History Wrestling / Demolition

->''"Here comes the Axer\\

->''"Here comes the Ax\\

** Crush would {{avert|edTrope}} this by keeping the ''same name'' through various gimmicks, such as "Hawaiian" Crush, evil, face-painted Crush (managed by Mr. Fuji), ex-convict [[Wrestling/TheNationOfDomination Nation of Domination]] member Crush, and biker leader of the Disciples of the Apocalypse Crush.

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: During their heyday, the team was pretty much unstoppable, and their first tag team reign, which lasted well over a year and will likely never be topped as the original World Tag Team Title is now defunct, beating the team was pretty much this. Until the Brain Busters (ArnAnderson and TullyBlanchard) knocked them off the mountain, very few had a victory over them.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demolition1_5577.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Ax (left) and Smash (right), proving EvilIsCool and it will pound the ''crap'' out of you.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Ax and Smash present their third member, Crush (center).]]

'''Demolition''' is a {{professional wrestling}} {{tag team}} most prominent during the late 1980s and early 1990s in the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]]. Debuting in January 1987 of an episode of ''Superstars,'' Demolition began as the WWF's answer to Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors. Decked out in studded, leather outfits and black masks (which would be removed to reveal their signature red/silver face paint), Ax and Smash soon became a hugely successful tag team in their own right, winning the WWF Tag Team Championships three times during one of the most prominent eras of the tag division.

The team was made up of Bill Eadie as Ax and Wrestling/BarryDarsow as Smash. [[note]]The latter was originally played by Randy Colley, who was replaced when Eadie and WWF management realized fans recognized Colley from his old role as Moondog Rex.[[/note]] Originally managed by Luscious Johnny V, they eventually settled on Wrestling/MrFuji as their manager. Ax and Smash ran roughshod over the tag division, culminating in their first [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Championship]] win at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania IV'', over Strike Force (Wrestling/RickMartel and Wrestling/TitoSantana). They got even more successful following a HeelFaceTurn, where Mr. Fuji turned on them and joined up with a newly {{Heel}} Powers of Pain, leading to a ''[=WrestleMania=] V'' feud. For the next few years, Demolition were one of the most, if not ''the'' most, popular tag teams in the company... until Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors themselves showed up in the WWF. Combined with a FaceHeelTurn and Bill Eadie's poor health at the time, not even a third member (Wrestling/BrianAdams, a.k.a. Crush) could revive their momentum.

-->''"Here comes the Ax\\

* {{Badass Grandpa}}s: Ax and Smash are definitely this today. See Holy Shit Quotient on the YMMV page.

* ArchEnemy: The Powers of Pain (the Warlord and Wrestling/TheBarbarian), Wrestling/TitoSantana, the Hart Foundation ([[Wrestling/BretHart Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart), [[Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors the Legion of Doom]].

The team was made up of Bill Eadie as Ax and Barry Darsow as Smash. [[note]]The latter was originally played by Randy Colley, who was replaced when Eadie and WWF management realized fans recognized Colley from his old role as Moondog Rex.[[/note]] Originally managed by Luscious Johnny V, they eventually settled on Wrestling/MrFuji as their manager. Ax and Smash ran roughshod over the tag division, culminating in their first [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Championship]] win at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania IV'', over Strike Force (Wrestling/RickMartel and Wrestling/TitoSantana). They got even more successful following a HeelFaceTurn, where Mr. Fuji turned on them and joined up with a newly {{Heel}} Powers of Pain, leading to a ''[=WrestleMania=] V'' feud. For the next few years, Demolition were one of the most, if not ''the'' most, popular tag teams in the company... until Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors themselves showed up in the WWF. Combined with a FaceHeelTurn and Bill Eadie's poor health at the time, not even a third member (Wrestling/BrianAdams, a.k.a. Crush) could revive their momentum.

* BreakupBreakout: Crush would go on to feud with Wrestling/RandySavage, become a member of Wrestling/TheNationOfDomination, go to Wrestling/{{WCW}} and join the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder (though admittedly as part of its B-Team), and then form the tag team [=KroniK=] with Wrestling/BryanClarke, with whom he won the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice. Of course, by the time Crush came into the picture, both Ax and Smash were already veterans in the field, and Demolition was basically their last hurrah.

* BloodKnight: Even as faces, the original two were more interested in brawling than anything else. Best shown at the 1989 RoyalRumble where they were entrants #1 and #2, and spared no time beating eachother senseless.
* BreakupBreakout: Crush would go on to feud with Wrestling/RandySavage, become a member of Wrestling/{{The Nation of Domination}}, go to Wrestling/{{WCW}} and join the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder (though admittedly as part of its B-Team), and then form the tag team [=KroniK=] with Wrestling/BryanClarke, with whom he won the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice. Of course, by the time Crush came into the picture, both Ax and Smash were already veterans in the field, and Demolition was basically their last hurrah.

* HotBlooded

The team was made up of Bill Eadie as Ax and Barry Darsow as Smash. (The latter was originally played by Randy Colley, who was replaced when Eadie and WWF management realized fans recognized Colley from his old role as Moondog Rex.) Originally managed by Luscious Johnny V, they eventually settled on Wrestling/MrFuji as their manager. Ax and Smash ran roughshod over the tag division, culminating in their first [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Championship]] win at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania IV'', over Strike Force (Wrestling/RickMartel and Wrestling/TitoSantana). They got even more successful following a HeelFaceTurn, where Mr. Fuji turned on them and joined up with a newly {{Heel}} Powers of Pain, leading to a ''[=WrestleMania=] V'' feud. For the next few years, Demolition were one of the most, if not ''the'' most, popular tag teams in the company... until Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors themselves showed up in the WWF. Combined with a FaceHeelTurn and Bill Eadie's poor health at the time, not even a third member (Wrestling/BrianAdams, a.k.a. Crush) could revive their momentum.

* FaceHeelDoubleTurn: With the Powers of Pain at the 1988 ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries.''

* BreakupBreakout: Crush would go on to feud with Wrestling/RandySavage, become a member of Wrestling/{{The Nation of Domination}}, go to Wrestling/{{WCW}} and join the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder (though admittedly as part of its B-Team), and then form the tag team [=KroniK=] with Wrestling/BryanClarke, with whom he won the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice.

* {{Expy}}: The whole team were explies of the Road Warriors.

* NoIndoorVoice

-->"''Here comes the Ax\\

Pain and destruction are our middle names''"



[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demolition1_5577.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Ax (left) and Smash (right), proving EvilIsCool and it will pound the ''crap'' out of you.]]Debuting in January of 1987 of an episode of ''Superstars,'' Demolition began as the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF's]] answer to Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors. Decked out in studded, leather outfits and black masks (which would be removed to reveal their signature red/silver face paint), Ax and Smash soon became a hugely successful tag team in their own right, winning the WWF Tag Team Championships three times during one of the most prominent eras of the tag division.

The team was made up of Bill Eadie as Ax and Barry Darsow as Smash. (The latter was originally played by Randy Colley, who was replaced when Eadie and WWF management realized fans recognized Colley from his old role as Moondog Rex.) Originally managed by Luscious Johnny V, they eventually settled on Wrestling/MrFuji as their manager. Ax and Smash ran roughshod over the tag division, culminating in their first [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Title]] win at ''Wrestling/{{Wrestlemania}} IV'', over Strike Force (Wrestling/RickMartel and Wrestling/TitoSantana). They got even more successful following a HeelFaceTurn, where Mr. Fuji turned on them and joined up with a newly {{Heel}} Powers Of Pain, leading to a ''{{Wrestlemania}} V'' feud. For the next few years, Demolition were one of the most, if not ''the'' most, popular tag teams in the company... until Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors themselves showed up in the WWF. Combined with a FaceHeelTurn and Bill Eadie's poor health at the time, not even a third member (Wrestling/BrianAdams, a.k.a. Crush) could revive their momentum.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demolition2_6014.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Ax and Smash present their third member, Crush (center).]]Their last title reign ended at the hands of the Hart Foundation at ''Wrestling/{{SummerSlam}} 1990,'' and soon the team was simply Smash and Crush. Eadie departed the WWF, while the other two made various attempts to reinvent themselves. Crush completely made over his character for a HeelFaceTurn and actually showed potential as a breakout star as the "Hawaiian" Crush, but then turned heel again to feud with Wrestling/RandySavage. Meanwhile, Barry Darsow attempted to reinvent himself as the [[EvilDebtCollector Repo Man]], who made little impact other than [[ChewingTheScenery cartoonish, over-the-top promos]] and being a longtime favorite of Website/{{WrestleCrap}}'s RD Reynolds.

* BreakupBreakout: Crush.

* DemotedToExtra: Once Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors showed up in the WWF as the Legion Of Doom, Demolition seemed to lose much of their prominence.
** An aside: When Demolition was at the height of their dominance of the WWF tag team scene in the late 1980s and very early 1990s, many fans who were aware of the Road Warriors were eagerly anticipating a series of matches between these two face-painted, muscle-bound, power brawling tag teams. It never happened. Demolition was starting to lose their edge, in large part due to health problems Bill Eadie was suffering in 1990 (he was looking at retiring from the ring) and Crush – although talented – never quite meshed with Smash. The result, once the Demolition-LOD matches finally took place, was a laughable series of matches that Hawk and Animal easily won.

* TheEighties
* {{Exp|y}}ies
* FaceHeelDoubleTurn: With the Powers Of Pain at the 1988 ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries.''

* FinishingMove: The Demolition Decapitation, which is a backbreaker designed to hold the opponent so the teammate can hit an elbow drop onto the poor guy's ''throat.''
** Crossed with TheArtifact, since Wrestling/TheMoondogs (Rex [Randy Colley] and Spot [Larry Latham, real name Larry Booker]) had been using that same move as their finisher.

* {{Irony}}: Referred to the newly-arrived Legion Of Doom as "second-rate imposters." Um...yeah.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast
* '''''[[NoIndoorVoice NO STINKIN' INDOOR VOICE!]]'''''

* [[IHaveManyNames We Have Many Names]]: Outside of Demolition, they've all wrestled under various different gimmicks, but Barry Darsow in particular was this trope in spades. He's wrestled under his real name, Krusher Khrushchev, the aforementioned Repo Man, the Blacktop Bully (a trucker gimmick), and "Mr. Hole-in-One" (an infamous golfer gimmick).
** Crush would [[AvertedTrope avert]] this by keeping the ''same name'' through various gimmicks, such as "Hawaiian" Crush, evil, face-painted Crush (managed by Mr. Fuji), ex-convict [[Wrestling/TheNationOfDomination Nation of Domination]] member Crush, and biker leader of the Disciples Of The Apocalypse Crush.

!!! "Tropes and destruction are our middle names!":

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demolition2_6014.jpg
[[caption-width:350:Ax and Smash present their third member, Crush (center).]]Their last title reign ended at the hands of the Hart Foundation at ''Wrestling/{{SummerSlam}} 1990,'' and soon the team was simply Smash and Crush. Eadie departed the WWF, while the other two made various attempts to reinvent themselves. Crush completely made over his character for a HeelFaceTurn and actually showed potential as a breakout star as the "Hawaiian" Crush, but then turned heel again to feud with Wrestling/RandySavage. Meanwhile, Barry Darsow attempted to reinvent himself as the [[EvilDebtCollector Repo Man]], who made little impact other than [[ChewingTheScenery cartoonish, over-the-top promos]] and being a longtime favorite of Website/{{WrestleCrap}}'s RD Reynolds.