Better Tag Team: Rock and Roll Express or The Rockers

[It's...Baylariat!]

This is a great debate in my eyes. Two similar tag teams that were in different companies. RnR were four time NWA World Tag Team champions and faced competition such as the Road Warriors, Midnight Express, and Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Some tough tag teams.

Then you have the Rockers, or Midnight Rockers in the AWA, who had a singles competitor who went on to some success. Shawn Michaels. But to me, if we're talking about tag wrestling, the RnR may be the more successful team, but individually, you have to go with the Rockers.

SO who's the better team? Rock N Roll or Rockers?

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

Actually, the Rock 'N Roll Express won four World Tag Titles, but that's neither here nor there. IMO, there's no question, considering the overall body of work, the feuds, titles and the more lasting impact on TAG TEAM WRESTLING, the R&R were by far the superior tag team, no questions asked. Let's look closer:

The Express started in Memphis as a stand-by team for fans when The Fabulous Ones were unable to wrestle in certain areas. They had remarkable feuds with Randy Savage and his brother Lanny Pofo, among others, with the lasting image being Savage piledriving Ricky Morton through a table. I so marked out for that when I saw it happen.

They went onto the NWA and battled the Koloffs when Nikita was still green and a VERY believable heel. And who can forget their epic feud from 1985-88 with the Midnight Express? The heat the Express generated was immense and the popularity of the R&R Express was tremendous. They also had great matches with Manny Fernandez & Rick Rude as well as Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard. Ricky Morton by far was the Shawn Michaels of the group too. A great talker, worker, could sell an injury like nobody's business and had a great run for the title with Rc Flair in 1986.

Overall, the Rock 'N Roll Express were one of the top tag teams of their time and possibly ever. The Rockers were just that, an extention of the Rock 'N Roll Express, I mean, their name had "Rock" in it. They looked like, acted like and had a member who was just like Ricky Morton (though as an overall wrestler, Morton can't even lace up HBK's shoes). But you gotta admit, had there never been a Rock 'N Roll Express, they'd never had been the Rockers.

 

[WhyTravisFelt]

I agree with ME 2009 entirely. This isn't even really a fair question. Rockers had a couple of title runs, but only stuck together for about six years and maybe besides the Hart Foundation, didn't really have any notable feuds. RnR had a mulititude of better title runs with more notable titles (namely the NWA World tag titles), have been tagging on and off to this day for the past 25 years, and have had many great feuds, such as the Horsemen and, of course, Cornette's the Midnight Express.

I'm not sure why we would argue who was the better team based on individual merits unrelated to the tag-team. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I understand the point, I guess, that Shawn Michaels' continued success since the break-up in 1991 has kept the Rockers relevant and they definitely had more potential than the RnR did, but I think the fact that RnR capitalized more on their potential and that they are still relevant in the annals of tag team history despite neither Gibson or Morton going on to much individual success kind of puts the argument even more in their favor. In my opinion, at any rate.

 

[samboisdead]

Well considering that The Rockers would have never existed if we had not had The RnR first I think that in itself answers the question. As far as the guy saying Ricky Morton could not lace HBKs boots. I have to disagree there. They are from very diffrent eras RnR had already been doing it for years when The Rockers came along. They have very diffrent styles but Ricky is every bit Shawn Micheals equal in my opinion. Actually if you ever read Flairs biography he says Ricky may have been the best he ever faced. Anyway ricky is still out their doing it today. i live in the South and he still wrestles around here pretty much every weekend. he is still incredible to watch now. Honestly I think if his gimmick was not so dated he could still be playing with the big boys. he looks the exact same as he did in the 80s.

 

[deathdrop81]

I'm with everyone on the RnR. Ricky Morton was such a better talker and worker than Shawn Michaels back in that era, and the RnR took on the likes of the Midnight Express, Four Horsemen, Road Warriors, etc. The tag team scene was superior in the NWA. But of course, the RnR are now making appearances at high school gyms and the like.

 

[InterestingDrug]

Hands down RnR. They held numerous titles in different territories. They had great feuds with Midnight Express, Road Warriors, Horsemen. Ricky Morton even had some great Bash matches with Ric Flair. I was worried that Morton would eventually win the title since I despised him. If anyone can remember their brief fun in WWF, you'd miss it if you blinked your eyes.

The Rockers were a pretty good team. I agree with Sam, the Midnight Rockers would have never come together if RnR wasnt so popular. Much like Demolition would have never been without the Road Warriors. Honestly, I cant even remember one feud the Rockers were in, besides between themselves.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The RnR Express, no doubt in my mind about that. For me, when I think of tag team wrestling from about 1984 until about 1988, The Rock and Roll Express is the first team that springs to mind. Aside from winning numerous titles in various territories, they had some of the most memorable feuds of the time. They had great matches against the Four Horsemen, the Koloffs, the Midnight Express and so on and so forth and they were part of Jim Crockett Promotions when it was this seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that looked, on the surface, as if it was going to do what the WWF was trying to do. The RnR Express captured the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, which was literally the only world tag titles left in the NWA, 4 times and just had one memorable feud and match after another.

The Rockers, or the Midnight Rockers if you were, just made me feel as if they were a cheapened copy of the RnR Express. Not that they weren't good wrestlers and a good team, but I think the fact that the Rockers were in the AWA when it was really on its last legs just makes them look like an inferior team. The AWA at the time was a vastly inferior promotion and it was filled with, for the most part, vastly inferior wrestlers.

When I think of the RnR Express, I see epic feuds with some of the best wrestling talent in the history of the game. I don't see that when I think of the Rockers. Off the top of my head, I can't think of one single "feud for the ages" that they had while they were king shit in the AWA.

 

[I Will Fart In Your Mouth]

IMO the Rockers were a better team. Solely based on the fact that I'd rather watch a Rockers match.