also teamed in Joe Blanchard's South West wrestling territory feuding with The Grapplers. In 1984, Morton took part in a high-profile angle with Randy Savage which saw Savage piledrive him through a table at ringside. NWA Tri-State / Mid-South Wrestling (1981, 1984–1986, 1987) In 1981, Morton began wrestling for NWA Tri-State. He formed a tag team with Eddie Gilbert, winning the NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship twice. His second reign ended in August 1981 when he left the promotion. In 1984, Morton and Gibson began wrestling regularly for Mid-South Wrestling, the successor to NWA Tri-State. They won the Mid-South Tag Team Championship three times during 1984, trading the titles with The Midnight Express. Their third and final reign lasted until March 1985, when they lost to Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase. They continued to appear with Mid-South Wrestling until June 1985. Morton and Gibson reappeared with Mid-South Wrestling, by then renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation, throughout 1986. At the "Superdome Extravaganza" supercard in the Louisiana Superdome in June 1986, Morton unsuccessfully challenged Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1988) In 1985, both teams moved on to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions and became famous due to the national television exposure of TBS. Ricky and Robert had a major feud with the "Russians", Ivan and Nikita Koloff and won the NWA World Tag Team Title. They traded the title again with the Russians and lost them to their hated rivals the Midnight Express on February 2, 1986 during Superstars on the Superstation due to their manager, Jim Cornette. Cornette used his tennis racket on Robert to help his team win. Fearing that his self-proclaimed sex appeal with women was being threatened by Morton, NWA Champion Ric Flair began a feud with Morton in 1986. In the spring of that year, Morton was having an interview at ringside when Flair came onto the set and insulted Morton's fans (who consisted mostly of tween girls) by calling them "teenyboppers in their training bras." He gave Morton a training bra as a "gift from one of Flair's girlfriends" and told Morton that he couldn't handle real, grown-up women. In response, Morton stomped on Flair's sunglasses. This led to a fight and then a series of matches, the most notable being their Steel Cage match at the 1986 Great American Bash. To help build Morton as a serious title contender,