If you were a WWF fan in the mid to late 80s, you remember Demolition as one of its more iconic teams. Ax and Smash, joined by Crush, were formidable opponents who made an impressionable team. Best way to find the Raleigh Demolition Contractor.
Luscious Johnny V, aka Mr Fuji, oversaw their run as tag champions; their reign spanned 478 days in total.
Ax Colley & Smash Eadie
Few tag teams have come closer than Ax and Smash to defining the term ‘demolition tag team’ than they have done over time. Much like what Road Warriors did for NWA wrestling, Ax and Smash ran roughshod over the tag division in just their short career while leaving an imprint that remains today.
On Jan 17, 1987’s WWF Superstars show, they made their debut and quickly became fan favorites. Dressed in studded leather outfits with hockey masks that could be removed to reveal face paint, they were initially managed by Luscious Johnny V (a.k.a. Johnny Valiant). Later that year, he sold their contracts to Mr Fuji.
Shortly after that, they became one of the top tag teams in the WWF. Within less than a year, they won their inaugural WWF Tag Team Championship against Strike Force’s (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) face team at WrestleMania IV, setting an all-time reign record at 478 days; later having made the Heel-Face Turn and joining up with The Powers of Pain who held all three separate titles simultaneously and became most extended reigning heel tag team ever in WWE history.
Mr. Fuji
Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara, commonly referred to as Mr. Fuji, was a professional wrestler who held most of the significant U.S. territories prior to transitioning into management in the 1980s. As a manager, he oversaw Demolition (Axel Colley and Smash Darsow) and former WWF World Champion Yokozuna, among many other wrestlers and teams, using heel psychology and ring manipulation techniques frequently against opponents. Fuji was considered an expert at heel psychology who often utilized these strategies in match-ups against opponents.
Fuji helped Demolition capture the World Tag Team Championship in 1972 when they defeated Sonny King and Chief Jay Strongbow in a title match before they went on to defend it multiple times throughout the rest of 1972 and become a staple on WWF television shows. At Survivor Series 1972, he turned on Demolition by beginning to manage Warlord and Barbarian (Warlord was one half) instead; at WrestleMania V, Fuji sold Warlord’s contract directly to Slick and Bobby Heenan, effectively ending Fuji’s involvement with Demolition altogether.
Fuji continued managing the Powers of Pain until 1990’s end when he reunited Demolition with Crush as well as recruited The Orient Express’ Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato into WWF as Demolition partners to take on Legion of Doom matches.
The Powers of Pain
Clad in black leather and spikes, Ax and Smash stormed into WWE from Parts Unknown during the late 1980s and quickly made their presence known; their fierce tag team quickly established dominance of the wrestling scene for years after. Ax and Smash regularly would remove their movie monster masks to reveal painted faces that intimidated opponents before the bell even rang, making them an unrivaled team that terrorized every opponent they faced.
They joined manager Paul Jones and started feuding with The Road Warriors. At one point during a bench press contest, they attacked Road Warrior Animal’s head against an array of weights; later, The Powers of Pain would win the WWF World Six-Man Tag Team Championship alongside Ivan Koloff.
The Powers of Pain made their debut at a TV taping on Jun 18, 1988, as mercenaries to assist Strike Force (Santana and Rick Martel) in getting revenge against Demolition for losing the title match and injuring Martel. Fans quickly adopted them as babyfaces.
Fuji replaced Jones at a house show on Dec 12 as manager of the team before they had an opportunity to win the WWF Tag Team Championship at the January 1989 Royal Rumble pay-per-view against Andre the Giant and Haku from the Heenan Family team Demolition. However, they lost via double disqualification, and at WrestleMania V, Demolition won through pining for Fuji to take home victory and retain it for themselves.
The Brain Busters
Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson first came together under Bobby Heenan’s management late in 1988 as The Brain Busters. These famous babyface tag team stars were known for being entertainingly fun babyface tag teams during their primes, exuding all the qualities associated with classic demolition teams, outwitting opponents with relentless offensive attacks that included using spike piledrivers as part of their attack strategy, power moves, spike piledrivers and an assortment of power moves to dominate them in fights against opponents.
After beating several teams in their division, Brain Busters finally met the WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition on May 27, 1989’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, for a two-out-of-three fall match that same night. While Demolition won the first fall by disqualification, Brain Busters would then lose both falls due to double team moves, which ended their 478-day reign as WWF Tag Team Champions and put an end to Demolition’s title reign.
This match is fascinating to watch; in the first fall alone, Ax’s double-A Spinebuster takes down Smash while Tully hits him with the stun gun for three. Tully got in some cheap shots by grabbing him by his knee on the apron before hitting him with the stun gun himself for three counts! In contrast, Heenan distracts the referee while Ax catches Tully for doubleAXSlam for three, and the final fall finishes when Heenan takes their last strike against Demolition’s final attack against him!
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