In January of 1988, the Rock & Roll
Express departed Jim Crockett Promotions, leaving a void in the babyface
tag team picture. Tommy Rogers and Bobby Fulton, The Fantastics, whom
had made a name for themselves in Mid-South/UWF and World Class
Championship Wrestling as a top tag team, were brought in to fill that
void in February 1988.
The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton &
Stan Lane
, were the United States Tag Team Champions. They were coming off of a
short lived feud with Dusty Rhodes and were in need of a new tag team to
wrestle. The Fantastics made there NWA debut in a match against the
Midnight Express that was shown on national television. After
30 minutes of wrestling, the Fantastics put the Express away at the end,
beating them with their own rocket launcher in a non-title match.
The title match was scheduled for the inaugral
Clash of the Champions prime time special on
March 27, 1988
in
Greenboro
,
NC
. The match saw both teams go all out, using tables, chairs and a mix of
brawling and great wrestling, in one of the best matches of the year.
The Fantastics appeared to win the
U.S.
tag titles, but the decision was reversed and the
Midnight
won via disqualification. After the match, the
Midnights
and Jim Cornette draped Bobby Fulton over the top rope and lashed him
with a belt several times. The war would rage on.
The next month in
Chattanooga
,
TN
in a match broadcast on Worldwide wrestling, the teams battled again
with the titles on the line. The star of the match was Bobby Fulton, who
sold like crazy, being beaten half to death by kicks by
Stan Lane
, a brutal racket shot by Cornette and Eaton's vast array of maneuvers.
Fulton
wouldn't give up, but due to the blood he was losing, the referee
decided to stop the match and award it to the Midnight Express. As the
Express and Cornette celebrated, the Fantastics begged the referee to
re-start the match, they didn't want to lose their shot at the belts.
The referee re-started the match. Tommy Rogers hit a top rope dropkick
on Eaton, who was rolled up by
Fulton
for the pin after 40 minutes of action. The Fantastics were the new
United States Tag Team Champions, in one of the best tag team matches of
the decade.
The
Midnight
would have a chance to get "their" gold back on
July 7, 1988
at the Great American Bash pay per view event. In order to ensure that
Cornette would not interfere, he was suspended above the ring in a small
cage wearing a strait jacket. Once again, the two teams went all out,
having arguably the best match on the entire card. In the end, Eaton
decked
Fulton
with a chain, allowing the Midnight Express to once again become United
States Tag Team Champions.
That would prove to be the last major matchup
between the two tag teams, as soon they would find themselves in new
programs. 1988 is remembered fondly by old school fans for being the
year of the great Midnight Express vs Fantastics series. Two great tag
teams at their peak, having some of the best tag team matches of all
time. One of the many reasons that we loved Jim Crockett
Promotions.
NEXT MONTH:
The UWF buyout, and what could have been.
