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Ricky Morton on why wrestling is different today

Posted: Jan 3rd 2017 By: Ricky Morton

Now-a-days, these younger guys don’t have the opportunity to learn like we did and know how sacred our business was too.

You wrestled every night and you got into the programs and you were on a 'bicycle tape' of the towns, if you know what I mean by that... you went around from town to town and you had to follow your TV shows and your shows were on a bicycle tape; it was a week late getting from Memphis to Louisville the next night.

You might start an angle on Saturday with somebody that went to Memphis that Monday, but on that Tuesday, you had to wrestle from a week before that, which you shot on TV. And it was a great experience learning, not only that but watching how these guys ran these programs and kept them going.

Tag-team wrestling isn't as big today. I just don't think guys want to tag anymore. The reason why is everybody's jealous of everybody. Nobody wants to compliment anybody. [In the Rock 'n' Roll Express] I knew my job. My job was to get beat up and give Robert the hot tag. Guys don't want to do that today.

These days, they've lost the reality of wrestling. Every match is one high spot. They start the match out with a high spot and they end with one. You've got to learn how to work.

Go into a fight and have someone give you a knee. If you go into the rope and I give you a knee, are you going to do a forward flip? Sell it like it actually happened to you. Tracy Smothers asked me once how long I could sell a punch. I said until you come back and get me. That's what the lost art is today.

And another thing about back then, and I don’t know if you understand, the heel and babyfaces kayfabed; we didn’t even dress in the same locker rooms, so we didn’t have the time, like these guys do today, to go over every move of your match. When you went out, you called everything in the ring.

That was just the way it was back then with our business and I’m sorry that guys missed out, but business was different back then.