Dwayne Johnson, The Undertaker, and Hulk Hogan are just some of the most prominent grapplers in the arena wrestling world. But since professional wrestling has been around for so many years, as it began in the post-civil war period (the 1860s-1870s), it has produced a long list of legends that are already forgotten today. Two of them are who we’ll discuss today.

If you’re an avid wrestling fan, the name The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express is probably familiar to you already. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, though, you’ll know more about this legendary duo after reading this article.

And don’t get it twisted – wrestling is such a big industry! It gets massive attendance, pay per view, and even has some juicy betting lines (just like boxing), so various people profit from this spectacular sport. Probably the reason why despite having such a harsh form of fighting and bone-wrecking stunts, many people still join the industry - and oddly enough, many people enjoy it!

So, here’s when The Rock ‘n’ Roll meets wrestling.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team of the two professional wrestlers in the 80s Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson. The duo began their team-up in Memphis in the early 1980s. They held nine NWA World Tag Team Championships, with their first four wins coming in Jim Crockett Productions (JCP).
Also, they became contenders for the AWA World Tag Team Championship by the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s.

It was in 1991 when the duo was losing their momentum that Morton backed away from his partner and joined The York Foundation during the World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Eventually, the tag team reunited in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) in 1992 where they were able to grab the SMW Tag Team Championship ten times.

The duo eventually worked in the World Wrestling Foundation, and in March of 2017, Jim Cornette inducted the wrestling tag team into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Early years of their wrestling careers

Robert Gibson

Robert Gibson started his wrestling career in 1977, at the age of 19. He was trained by his brother Ricky Gibson and they both teamed up in the southern independents.
Gibson has also competed in singles competitions and won various singles championships throughout his whole wrestling career. His first match was against Eddie Sullivan.

Ricky Morton

Richard Wendell Morton, or also known as Ricky Morton, had started his early wrestling career and was trained by his father, Paul, as well as Ken Lucas. He started his professional career in 1978 where he fought mainly for Mid-Southern Wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee.

He’d also teamed up with Lucas and Eddie Gilbert before his long-time tag team with Robert Gibson was made.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express

Thanks to the head booker Jerry Lawler, one of the well-known wrestling tag teams was formed - The Rock ‘n’ Roll express. They were originally paired together in 1983 as an alternative to the Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn) when they couldn’t fight in some towns.

Their gimmick was to perform as a couple of high flying wrestlers who are into metal music, which was the popular music genre during that time. From 1983 to 1984, the Rock ‘n’ Roll express participated in various matches where they faced various tag teams such as the Bruise Brothers (Porkchop Cash and Troy Graham), The Galaxians, and the duo Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage. Since then, their wrestling career significantly went up until their hiatus came into the picture.

After their hiatus, they eventually reunited in SMW and fought and won against The Heavenly Bodies. The Rock ‘n’ Roll and The Heavenly Bodies feuds kept going for about a year, resulting in 10 wins for The Rock ‘n’ Roll duo.

Both Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton spent most of their wrestling careers as the tag team The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express.

What it means to be in the WWE Hall of Fame

The WWE Hall of Fame is a tribute honoring professional wrestlers and wrestling personalities managed by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The then “WWF Hall of Fame” started in 1993, with Andre the Giant posthumously inducted with a video package.

As of this year, 228 wrestlers were already inducted, with 121 inducted individually, 46 Legacy inductees, 17 group inductions, 12 celebrities, and 7 recipients of Warrior Awards.

It was in February 2017 that the WWE announced its plans to honor and induct the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express into the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on March 31st of the same year. On the 20th of March, WWE officially announced that the duo will be inducted by Jim Cornette.

They now have separate lives and careers that they’re no longer the tag team they’ve been known for. Ricky Morton has been performing on the independent circuit while Robert Gibson has opened a wrestling school in Douglasville, Georgia.