Demolition after Summerslam 1990

[HBsam31]

In continuing on with my watching of all of the Summerslams, it is Summerslam 1990 that has me wondering now. I was watching the 2 out of 3 falls match for the WWF tag team titles featuring Demolition vs The Hart Foundation. A great tag team match that ended when LOD came to the ring distracting Demolition allowing The Hart Foundation to win the belts. LOD and Demolition both did promos after the match that would have lead me to believe they were entering a feud. To the best of my knowledge that feud never happened. It seemed like a feud that was meant to be as Demolition was WWF's answer to the LOD. My questions are these. Why didn't the feud happen? I know Demolition left soon after this so was that the reason? If so why did they leave? Also why was Crush added as the third man? They were one of my favorite tag teams back then, and they seemed to just disappear. Does anyone know they story on this one?

 

[The Butcher]

Well the feud certainly did happen. I remember watching a match on Saturday Night's Main Event between the two teams, and here is another one from Wrestling Challenge that a cursory search found. I also remember the match from Survivor Series where Demolition was on Mr. Perfect's team and the Legion of Doom was on Ultimate Warrior's. So the two teams did clash for sure. How the feud ended I don't recall. Also, Demolition didn't leave; they split up. Ax had an injury or some issue that severely limited him, so left WWE. Crush and Smash were repackaged. Ax's issues also were the cause for Crush being added to the group.

 

[HBsam31]

Thanks for the link. I don't recall that match at all. I do know Smash was repackaged as Repo Man, and Crush was a face from Hawaii so left wasn't the right choice of words. It seems to me then Demolition was kept around long enough to lose to LOD. Does anyone know if that was their last feud or if they had any other matches after LOD? The stuff after Summerslam 90 seems to be a blank for me. I thought I would remember a match between Demolition and LOD.

 

[gk11973]

The last match I can recall seeing them in was at WrestleMania 7 in 1991. They lost to a Japanese team that was making a one time only appearance at Mania. Soon after Repo Man and Crush popped up on the radar. They had decisively lost the feud with LOD, though the WWE blew it by never having them face each other on a PPV. Of course back then, there were only 4 a year so that would have been tough. The closest they came was competing on opposing teams at the Survivor Series. I thought a Royal Rumble tag match would have worked, as back then feuds generally stretched out for close to 6 months.

 

[The Brain]

Demolition and LOD did feud in the fall of 1990 but by then it was too late. Demolition wasn’t the same and the fans didn’t seem to care about them anymore. I don’t know if it was the addition of Crush or the heel turn that happened for no reason but somewhere along the way in 1990 the fans just seemed to lose interest in Demolition.

For me personally I didn’t care for the addition of Crush. I loved Ax and Smash and in my opinion Smash and Crush were just a watered down version of the original. From what I’ve read, toward the end of 1990 Ax was getting ready to retire and Crush was about to take his spot full time. Ax was looking for an agent spot backstage and left the company all together when he didn’t get it. I think Ax remained upset about this for years and even filed a lawsuit against the WWF over the rights to the Demolition gimmick. I don’t know the full details but it would explain why we haven’t seen or heard anything from Demolition for over twenty years. With the success they had during the late 80s you would assume they would have been invited to one of the reunion shows over the years and should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame by now but instead the most dominant team during the height of tag team wrestling seems to be forgotten. I think this was mostly Ax’s problem as we did see both Smash and Crush after Demolition.

Smash and Crush did have a brief feud with the Rockers in early 1991 before losing to Tenryu and Kitao at WM7. I think WM7 illustrates just how far Demolition had fallen without Ax. For three straight years at WrestleMania Demolition walked out tag team champions. Then they were losing to a team making a one time appearance that nobody cared about.

The match at SummerSlam 90 was great and it basically marked the end of Demolition being a relevant team.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

The Perfect Team versus The Ultimate Team was awesome. It was the first time I can remember seeing Demolition and Road Warriors facing off on a big stage. The main issue with it was once Road Warriors came in WWF had the "real deal" now. So Demolition did fade into obscurity because of it, but at least we got to see the two teams face off. Growing up I watched both teams and had friends that were Road Warriors fans. I was always more of a Demolition fan, up until they brought Crush into the mix. I don't think they ever had any long-term plans for Demolition once Bill Eadie got hurt and had to take a lesser role in the ring. I think it was more or less a way to get Crush on TV and start getting him over.

It's a shame really, LOD and Demolition could have been a way better feud if they capitalized on it a bit better. Have LOD or even Demolition claim that the other one was copying them, and lead it up to Wrestlemania as a Loser Leaves Town match... instead of just jobbing Demos out to outside Japanese talent.

 

[$uck my venis]

I do remember a small fued, mostly a 6 man tag match. LOD and Ultimate Warrior vs Demoliton, with Demolition losing. I marked out the first time I saw the VHS tape with my 3 favorite WWF stars LOD and Ultimate Warrior teaming.

 

[MMK]

I knew it was over for Demolition when Vince had them wear gimp masks instead of their trademark helmets and facepaint.

LOD were never able to duplicate Demolitions success in WWF. It's no coincidence that the greatest era in tag team wrestling was from 87-89 when Demolition were the main focal point. The tag team division was so deep during that period they had their own Survivor series style match featuring 5 tag teams/10 men on each side. But the division crumbled when LOD took Demolitions spot.

LOD's only Wrestlemania match was a 15 second squash match against the jobber team of Hercules and Paul Roma. Compare that crapfest to the defining pop Demolition received after defeating Andre and Haku a year earlier. That pop rivaled the one Warrior recieved later in the night. Fact is Demolition were more over than the LOD.

LOD may have been a big fish in a small NWA pond but they failed to connect on the big stage in WWF. Which is why they fizzled out just a year later.

If you watch Survivor series 1990, which was Ax's last match, you'll notice that Ax didnt slick his hair back, which was kind of a big FU to Vince.

As a tike I went as Ax for Halloween in 89. Unfortunately my parents made me wear my winter coat. I dont recall Demolition wearing winter coats and snow pants but at least i got to take off the helmet and stick out my tongue at every house I stopped at. "Trick or treat! Gimme somein to eat or i'll kick your teeth down your throat!"

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

LOD were never able to duplicate Demolitions success in WWF. It's no coincidence that the greatest era in tag team wrestling was from 87-89 when Demolition were the main focal point. The tag team division was so deep during that period they had their own Survivor series style match featuring 5 tag teams/10 men on each side. But the division crumbled when LOD took Demolitions spot.

To be fair by the time LOD showed up in the WWF their tag division was pretty much in shambles in comparison to what it was in the mid-to-late eighties. The British Bulldogs were long gone, as were the Killer Bees, Young Stallions, Powers of Pain, Strike Force, The Islanders, and The Rougeaou Brothers that were there to make Demolition look a lot better than they were. It wasn't long after that the Hart Foundation split up.

I love Demolition but I'm not going to pretend that they didn't have a massive amount of great tag teams to get them over. Their ring work was nothing special, especially Barry Darsow's. Bill Eadie could work a good match with anyone in his heyday, but by the time he was Ax he was worn down and he STILL carried Smash through a lot of matches.

The best team LOD had to work with was The Nasty Boys, and those two teams tore it up at Summerslam '91. So yeah... the glory days of the tag teams were over before LOD ever got handed the ball.

Plus, without the Road Warriors you probably never would have seen Demolition. They were an absolute copy of the Warriors and that's verbatim from Barry Darsow's mouth on the WWE's Road Warriors DVD. The Warriors held the tag titles in every relevant company during their days, and both could wrestle once they got their chops.

 

[TheLittleOne]

the warrior and LOD did team up to face Ax Smash Crush @ a few house shows inluding @ msg that my dad took me to in 1990

the truth is HAWK had awful drug problems and both hawk and animal were very unwilling to allow agents to help with their finish .. they were used to having crontrol , evidence of this was given numerous times incl. summerslam 92 ..

i do think demolition could have still been great with crush & fuji, but the tag scene was no where near the same.. only the rockers & the nasty boys were good teams..

harts broke up, power & glory could have been great to put over others but Herc & roma Hated Each other..


My FAVORITE all time ppv is still Survivor Series 1990 mainly due to the awesome opening match and promos.. WARRIOR, Texas Tornado (kerry) & LOD vs Perfecto & Demo
( was supposed to be Macho King with ax on the outside)
great action.. that match along with the six man from msg is the best we will get in regards to Legion of Doom vs Demolition.

just like we never really got a true Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair feud

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There was a very real reason Demolition ended up as it was, and sadly one that today people would say what? really? but Bill Eadie (Ax) got diagnosed with a heart issue - not a serious one, today it'd be sorted with a few pills but then it was major problems an enough for him to be removed from the team as "a risk" and thus from the payroll. Today it'd be no issue - Agent job etc... but then, you can't work...you can't work...

Crush was brought in as a gradual replacement but it quickly became clear that without Ax regularly in the ring, the (hate the pun but no other choice) heart of the team was gone and it was better to let LOD take up the mantle.

Bill Eadie was always special, as Masked Superstar or as Ax - Smash was a damn fine worker...Crush green as grass, if only they'd done it a year sooner then the Demo/Freebird team would have worked... Demoliton just ended cos of bad luck.

 

[sdelfin]

The way I recall Bill Eadie telling the story is that he had a major allergic reaction to shellfish while in Japan that affected his heart. As mentioned already, it ultimately wasn't a huge deal but Vince wasn't taking any chances. Enter Crush.

Demolition declined quickly, and I believe unnecessarily. Obviously the seeds were being planted at Wrestlemania 6 for the Harts to possibly have a run with the belts again. This leads me to believe that Vince either already signed the Road Warriors or that he fully believed he would get them and he needed to be ready to turn Demolition heel in a hurry. Demolition was still massively over at WM6, getting the loudest reaction outside of the main event match. So I suspect the quick and poorly-executed heel turn is why the crowds didn't care about them as heels.

And as mentioned, the feud technically happened. It was mostly six-man tags with the Warrior involved. I'm not sure anyone came out of that feud looking good. It hurt Warrior's run as champ because he wasn't defending the belt on house shows. Demolition came out of that feud looking weak. And LOD didn't gain much because they never got to beat the real Demolition properly, and Demolition didn't look competitive in the process.

 

[GameOver]

Well the feud certainly did happen. I remember watching a match on Saturday Night's Main Event between the two teams, and here is another one from Wrestling Challenge that a cursory search found. I also remember the match from Survivor Series where Demolition was on Mr. Perfect's team and the Legion of Doom was on Ultimate Warrior's. So the two teams did clash for sure. How the feud ended I don't recall. Also, Demolition didn't leave; they split up. Ax had an injury or some issue that severely limited him, so left WWE. Crush and Smash were repackaged. Ax's issues also were the cause for Crush being added to the group.

Ax became allergic to shellfish and was hospitalised, that was the injury, but if i recall there was also some heat between WWF and Ax (might have been drug related) but needless to say he was eventually released and there was some friction between the two former best friends Ax and Smash as a result, Crush was added to the team b4hand but like Darren Drozdoff was added to LOD to replace Hawk, it didn't work and eventually Crush went on hiatus some time later leaving Smash to go solo and then the Repo-Man gimmick b4 he finally left too.

Post WWF, WWF owned the rights to there character names/likeness so they couldn't use them anywhere else, in fact they tried when the reunited a long time post WWF but WWF sent them a cease and desist, they counter sued for the rights to the name and lost.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

I knew it was over for Demolition when Vince had them wear gimp masks instead of their trademark helmets and facepaint.

LOD were never able to duplicate Demolitions success in WWF. It's no coincidence that the greatest era in tag team wrestling was from 87-89 when Demolition were the main focal point. The tag team division was so deep during that period they had their own Survivor series style match featuring 5 tag teams/10 men on each side. But the division crumbled when LOD took Demolitions spot.

LOD's only Wrestlemania match was a 15 second squash match against the jobber team of Hercules and Paul Roma. Compare that crapfest to the defining pop Demolition received after defeating Andre and Haku a year earlier. That pop rivaled the one Warrior recieved later in the night. Fact is Demolition were more over than the LOD.

LOD may have been a big fish in a small NWA pond but they failed to connect on the big stage in WWF. Which is why they fizzled out just a year later.

If you watch Survivor series 1990, which was Ax's last match, you'll notice that Ax didnt slick his hair back, which was kind of a big FU to Vince.

As a tike I went as Ax for Halloween in 89. Unfortunately my parents made me wear my winter coat. I dont recall Demolition wearing winter coats and snow pants but at least i got to take off the helmet and stick out my tongue at every house I stopped at. "Trick or treat! Gimme somein to eat or i'll kick your teeth down your throat!"

Herc and Roma I GUESS can be considered jobbers, though I loved the timing of their finisher. But, yeah, at that time they were jobbers.

Your big fish in a little pond comment is where you lose credibility. The Road Warriors, historically, are far more significant than Demolition. And I only read this post because I liked Demolition so much---but let's be fair here. Road Warriors/LOD were the real deal. Had they been in the WWF instead of their small poind, they would have been bigger than Demolition ever was. More intense, better physiques, tougher...and quite frankly, Demo's finisher came from the second rope. LOD's - the top rope. Some symbolism there as they were on a higher level.

And I guess you were banking on no one here being familiar with Jerry Seinfeld's Superman costume/Halloween bit. You pretty much ripped it off verbatim, using Ax instead of Superman. The bit about your parents making you wear a winter coat and you not remembering Ax wearing a winter coat....Why didn't you just come on here and say "What's the deal with LOD?" PS...Deafening, not defining.

 

[LODemolition]

I always wondered why LOD didn't have a match at WrestleMania VIII. All they did was come out and cut a promo where Paul Ellering joined them for the first time in WWF. Seriously, even the Bushwhackers had a dark match.

As far as the feud with Demolition, I recall looking forward to that so much since they're my 2 favorite teams of all-time (obviously) and it just not delivering. I did like the 6-man tag of Warrior & LOD vs. all 3 Demolition members. I think the tape I had was called Wrestlefest where that took place, at MSG if I remember right. There could've been some very epic matches between these 2 teams and to be honest I don't remember a single one.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

After SummerSlam 1990, Axe was limited to what he could do due to a heart condition. I believe Crush was introduced as the stand in guy. Then about a year of them both treading water- Crush became the Hawaiian Surfer dude and Smash became Repo Man. I have a feeling that they were all released at some point and then brought the two able guys to come back and wrestle as the above characters.

 

[justtxyank]

just like we never really got a true Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair feud

????

Hogan and Flair had a series of really good matches for WCW in 1994 and then continued to feud on and off until 2000, producing a good match basically every time. Did you mean in WWF?

Anyway, Eadie didn't want to retire from wrestling, but he did want to leave the ring and get an agent job. When that didn't work out he left and formed Demolition teams with a few people in Japan. I actually have a picture of him with the Canadian Giant from a Japanese tour.

I think he and Darsow have teamed up on the independents as well, but I'm not sure about that.