Dennis Condrey Of The Midnight Express Dies At 74, AEW's Dax Harwood Opens GoFundMe
A man who left the station and pioneered the art of professional tag team wrestling, Dennis Condrey, the founding member of the Midnight Express tag team, has passed away at the age of 74.
A star whose adopted the same style Condrey once presented from his gear down to his in-ring technical style, Dax Harwood, not only paid tribute to the man whom he deeply respected, but he also created a GoFundMe page, asking fans, colleagues, and others to help cover funeral expenses for the Hall of Famer.
"If Dennis Condrey and the Midnight Express ever brought any amount of joy to your life, and you're able to help, please do. If not, it's absolutely ok!," the current three-time AEW World Tag Team Champion wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Please send all your thoughts and prayers to Theresa Condrey in her time of need. God speed, "Loverboy" Dennis Condrey." At the time of this report, $9,230 has been raised out of its $11,000 goal.
Originating in 1980, "Loverboy" Condrey established the Midnight Express stable with "Ravishing" Randy Rose and Norvell Austin. Eventually separating, Condrey left for Mid-South Wrestling, where he formed a new version of the group with "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton and Jim Cornette, who served as their manager in 1983. This version of the group ran together throughout Mid-South, WCCW, and eventually Jim Crockett Promotions.
Seven years after dissolving the original formation with Rose, they would reunite in AWA in 1987. That version resurfaced, this time, with Paul E. Dangerously (who many know as WWE's "Oracle," Paul Heyman) as their manager, leading to a must-see feud in World Championship Wrestling between those three and Condrey's past cohorts, Cornette, Eaton, and "Sweet" Stan Lane. Unfortunately, as hot as the feud was, the heat dissolved rather quickly after Condrey left WCW in 1989.
Condrey continued wrestling on the independent scene through 2011. In his overall career alone, he was a 73-time former tag team champion. Harwood had the pleasure to share the ring with him a few times in his career, including after an "AEW Collision" and ROH taping in 2023, alongside Cash Wheeler and former AEW World Champion, CM Punk.