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The World According to Dutch: Famous Last Words: ... But Honey, I?ve Never Cheated On You?Never! Ricky Morton?s Wild Story

Posted: Dec 17th 2010 By: mikeiles

This is a true story of why Ricky Morton got a divorce from his first wife, Connie. I knew Ricky and Connie almost from the day Ricky first started in the business. A couple of years ago, we both appeared on the same show together and as we talked of old times, he related this story to me that he had never told me before. After hearing this tale, I asked him if I could share it in this book. Ricky looked at me and said, "Dutchman, you can write anything you want because I love you man." So that statement right there gives me carte blanche! So, here's the story.

In the mid-?80's, the NWA office in Charlotte or Jim Crockett Promotions were in their peak period as they were regularly selling out major arenas all over the Carolinas and Virginia. The talent level in JCP was phenomenal at the time....with Ric Flair, Magnum T. A., Nikita and Ivan Koloff, the Midnight Express, the Four Horsemen, Handsome Jimmy Valiant (or the Boogie Woogie Man as he was known at the time) all under one roof. But one of the hottest teams ever to hit the wrestling business was The Rock-N-Roll Express, which was one of the major reasons business was so good.

I've always loved Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson?the Rock and Roll Express?not only as performers but as great guys. Jerry Lawler and I actually came up with their Rock and Roll gimmick one Tuesday afternoon as we drove to Louisville, Ky., for a wrestling show. There is no doubting how ridiculously over the Rock and Roll Express were at their height. The Rock and Roll were born in Memphis then traveled south to the Mid South promotion owned by Bill Watts, and then they ended up in the NWA Mid Atlantic promotion in Charlotte. I have no idea why Vince McMahon never used the Rock and Roll Express in the WWF but if he had, Ricky Morton could be well be in the same spot as Shawn Michaels is today.

During his time in the NWA, Ricky lived in Charlotte with his wife, Connie, and his three children. As with a lot of marriages in the wrestling business, Connie thought that Ricky may have strayed from his marital vows and maybe had cheated on her several times while he was away on wrestling trips. When Connie had confronted Ricky with her suspicions, Ricky had always denied the accusations and claimed innocence, saying that he loved her and would never, ever, have anything to do with another woman. Connie had her doubts about Ricky's faithfulness but Ricky swore on a stack of Bibles that he had never, NEVER...had any sexual relations outside their marriage. Connie wanted to believe her husband and even though she had doubts, she accepted that what he was telling her was the TRUTH.

Connie, of course, blamed all her marriage problems on the wrestling lifestyle. Ricky would leave and be gone for days and she had seen how wrestlers lived out on road. She had seen the women that hung around and she knew that wrestlers lived a life that didn't lend itself to normalcy. She wanted her Ricky back...the one before the Rock and Roll Express were born.

Along about this time, Tully Blanchard?a card-carrying member of The Four Horsemen?was undergoing a serious life change. Tully, it appeared, had seen the light. He became a BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN and was openly proselytizing to the world that everybody needed to accept Jesus as their personal savior. Also at this time, Connie was even considering undergoing a religious transformation herself and thus had become a regular viewer of the ?700 Club? hosted by the Rev. Pat Robertson. The Charlotte, N.C., area had long been the home of what I called, THE GOD BUSINESS, as it headquartered such religious organizations as the PTL Club, which Jim and Tammy Baker had made famous, and the 700 Club.

As the story unfolded, Connie had been lobbying Ricky to turn his life around. She wanted Ricky to accept God and Jesus just like Tully had done. She believed that Ricky had been living a sinful life and she blamed the wrestling business, and she wanted both of them to change their lives. If Tully Blanchard had become a 'child of God,' then she and Ricky both could do the same. In Connie's mind, it would strengthen their relationship and their marriage.

But Ricky had been resisting her efforts to fully convert him so she looked to Tully for help. She knew that Ricky looked up to Tully and respected and admired him, and if Tully could do it, maybe Ricky would see the light. Connie prayed every night that she could help save herself and Ricky.

As it turned out, around this time, Tully Blanchard was invited to appear on the 700 Club, which was hosted by the Rev. Pat Robertson, as a SPECIAL GUEST. Tully's appearance on the show was to be a 'testimonial,' in where Tully would give a 'personal account' of how God had saved him from eternal damnation. The 700 Club had played host to many high-profile celebrities who gave credit to God for turning their lives around and for Tully, this was a big deal. As it turned out later, not only was Tully considering a 'life change,' he was also considering a career change and was thinking about dropping out of the WRESTLING BUSINESS completely to enter the GOD BUSINESS.

For what it?s worth, The 700 Club to evangelists and religious figures was what WWE RAW is to wrestlers or Comedy Central is to comedians. If any evangelist was going to be taken seriously among the Christian Brotherhood and is going to make any money in the GOD BUSINESS, then an appearance on ?The 700 Club? was a mandatory stop. Since wrestlers were such high-profile personalities, The 700 Club loved having wrestlers give their personal life stories. Pat Robertson has played host to wrestlers regularly over the years but Tully was probably the first one. Since that time, he has been followed by Ted DiBiase, Nikita Koloff, Sting, Lex Luger and even Jake the Snake Roberts tried the GOD BUSINESS for a time. Of course, every wrestler that appeared on the show always blamed the 'sinful wrestling business' as the Devil himself. Connie felt much the same way.

On the night Tully was scheduled to appear, Connie told Ricky that she felt in her heart that a change was coming over their lives. She said she had been praying for it and wanted to know if Ricky would watch Tully's appearance on the show with her that night. Ricky told her that he would. The show would be telecast LIVE and she felt that this could be the night that she could, along with Tully and God's help, save lost little Ricky from the evils that lurked behind every corner. Or turnbuckle.

When the show came on, Ricky sat alongside his lovely wife, Connie, on their sofa as they awaited Tully's first appearance on the 700 Club with Pat Robertson.

As the show opened, Ricky told me, Connie was talking to him about their relationship and how she felt that this could be a major turning point in their lives. Connie told him that no matter what had happened in the past, all was forgiven and Ricky assured Connie, one more time, that there had been no cheating in their marriage. Connie said she believed him and they kissed and as they sat holding hands, all was right with the world, as Ricky told me.

Ricky then stopped talking and looked at me and said, "Dutchman, everything was all right with the world one minute and the next, my whole world came crashing down on my head."

What happened?
TO BE CONTINUED....on the next installment
of the blog!!!

Tags: Dutch Mantell, Ricky Morton, NWA, Ric Flair, Magnum T. A., Nikita Koloff, Midnight Express, Jimmy Valiant, Rock-N-Roll Express, Robert Gibson, Jerry Lawler, Bill Watts, WWF, WWE, Ted DiBiase, Sting, Jake Roberts,