Demolition (professional wrestling)

Demolition
Smash (left) and Ax as WWF Tag Team Champions
Tag team
Members	Ax[1] Smash[1]
Name(s)	Demolition
Heights	Ax:[1] 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2][3] Smash:[1] 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[4][5] Crush:[1] 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[6]
Combined weight	Varied depending on combination
Billed from	Parts Unknown[7]
Former member(s)	The Original Smash[1][8] Crush[1] Blast (1) Blast (2) Hux Nitro Krash
Debut	January 17, 1987[1][9]
Promotions	Chikara GLCW JAPW SWS WWC WWF USoW

Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s and early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) made up of Ax (Bill Eadie), Smash (Barry Darsow), and later Crush (Brian Adams). In the WWF, Demolition were three-time WWF Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign and the most combined days as reigning champions with that championship.^[10] Beginning in 2007, Ax and Smash reunited for several appearances at various independent shows and legends conventions.^[1]

Career

World Wrestling Federation (1987–1991)

Formation and early push (1987–1988)

Randy Colley and Bill Eadie created the Demolition gimmick and worked for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They debuted as a heel tag team on the January 17, 1987 edition of Superstars, alongside manager Luscious Johnny V, defeating the team of Salvatore Bellomo and Mario Mancini.^[9] The tag team resembled Lord Humungus of the 1981 film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, with the facepaint of hard rockers KISS. Demolition wore studded black leather outfits and leather-covered hockey masks to the ring, which they removed to reveal face paint usually made up of some combination of black, white, red, or silver colors, though other colors were sometimes included. After only a few matches, Colley was replaced with Barry Darsow in a match aired on the February 14, 1987 edition of Superstars. In an RF Video shoot interview with Eadie and Darsow, Eadie said that Colley was replaced because he was recognizable to the fans as the man who previously performed as Moondog Rex. The WWF pitched a few potential replacements to Eadie, but he thought fans would recognize the suggested replacements. However, Eadie felt that many WWF fans would not recognize Darsow, who had been working for Jim Crockett Promotions as Krusher Khruschev alongside Nikita Koloff. Darsow had left Crockett following a dispute in order to take over the role of Smash.^[1][4][5][8]

On the March 14 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Demolition participated in a battle royal, won by Hercules Hernandez.^[11] Demolition became known for their aggressive style in the ring and the way that they dominated their matches. Their first feud was with the team of Ken Patera and Billy Jack Haynes, which started after Ax and Smash brutalized WWF jobber Brady Boone (billed in storyline as the cousin of Billy Jack Haynes) during a televised match. Demolition claimed victories over all of the established face tag teams in the WWF at the time, including the Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell and B. Brian Blair), The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond), British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith),^[12] The Young Stallions (Paul Roma and Jim Powers),^[9] The Islanders (Haku and Tama),^[9] and Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk).^[12] Around that same period, Johnny Valiant (who left soon afterwards) sold their contracts to Mr. Fuji who became their manager.

Demolition made their pay-per-view debut at Survivor Series in an elimination tag team match where 5 babyface teams faced 5 heel teams. Demolition was part of the heel group, They were disqualified for shoving down referee Dave Hebner during the match and the face team went on to win the match.^[13]

Tag team title reigns (1988–1990)

Demolition was known for their distinctive outfits which involved an entrance mask as well as red and silver face paint.

At WrestleMania IV, Ax and Smash defeated Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) to win their first WWF Tag Team Championship. Ax struck Martel in the back of the neck with Fuji's cane while he had Smash in a Boston crab (Fuji had dropped the cane into the ring while taking a beating from Santana who carried on oblivious to what was happening in the ring). Martel was knocked out and Smash covered him for the pin while Ax hid outside with the cane.^[1][14][15] As champions, they defeated a number of the top teams of the WWF, which at the time had a very talent-rich and hotly contested tag division, most notably the British Bulldogs^[1][16] and Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart).^[1][17][18]

In the summer of 1988 The Powers of Pain (The Warlord and The Barbarian) entered the WWF and challenged them for the Tag Team Championship. During the elimination tag team match at Survivor Series 1988, Mr. Fuji attacked Demolition and joined forces with the Powers of Pain. A double turn took place as Demolition turned face while the Powers of Pain turned heel.^[19][20] Interviewed after the contest, Fuji claimed that he had turned on Demolition because, since winning the championship, they had become insubordinate and disrespectful towards him, whereas the Powers would be utterly obedient and loyal apprentices. For their part, Demolition denounced their former manager as a parasite, labelling him "Fuj the Stooge." Demolition defeated the Powers of Pain & Mr. Fuji in a tag team handicap match at WrestleMania V to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship when they caught Fuji in the "Demolition Decapitation".^[21] Prior to this, Ax and Smash also memorably squared off against each other as entrants #1 and #2 in the Royal Rumble match at the Summit in Houston in 1989, tearing into each other for the full two minutes before being joined in the ring by the third entrant André the Giant, where they once again joined as Demolition and targeted the big man.^[22]

After WrestleMania V, Demolition started a feud with the Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), who were the managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. On the May 27, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, the Brain Busters defeated Demolition by disqualification.^[23] Demolition became the longest reigning WWF Tag Team Champions after breaking the record of The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny), and lasting a reign of 478 days.^[24] They finally dropped the titles to the Brain Busters in a two out of three falls match on the July 29 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.^[1][25] Demolition started a feud with André the Giant and The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Bossman). At SummerSlam 1989, King Duggan and Demolition defeated André and the Twin Towers in a six-man tag team match where Darsow showcased his strength by body slamming both of the Twin Towers.^[26] Demolition focused on regaining the tag titles and restarted their feud with the Brain Busters. On the November 4 edition of Superstars (taped on October 2), Demolition defeated the Brain Busters to regain their tag titles and win their second WWF Tag Team Championship.^[1][9][27]

Demolition next feuded with the new Heenan Family team, the Colossal Connection (André the Giant and Haku). On the December 30 edition of Superstars (taped on December 13), Demolition lost the tag titles to the Colossal Connection.^[1][9] At WrestleMania VI at the SkyDome in Toronto, Demolition defeated the Colossal Connection to regain the titles and win their third and final WWF Tag Team Championship, and finally put an end to their feud with the Heenan Family.^[1][28][29] Due to his deteriorating physical condition, André never tagged in during the match with Haku facing Demolition on his own.

Addition of Crush and aftermath (1990–1993)

After WrestleMania VI, Demolition quietly turned heel for the first time since 1988. This intensified when Brian Adams debuted in WWF and joined the team as Crush.^[1][6][30] In kayfabe it was claimed that this was a heinous scheme to gain a three-on-two advantage over other tag teams, but it was actually because Eadie had developed an allergy to shellfish (which he attributed to his frequent trips to Japan) which hospitalized him, and WWF owner and head booker Vince McMahon wanted to add a third member to the team just in case the illness put Eadie out of action for an extended period of time.^[31]

Crush soon took a more active role, teaming with Smash while Ax faded into the background, becoming more of a manager. At this time Demolition used the "Freebird rule" to allow any two members to wrestle the matches. Smash and Crush defended the titles in the summer of 1990. On the July 28 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Smash and Crush defeated The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) to retain the titles^[1][32] after Ax interfered on their behalf and attacked Michaels.^[33] The next month at SummerSlam 1990, however, Demolition lost the titles to Hart Foundation in a two out of three falls match. In that match, Smash & Crush started, but Ax secretly came down later on to substitute himself into the match behind the referee's back. Ultimately, the Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal),^[1][34][35] who had signed with the WWF a month earlier, interfered and snuffed out the deception. Demolition never recaptured the titles after this loss.

Soon after, due to the Legion of Doom (L.O.D.) joining the WWF roster, Demolition's popularity began to decline. As a result of the interference by LOD, Demolition began feuding with Hawk and Animal who would often be joined in six man matches by reigning WWF Champion the Ultimate Warrior. On the October 13 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Ax, Smash, and Crush lost to the Ultimate Warrior and LOD.^[1][36] On the November 10 episode of Superstars of Wrestling, Demolition reunited with Mr. Fuji when they helped Fuji and The Orient Express assault the Legion of Doom. At the 1990 Survivor Series, The Perfect Team (Demolition and Mr. Perfect) was defeated by The Ultimate Warriors (the Ultimate Warrior, the "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich, and the Legion of Doom).^[1][37] Shortly after, Ax left the WWF, with the on-air explanation being an order from kayfabe WWF President Jack Tunney that there could only be two members of Demolition. Smash and Crush were the two remaining members, and went on to primarily lose to teams such as the Rockers and the Legion of Doom. The team lost a match to Genichiro Tenryu and Koji Kitao at WrestleMania VII.^[38] The team's next match was at WWF/SWS Wrestlefest on March 30, 1991 where they defeated Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano.^[39] Following this match, Demolition would continue to wrestle in both the WWF and the SWS throughout the summer usually on the losing end of matches. The team's final match in the WWF occurred on September 18, 1991 in a losing effort to George Takano and Shunji Takano.^[40] Afterwards, they eventually broke up and the members went their separate ways. Crush went on a leave of absence from the WWF, while Smash wrestled in singles matches (usually on the losing end) for a brief time before also leaving the WWF. Crush would return to PNW (where he had previously wrestled as Brian Adams), while also teaming with Smash in the WWC and SWS.^[41] Smash would later return to the WWF as the Repo Man a sneaky thief claiming to be a repossessor, in the fall of 1991. Crush would also return in the spring of 1992 as a face, (beginning a run as the popular "Kona Crush" surfer type building on Adams being a native of Hawaii). The two ended up facing off at SummerSlam 1992, with Crush getting the victory over Repo Man.^[42] Crush would later turn heel on Randy Savage and rehire Mr. Fuji as his manager in 1993, once again painting his face, only in a different pattern from his Demolition days.

Post-WWF

Eadie as Ax [left] with Richard Charland as Blast in 1991.

After leaving the WWF, Eadie began using the name "Axis the Demolisher" on the independent circuit and took in Randy Colley, who had originally wrestled as "Smash", as well as Canadian veteran Richard Charland, who adopted the moniker "Blast", in late-1991 in an attempt to resurrect the Demolition name and gimmick, but were eventually sent a cease and desist letter by the WWF.^[43][44] Years later, Eadie, as Ax, began teaming with Carmine Azzato, who also used the name "Blast". This incarnation of Demolition wrestled for Universal Superstars of America, where they held tag team title once.

In the mid-1990s, Bill Eadie filed a lawsuit against the WWF for the rights of the "Demolition" name and gimmick but lost. Ax, Smash and Crush inked a deal with Jakks Pacific to make Demolition Classic Superstars action figures. Ax and Smash were together in a 2-pack for Toys R Us, each had a singles figure from series #14, and were packaged and repainted with Crush in a 3-pack for Walmart.

On August 13, 2007, Brian Adams was found unconscious in his Tampa, Florida home. Adams' wife found him not breathing in his bed, and summoned paramedics. The wrestler could not be revived, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police could not immediately determine a cause of death, but noted no signs of injury.^[45][46]

On April 1, 2007, Darsow and Eadie reunited for the first time in 16 years at a "Meet the Legends" event in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.^[47] On September 29, 2007, they appeared as "Demolition" at a United States Xtreme Wrestling event in Orlando, Florida. They once again became tag team champions, defeating the Christopher Street Connection (Buff-E and Mace) to win the UXW Tag Team Championship.^[47]

On Friday, February 22, 2008, both Ax and Smash were inducted into the XWF (later Legends Pro Wrestling) Hall of Fame.

Demolition teamed with One Man Gang in the 28-team King of Trios tournament held by Chikara during the weekend of February 29 and March 1 and 2, 2008 in Philadelphia. While losing the three-man tournament they did win the Tag Team gauntlet.^[48]

On November 13, 2010, Demolition appeared at WrestleRage VIII in Villa Park, Illinois with POWW Entertainment.^[49] They beat the team of Picture Perfect for the POWW Tag Team titles, but quickly lost them after the first match to the team of Trevor Blanchard and Black Iron.

On May 21, 2011, Demolition reunited at Full Impact Pro's debut iPPV In Full Force. Their match against Tony DeVito and Ralph Mosco went to a no contest when local commentator and manager Larry Dallas came out and said his men wanted revenge. The ring was stormed by Manu, Sami Callihan, Blain Rage and Joey Attel. Demolition, Devito and Mosco managed to clear the ring and beat Dallas to end the show.^[50]

On September 16, 2012, Demolition returned to Chikara, taking part in the tag team gauntlet match at the 2012 King of Trios tournament, from which they were eliminated by their old WWF rivals, The Powers of Pain.^[51]

In November 2013, their finishing move was rated by WWE as the 7th greatest Tag Team Finisher of All time.^[52]

In July 2016, Ax and Smash were named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit is litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.^[53]

In wrestling

• Double team finishing moves
  • Demolition Decapitation (Backbreaker hold / Diving elbow drop combination)^[1]
• Double team signature moves
  • Tandem repeating double axe handle blows to a grounded opponent^[1]
• Managers
  • Mr. Fuji^[7]
  • Luscious Johnny V^[7]
• Entrance themes
  • Demolition used the entrance theme "Demolition", a rock track by Rick Derringer, which contained lyrics which introduced the original members of the team: "Here comes the Ax, and here comes the Smasher." The song was eventually released on Piledriver – The Wrestling Album 2. Initially, a rough instrumental version of the track was used in Spring 1987 before the full version was brought into use that summer. During the fall of 1990 when the team had turned heel and Crush had been added, the song was replaced with a dark, brooding instrumental track.

Championships and accomplishments

• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Tag Team Award (2015)
• Great Lakes Championship Wrestling
  • GLCW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current)
• Keystone State Wrestling Alliance
  • KSWA Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[54]
• Legends Pro Wrestling
  • XWF/LPW Hall of Fame Inductees- Class 2008 (2/22/08)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked #59 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003
• United States Xtreme Wrestling
  • UXW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current)^[47]
• Universal Superstars of Wrestling
  • USA Tag team title (1 time)^[55] – Ax and Blast
• World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF Tag Team Championship (3 times, longest reigning, and longest combined reigns)^{[10][15][27][29]}

See also

• The Road Warriors
• Disciples of Apocalypse
• KroniK
• Stud Stable
• The Ascension

References

External links

• Demolition's OWW Profile
• Demolition's WWE Alumni Profile