Nickrj’s rant for Demolition
This is a tape that was released in August 1989
Demolition are Ax (Bill Eadie) and Smash (Barry Darsow). They debuted in the WWF in early 1987 with Johnny Valiant as their manager. By the Spring however they had Mr. Fuji as their manager. After a year of dominating the Tag Team division, they finally got a shot at Strike Force for the Tag Team titles at Wrestlemania IV on March 27th 1988 at Trump Plaza.
Tag Team Title Match: Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) VS Demolition (with Mr. Fuji)
From my original review
of Wrestlemania IV:
The crowd is so bored at this point they don’t have any enthusiasm to cheer Strike Force when they come down. Smash starts with Martel and starts pounding away. Smash catches Martel and a four men brawl erupts. Strike Force double teams Smash. Martel goes to work on the right arm and Santana nails an elbow on it. Ax comes in and gets arm dragged. Martel comes back in and continues to work on the arm of Ax. Smash comes back in and gets hiptossed. Santana comes back in and continues to work on the arm but gets caught in a bear hug and nailed by Ax on the outside. Demoliton starts working on Santana. Ax comes back in and hits a power slam for 2. Smash comes back in and roughs up Santana some more. Smash hits a suplex for 2. Smash slams Santana and misses an elbow. Santana hits Ax but Smash drags him. Santana hits the flying forearm on Ax and manages to tag Martel. Martel goes to work on both members of Demoliton. Martel hits the Boston Crab on Smash but Santana comes in and pounds on Ax and hits the Flying Forearm and nail Mr. Fuji who drops the cane for Ax who nails Martel in the neck with it and Smash pins Martel at 8:00. Demoliton are the new tag team champions. One of the better matches of the night **.
Tag Team Title Match: Demolition (with Mr. Fuji and Jimmy Hart) VS The Hart Foundation
From Summerslam on 8/29/88 at MSG. Jimmy Hart was the former manager of the Harts so he’s with Demolition here. Ax starts it off with Bret Hart. Ax shoves off Bret and pounds on him. He slams Bret but misses an elbow. Bret starts hammering on both Demos. He gets a rollup for 2. Smash is armdragged and Jim Neidhart comes in and starts working on the arm and pounds on Smash. Shoulderblock but Anvil is kicked by Ax. Ax comes in and pounds away. Smash is back in and pounds some more. Ax puts his head down and pays for it. Bret comes in and hammers on Smash and hits a dropkick but he is rammed into the post shoulderfirst. Anvil chases the Mouth back to the locker room as Ax goes to work on the right arm of Bret Hart. He ties it into the ropes and allows Smash to work on it. Bret is rammed shoulderfirst into the turnbuckle. Smash gets the tag and hits a shoulderbreaker and does a spinning armlock. Ax comes in and works on the arm some more. Smash outside rams Bret’s arm into the post outside. Ax back in and takes a clothesline. Anvil gets the hot tag but the ref doesn’t see it. Bret takes some more punishment but kicks Smash in the corner and gets the hot tag. Anvil pounds on both Demos. He knocks both of em outside and hits a slingshot tackle on Smash. Anvil hits a powerslam for 2. Bret gets the tag and sends Anvil shoulderfirst into Smash and Bret gets 2. Bret hits a backbreaker for 2. 4 man brawl erupts and Anvil nails Fuji but Ax nails Bret from behind with the megaphone and Smash gets the pin at 10:47. Pretty good match ***1/4
We get a recap of Survivor Series 88 During the tag team match which is JIP with 4 teams left (Demolition, The Conquistiadors, Powers Of Pain and The British Bulldogs)
From my Original review:
Smash pounds on Dynamite Kid but takes a kneelift for 2. Conquistador is in and hits a knee. His partner is in and misses a cannonball. Warlord hits a gut wrench suplex and tags Barbie who hits a boot. Con’s partner comes in and Davey Boy Smith hits a vertical suplex for 2. Ax back in there and takes a crucifix for 2. Ax pounds and tags Smash. Davey gets an armdrag. Dynamite is back in and slams his face. Ax back in and takes a clothesline. Con takes a press slam from Davey Boy. He hits the running powerslam but doesn’t cover Con. Barbie comes in and they double headbutt Con back into his own corner. 2nd time that he’s been saved that way. Barbie pounds on Ax but is sent outside the ring. Ax tags Smash who throws Barbie outside. Cons do some doubleteaming but they can’t knock Barbie down. Barbie gets the tag to Davey Boy and they hit a double elbow for 2. Dynamite back in and hits a gut wrench suplex for 2. Falling headbutt gets another 2. Warlord comes in and hits a legdrop but doesn’t cover. Dynamite is in and puts his head down. Smash is back in and pounds away but runs into a boot. Dynamite hits a snap suplex but misses a diving headbutt. Smash clotheslines Dunamite for the pin at 36:17 eliminating the Bulldogs. Barbie is in and pounds on Smash but is dragged into the wrong corner. The Cons work over Barbie. Warlord comes in and charges Con put shoulders himself into the post. Ax comes in and works over. Smash comes in and goes to an armbar as Mr. Fuji jumps on the apron for whatever reason. The ref brings him back down however. Ax hits a snapmare into an armbar. Smash back in and does another snap mare as Fuji jumps on the apron again. Warlord fights back but runs into a clothesline. Smash goes to the ropes and Fuji pulls the ropes open and sends Smash to the outside and he is counted out at 39:46. Ax comes out and argues with Fuji but he gets nailed in the back with the cane. Smash comes up from behind and sends Fuji into Ax who slams Fuji on the floor to a big pop. The POP then come out and help Fuji up. The cons work on Barbie but Fuji trips one of them and Barbie hits a diving headbutt for the final pin at 42:23. The Powers Of Pain are the sole survivors. They get a pop but it turns into heat as they carry Fuji on their shoulders. Demolition rightfully pissed come back in and the knock the POP out of the ring. The crowd is stunned. Long match but well worth it. It was a very hot matchup but it kinda died after the Bulldogs left. ****
From Wrestling Challenge. Ring Announcer Mike McGuirk says that the Demos are with Mr. Fuji they aren’t so this must be right after Survivor Series. The Russians jump Demos to start but they come back and pound on Nicolai Volkoff. Smash works on the right arm and shoulder of Volkoff and tags Ax who continues to work. Smash is back in and Ax is in again and goes to the chinlock. Both Demos continue to work on the right arm. Smash hits a snapmare and Boris Zhukoff gets a blind tag and starts to work on Smash but Smash fights back. Ax slams Boris and hits a clothesline. Smash is back in and throws Zhukoff to the floor and rams him into the post. Smash works on the right arm of Boris now. Ax comes in and goes to the chinlock and rakes his eyes. Smash gets a snapmare and continues to work on the right arm. Ax comes in and gets a 2 count and goes to the chinlock again. Volkoff comes in but Smash comes in and goes to the chinlock and armbar. Smash runs into a boot and Volkoff gets a tag and a four man brawl erupts. Ax slams Boris and hit a double clothesline. Ax is thrown to the outside and Smash is nailed but Ax pulls the top rope down for Volkoff and the Demos nail their finisher on Boris for the pin at 8:08. Pretty much a yawner 1/2*
From a SNME taping is a match that never aired. Smash starts with Valentine. Smash gets some right hands and hits an atomic drop. He runs into a boot however and takes a clothesline. Valentine tries the Figure Four but is taken down. Honky comes in and is hiptossed. Ax comes in and they both pound on Honky. Ax hits an elbow. Smash hits a snapmare and goes to the chinlock. Ax in and snapmares Honky but takes an eyerake. Valentine comes in and chops on Ax and hits a low blow and a backbreaker. Honky is back in and hits a double axhandle. Valentine is back in and Ax counters a headdown. Smash comes in and cleans house but the ref is knocked outside the ring in the melee. They hit a double elbow as Ron Garvin comes in as another ref and Honky gets the Megaphone and hits Ax in the back with it and Garvin DQ’s Honky and Valentine at 5:05. Bad ending but an okay match *
From SNME on 5/27/89. Smash starts with Tully Blanchard. Tully takes a shove and a clothesline to the outside. Back in Smash gets a bear hug but Arn Anderson makes the save. Both Busters are clotheslined by Smash. Ax comes in and hits an elbow and a slam on Arn. Arn is rammed into the wrong corner and both Demos get some shots in. Smash with a chinlock but is kicked by Tully. Arn hits a vertical suplex which Smash no sells. 4 man brawl erupts and Demos pound on Tully. Tully chops on Ax but Ax no sells and he pounds on Tully but takes a double knee in the corner but he catches Tully in a bearhug and sends him outside. Smash press slams Tully back in as Ax clotheslines Tully on top of Heenan. Tully is snapmared back in and takes a shot. Ax goes to the chinlock. Smash comes in and goes to the midsection and places in a high choke hold but Arn clips Smash’s leg. Snapmare by Arn and he kicks away. Tully hits a top rope butt splash on the injured knee. Arn hits a spinebuster for 2. Tully back in and does the shuffle for Ax. The Busters double team Smash. Arn gets the tag and snapmares Smash into a kneedrop for 2. Smash powers out of a hammerlock but is tripped. Smash is thrown to the outside and Arn hits a double axhandle. Both Smash and Arn knock each other down and Tully is taken down by Ax and is nailed by Arn. Ax comes in and a four man brawl erupts and Ax tosses the ref calls a DQ is called at 9:10. The Busters win the match but not the titles. Very good match ***1/2. Demos brawl with the Busters outside the ring now.
From Wrestlemania V on 4/2/89 from Trump Plaza. From my original review:
Fuji throws some “Ceremonial Salt” to the crowd. The Warlord and Ax start it off and Ax starts pounding away. Smash comes in and Demolition pounds away. Armdrag into an armbar. Ax comes back in and hits a snap mare and works on the neck. Smash is back in and another double team pounding occurs. Smash is thrown in the corner and Barbarian comes in but isn’t faring any better. Ax comes back in and hits a clothesline and a slam. Smash hits an elbow. Ax is back in and they hit a double elbow. Snapmare into another neck hold. Smash takes a shot from Barbie though. Warlord comes back in and is dragged into the wrong corner. Ax goes after Fuji but takes a kick from Barbie. Warlord with the boot to the throat. Fuji comes in and goes to work and hits a low headbutt. Barbie is back in and continues to pound on Ax. Barbie hits a flying clothesine. Warlord is back in and covers Ax for 2. Barbie has Ax high up and slams him and Fuji misses a splash. Warlord is back in and takes a clothesline. Ax makes the hot tag and Smash works over both POP. They clothesline Warlord over the top rope. 5 man brawl erupts and Fuji takes some salt but inadvertanly throws it in the Warlord’s face. Demolition then nail their finisher on Fuji for the pin at 8:55. Match was too punchy kicky here ½*
Summary: This was a pretty cool look at one of the WWF’s hottest tag teams of their generation. Well worth a look RECOMMENDED