Thanks to Larry Goodman for sending in the following:
Ricky Morton and “Exotic” Adrian Street were the featured guests on the latest edition of Wrestling Informer Weekly. The show can be located at http://www.wrestlingradionetwork.com.
Morton joined Michele Villery, Trent Van Drisse, DJ Powerlord and Larry Goodman on the show. Morton said he was from Antioch, Tennessee and joked that had recently been housed in Murfreesboro on a scholarship.
Van Drisse asked Morton about his early memories of growing up in a wrestling family. Morton said his dad (Paul Morton) worked for Nick Gulas in his younger years. They pulled the ring, put it up, his dad would ref, they would tear it down and went back home. That was an every day routine.
Morton said he had no intention of being a wrestler. He was a foreman at a book bindery that went on strike, so he went to Hawaii to work on refurbishing hotels. There, Morton ran into Mando Guerrero. He had a match and enjoyed it. When he got back to the states and saw the electric atmosphere in the Memphis Mid-South Coliseum, Morton decided he would get into the business and started wrestling for Gulas.
Morton credited a match he had with Ken Wayne in Jeffersonville, Indiana as being the one that lead to Jerry Jarrett asking him to come into the Memphis territory.
Morton said that growing up in a wrestling family was a great advantage, because by the time he had his match with Wayne, he was ten years ahead of himself.
Villery asked Morton if watched the current WWE and TNA products. Morton said he had been locked up for five months and hadn’t seen what kind of angles they were running. Morton said it was like being a guy that drives a truck all day and comes home and watches videos of trucks. He said that Bradshaw called him last night. They had a long talk but they didn’t talk about the business.
Morton said he listens to younger guys in the dressing room talk about how their hurricane-curana looked, and he’s not into that anymore. Morton said he still loved the business and believed he could still do a lot for it, but not necessarily as a worker since he was almost 50.
Morton said wrestling never dies. “You just don’t got what the people want to see.”
Powerlord asked Morton about his memories of teaming with Eddie Gilbert. Morton said the state of Kentucky required a wrestling license and Gilbert was only 17. Morton said he was wrestling in Oklahoma and called Eddie out to start teaming with him there. Then when Eddie turned 18, they returned to the Memphis area as a team.
Morton said his wife cooked the only meatloaf in the world that glows in the dark.
Morton told the story of how he got teamed up with Robert Gibson. Morton said he was wrestling for Southwest Championship Wrestling where he got to work with the likes of Nick Bockwinkel, Terry Funk and Dick Murdoch. Morton said there was heat between Jerry Lawler and Jarrett in the Memphis office. Morton said he was wrestling in San Antonio at the Hemisphere Arena and Jerry Lawler walked in the dressing room. Lawler told Morton that he was going on his own and needed a team similar to the Fabulous Ones. Morton said the Memphis area was doing tremendous business and he was anxious to come back home.
Morton credited Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart with putting him together with Gibson and coming up with the gimmick.
Powerlord asked Morton about the videos they shot using Jerry Lawler’s Corvette. Morton said he was claustrophobic and couldn’t ride in a two-seater car.
Morton said the office split didn’t happen and the Rock ‘n Roll Express ended up playing second fiddle to the Fabulous Ones. Morton said Steve Keirn and Stan Lane didn’t like the Express booked on spot shows with them because the Fabs did not like following the Rock ‘n Roll Express.
Morton talked about time that the major promoters, Eddie Graham, Bill Watts, Jim Crockett, Verne Gagne- got together in Memphis for a television taping and to discuss how to combat McMahon’s expansion plans. Morton said Graham and Watts paid Rock ‘n Roll Express a great compliment when they got up and said R ‘n R were the guys they were going to draw money with.
Morton said nobody could beat Jim Cornette in a verbal fight.
Morton said Mid-South might have been the toughest territory but it was the one he loved the most because that was where he learned the most. Morton said Watts was a strict promoter but he didn’t fault him for it because it was his company.
Powerlord asked Morton if he ever worked the World Class territory. Morton said they used to go in to do shots in Dallas but “You don’t think Fritz Von Erich is going to bring the Rock and Roll Express in there and give us a push did you?” Morton said top babyfaces would come into to do shows but only heels got pushed to work with Von Erichs.
Morton discussed their move to Crockett Promotions. Morton said Crockett introduced himself at a Superdome that drew over 40,000 people. Morton said he had goose bumps from the crowd chanting “Rock and Roll” during their match against Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams, and when they got back to the dressing room, Crockett guaranteed to double their weekly salary. Morton said they ended up making four times what they made in Mid South.
Morton said his series of singles matches with Ric Flair (1986) were the highlight of his career. Morton said bar none, Ric Flair was the heavyweight champion. Morton said he was wrestling Tommy Lane in Rock Hill, South Carolina and when he came to the back, Flair told Dusty he wanted to work with Morton. That lead to the angle where the Horseman rubbed Morton’s face in the gutter. Morton said wrestled 17 consecutive one hour broadways in a row. Morton said Flair was such a great heel that he was able to turn the people against him even in Charlotte.
Morton said he wasn’t impressed at most of what he sees on independent shows. An indie wrestler came up to Morton and told him he used to buy a ticket to watch him wrestle. Morton’s reply: “Dude, I just watched you wrestle. You need to buy another ticket.”
Morton said he was put in jail for trying to be a good daddy. He was willing to go to jail to preserve the relationship between his son, Jonathan, and his son’s mother. He would not allow his son to testify against his mother.
Morton said the conditions in the Rutherford County jail were deplorable. The meals weren’t enough for a child to eat – a hot dog a three tater tots. There was no TV or radio whatsoever.
Morton thanked Tracy Smothers and the fans for their assistance in getting him out of jail.
Morton went on to tell the story about the time he got drunk with Flair, and they went out on Flair’s boat in the middle of the night, and Flair fell overboard…The psychology of working as the face-in-peril in a tag match…What is lacking in the way wrestlers work and sell in WWE…The team that he had the most fun working with…His thoughts on current indie wrestling shows…What he would like to do when his wrestling days are over…Training Kid Kash…The real story behind his recent incarceration, and more about his experiences in the Rutherford County jail…Why promoters like Bill Watts and Jerry Jarrett didn’t offer to help him with the money he needed to get out of jail.
To hear the entire interview and the interview with “Exotic” Adrian Street, visit www.wrestlingradionetwork/wiw.
