Ricky Morton

Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit.

For most of his career, Morton has performed with Robert Gibson as the Rock 'n' Roll Express, described as "the consummate babyface tag team".

Morton has wrestled for multiple promotions in the United States including the Continental Wrestling Association, Mid-South Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Championship Wrestling, as well as the Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Wrestle Association R.

Morton has held dozens of championships throughout his career, including the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, USWA World Tag Team Championship, and WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.

He has been inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, and WWE Hall of Fame.

His skill at driving audiences into a sympathetic frenzy by convincingly selling pain gave rise to the expression "playing Ricky Morton".

Morton was trained by his father, Paul, and by veteran wrestler Ken Lucas.

He debuted in 1977, facing Ken Wayne in his debut match.

He wrestled primarily for the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, Tennessee, often teaming with Lucas or Eddie Gilbert.

Morton quickly became a popular performer thanks to his "athletic prowess", "sensational looks", and "spiky blond mullet".

His popularity with female fans saw him dubbed a "teen idol".

In 1981, Morton began wrestling for NWA Tri-State.

He formed a tag team with Eddie Gilbert, winning the NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship twice.

His second reign ended in August 1981 when he left the promotion.

In early 1983, promoters Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler paired Morton with Robert Gibson as The Rock 'n' Roll Express in an attempt to replicate the popularity of The Fabulous Ones.

They won the Mid-South Tag Team Title three times and feuded with the team that would become their archrivals, The Midnight Express of Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey.

Because of his small stature and good looks, he was usually made the "Face in Peril", meaning he would be the one to take most of the punishment in the matches to get the fans behind the team.

He was also the one that always suffered a humiliation or "injury" to further the storyline the team would be involved in.

Nowadays, this is sometimes referred to as "Playing Ricky Morton".

At this time they also teamed in Joe Blanchard's South West wrestling territory feuding with The Grapplers.

In 1984, Morton took part in a high-profile angle with Randy Savage which saw Savage piledrive him through a table at ringside.

In 1984, Morton and Gibson began wrestling regularly for Mid-South Wrestling, the successor to NWA Tri-State.

They won the Mid-South Tag Team Championship three times during 1984, trading the titles with The Midnight Express.

Their third and final reign lasted until March 1985, when they lost to Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase.

They continued to appear with Mid-South Wrestling until June 1985.

In 1985, both teams moved on to the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions and became famous due to the national television exposure of TBS.

Ricky and Robert had a major feud with the "Russians", Ivan Koloff and Nikita Koloff and won the NWA World Tag Team Title.

Morton and Gibson reappeared with Mid-South Wrestling, by then renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation, throughout 1986.

At the "Superdome Extravaganza" supercard in the Louisiana Superdome in June 1986, Morton unsuccessfully challenged Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

They traded the title again with the Russians and lost them to their hated rivals the Midnight Express on February 2, 1986, during Superstars on the Superstation due to their manager, Jim Cornette.

Cornette used his tennis racket on Robert to help his team win.

Fearing that his self-proclaimed sex appeal with women was being threatened by Morton, NWA Champion Ric Flair began a feud with Morton in 1986.

In the spring of that year, Morton was having an interview at ringside when Flair came onto the set and insulted Morton's fans (who consisted mostly of tween girls) by calling them "teenyboppers in their training bras."

He gave Morton a training bra as a "gift from one of Flair's girlfriends" and told Morton that he couldn't handle real, grown-up women.

In response, Morton stomped on Flair's sunglasses.

This led to a fight and then a series of matches, the most notable being their Steel Cage match at the 1986 Great American Bash.

To help build Morton as a serious title contender, it was pointed out that he once went to a one-hour draw with then-AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel.

Morton never won the title but he proved that he was of the same caliber as Flair was in the ring.

At one point in the feud with Flair, after a six-man tag team elimination match in which Morton pinned Flair to become the winner, Flair and the other three Four Horsemen invaded the Rock 'n' Roll Express' dressing room and attacked Morton, rubbing his face on the concrete floor, causing a grotesque-looking facial injury.

They also broke his nose in another attack.