Demolition (professional wrestling)

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Demolition
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LtoR: Ax, Smash, and Crush
Tag team
Members Ax
Smash
Crush
Name(s) Demolition
Heights 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) -Ax
6 ft 2 in (188 cm) -Smash
6 ft 6 in (198 cm) -Crush
Combined weight Varies depending on combination
Former members Smash (I)
Debuted 1987
Disbanded 1991
Promotions WWF

Demolition was a professional wrestling tag team in the late '80s World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax (Bill Eadie), Smash (Barry Darsow), and later Crush (Brian Adams).

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Formation

Randy Colley and Bill Eadie created the Demolition gimmick and look around 1987 while working for the World Wrestling Federation. After only a few matches, however, Colley was replaced with Barry Darsow for reasons which vary depending on the source (either he was too recognizable (as Moondog Rex) or there was a contract dispute with the WWF which led to his leaving the company).

It's long rumored that Demolition was created as a "rip off" of The Road Warriors, which the WWF had unsuccessfully tried to sign. Both teams were known for their raucous theme music, painted faces, vicious finishing maneuvers and no selling of opponent offense. Demolitions finishing move was known as Demolition Decapitation.

[edit] Demolition domination

After debuting with manager Lucious Johnny V, the team was eventually paired with Mr. Fuji for a manager, who began to wear Demolition style paint around his eyes. He lead them to their first WWF Tag Team Title when they defeated Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) at the March 1988 WrestleMania IV.

As champions, they easily defeated a number of the WWF's top teams which at the time had a very talented, popular and hotly constest tag division. Demolition ran roughshod over the rest of the tag team division, holding the titles for a record 478 days, until The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) were able to take the titles in a Two out of three falls match on Saturday Night Main Event. Prior to losing the titles the team had engaged in a lengthy feud with the Powers of Pain comprised of the Warlord and the Barbarian led by the Baron. However the increasingly popular team would be backstabbed by Mr. Fuji at the 1988 Survivor Series, when Fuji joined up with the Powers of Pain. The two Demos would also memorably square off against eachother as entrants #1 and #2 at the inagural Royal Rumble on PPV before being joined in the ring by Andre the Giant. The popular team would regain the titles from the Brain Busters, and lose them to Bobby Heenan's new team of Andre the Giant and Haku, known as the Colossal Connection.

[edit] Crush

In 1990 Brian Adams joined the team as Crush because of Eadie had developed heart problems.

Crush soon took a more and more active role, teaming with Smash while Ax faded into the background, becoming more of a manager. At this time Demolition used the so-called "Freebird rule" to allow any two members to wrestle the matches, including defenses of the WWF Tag Team Title, which Ax & Smash had won for the third time back at WrestleMania VI in April of 1990 by defeating The Colossal Connection (André the Giant and Haku).

Smash and Crush defended the titles at August's SummerSlam, losing them to The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart). They were never able to recapture the titles after this loss.

Soon after, The Road Warriors signed with the WWF and Demoltion's popularity began to decline. The team lost a final match to Tenryu and Kitao at Wrestlemania VII in 1991 before they broke up and the members went their separate ways.

[edit] Post WWF

After leaving the WWF, Eadie began using the name to Axis the Demolisher on the independent circuit and took in original "Smash" gimmick owner Randy Colley as well as Richard Charland under the name of Demolition Blast in an attempt to resurrect the Demolition name and gimmick[1]. They were sent a cease and desist letter by the WWF once they found out.

In the mid 1990s, Bill Eadie filed a lawsuit against the WWF for the rights of the "Demolition" name and gimmick but lost. Smash recently inked a deal with Jakks Pacific to make a Demolition Legends action figure.

[edit] Championships/Accomplishments

  • Ranked #59 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003.

[edit] In Wrestling

  • Finishing and signature maneuvers
  • Managers
Demolition had one of the most unique pieces of theme music in the late 80s WWF. A piece of hard driven' rock music by Rick Derringer whose lyrics actually introduced both members of the team (Here comes the Ax, and here comes the Smasher). The song was eventually released on Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2.

[edit] External links

Demolition at Obsessed with Wrestling