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Why The Midnight Express Are Considered The Best Tag Team In Wrestling History

Why The Midnight Express Are Considered The Best Tag Team In Wrestling History

Posted: Jul 25th 2022 By: Sourav Mahanty - TheSportster.com

The Midnight Express is considered by many to as the best tag team in wrestling history and for good reason.

Tag Team wrestling is a bit of a lost art today. While there are still some big names like FTR, The Young Bucks, The Usos, The Briscoes, and more, none of them are real main event players. That was not always the case though.

Tag Team wrestling was arguably at its peak during the 1980s when it was a legitimate top-of-the-card attraction and sold-out arenas all over the country. In this era, there were some incredible tag teams like The Road Warriors, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Rock N' Rock Express, and many others. Yet, the team that might take the cake as the best of all time is The Midnight Express.

The Origins Of The Midnight Express

Interestingly, The Midnight Express did not start as a tag team but as a faction in 1981, consisting of Dennis Condrey, Randy Rose, and Norvell Austin in Southeast Championship Wrestling. The three did enjoy quite a bit of success but would go their separate ways in 1983.

Soon, Condrey would find himself in Mid-South Wrestling, where he was teamed up with Bobby Eaton, who he had actually feuded with in the past, in a new version of The Midnight Express, and the two were managed by Jim Cornette, who was a fresh-faced up-and-coming manager at that time and had been in the wrestling business only a year.

It is safe to say that it was a bit of an experiment more than anything else, but the three would gel together better than anybody could have ever dreamed, and the rest as they say is history.

The Midnight Express Vs The Rock N' Roll Express

Every great tag team needs the right dance partners and for The Midnight Express, these proved to be the team of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson - The Rock N' Roll Express.

When it comes to being a pure babyface act, The Rock N' Roll Express is arguably the greatest of all time. Morton was the best seller in the business and could draw the sympathy of the crowd like no other. It was a common occurrence for fans to jump the guardrail and try to save him from the heels. On the other hand, Gibson had the best hot tag in the business and together, they were the perfect compliment to the hated heels that were The Midnight Express.

Of course, Cornette was dynamite on the mic and played a huge part in selling the feud as well, and it lasted for well over a decade, across multiple promotions.

The Midnight Express ended up having iconic feuds with other teams as well, but it is their rivalry with The Rock N' Roll Express, which will forever be remembered in wrestling history.

The Midnight Express Were Pioneers In The Ring

If you sit and watch a tag team match today, there is a good chance that you are seeing stuff that The Midnight Express either created or popularized. A great example of that is the flapjack, one of the most common moves in wrestling today, which was invented by Cornette.

In the ring, The Midnight Express were far ahead of their time and innovators. They were having matches against The Rock N' Roll Express, the likes of which had not been seen at that point in time and played a huge part in taking tag team wrestling to the next level.

Dennis Condrey Leaves And Is Replaced By Stan Lane

The Midnight Express would encounter a huge problem in 1987 when Condrey left the group all of a sudden. They were the best in the business at that point in time and instead of dissolving the team, Stan Lane was instead brought in as the replacement.

Lane would do a tremendous job of replacing Condrey and The Midnight Express would roll on. There are many fans who even prefer this version of the team.

Ultimately, it did not last very long though, as Cornette and Lane would end up leaving WCW in 1990 due to creative differences while Eaton stayed on.

What Is The Legacy Of The Midnight Express In Wrestling?

The Midnight Express will go down in wrestling history as one of the best tag teams in wrestling history if not the very best. Both iterations of the team, whether it be Eaton-Condrey or Eaton-Lane, were magnificent in the ring while Cornette is considered to be one of the greatest managers ever, largely thanks to his work with The Midnight Express.

The WWE did try to create The New Midnight Express, consisting of Bob Holly and Bart Gunn, in 1998. That proved to be a complete flop though and is not considered by most fans as part of their history.

The Midnight Express would continue to occasionally wrestle on the independent circuit even after their full-time in-ring careers were over and would have their last match in 2011, fittingly against The Roll N' Roll Express.

 

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Spotlight in History

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  • 2006 Natural Born Sinners (Appolyon & El Lotus) def. Pretty Young Things (Cade Sydal & Mitch Carter) for the ACW Tag Team Titles
  • 2006 Rexx Reed def. Carnage for the ACW Hardcore Title
  • 2006 Carnage def. Rexx Reed for the ACW Hardcore Title
  • 2007 Aaron Neil def. Tyler Bateman for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
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  • 2007 Bad Boy & Outlaw became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions
  • 2011 The Unknown & Johnny USA def. Michael H & Mr. Big for the NCW Tag Team Titles
  • 2011 Mr. Big became the NCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 2012 Sam Stackhouse def. Prophet for the BYEW Heavyweight Title
  • 2012 Rage Logan became the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
  • 2012 Nemesis (Damien Morte & Damon Windsor) became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions
  • 2017 Aaron Anders became the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion

Week of Sun 04-26 to Sat: 05-02

  • 04-26 2008 Jerry Bostic def. Joshua Smith for the 3DW Violent Division Title
  • 04-26 2008 Shane Rawls def. Ky-Ote for the 3DW Heavyweight Title
  • 04-26 2014 Buster Cherry def. Bud Barnes for the SWCW All-American Title
  • 04-26 2014 Chaz Sharpe def. Kevin James Sanchez for the SWCW Heavyweight Title
  • 04-26 2014 Sam Stackhouse def. Warhammer for the SRPW Heavyweight Title
  • 04-26 2024 Miranda Gordy def. Sgt. Slice for the CPW Women’s Title
  • 04-26 2025 Deacon Hendrix became the RWE Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-26 2025 Family Affiliated (Athan Sorrow & Rika Wildlee) became the RWE Tag Team Champions
  • 04-26 2025 Gluttony became the RWE United States Champion
  • 04-26 2025 Bishop Simon became the RWE Light Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-26 2025 For God And Country (Pastor Brent & Corporal Punishment) def. The Main Characters (Sean Ryan & Daniel Aaron Michalles) for the WAH Tag Team Titles
  • 04-27 1978 The Assassin became the TSW Louisiana Champion
  • 04-27 1981 Junkyard Dog & Dick Murdoch def. The Grappler & The Super Destroyer for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 04-27 2003 The Sharpe Brothers (Chaz Sharpe & Rich Sharpe) def. John O'Malley & All-American Aaron for the ACW Tag Team Titles
  • 04-27 2003 Se7en def. Aaron Neil for the ACW Hardcore Title
  • 04-27 2008 Tyrone def. Jerry Bostic for the 3DW Violent Division Title
  • 04-27 2019 Brandon Groom def. Brian Dixon for the BPW Lion Heart Title
  • 04-27 2019 Doc Black became the BCW Heritage Rivalry Champion
  • 04-28 1954 Red Berry def. Whitey Whittler for the TSW Tri-State Title
  • 04-28 1976 Ted DiBiase & Dick Murdoch def. Buck Robley & Bob Slaughter for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
  • 04-28 1980 Kevin Von Erich def. Toru Tanaka for the WCCW American Heavyweight Title
  • 04-28 1989 The Simpson Brothers (Steve Simpson & Shaun Simpson) def. Beauty & The Beast (Terrance M. Garvin & The Beast [2nd]) for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Titles
  • 04-28 2000 Heather Savage def. Jenna Love for the OPW Oklahoma Womens Title
  • 04-28 2002 Summer Rain became the OCW Oklahoma Womens Champion
  • 04-28 2007 Eric Rose def. Jersey Devil for the UWF06 Light Heavyweight Title
  • 04-28 2007 Joe Herell became the UWF06 Violent Division Champion
  • 04-28 2017 Brandon Groom def. Sam Stackhouse for the BPPW Oklahoma Title
  • 04-28 2018 Dusty Gold def. Wesley Crane for the UWE United States Title
  • 04-29 2006 AWOL def. Michael York for the TPW Heavyweight Title
  • 04-29 2006 Natural Born Sinners (Appolyon & El Lotus) def. Pretty Young Things (Cade Sydal & Mitch Carter) for the ACW Tag Team Titles
  • 04-29 2006 Rexx Reed def. Carnage for the ACW Hardcore Title
  • 04-29 2006 Carnage def. Rexx Reed for the ACW Hardcore Title
  • 04-29 2007 Aaron Neil def. Tyler Bateman for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
  • 04-29 2007 Brad Michaels def. Ryan Davidson for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
  • 04-29 2007 Bad Boy & Outlaw became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions
  • 04-29 2011 The Unknown & Johnny USA def. Michael H & Mr. Big for the NCW Tag Team Titles
  • 04-29 2011 Mr. Big became the NCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-29 2012 Sam Stackhouse def. Prophet for the BYEW Heavyweight Title
  • 04-29 2012 Rage Logan became the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-29 2012 Nemesis (Damien Morte & Damon Windsor) became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions
  • 04-29 2017 Aaron Anders became the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion
  • 04-30 1954 Frenchy Roy became the TSW Oklahoma Junior Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-30 1971 Toru Tanaka def. Johnny Valentine for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 04-30 2004 Shadow of Death def. Terry Montana for the TPW Hardcore Title
  • 04-30 2011 Ryan Reed def. Rolling Thunder for the UWE United States Title
  • 04-30 2011 Ray Martinez def. Ryan Reed for the UWE United States Title
  • 04-30 2016 Ray Martinez became the SRPW Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-30 2022 Clayton Bloodstone def. Ky-Ote for the NCWO Choctaw Nation Title
  • 04-30 2023 El Gallardo/El Vaquero def. Cappuccino Jones for the BPW Lion Heart Title
  • 04-30 2023 Heavyweight Grappling (Dan Webber & Morrison) def. Subject To Death (Cade Fite & Leo Fox) for the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles
  • 05-01 1981 Super Destroyer def. Jim Garvin for the MSW Louisiana Title
  • 05-01 2016 Skylar Slice def. Nikki Knight for the MSWA Ladies Title
  • 05-01 2021 Fuel def. Derek James for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 05-02 1969 Johnny Valentine def. Fritz Von Erich for the WCCW American Heavyweight Title
  • 05-02 1975 Mad Dog Vachon def. Billy Graham for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 05-02 1977 Stan Hansen def. Dick Murdoch for the TSW North American Title
  • 05-02 1984 Krusher Khrushchev became the MSW Television Champion
  • 05-02 1984 The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) def. The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 05-02 2009 Ozzy Hendrix def. Shank for the SWCW Luchadore Title
  • 05-02 2015 Gail Kim became the IWR Diamonds Champion
  • 05-02 2015 Kareem Sadat became the BCW Independent Hardcore Champion
  • 05-02 2021 Drake Gallows def. Blade [2nd] for the AIWF National Title
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