The Rock ' n ' Roll Express The Rock ' n ' Roll Express was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson . The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s , followed by the National Wrestling Alliance ' s Jim Crockett Promotions ( JCP ) . In JCP , they held the NWA World Tag Team Championship four times . They also feuded with the Four Horsemen alliance . In the late 1980s , they were contenders for the American Wrestling Association ' s AWA World Tag Team Championship . By 1991 , the team was losing steam , and Morton turned on his partner to join the York Foundation alliance in World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) . In the 1990s , however , the team reformed in Smokey Mountain Wrestling , where they held the SMW Tag Team Championship ten times . The duo also worked in the World Wrestling Federation and WCW . History . Formation . The Rock ' n ' Roll Express was formed in 1983 in the Continental Wrestling Association by Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler , consisting of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson . Jerry Lawler is credited with creating their wrestling look . They were originally paired together as an alternative to the popular team of The Fabulous Ones ( Steve Keirn and Stan Lane ) when they could not wrestle in certain towns . The gimmick of The Rock ' n ' Roll Express was a couple of high flying wrestlers who loved glam metal music , as it was a popular genre of music at the time . In 1983 and 1984 , the team participated in a series of matches against The Galaxians , the Bruise Brothers , and the team of Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage . They soon became so popular that there wasn ' t room for both the Fabulous Ones and the Rock & Roll Express at the top of the cards , so they made their way to Mid - South Wrestling where they started a feud with the three - member Midnight Express ( Bobby Eaton , Dennis Condrey , Norvell Austin , and manager Jim Cornette ) . The feud began when Cornette threw a celebration for the Midnight Express after they won the Mid - South Tag Team Championship . During the celebration , The Rock ' n ' Roll Express shoved Cornette ' s face into the celebratory cake . The rivalry between the two teams carried on into the National Wrestling Alliance . Jim Crockett Promotions . They went to the National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) ' s Jim Crockett Promotions ( JCP ) in 1985 and won four NWA World Tag Team Championship s over the next couple of years . On July 9 , 1985 , the team debuted in JCP against the team of Ivan Koloff and Krusher Khrushchev , whom they defeated to begin their first reign as champions . The reign lasted until October 13 of that same year . At Starrcade in 1985 , they recaptured the title , only to lose them on a prime time WTBS special , " Superstars on the Superstation " , on February 7 , 1986 . This title change is significant because televised matches between major contenders were rarely shown in those days . They won the title back in Philadelphia on August 16 , 1986 , and held them until a Saturday night prime time match on WTBS ' " World Championship Wrestling " against Rick Rude and the Raging Bull Manny Fernandez . The Rock ' n ' Roll Express won the belts back when Rude , still a champion , simply left JCP to go work for Vince McMahon in the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) . Needing to save face , promoter Jim Crockett had Ivan Koloff substitute for an " injured " Rude , and the Express won the belts for what proved to be the final time . In November 1986 at Starrcade , The Rock ' n ' Roll Express defeated Ole Anderson and Arn Anderson in a Steel Cage match to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship . They lost their title for a third and final time in the fall of 1987 to Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard thanks to a pre - match attack by their longtime rivals The Midnight Express . ( They would win four more in later years , but only the first four were also recognized by World Championship Wrestling later ) . They feuded heavily with Four Horsemen members Ric Flair , Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard , who constantly mocked them and attacked them outside of the ring . AWA and return to the NWA . In 1988 , The Rock ' n ' Roll Express had a brief feud with The Midnight Rockers in Memphis over the AWA World Tag Team Championship . Their first match on February 15 , 1988 , ended in controversy , causing the AWA World Tag Team title to be held up . A week later , on February 22 , a rematch for the held - up titles was held and The Midnight Rockers won them back . Back in the NWA , with the advent of the Road Warriors and The Steiner Brothers as the new dominant face tag teams , the Rock ' n ' Roll Express were turned into mid - carders . In 1991 at " Clash of the Champions " , Morton turned on Gibson to join the York Foundation and they feuded , until Gibson was released . Smoky Mountain Wrestling . They reunited in 1992 in Smoky Mountain Wrestling ( SMW ) and feuded with the Heavenly Bodies , winning the tag team title ten times . The feud with the Heavenly Bodies , which had been ongoing for approximately a year , included a barbed wire cage match and a Texas death match . The rivalry carried over to the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) in 1993 , with the Bodies defeating the Express for the SMW Tag Team Championship at the Survivor Series . Defending the SMW tag title at the event was part of an agreement between the WWF ' s Vince McMahon and SMW ' s Jim Cornette . Back in SMW in May 1994 , The Rock ' n ' Roll Express lost their title to the team of Chris Candido and Brian Lee , who were managed by Tammy Fytch . After that feud ended , they feuded with The Gangstas over the titles . During that feud , they had Jim Cornette as their manager . Soon after the Gangstas feuded , Cornette betrayed Morton and Gibson , as they feuded with The Dynamic Duo . Return to the WCW , NWA & WWF . In 1996 , they returned to World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) , but used sparingly on the pre - taped B - Shows , " WCW Saturday Night " and " WCW Pro " , as jobbers . They left in 1997 to participate in independent federations . A year later , they were in the WWF for a brief stint as part of the NWA angle ( managed by former rival James E . Cornette ) . During their time in the company , they appeared at WrestleMania XIV in March 1998 in a tag team battle royal , which was won by the Legion of Doom 2000 . . They also had feuds with The Road Warriors and The New Midnight Express having a tag team title match at the WWF pay - per - view Unforgiven against the New Midnight Express . They also made several appearances in WCW as lower card talent . Starting in 2005 , they would team up again , often wrestling against the Midnight Express in independent groups in the Mid - Atlantic area . On June 7 , 2008 , they defeated The Midnight Express ( Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton ) at the NWA 60th Anniversary Show in Atlanta , Georgia . 2009 and PWA . The Rock ' n ' Roll Express have joined up with Booker T ' s Pro Wrestling Alliance in Houston , TX and have become the PWA Tag Team Champions . The New Rock ' n ' Roll Express . Over the years , when Morton and Gibson were not teaming with each other , they each had different tag team partners , calling themselves " The New Rock ' n ' Roll Express . " Ricky Morton teamed with Ricky Fuji while in Japan for FMW , and with Brad Armstrong or his cousin Todd in the independent circuit in the U . S . , while Robert Gibson teamed with Marty Jannetty .