THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS: The Midnight Express hasn’t really been around since 1990, yet their moves, pacing and style are still extensively copied by up-and-coming tag teams. If they could, I have no doubt The Motor City Machine Guns would abandon their lives and identities and assume those of Bobby and Stan (or Dennis).
The Midnight Express is, arguably, the best tag team ever, inarguably one of the top 10. In-ring, they were nearly flawless. Their impeccable level of performance comes down to one word: TIMING. They were always in the right place at the proper moment. They were fast, they were fluid, well-rehearsed yet looking spontaneous. The Midnight Express was the Ric Flair of tag teams: They made inferior teams look good. When they worked with quality opponents, like The Rock & Roll Express or The Fantastics, the result was often very special.
Jim Cornette was an important part of the equation, but Eaton, Lane and Condrey were not bereft of charisma. Despite Cornette’s brilliance on the mic, the Midnight Express was about the match. They almost never disappointed and usually excelled. Both MX combinations gelled despite the individuals being as different as chalk and cheese. They really were a team.
The lone argument against the Midnight Express: They never meant that much in a national company. But they were huge draws in Mid-South and in Jim Crockett Promotions. You can’t say they were in the wrong era; a team like the Midnight Express (and its individual members) would be meaningless today. But within the context of their times and what they did, few tag teams were better.
