Good morning to you!
I want to get back to some of the other decades but the national expansion and the wrestling war in 1985 has kicked into high gear as JCP adds two hot tag teams from two different territories to their roster that will make a huge difference in their momentum and draw big money for the rest of 1985 and beyond.
I'll have that story right after our honor and respect daily features.
July 10th in the Time Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Lou Bastien 1916
Lou Klein 1916
Bobo Brazil 1924
Michael Lynn Durham 1965
Happy Birthday:
Billy Jack Haynes (72)
Eric Embry (66)
Duane Gill\Gilberg (66)
Isiah Kassidy (28)
RIP Memorial: We stop & remember those who have passed on this day and gave themselves to the business for us, the fans. We salute you and thank you.
Walter Palmer 7-10-1998 at the age of 86
Dr. Jerry Watson 7-10-2019 at the age of 76
Select Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Match and Event Flashbacks
40-Year Flashback: Two NEW Weapons for Jim Crockett Promotions in the National Wrestling War
7-9-1985: The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Bobby Eaton) w/Jim Cornette defeated the Italian Stallion & Pez Whatley at the NFC Gym in Blackshear, Georgia
Pictured; The Midnight Express with Jim Cornette
7-9-1985: The Rock N Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) defeated The Russians (Ivan Koloff & Krusher Khruschev) (CH) to win the NWA World Tag Team Championships at the Recreation Center in Shelby, North Carolina
In another move by Jim Crockett, Jr and Dusty Rhodes that flies in the face of the "Vince took everybody" and "Vince gutted the Territories" narrative, Jim Crockett Promotions did a fair amount of damage themselves.
Taking the hot heel team from World Class Championship Wrestling, The Midnight Express and the hot babyface team from Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling, Crockett and Rhodes now possess the 2nd hottest feud in the territory system in 1984. The Midnight Express vs Bill Watts & Stagger Lee (Junkyard Dog) was the hottest program in 1984, and they did snag half of that. Watts got a good three to four months out of the "Express Program" between the two teams that was blown off by Scaffold matches in Mid-South and he probably had plans for Cornette & The Midnight Express to come back after sending them to Fritz Von Erich for a while, but Crockett and Rhodes had already secured a commitment from Cornette, Condrey & Eaton before they ever left Watts for Texas.
What Crockett and Rhodes does here is interesting because the booking philosophy in Crockett has not changed yet and traditionally speaking the Jim Crockett Braintrust is figuring the have anywhere from six months to a year with these two hot teams since later on the philosophy would be modified and performers would stay longer with a company, but in 1985, the territory influence was still strong, so what do Crockett Jr and Rhodes do?
They keep them apart.
They know they have a hot program but they don't necessarily need it right now, since the World Tag Team Belts are on the Russian Team and they just came off a hot match with The Road Warriors at the Great American Bash, but the Warriors are only on loan from the AWA at this point, so after the match, Dusty needs a new team for the Russians.
You may remember in my battleground update for JCP in Issue 82, I mentioned Crockett having an A-Loop (Old Crockett Territory plus new towns) and a B-Loop (Old Georgia Loop plus new towns). Dusty books the Rock & Roll Express into a program with The Russians on the A-Loop and puts the Midnight Express on the B-Loop. The Midnight Express had actually made their first appearance at the July 4th Omni show in Atlanta, but Cornette was not with them.
He returned to Fort Worth for the World Class show and to blow off his program with Sunshine at the Star Wars event at Tarrant County Convention Center. For the first three months of the Midnight Express' tenure, they would be based out of Atlanta. The Rock and Roll Express would be based out of Charlotte. According to several sources, Dusty Rhodes gave explicit instructions that Jim Cornette was never to be touched no matter what and at that same big team meeting Dusty announced that Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express was going to be the top heel team, and they would be winning every match they were in with no exceptions until he said otherwise.
As much Dusty's booking gets criticized, this is a brilliant move. He secures the services of both teams and he knows he has this mega program anytime he wants it or needs it but he puts it in his back pocket for a while putting both young teams on separate paths with separate programs, while both will appear on WTBS' Saturday Night and Weekend Programming, yet they won't necessarily acknowledge each other's presence since both are occupied.
Pictured: The Rock & Roll Express
The Midnight Express will work with Dick Slater and Buzz Sawyer for a bit through the rest of the Summer. The Rock and Roll Express will have The Russians chase them for return matches as they go over in Shelby, North Carolina taking the NWA World Tag Team Championship from them on the Express' first night in the territory, this match which was a little over 36 minutes long took up the entire hour-long 7-13-1985 NWA WorldWide Wrestling program in syndication around the Crockett A-Circuit. The Russians are not without some room to crow and keep some heat with the NWA World Six-Man Trophy and different combinations between Uncle Ivan, Nephew Nikita and Krusher to defend the Six-Man Trophy and chase the Rock & Roll Express.
Dusty will book a title match in February 1986 on the special Superstars on the Superstation WTBS broadcast, but other than that, the two teams will remain separated with the exception of a few isolated house shows until 1987 rolls around.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History
Dr. Jerry Watson did not have a long career, but he was one of the heels I saw in Phil Golden's All Star Wrestling as a young fan in 1974. He was there for the dying days and then tried to promote some in Southeast Missouri after Golden closed down. He was from just a few miles down the road from where I grew up in Mayfield, Kentucky where the devastating tornado struck and decimated the town on December 10, 2021.
Thank You for Reading
I'm Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter. Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share it with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
Remember, paid subscribers get access to exclusive and special content such as some special issues including a multi-part deep dives on wrestling territories, wrestler bios and championship title histories, special audio and video interviews on territory pro wrestling and more available in The Vault of the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel for Paid Subscribers.