topcenter





WRESTLING COLUMNS

The Forgotten Excitement Of Demolition
December 21, 2006 by George Alig


Editor's Notes: There are lots of columns posted on various topics, and sometimes there are multiple columns with similar topics. If you read a column (ANY column) and decide to send in feedback, PLEASE be sure to indicate which column you are responding to by typing the TITLE of the column in the subject line. Also, DO NOT FORGET to sign your name. Thanks!


I was talking to a fellow wrestling fan the other day and the topic of Tag Teams came up, my favorite topic by far. I asked "What is your favorite team of all time" and like most people I ask I get the Road Warriors response. He asked me what mine was and when I said Demolition I got a response that pisses off every Demolition fan. They are Road Warrior rip offs. I said to him that the Road Warriors were the first tough and painted but they were two guys that basically did the same thing, brawling. Demolition were two guys that brawled and used holds once and a while because they wrestled under different gimmicks first.

I am not saying that Demolition is the best of all time; I personally feel that the Hart Foundation, British Bulldogs, Freebirds and the Rock and Roll Express just to name a few were easily better for each of their own special reason. I am just a big fan of the longest reigning WWE tag team and the best brawling team that had technical skills. Demolition were two wrestlers who were put together to be a "cover band" type tag team who took that gimmick and turned it into something successful. The legacy that Demolition had did last with their fans but it is a shame that so many people write them off as rip off artist forgetting that they did accomplish. It is so easy also to blame Crush for this also but in the end it has a lot to do with the timing of things. The Road Warriors entering the WWE when Bill Eadie (Ax) is having back problem and the Hart Foundation were on fire and ready to challenge the champs at SummerSlam again couldn't be worse for Ax and Smash.

For all of you non-Demolition supporters lets go over their history a little bit. They beat Strike Force for the titles and held them so long that they even became fan favorites before they lost them. Look who they lost them to; two of the original Four Housemen. When they lost them again it was to Andre the Giant and Haku. They beat both teams to get the titles back. Their last title reign came to an end at SummerSlam and when that happened so did their legacy as the important team in the company. At Wrestlemania 7 then Smash and Crush made Demolitions last PPV apperance it was in a job like fashion to a team that didn't even wrestle in the WWE. When Ax left the team the difference was very noticeable in the team's performance. It was like watching a bad sequel to a good movie, not the same and not necessary.

The best thing that could have happened would keep Demolition as a fan favorite and have them go against the Road Warriors also as fan favorite and make a match out of it. It wouldn't have to be a PPV but at least a Saturday Night Main Even after SummerSlam. That way the true fans of them wouldn't feel cheated and disrespected by the company that made them. I have no doubt that some day the Road Warriors will be in the hall of fame and the same as other teams in the heyday of the tag team wrestling. I just hope that someday Bill Eadie and Barry Darsow get their dues for making the tag team division in the WWE so completive and exciting for so many years.

by George Alig..


Ed Cuneo wrote:
i respect lod but alot of the times found them boring.Demolition ,to me,wasnt a rip off of lod, infact i found them better, along with the hart foundation, they are teh top two teams of all time in my opinion, i also get tired of the lod rip off thing,and hated to see the way their run ended. if ax was hurt, it should have been a face vs face match at summerslam or wm 6 and have the harts go over. or have a tag tourny leading up to summerslam after tey had the belts over, how about even ax be the manager instead of fuji again" so amy better scenarios thatn the one that was....demolition rocks
Al Fucsko wrote:
I could not agree more. Demolition started out as Road Warrior clones, but you could also say that about the Terminator, the Blade Runners, the Powers of Pain, and several other 1980's wrestlers. Demolition took the clone gimmick and carved out their own identity. Sure, there were crappy other members like the original Smash(Colley), Crush, and Blast, but the Ax/Smash(Darsow) version were something special. They created a huge fan following and set a tag title record for the longest reign.

Hey, people called Jesse Ventura and Hulk Hogan clones of Superstar Graham when they first started-and they were, but they are in the Hall of Fame now, so why not Demolition"
Johnny F. wrote:
Here comes the AX.. Here comes the SMASHER.. OH DEMOLITION, TOTAL DISASTER!!!!! Yes there was nothin cooler than going to beckers, buying a bag of chips, and getting a Demolition mini card when I was ten!!! It was the best time of my childhood.. Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and DEMOLITION!!!!! WOW DUDE !!!! Thanx for the cool column!!!!
Patrick C. wrote:
"I agree with your article, and I do believe that demolition was able to provide a solid base for the swelling tag team talent pool that was emerging at during the mid to late 1980's. Of course they were insipred by the Road Warriors, but wrestling has always been about sampling the gimmicks of others, which is clearly a sign of respect and appreciation"
Brian J. Adkins wrote:
The Road Warriors did more than brawl especially Hawk who consistently used aerial manuveurs. As for Demolition themselves,the best thing i can say is that they had a memorable theme song. The Road Warriors were actually in shape whereas Ax and Smash looked exactly like what they were-two overwieight,middle-aged men in leather outfits and makeup. Sorry,i`m not trying to bring anyone down and to be fair the Road Wariors weren`t my favorite team either.
Dennis Wyatt wrote:
You Sir,are not the only one who thinks DEMOLITION was the best,People say what they may about being CLONES of L.O.D., But in my oppinion I saw them as WWF/Es UPGRADED version,that also was successful,by holdin the titles as long as they did,,L.O.D. held all sorts of titles but how long was each reign,NOT LONG,Don't get me wrong I loved the ROAD WARRIORS,they along with DEMOLITION,POWERS OF PAIN , ULTIMATE WARRIOR & STING, were the kinds of Characters that kept me drawn, Today I still never miss wrestling,WWE / TNA / ECW and so on, but todays teams are bland ,they have no character,they seem like just 2 average joes from the audience,As for CLONNING gimmicks,,SO what, Case in point SHAWN MICHAELS,,was just another guy in a Good tag team,after he trashed Jannetty He became "HBK" The Heartbreak Kid,Brash arrigant,cocky,with an I'M BETTER THAN YOU attitude . And it worked---BUT WAIT,,,Wasn't that Ric Flairs persona that he Coppied from Buddy Rodgers that he coppied from Georgeous George,Exactly ,But HBK did what Flair did and what DEMOLITION did,,,,They took those Personas and made them not only work ,but made them all LEDGENDS.So I say BRAVO---WAIT ONCE MORE--The copy machine is not broken,Remember HBK for the gimmick that made him in the 90s Pre- DX--Now , Come Monday night ,watch RAW,peel your eyes off of Malina for a sec.and Watch JOHNNY NITRO,,,Hmmmm HBK the Sequile? With that said ,would I like to see Vinnie Mac bring in a new teem of painted,spike clad monsters to replicate DEMOLITION,,You bet I do,before BATISTA and BROCK LESNAR were called up to WWE, I told everyone who would listen ,how cool it would be to paint those two and bring them in as the "WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION" But to my dismay we got Brock & Dave ,I liked them both but Batista is DRY and Brock needed something,,,DEMOLITION part 2 would have RULED !! Thanks for a great article,Got my blood pumping !!DEMOLITION FOREVER----
wrote:

wrote:

wrote:

wrote:

If you have any comments, reactions, rebuttles or thoughts on this column, feel free to send them to the email below,
PLEASE INCLUDE THE NAME OF THE COLUMN YOU'RE REPLYING TO AND SIGN YOUR NAME..
We at OnlineWorldofWrestling want to promote all points of view, and that includes YOURS.




© 2015, Black Pants, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders.

[ CHAT ROOM | FLASH | SEARCH | FORUMS | DOWNLOADS | TAPES | WRESTLINKS | GUESTBOOK | THANK YOU | CONTACT ]