It's been 30 years since two of the greatest teams in the history of professional wrestling first embarked on a journey that would be fondly remembered three decades later by a generation of fans.

Those two teams will be honored at the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest in Charlotte.

The Rock-n-Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) and The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton, Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane), along with manager Jim Cornette, will be inducted into the Hall of Heroes on Friday night, August 2.

Lane, who took Condrey's place in the Midnight Express for a four-year-period, will be unable to attend due to a prior commitment.

In addition to signing autographs and posing for photos with fans, all five will be taking part in the planned "Mid-Atlantic Memories" documentary project, and Cornette also will be hosting a late-night Q&A session titled "Jim Cornette: Unplugged and Uncensored."

And you can bet your bottom dollar that Cornette will be wielding his signature "Louisville Slugger" tennis racket. It's the same racket that the outspoken manager used to swat Morton and Gibson with more times than he can remember. Cornette figures the two teams locked horns on several hundred occasions, and that's probably the number of times he whacked his team's archrivals over their heads. "I don't know that there might have been a match where I didn't slap one of them with the racket," he laughs.

The opinionated but entertaining Cornette, who has taken time off from the wrestling business since last November, will be making his only wrestling-related appearance of the year at Fanfest. He says he'll give an amusing account of when "I finally realized I needed to get away from the wrestling business for my own health and sanity."

It promises to be an event that very well could be remembered for another 30 years. "I'm really looking forward to this. Being inducted is a great honor," says Gibson. "It's a chance for us to give back to the fans. We've always put the fans No. 1. It's good to come back and see old friends where grudges are forgotten."

"I love the fans," says Morton. "That's what I like so much about Fanfest. People come from all over ... even different countries. It's a great event." 

Former Extreme Championship Wrestling World champion Raven will be making a very special appearance at this summer's Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest in Charlotte. And he won't be alone.

Raven will be making a rare appearance alongside former flock members Lodi, Sick Boy and Riggs, courtesy of vendor ECWLegends.com

Raven and his flock members will be signing autographs and taking photos with fans, including a special "Flock Reunion" photo op, from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, August 3.

Continue reading at NWALegends.com... 

There are pro wrestling feuds. And then there's Tully Blanchard vs. Magnum T.A. Their series of matches rank among the bloodiest and most intense programs of all time and set a new standard for brutality in the rough-and-tumble Mid-Atlantic territory in 1985.

The two will come together once again, smack dab in the heart of Crockett territory, during the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest August 1-4 in Charlotte. This time, however, they will return as special guests for an opening night Q&A session that will help kick off the annual event. Magnum also will be inducted into the Hall of Heroes the following evening. 

For a blue-collar kid from the steel town of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, it can be stated with relative certainty that Johnny Powers did pretty well for himself. Powers spent 20 years in the wrestling profession, and during that time achieved an amazing degree of success that would carry over to other business ventures.

A risk-taking, forward-thinking promoter at heart, Powers was a darling of the pro wrestling community during the '60s and '70s. With good looks, a 6-4, 260-pound athletic body, and a sharp mind for the business, the wrestler nicknamed the "Golden Adonis" became a major star by his mid-20s.

A three-time National Wrestling Federation world champion and seven-time North American titleholder, the resourceful Powers founded his wrestling organization, was a pioneer in wrestling syndication and produced the first "Super Bowl of Wrestling" at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium in 1972.

Mention the name Anderson to a wrestling fan, and chances are good that the conversation will quickly turn to one of the greatest tag teams in the sport's history. Few names have such a rich heritage in the wrestling business. The Anderson Brothers represent tag-team wrestling royalty, and set the bar high for duos that would follow and try to emulate their style and success.

The Andersons were rugged and brutal, but their strategy was simple. They would methodically wear down their opponents - often working over one particular part of the body - before finally pinning or making their victims submit. And when their foes would attempt to make a tag, the Andersons would employ their patented blocking technique to prevent it.

Most fans will remember the latter and more recognized Anderson Brothers version of Gene and Ole. The original "Minnesota Wrecking Crew," however, was composed of Gene and Lars Anderson, with Ole eventually being introduced as a third member. Years later Arn Anderson, a fictitious nephew/cousin, would be brought in as a member of the extended family and would team with Ole as part of the legendary Four Horsemen.

Former NWA World junior heavyweight champion Denny Brown says he's no stranger to rejection. At 5' 8" and 170 pounds, the undersized performer had doors shut on him right and left as he tried to break into the business.

"Nobody really wanted me because I was so small. Everybody beat the tar out of me," he says. But that didn't deter the tenacious grappler from achieving his dream.

"How many people do you know that come from my type of a background that gets to experience what I've experienced? The thing that I'm most proud of is that I got it." What Brown got was respect from his peers in the wrestling business and four runs with the NWA World junior heavyweight title during the mid-1980s.

Brown, now 57 and still in good enough shape to do some damage inside a wrestling ring, will be a featured guest at the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest August 1-4 in Charlotte.

"I attended Fanfest in 2005 and enjoyed it. I'm really looking forward to this year's event."

Bob Caudle, the longtime television voice of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is the latest featured guest to be announced for this summer's Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest Weekend August 1-4 in Charlotte.

Caudle's easygoing, straightforward approach at the announce desk made him one of Mid-Atlantic wrestling's most beloved figures; a staple of wrestling in the Carolinas during the '60s, '70s, and '80s and its fans who religiously tuned in each Saturday for their weekly dose of TV grappling.

For years the affable broadcaster served as lone commentator for the show that was taped on Wednesday nights at the WRAL-TV studio in Raleigh, where he also worked as an on-air personality doing the news and weather.

"I guess most old people are like me. We like to think back a lot and reminisce about when things were good. And those, to me, were really good times. They were the best," says Caudle, who will turn 83 during Fanfest weekend.

Caudle, who has missed only two Fanfest events, says he loves attending the annual reunion. "It's a wonderful event. I don't see how Greg (Price) does it each year, but he does a great job."

An inaugural inductee into the Hall of Heroes in 2007, Caudle says he is amazed - and humbled - by the response he receives at the event. "Even older people will come up to me at Fanfest and say they grew up watching me. A lot of younger people also come up and ask for an autograph. It's amazing to me since they're so young."

Most wrestling fans fondly remember James J. Dillon as the colorful manager and strategic leader of the famed Four Horsemen. That elite unit, with Dillon at the helm, is universally regarded as one of the greatest factions in the history of the business.

Some fans might be surprised, however, to learn that Dillon had been an accomplished wrestler in his own right with an impressive resume.

Did you know that Dillon once defeated Mr. Wrestling II for the Florida heavyweight championship and held the Florida tag-team title with Roger Kirby? Or that he had the opportunity to don the tights inside "the Mecca of pro wrestling" - Madison Square Garden? "It was my one and only time. It was late in my career against Tito Santana," Dillon recalls.

He had his first televised match in Pittsburgh against the great Killer Kowalski. Dillon even wrestled the legendary Mexican star El Santo - twice. "He was bigger there than Hulk Hogan ever was here or anybody else anywhere else in the world," notes Dillon. In fact, the mercurial manager took part in more than 3,200 professional matches during his career, and held a collection of impressive titles.

But Dillon actually broke into the business as neither a wrestler nor a manager, but as a referee who spent the first few years of his career officiating inside the squared circle.

He had dreamed of being a wrestler since the first time he watched the spectacle on his family's black and white television. "I was hooked," says Dillon, whose early fandom included serving as president of the Johnny Valentine Fan Club back in the late '50s. "I realized he was great without really understanding why at the time because I was just a kid."

Dillon went on to enjoy an illustrious career in the wrestling business that was highlighted by an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. The honors will continue with Dillon's induction into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, New York in May.

Another event that Dillon is excited about is the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest this summer in Charlotte. Dillon will be on hand to induct an old buddy and partner, Les Thatcher, into the Hall of Heroes. "He was right there in the beginning with me, and I always look forward to seeing him. I'm honored that he wanted me to do this," says Dillon.