[1986-02-07-JCP-Superstars on the Superstation] Rock & Roll Express vs Midnight Express

[Superstar Sleeze]

NWA World Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs Midnight Express - Superstars on the Superstation 2/2/86

 

Wicked fun! I am a total mark for a big, fun shine and this is just chicken soup for my soul. I loved that MX jumped them and threw them out. You really thought you were going to be robbed of a shine sequence only to have Morton use the ropes to throw them over the top. Then they had a ton of fun spots against the MX running them into each other in a bunch of ways. Once things settle down, the fun does not end. Eaton throws a wicked right and Gibson immediately responds with a punch of his own (Eaton is selling quickly) and a headscissors. Eaton throws Morton out and again you think the heels may take over and Eaton ends up taking a back body drop over the top. I am liking all the heel hope spots. The leg work on Condrey was so much fun. The RNRs were doubling up and Crockett yells "Teamwork, yes!". Currently, my company is all about teamwork. I really want to isolate that soundbite and play it at work. There is a great moment where Condrey finally gets offense, but it is a kneelift! Great selling by him off this. Again it is little spots like this that keep things interesting. RNRs were so energetic in this loved it. They lose control of Condrey and crawls over to tag Eaton. Eaton RIFLES Morton in the corner! WOW! Eaton eats a suplex and the MX just cant get anything going. Eaton traps Gibson going for the dropkick and catapults him into Condrey. Eaton & Condrey immediately pounce on Gibson. It gets a little chinlocky, but there is enough hope spots that keep it interesting. My favorite one is Gibson tries to sunset flip both and Morton comes in and dropkicks one out so Gibson can get the other over. Very cool. I love when the other tag partner gets involved. Eaton crashes and burns on the Rocket Launcher. Hot tag to Morton! Morton tees off on everyone. Morton crossbody! Double dropkicks (DOUBLE DROPKICK per David Crockett) for everyone, but that bumps the ref. The RNRs want to beat the shit outta Corny and David Crockett approves Whip him like a dog!, but Condrey wallops Morton. Corny pulls Eaton on top for the win!

 

Awesome Southern Tag match! I loved this! So energetic, great selling from both teams. RNRs overcoming the MX at every turn early to only get caught in the catapult. The only thing that keeps it down was that it was a little chinlocky. Loved the finish super hot stuff from the RNRs before heel cheating to win. I think the key to the RNRs is you gotta keep them between 15-25 minutes. Those long matches just were not for me. This is so much breezier. Below Wrestlewar '90, but second best MX/RNRs match I have seen. ****1/2

[paul sosnowski]

Taped on February 2nd in Atlanta GA, aired on February 7th

[KB8]

I had never heard of this show before. Didn't know it was a thing. Was it Crockett's pre-Clash answer to Saturday Night's Main Event? Was it a one time deal? Did they have several Superstars on the Superstations? The card actually looks really good, with this, Flair/Garvin for the belt, Dusty v Tully and a Road Warriors v Russians match that probably would've been a cool spectacle if nothing else. But even if everything else sucked, this match might've been worth the price of admission. The Midnights get the jump early, and you know the RnRs will go on a run but it's how they manage to get to it that's always fun. For as often as these teams have matched up, the thing that's always super impressive is how inventive they are. We have footage of them wrestling each other on consecutive nights in different arenas in different states, with no TV cameras rolling, having every opportunity to basically wrestle the same match and still send the folks home happy. And yet I don't think I've ever seen them do it. They always have something new every time out. Here the MX slingshot Gibson from the apron into the ring while he's kitted out in his pre-match gear. They try the same with Morton, but Morton flips it and slingshots both Eaton and Condrey out to the floor, which sets up the babyface shine. They end up working over Condrey's knee for a bit and it was really good stuff, lots of quick tags, elbows across the knee from varying heights, a double wishbone here and spinning toe hold there. Cool bit where Condrey hits a big knee to Morton's gut, but just as you think he might be able to scoot over and make the tag he collapses in a heap clutching the leg. It's sort of trite to make note of Robert Gibson not being the face in peril Ricky Morton is, but he's more than competent and the MX can take someone even half that good to a strong heat segment. So obviously the heat segment was good. Condrey's kneedrops are so badass, right into the throat or sternum or clavicle. Eaton also threw an absolute corker of a left hand and so there we have two of my favorite things. I don't have a clue where this sits in the pantheon of Express v Express matches, but it's probably up towards the top somewhere (Sleeze might be onto something about it only being behind Wrestlewar). So yeah, it was pretty great.
 

[Mr JMML]

The greatest american tag team feud of the 1980’s goes Crockett, as many of you are aware the feud began in Bill Watts’ Mid-South, yesterday I reviewed their debut against the Russians (Krusher Kruschev and Nikita Koloff) winning the tag team titles in the process, they lost them in October 13th 1985, the Russians regained them but they lost them again at Starrcade 1985 against the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, this match aired in February 7th 1986, this match is famous for the title change that took place, the Midnight Express won the tag team titles in controversial fashion as expected considering that this tag team in particular wasn’t the cleanest out there, anyway it isn’t as good as the match mentioned previously but it was still a great bout and absolutely must watch, as Arn Anderson said in his podcast they were a tag team every heel wanted to work with and it’s pretty clear why, the crowd is always behind them so as a heel you will always get a reaction out of them, the Midnight Express ( Stan Lane & Dennis Condrey) benefited a lot from this, they were heels that used the dirtiest tactics in the book to win and the people hated them for it everywhere they went, the Midnight Express & the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express are a match made in heaven and they proved it every single time they were together in a wrestling ring, you can’t talk about any of these two teams without bringing up the other one.

The match is the classic example of a southern tag formula, the heels cutting off the ring in half while the babyface team tries to make a comeback, the crowd wasn’t as hooked as they were in the last tag team match I reviewed, at some point past the 10 minute mark they knocked out the referee and chaos ensued, the Midnight Express took advantage of the situation and got the pin.

It’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs Midnight Express, of course it’s amazing and well worth your time.