and won the NWA World TV Title, even getting a world title match against Ric Flair at a Clash of Champions event in 1991. He decided that if WCW was going to break up his tag team, he would rather sit at home and not bother to work it. Dennis also opens up about almost ending up in the WWF after being recruited by Vince McMahon and why it didn't work out. [8], In March 1987, Dennis Condrey suddenly left JCP without giving any reason, leaving Eaton without a partner.
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