Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. He is the current GCW Television Champion, after pinning Matt Cardona at GCW Say You Will. For most of his career, Morton has performed with Robert Gibson as The Rock N' Roll Express, described as "the consummate baby face tag team". Morton has wrestled for multiple promotions in the United States including the Continental Wrestling Association, Mid-South Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Championship Wrestling, as well as the Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Wrestle Association R. Morton has held dozens of championships throughout his career, including the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, USWA World Tag Team Championship, and WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. He has been inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, and WWE Hall of Fame. His skill at driving audiences into a sympathetic frenzy by convincingly selling pain gave rise to the expression "playing Ricky Morton". Professional wrestling career Continental Wrestling Association (1977–1985) Morton was trained by his father, Paul, and by veteran wrestler Ken Lucas. He debuted in 1978, facing Ken Wayne in his debut match. He wrestled primarily for the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, Tennessee, often teaming with Lucas or Eddie Gilbert. Morton quickly became a popular performer thanks to his "athletic prowess", "sensational looks", and "spiky blond mullet". His popularity with female fans saw him dubbed a "teen idol". In early 1983, promoters Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler paired Morton with Robert Gibson as The Rock 'n' Roll Express in an attempt to replicate the popularity of The Fabulous Ones. They won the Mid-South Tag Team Title three times and feuded with the team that would become their archrivals, The Midnight Express of Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey. Because of his small stature and good looks, he was usually made the "Face in Peril", meaning he would be the one to take most of the punishment in the matches to get the fans behind the team. He was also the one that always suffered a humiliation or "injury" to further the storyline the team would be involved in. Nowadays, this is sometimes referred to as "Playing Ricky Morton". At this time they