I was in NY on Dec fifth on WrestleReunion business and was scheduled to be in the corner of Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton in Greensboro, NC that night. I was dropped off at LaGuardia airport worried that the flight would be late and I would miss the opportunity but all things lined up in a positive way that night. The plane was on time the luggage was fast so I headed to the building much earlier and arrived sooner than I thought that I would.
I was really looking forward to the event before I got the call from Michael Bochicchio of Highspots telling me about the two shows he had planned. I had no intentions of doing any wrestling shows in two thousand and eight. The call from Michael was a simple one telling me about the two Ric Flair appearances one in Greensboro and one in Charlotte. He advised me that he wanted to put The Rock and Roll Express vs. Midnight Express on the card. He also advised me that he wanted the Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton version of The Midnight Express. He asked me if I would intervene on his behalf with Stan Lane to see if he would come out of retirement to rejoin his old partner. I told him that I would but that it would be easier to work this out with Stan if he knew that I would be there with him. It was at that time I suggested that I manage The Midnight Express we came to an agreement. So I called Stan to present the idea to him. We quickly came to an agreement and I confirmed with Michael.
It was going to be great to see Stan and his lovely wife Maria. I had not been able to get to Greensboro recently and I have not been in Florida when Stan has been there to do commentating for his boat racing career. It had been awhile since Stan had been in the ring, the last time was March two thousand and six. It was the World Wrestling Legends event at The Hard Rock in Orlando. It was a six man tag team match The Midnight Express vs. The Armstrong’s Scott, Brad and Bullet Bob. I touched base with Bobby Eaton by phone and let him know that we were all set.
If you hadn’t heard by this time the dynamics of this whole event changed when Hulk Hogan agreed to do a favor for his friend Ric Flair and be the special guest referee for the match featuring David and Reid Flair against The Nasty Boys. The teams would be managed by “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart respectively. It would of course be great to hang out with my buddy Jimmy Hart over the weekend as well. I looked forward to these events as the days drew near.
The day had finally arrived. I was at the building the plane was on time luggage was faster than I expected. I was greeted by Stan and Maria then I went to find Ricky Steamboat Jr. I hadn’t seen him in years so with all the great things I have been hearing about him I was looking forward to seeing him again. I thought that he looked fantastic. He did remind me of his dad in appearance. After that I greeted Stan’s mother Jean Lane and his cousin John Lynch, who Stan and I used to hang out with on occasion in the old days.
The time finally came to head to the ring for the match. We did the standard Midnight Express introductions. I introduced Bobby and Stan and Stan introduced me. The match started and I immediately morphed back into the eighties. I had the pleasure of refereeing a match between these two teams in Denver, Co. of course in that match Jim Cornette was in the corner of the Midnight Express.
I was in awe of the two teams. They hadn’t wrestled each other straight up in years. The match was sensational. I thought to myself "it is a crime that a match like this isn’t the main event of Monday Night Raw". It was clear in my mind that everyone that wants to understand tag team wrestling should watch this match just like every wrestler should watch Steamboat and Savage from Wrestlemania 3. In the case of the other three guys, they wrestle on a fairly regularly basis. In Stan’s case, he hasn’t wrestled in a few years but he was moving out there as well as he ever had. On that night The Midnight Express were victorious. It was then time to head to Charlotte.
It had occurred to me on Saturday morning that, perhaps, I had been part of a special event. I called Stan on the phone and asked him if anyone other than Jim Cornette had ever managed The Midnight Express. He indicated that they hadn’t. I double checked with Bobby that night and he agreed. So with Stan’s limited desire to wrestle not only could I possibly be only the second man to man manage The Midnight Express and perhaps the last.
I picked up Jimmy Hart at the airport and, along with Carolinas Own David Isley (Thunderfoot #1); we went to my favorite Italian restaurant Amalfi Pizza and Pasta. The restaurant is located on Hwy 49 in Charlotte near Harris Blvd. We ate and then went and watched the football game. We arrived at the building at about 6:00pm so Jimmy could participate in the VIP autograph signing along with The Nasty Boys, The Midnight Express, The Rock and Roll Express and Ric Flair. It wasn’t long after we arrived that I received a call from Hulk Hogan checking to see if we were at the building yet or not. I told him that we were and that I would go meet him outside after he informed me that they were in the parking lot.
The line was long waiting to get into the building and there were a lot of photographers around for this very special event. It was good to see Hulk. I hadn’t seen him in just about two years. We got a chance to talk about old times. That’s one of the great things about getting together on these shows.
I thought for awhile that the tag match with Hulk as referee might go on early to get him out of the building but it didn’t work out that way. We went on fourth and, once again, The Rock and Roll and Midnights put on a wrestling exhibition. It was a pleasure and an honor to be a part of those matches. I have no idea when these guys will be in a position not to put on a tag match at this level, but it sure won’t be anytime real soon. The Rock and Roll Express are double drop kicking flying head scissors fools. The Midnight Express are two individuals that basically function as one. On that night The Rock and Roll were victorious but I feel like everyone in the building in Charlotte was a winner that night.
Then Clubfoot the newly named David Isley, Jimmy Hart and I headed to IHOP. It was just like the good old days. Where oh where have they gone?
The photo in this article was taken by Brian Thompson at the show in Charlotte on Dec 6th. It could possibly be this last time a picture is taken of this version of The Midnight Express getting ready to head to the ring.
