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Robert Gibson (wrestler)

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Robert Gibson (born Ruben Gibson, July 19, 1958) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known as one half of the tag team known as The Rock 'n' Roll Express, with Ricky Morton. He has competed in singles competition also, and has won various singles championships throughout his career. Gibson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of The Rock 'n' Roll Express, on March 31, 2017.

Robert Gibson
Gibson in 2013
Birth nameRuben Gibson
Born (1958-07-19) July 19, 1958 (age 66)
Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Robert Fuller Jr.
Robert Gibson
Billed height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
Billed weight224 lb (102 kg)[1]
Trained byRick Gibson
Debut1977

Professional wrestling career

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Early career (1975–1983)

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Gibson started wrestling as Robert Gibson in 1977. His first match was against Eddie Sullivan. He was trained by his brother Ricky Gibson and teamed with him in the southern territories.

The Rock 'N Roll Express (1983–2003)

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Gibson at an autograph signing in 1991
Main article: Rock 'N Roll Express

In 1983, he formed the Rock 'N Roll Express with Ricky Morton. They feuded with The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey) in the CWA, several other territories, and, eventually, the feud carried over into the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985. They won the NWA Tag Title four times while there and feuded with the Four Horsemen, Ivan and Nikita Koloff, and the team of Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez. Even though he and Morton were of similar build and wrestled a similar style, Gibson was always booked as the stronger and more powerful of the two.

Gibson was injured in 1990 and when he returned to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991, Morton turned on him to join The York Foundation. They feuded and Gibson teamed with Tom Zenk, but had no success and soon left WCW. Wrestled briefly as a singles in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council. He rejoined Morton in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) and they feuded with the Heavenly Bodies led by Jim Cornette. Shortly before SMW's demise, Gibson turned heel and joined "Cornette's Army". The team then had a run in the USWA, followed by stints in the WWF in 1993 and WCW in 1996. In 1998, they were part of the "NWA" angle in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) for a brief period. The Rock n' Roll express were awarded the NWA tag team championships before losing them to The Headbangers a month later. In 1998, he went on his own to wrestle for Extreme Championship Wrestling. On February 12, 2000, he returned to WCW as he lost to WCW World Television Champion Jim Duggan on WCW Saturday Night. Their last run in a big federation was with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling when they were part of Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction.

Later career (2002–present)

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Gibson in 2013

He also appeared at one Wrestle Birmingham show in 2002 as "Robert Fuller Jr.", pretending to be the son of veteran wrestler Robert Fuller, a gimmick also used by other wrestlers. In late 2003/2004, Robert along with Ricky Morton, joined the newly formed "Original" Big Time Wrestling, under the banner of the All World Wrestling League. From 2007 to 2009, he worked for Ultimate Wrestling, a promotion in his home town of Pensacola, Florida, where he was one half of the first ever Ultimate Wrestling Tag-team Champions with Bobby Doll. In September 2010, he returned to Ultimate Wrestling. In 2014, The Rock-n-Roll Express was still wrestling on the independent circuit.[2] In 2016, The Rock N' Roll Express made a special appearance as part of TNA's weekly televised program Impact Wrestling's Total Nonstop Deletion episode, where they took part in the Tag Team Apocalypto match along with other tag teams. In February 2017, WWE played a video package of the Rock n' Roll Express and the announcement of their hall of fame induction set for pre-WrestleMania.[3] The Rock N Roll Express participated in the 2019 edition of the Jim Crockett Cup, but were defeated by The Briscoe Brothers in the first round. During the NWA television tapings on October 1, 2019, they won the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[4] The team made their New Japan Pro Wrestling debut during the Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2019 event, 3 events promoted by NJPW in the United States.

Personal life

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Gibson has acknowledged during a fundraising event at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf[5] that he is a hearing child of deaf parents. He knows sign language and often speaks with his hands in the ring before his matches. His brother Ricky Gibson died on September 15, 2006. Robert's mother and father are also deceased. The WWE acknowledged Ricky's death on WWE.com.[6] Robert is engaged to Tami McMaster. He is part owner of Zeke's Deep Sea Fishing tours in Orange Beach, Alabama.[7] In 2016, Gibson opened a wrestling school in Douglasville, Georgia, which also doubles as an independent wrestling promotion called All Pro Championship Wrestling.

Championships and accomplishments

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1One of their reigns began in Memphis, Tennessee, though the records are unclear as to which promotion they were wrestling for. Another reign began with them being awarded the title, though it is not revealed where they were awarded nor which promotion they were wrestling for at the time.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Robert Gibson profile". OWW. September 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Varsallone, Jim (September 24, 2014). "PRO WRESTLING: (Part 1) Rock-n-Roll Express Robert Gibson, Ricky Morton in Miami for Ronin debut". Miami Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  3. ^ "Rock 'n' Roll Express to enter WWE Hall of Fame". www.wwe.com. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Title Changes At Nwa Taping (Spoiler)". PWInsider.com. October 1, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD)". www.wpsd.org. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  6. ^ "Reflections on the late wrestling legend, Ricky Gibson". www.wwe.com. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  7. ^ "Gulf Shores Alabama - Orange Beach - Alabama Gulf Coast Vacations". www.gulfshores.com. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  8. ^ "Gerweck.net - Rock N Roll Express Continue to Win Tag Team Titles". www.gerweck.net. September 16, 2018.
  9. ^ "RIcky Morton and Robert Gibson, "The Rock and Roll Express", named CAC's 2022 Tag Team Award Winners! - News - Cauliflower Alley Club". April 9, 2022.
  10. ^ "MACW « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  11. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  12. ^ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006) [2000.]. "(Memphis, Nashville) Tennessee: Southern Tag Team Title [Roy Welsch & Nick Gulas, Jerry Jarrett from 1977]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, Ontario: Archeus Communications. pp. 185–189. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  13. ^ "Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  14. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  15. ^ "Traditional Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  16. ^ "UPW Steel Cage Challenge - Events Database - CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".
  17. ^ "VPW Tag Team Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  18. ^ Meltzer, Dave (November 24, 2014). "Nov. 24, 2014 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Annual Hall of Fame issue! Plus tons of news from all over the world including MMA triple-header Saturday". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 1. ISSN 1083-9593.
  19. ^ "The Rock 'n' Roll Express to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame". WWE. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
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