A Rock N Roll Express moment by Dusty Wolfe
The Rock N Roll Express
It's been suggested that I write about the first time Ken Timbs and I worked with the Rock n Roll Express. Figured he just might have something there, especially considering that's the first "highlight" match of my career that I didn't black out on.
We had been in Florida for about 5 weeks, when Dory pulled us off to the side. We were going to shoot an angle with Hector and Chavo Guerrero, right before they left for Japan. Then we would work with the RnR while the Guerrero's were in Japan. Once the Guerrero's returned, we'd take the tag straps and have two teams to work with. Thanks Chavo, for "altering" my first real money run.
But back to the story. We had gone to Florida from Memphis. Ricky and Robert were in Mid South while we worked Memphis. They had just begun one of the biggest tag team runs anybody ever had. Everybody knew the RnR Express. And we were beginning to pick up a little steam in Florida. The territory was down, and as hot as the RnR were getting, the office just knew they'd draw. So, Watts sent down some of those state of the art videos, and Eddie and Dory started pushing the RnR. We shot the angle with the Guerrero's, and the next two weeks had RnR videos, along with promos about how they were coming to take care of us.
The night finally came around. It was a Saturday in Lakeland in late September. We were the "special attraction". Kevin Sullivan was in one of the mains. And I think Dory and Billy Jack were the other though I'm not real sure. I had never met Robert. Ricky I had met when he worked San Antonio with Ken Lucas, as I was breaking in. So I wasn't as nervous as I could have been. We all sat down and worked out a few spots. Fewer than most would imagine. And we had an Eddie Graham finish that lasted longer than the match. Well... it was long enough.
I usually check the crowd. Always have. Don't know why I did then. Do it today to get an idea just how many bumps I'm taking. I never checked the crowd that night. The nerves were starting to get to me. I was all of 22 years old, and knew I had no business being where I was at that moment. And I damn sure wasn't going to make things worse for myself. Joe Lightfoot came back from his match and shook my hand, and said "Thanks for the house".
I didn't think anything of it. This was something the boys did to each other, especially when it was a BAD crowd. As he walked out, he told Billy Graham something about the house, but I was busy listening to Ken B.S. and zoning out. We were scheduled to go on right after intermission. We were standing in the back when Jerry Jarrett walked up and complimented us on what we were doing in Florida. I started to ask him why did he let us go, if we were getting it done. But I just thanked him for the Florida chance. Kenny was already planning our Memphis return with Jarrett, when Duke came around the corner with Mike Graham and sent us to the ring.
We didn't have music. Couldn't take away from the RnR. Thinking back, the changes are amazing to me. Today, refs have music. Anyway, we walked out wearing those damn shades Ken insisted added to the image. I would just follow his shape. Small buildings weren't so bad, but arenas, with the lighting, etc. I was almost blind with those things. I knew we had a loud crowd. And the fat ones I could pick out. But otherwise, I had no idea. Once we got into the ring, we did our ritual of undressing each other. Ken took all my entrance gear off first. And that's when I saw the crowd. I saw 3 sellouts in the entire time we worked Florida: Nassau, St. Petersburg with the Guerrero's, and this night.
Ken was standing, waiting on me to take his jacket off, and I was stunned. He started asking me what I was waiting on. Right on cue, the RnR music hit, and the building erupted. That was the first time I had ever heard that kind of response. I heard it a few times during Hulkamania, but nowhere else. RnR made their way out. I didn't think they were getting to the ring. I'd never seen two men get mauled like that. They finally got to the ring, and Bill Alphonso knew I was nervous, so he just made things worse. Telling me how they hated being grabbed and mauled, and he would do what he could as ref, but...
Kenny started with Ricky. And this only made things worse. I knew once I started working, things would be okay. We did our first spot, and Kenny didn't fail me. He tagged, so he could get to the apron. "I do my best work here." You have no idea how many nights I've heard that line. The entire match went about 20 minutes. I've heard noise like that since, but that night was just magic. We worked into the finish, and then struggled our way back to the dressing area. I was proud. Kenny was on cloud nine. RnR had just had another night at the office. We started back down the corridor when Billy Graham pulled us off to the side. "That was the greatest tag I have ever seen, my brothers."
Even if he was lying, it still validated that night for me.
OldSchoolWrestling.com
