The Midnight Express (professional wrestling)

The Midnight Express was a wrestling tag teams of the 1980s and continued with his position bias setting new standards in the genre tag team. There was in his prime time of Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey, and later from Eaton and Stan Lane. Managed by Jim Cornette they were.

The name did, according to information from Dennis Condrey, not from the same film her ( although the soundtrack was partially played during the team in the hall ), but the fact that they always black wore black cars drove and partied until after midnight.

• 2.1 Norvell Austin
• 2.2 " Ravishing " Randy Rose
• 2.3 " Loverboy " Dennis Condrey
• 2.4 "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton
• 2.5 " Sweet " Stan Lane

History of the Midnight Express

The start time

In the fall of 1980 Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose formed a tag team in Alabama. Shortly thereafter, they were allowed to Bob Armstrong and Jos LeDuc the Southeast Tag Team Title decrease. On July 27, 1981, joined them Norvell Austin. From this point they went to a Midnight Express. In the following years they were active mainly in Southeast Championship Wrestling and the AWA. At times also included Ron Starr and the Mongolian Stomper to the team.

Condrey and Eaton

In 1984, Condrey to Memphis, where he revived the Midnight Express Bobby Eaton. In contrast to the previous occupations that had Stablecharakter rather, they formed a "real" tag team, with Jim Cornette at her side, which accounted for the matching Micworkkünste to the excellent ring skills. Together, they quickly made ​​a name for himself as Superheels by to underpin their challenge to the Mid-South Tag Team titles the crowd favorite Magnum TA tarred and feathered. After she had won the title, they were put into a feud with the Rock ' n' Roll Express, which was to last for years and are a highlight of the tag team wrestling in the 1980s. Besides, there were also feuds with the Fantastics ( in the Mid South region and the WCCW ) and the Road Warriors ( in Jim Crockett's promotion, the later WCW ). In January 1987, Condrey left the Express and JCP and moved to the AWA, where he was later revived with Randy Rose the Original Midnight Express. Here, they were managed by the later ECW owner Paul E. Dangerously. On 26 October 1987 she allowed Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee remove the AWA World Tag Team titles they had to surrender on 27 December of the same year at the Midnight Rockers Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels again.

Eaton and Lane

As a replacement for Condrey Stan Lane was brought into the team, who had previously wrestled frequently in the years to Eaton and therefore also harmonized well with him. First, the feud was continued with the Fantastics, where it came to the United States Tag Team Title. 1988 was finally decided to equip the day Express with the NWA World Team titles. Victims in this case were the no less famous Horsemen Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Some weeks later, however, there was again the title loss to the Road Warriors. In this match, the Midnight Express was great favorites with audiences simultaneously.

The next feud was then against the "Original Midnight Express" from Condrey and Rose, who had left in the NWA. Due to a premature departure from Condrey, who was replaced for the deciding match on February 20, 1989 Jack Victory, the feud was not too long time. After Jim Crockett had sold the promotion to Ted Turner, who made ​​the WCW therefrom, the Midnight Express left the league, due to problems with the booker George Scott. Upon their return, there was first a feud with the Dynamic Dudes (Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas ), who were also managed by Cornette. In the decisive match Cornette beat Douglas with his tennis racket, whereby the Midnight Express was back to heels. During the year 1990 there were again the U.S. Tag Team titles, as well as feuds with Brian Pillman and Tom Zenk, the Southern Boys ( Steve Armstrong and Tracey Smothers ), the Steiner Brothers and turn the Rock ' n' Roll Express. End of 1990, Lane and Cornette decided to leave WCW due to problems with management, while Eaton remained. This was the end of the Midnight Express

New Midnight Express

In 1997, the WWF (now WWE) decided to reactivate the Midnight Express gimmick and put Cornette this "Bodacious " Bart Gunn & " Bombastic " Bob Holly on the page. Of course they fehdeten against the Rock ' n' Roll Express. As both wrestlers did not have the charisma and the technical skills of the old Midnight Express members, flopped the whole thing. The New Midnight Express won again the (now in its relevance far bagged ) NWA World Tag Team title.

Today

2003 Midnight Express was revived in the mid-Atlantic section of the NWA with Eaton and the local Booker and former WWF jobber Rikki Nelson. After a short time, however, the latter was replaced by Condrey. Since that time, the Midnight Express can be seen in American wrestling regularly again. Partly also with Stan Lane or - as on 25 September 2004 at Continental Wrestling - as Original Midnight Express with Austin and Rose.

The members

Norvell Austin

Austin began his career in the late 1960s in Florida and Alabama. He was - in tag team with Sputnik Monroe - one of the first black wrestlers who were able to celebrate successes in the southern states as Heel. Even otherwise, it was mainly in Tag Teams on the road and came among others on the side of Koko B. Ware (as Pretty Young Things ) and Paul Orndorff to title wins. He ended his career in the late 1980s, but then went still at Legend Fighting.

" Ravishing " Randy Rose

Rose, whose real name was Randy When, in 1979 under his real name Central States Heavyweight and Tag Team Champion (the latter on the side of Bryan St. John ). After the separation of the first Express occupation he performed some time at International Championship Wrestling and was allowed on the side of Pat Rose 1985 again Southeast Tag Team champion. After the end of the original Midnight Express in the NWA, he worked at Georgia All- Star Wrestling and the Global Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s.

" Loverboy " Dennis Condrey

Dennis Condrey was born on February 1, 1955 in Florence, Alabama. His wrestling career began in 1973 in Tennessee. In the 1970s he played in many southern states promotions tag team champions, especially on the side of Phil Hickerson. After the end of his Midnight Express time in 1986 he went overnight to AWA. During the feud between Midnight Express Midnight Express and original he also disappeared overnight and went back to Alabama, where he Tom Prichard allowed to remove the CWF Heavyweight Title in the now renamed Continental Wrestling Federation League on 22 July 1989. In the early 1990s, he finished his career and since then occurs only sporadically.

"Beautiful" Bobby Eaton

Robert Lee Eaton was born on 14 August 1958 in Huntsville, Alabama. After he was trained by Tojo Yamamoto for wrestlers, he made his debut in May 1976 against Bearcat Wright. In the following years he came into the Mid-America climes of the NWA to some successes, especially in tag team area. Even after the end of the Midnight Express, he remained a tag team wrestler, for example, in Paul Heyman's Dangerous Alliance or as an arrogant Earl in the Blue Bloods on the side of "Lord" Steven Regal. At the same time he trained for the WCW, and by the end of junior WWE wrestler.

"Sweet " Stan Lane

Breck Stanfield Lane was born on August 5, 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina. His training as a wrestler he was by none other than Ric Flair. 1974 debuted Lane, successful he was, however, until 1982 when he was put into a tag team with Steve Keirn. Under the name Fabolous Ones they were a very popular babyface team in the southern states, particularly in Memphis, where she times the Southern Tag Team won Title 14. After the end of the Express 1990 he went to Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where he feuded on the side of Tom Prichard as Heavenly Bodies with the Rock 'n' Roll Express and ended his active career in 1993. Thereafter, he worked as a commentator for the WWF.