Robert Gibson On WWE HOF Induction, Their Original Name, If He Ever Came To Blows With Ricky Morton
Recently, WWE Hall Of Famer Steve Austin spoke with 2017 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee, Robert Gibson of The Rock 'n' Roll Express. Among other things, Gibson talked about his upcoming Hall Of Fame induction, who came up with the tag team's name, whether it took them very long to build chemistry as a team, and how they would deal with internal strife.
On being inducted in WWE Hall Of Fame, Gibson said the nod "means a lot" and is "a big honor".
"It means a lot. We worked hard all of our [lives], me and Ricky." Gibson added, "it's going to be a big honor. It's always an honor to get something like this and I'm looking really, really forward to it."
Although Gibson admitted that the induction came as a surprise, he never doubted that the the tandem would be brought into the fold eventually.
"It was shocking. It made my heart feel good." Gibson continued, "I can't say I doubted it would ever happen because we've been around a long time and a lot of fans, all I get on my emails and Facebook is 'when are you guys going in [to WWE Hall Of Fame]? You're long overdue.' And I'd tell them, 'when it's right, it's right.'"
Apparently, the head of Talent Relations at WWE, Mark Carrano, was the WWE representative who called Gibson to inform him of the induction.
"Was his name Connors? Yeah. I recognized the [telephone] number because it was the old WWF number that I had in my phone. And it showed up 'WWF'. Mark Carrano was who it was and he set it up and a couple more people called me. As a matter of face, I got a text awhile ago from Jake 'The Snake' Roberts congratulating me. [Ric] Flair called me. He said 'you boys are way passed overdue.' He said, 'the beer's on me!' Old Ric Flair. What matches we had with them boys."
According to Gibson, the team was originally going to be called The R & R Express for Ricky and Robert. Gibson admitted that he is not sure who came up with the 'Rock 'n' Roll' name, as Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Jimmy Hart both take credit for it.
"At first, they were going to call us The R & R Express, Ricky and Robert. But then, I'd say it's between [Jerry] Lawler and Jimmy Hart. Now, Jimmy Hart, he tells me all the time that he came up with the name 'Rock 'n' Roll'. Lawler says he did, so it's kind of between them two. I just know it's between them two."
Gibson stated that it did not take the duo very long to gel as a team.
"I don't think it took too long because, what I did, is I just did [with] Ricky Morton what my brother taught me [to do] with him, so all the spots that me and my brother did, me and Ricky Morton did." Gibson summarized, "so, basically, what me and Ricky Morton did was the same stuff that me and my brother did, just a different partner."
Gibson recalled that they knew pretty quickly that they had something special and they chemistry became so good that they could work interchangeably, even though 'playing Ricky Morton' is commonly understood as taking the majority of the heel team's beating in a tag team match.
"Our chemistry was so good together that we would swap because it was there at the time to do. We could take each other's spot and it was nothing. We could adjust either way."
Gibson divulged that when he and Morton had issues, they would just ride separately. Moreover, Gibson professed that they never got so heated that they came to blows.
"I was with him more than I was with my wife. Being on the road, I was with him every day. Nine months with anybody will start to get on your nerves, so when we'd come to that point, we would just ride different. We would ride in different cars. We'd just meet up at the arena, do our thing, and then, we'd take off again in different cars. We always did business because that was the name of the game back then. We were smart enough. We knew where our bread was buttered. But if we would have our differences, we would just ride in different cars. We never came to a point where we were going to fight each other."
Open two cans of 'Audio Whoop Ass' here. If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: The Steve Austin Show