HIGH FIVE FOR THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS!!!

Tag team wrestling will probably never be as important as it once was to wrestling. I have always been a big tag team mark. I always try to duplicate the heat of “the Midnight Express” vs “Rock n Roll Express” feud with tag teams that I would manage. “The Riot Squad” always feuded with “Total Kaos” and I knew since they were so green, if they worked vs each other, then would at least have good matches. Last Saturday night I had the opportunity to see Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey team and it was a pleasure to see them together after all these years. Two of the nicest guys you will ever meet also. Thanks for being the “Midnight” one more time. HIGH FIVE to you guys!!

REAL LIFE: “I had a couple of women that I was going with. I was not married at the time. Both of those ladies got off the birth control pill and forgot to tell me. Both of those girls came up pregnant. I then have two kids I wasn’t planning on.” Dennis Condrey

TIMES CHANGED: “It's crazy. Those guys are absolutely nuts flying all over the place. Their size is deceptive. I remember the first time I wrestled Rey Mysterio. I picked him up and I actually hesitated for a second. He weighed exactly the same as my 11-year-old son and I was instinctively afraid to hurt him. Of course, I was paid back for my hesitation with a flying headscissors from him, so I didn't hesitate the next time. I've also been in matches with the Lucha Libre rules. Totally crazy. In those matches, if the legal man gets thrown out of the ring, one of his partners can take his place in the ring without tagging. When you've been wrestling tag matches for 20 years with normal rules, it's tough to adjust. You throw one of those guys out of the ring, and you're catching your breath and keeping an eye on him, and his partner, now the legal man, attacks you from behind. Unless you've been in those matches, you can't appreciate how difficult it is.” Bobby Eaton.

MY BEST DANCE PARTNER: “Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, it was a deal where we had a chemistry with those guys. I don’t know if it will ever be duplicated. It was fun. We even wrestled them last night.” Dennis Condrey

CUP OF JOE: “It's funny, everybody on the Internet seems to focus on what's wrong with wrestling today, as if they're experts. I guess if I could change anything, I'd like to go back to the days of fast-paced hour-long matches. That's where I shine. However, if the shorter time limits are the worst thing I can think of, then I really don't have any complaints. I'll tell you one story that may put it into perspective for you. My big thing is that I love to have a cup of coffee right before I wrestle. Why, I don't know, but it's something I really enjoy and I've enjoyed it for a long time. When you go back a number of years, for me to get a cup of coffee, I'd have to go to the concession stand, there was nothing backstage. So, there I am, in my wrestling tights, waiting in line along with all the fans at the concession stand. Not a great way to get psyched for a match, as you might guess. These days, there's always catering backstage, coffees, juices, sodas, food, everything. That may sound simplistic, but the little things like that which have changed about the pro wrestling business over the last few years mean a lot to me.” Bobby Eaton.

ORIGIN: “A week or so later I was at a spot show. Dennis Condrey walked up to me. I had known Dennis for a long time. He and Phil Hickerson were one of the greatest tag teams I'd ever seen back to '75. I had never really riddenwith him. We weren't close friends. And he walked up to me and said, "I gotta talk to ya'." And I say okay. And he says, "No, over here. Follow me." So we're walking trying to find a room by ourselves. I said, "Geez, Dennis, where are we going." And he said, "Louisiana." I said, "What!" He said Bill Watts wanted me, him, and Bobby to come to Louisiana. Dundee was going to be the booker and he wanted us to go and be a team. I'm thinking to myself this can't be true. He said we could make between 50 and 100 thousand dollars. I'm going, "Come on, Dennis. Jesus Christ. That's crazy." And he said,"No, it's true and he wants us to be a big heel team. The only thing was Watts didn't have a chance to hear me talk. But I guess Dundee told him. By this time I was doing okay. I said, "Okay, well let me know." Next thing I knew, Watts flew us down there for TV. I'd have to get my book to remember the exact date, but I think it was the day before Thanksgiving in 1983. Because when we got back, we all ate Thanksgiving dinner over at Dundee's house.” Jim Cornette.

----I would like thank Tapout Wrestling show at ExplicitPods.com, www.oldschool-wrestling.com message board, Pro Wrestling Torch and www.ddtdigest.com with their help with the quotes.