Nothing says "Attitude Era" like a couple of geriatric high flyers who still listen to southern rock.
But that didn't stop the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from trying to get a few more miles out of those old tires, inexplicably countering the nWo with the NWA. Complete with a screaming Jim Cornette and his weapon of mass destruction: A Wilson tennis racket.
Kindling + catgut = fear in the hearts of men.
On January 12, 1998, the once-great Rock 'n' Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) made their debut on Monday Night RAW, taking on the much larger Disciples of Apocalypse (Skull and 8-Ball).
The result was an unmitigated failure.
Let's put aside the fact the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was no longer relevant in the late nineties, the Rock 'n' Roll Express made no effort to update their look to reflect the current product.
Maybe that was the point, to give them a nostalgic feel, but Cornette grabs the mic and kills the music, then proceeds to shove them down our throats and basically squash them with his overselling before they even hit the ramp.
So not only does Cornette shower them with accolades before they get to the ring, he then joins Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler at the announce table to continue his argument for why we should care.
We didn't.
The entire NWA stable idea was a bomb and this angle is a perfect example. It just felt out of place and out of touch. The Rock 'n' Roll Express and the NWA had a lot of great moments in pro wrestling history.
This wasn't one of them.