Wikipedia

Ricky Morton

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Ricky Morton was a professional wrestler famous for his tag team of The Rock 'N Roll Express in the 1980's and early 1990's.

Profile

Career

Ricky Morton was trained by his father, Paul, and started wrestling in 1978. He wrestled primarily for Mid-Southern Wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee, often teaming with Ken Lucas and Eddie Gilbert.

He went on to Mid-South Wrestling in 1984 and formed the team that made him famous, The Rock 'N Roll Express, with Robert Gibson. They used the Double Dropkick to win their matches. They won the Mid-South Tag Team Titles three times and feuded with the team that would become their arch rivals, The Midnight Express of Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey.

In 1985, both teams moved on to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions and became famous due to the national television exposure of TBS. Ricky and Robert had a major feud with the "Russians", Ivan and Nikita Koloff and won the NWA World Tag Team Titles. They traded the titles again with the Russians and lost them to their hated rivals the Midnight Express in February 1986 due to their manager, Jim Cornette. Cornette used his tennis racket on Robert to help his team win.

In the spring of 1986, Ricky was having an interview when NWA Champion Ric Flair came out and insulted his fans by calling them "teenyboppers". He said Ricky couldn't handle real women and Ricky stomped Flair's sunglasses. This led to a fight and then a series of matches as the Great American Bash toured the country. Ricky never won the title but he proved that he was in the same caliber as Flair was in the ring.

At one point in the feud with Flair, the Four Horsemen attacked him and rubbed his face on the dressing room floor. They also broke his nose in another attack. Ricky and Robert won the titles back from the Midnight Express and feuded with Ole and Arn Anderson for the rest of the year. They culminated this feud with a win over the Anderson's in a cage at Starrcade on November 28, 1986. This victory started the Horsemen's dissatisfaction with Ole who was kicked out just months later.

Ricky and Robert then lost the titles to Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez, who they feuded with from December 1986 to June 1987, when Rude left for the WWF and they won the titles back. Ricky and Robert then feuded briefly with the "New Breed", Sean Royal and Chris Champion, but this feud ended when the New Breed were injured in an auto accident. Their next feud was with Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, who won the titles from them after Jim Cornette's new Midnight Express of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane attacked them and injured Ricky's ribs. Ricky came out in the middle of the match and blindly tagged Robert and courageously tried to wrestle but the Horsemen soon took advantage and Robert gave up the match to save Ricky more pain. They feuded for a few months with the Horsemen keeping the titles and injuring Robert's ribs.

Ricky and Robert then left the NWA and wrestled for the CWA until they returned to WCW in 1990. Robert injured his knee and Ricky teamed with Big Josh and Junkyard Dog to win the WCW Six-Man Tag Team Titles.

On June 12, 1991, at the Clash of Champions, Ricky was in the ring to accept an invitation by Alexandra York to join her York Foundation. Robert appeared and said he was healthy and ready to go and to everybody's shock, Ricky turned on Robert and beat him down before leaving with York, Mr. Hughes and Terrence Taylor. He changed his name to Richard Morton and they soon added Tommy Rich, who became Thomas Rich.

They feuded with Robert, Dustin Rhodes and Bobby Eaton and won the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Titles. But, they disbanded in early 1992 and Ricky was used as a preliminary heel jobber where he teamed with various heels like Diamond Dallas Page.

By July, Ricky was in the USWA where he won the title and feuded with his former partner, Eddie Gilbert. He left USWA for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and reformed the Rock 'N Roll Express with Robert. They feuded with two versions of the "Heavenly Bodies" for the next year and a half, Stan Lane & Tom Prichard, and Prichard & Jim Del Ray.

They feuded with the Gangstas, New Jack and Mustafa Said, in 1994 and went to the NWA to win the tag titles again in 1995.

In 1996, they were back in WCW as jobbers to major heels. They left WCW by 1997 for the independent circuit.

In 1998, they were briefly in the WWF as part of the "NWA" angle as the NWA Tag Team Champions, but did nothing to be remembered for other than losing the titles to the "Headbangers".

In 2002, they briefly were part of Vince Russo's S.E.X. group in Total Nonstop Action.

Since leaving TNA, Ricky wrestles all over the independent circuit on the East Coast and often wins regional titles. Occasionally, he teams with Robert as the Rock 'N Roll Express.

Championships/Accomplishments

World Championship Wrestling


National Wrestling Alliance


  • Memphis Wrestling Promotions
  • 1-Time USWA Heavyweight Champion
  • 2-Time USWA Tag Team Champion (with Robert Gibson)
  • 3-Time Mid-Southern Tag Team Champion (with Ken Lucas and [[Eddie Gilbert] and Robert Gibson])
  • 1-Time Mid-American Tag Team Champion (with Ken Lucas)
  • 2-Time CWA Tag Team Champion (with Robert Gibson and Todd Morton)


Mid-South Wrestling


Smoky Mountain Wrestling


Other Titles

  • 1-Time Tri-State Tag Team Champion (with Ken Lucas)
  • 3-Time Southwest Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champion (with Ken Lucas twice & Eddie Gilbert)
  • 1-Time WOW Tag Team Champion (with Robert Gibson)
  • 1-Time AIWF United States Champion
  • 1-Time ASW Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-Time ASW Tag Team Champion (with Robert Gibson)
  • 1-Time GAWF Tag Team Champion (with David Jericho (Kid Kash))
  • 3-Time SSW Tag Team Champion (with Bobby Fulton and Beau James and Ricky Harrison)
  • 1-Time PWF Heavyweight Champion
  • 2-Time UCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 5-Time EWA Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-Time VCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-Time EWF Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-Time EWF Tag Team Champion (with Chris Hamrick)
  • 1-Time AMW Heavyweight Champion
  • 2-Time ACW Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-Time VWA/CCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-Time SMCW United States Heavyweight Champion


  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 95 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked # 4 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Robert Gibson.


  • Ricky won the PWI Tag Team of the Year Award in 1986 with Robert Gibson.

Trivia

  • Ricky trained Kid Kash, Rick Michaels, Chris Hamrick & Rockin' Rebel.
  • Ricky has a cousin who wrestled named Todd Morton.
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