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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2020 13:01:46 GMT -5
I remember enjoying the domination by Demolition as they held the tag team titles while wishing an Intercontinental Tag Team Championship existed so that the likes of the Rockers and Bushwhackers could challenge for them.
Does anyone know why Demolition were disbanded? I know Ax had some health issues. I know Demolition Mark II wasn't as popular as the original incarnation. Crush, bless him, probably wasn't as over as Ax. But I was so disappointed when they were disbanded. Had they remained together, well this was the time when the Nasty Boys and Natural Disasters were getting over. Would have loved to have seen Demolition vs Nasty Boys and Demolition vs Natural Disasters.
I remember hearing arena reports of Crush (in late 1992) teaming with Animal. I wonder, where they planning to turn them into a second incarnation of the Legion of Doom due to Hawk's issues.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2020 16:15:21 GMT -5
I remember enjoying the domination by Demolition as they held the tag team titles while wishing an Intercontinental Tag Team Championship existed so that the likes of the Rockers and Bushwhackers could challenge for them. Does anyone know why Demolition were disbanded? I know Ax had some health issues. I know Demolition Mark II wasn't as popular as the original incarnation. Crush, bless him, probably wasn't as over as Ax. But I was so disappointed when they were disbanded. Had they remained together, well this was the time when the Nasty Boys and Natural Disasters were getting over. Would have loved to have seen Demolition vs Nasty Boys and Demolition vs Natural Disasters. I remember hearing arena reports of Crush (in late 1992) teaming with Animal. I wonder, where they planning to turn them into a second incarnation of the Legion of Doom due to Hawk's issues. New InformationClick on the Link for Information that might answer some questions ...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2020 16:38:15 GMT -5
Thank you for that, Mecha!
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 19, 2020 0:08:40 GMT -5
Bill Eadie and Barry Darsow talk about Crush coming in and Eadie leaving the WWF...
In essence, he had been offered an agent position, which changed to a smaller and smaller deal, until they parted ways. He worked the independents, after, as Axis the Demolisher, since Vince held trademarks on the names. Rand Colley, the original Smash, had already been working in Alabama as Detroit Demolition, wearing his gear. I seem to recall that Eadie went through Global, at one point, in the Axis gear. As he says, he could have easily just returned to doing the Masked Superstar; but, the Demolition name had more coverage at that point, which offered him opportunities in the US. As Superstar, he was already known in Japan and they respected legacies. He could have done like the Destroyer and kept the masked gimmick for as long as he wanted, there.
I always preferred Eadie as Masked Superstar. For one, he had the look of someone who stepped out of a comic book, with his size and build. He wasn't a screamer on his promos (neither, really, was the Assassin, Jody Hamilton) and came across as deadly, when he spoke. Then, when you saw him wrestle, he was physical and aggressive, and his Cobra Clutch looked far more real than Sgt Slaughter's.
Here's an interview and match from Georgia Championship Wrestling (before they renamed the tv show World Championship Wrestling), against a young Mike Davis...
Man, I miss Gordon Solie! Solie sounded like a real sports announcer and he made everything credible. Mike Davis would go on to hold the World Jr title, after Les Thornton went to the WWE with the belt (by that point, the NWA board had pretty much stopped caring about the title, after it went to Japan and some US promoters split and had Thornton recognized as champion, again). He dropped it to Denny Brown, for Crockett, then moved on. he had wrestled in Florida, during the Kevin Sullivan & Dusty Rhodes feud, and they did an angle where Sullivan hypnotized Davis into believing he was Dusty (Davis could do a great Dusty impression) and he would talk and wrestle like Dusty. Later, Davis teamed with Tommy Lane as the Rock N Roll RPMS, in Knoxville, Alabama, and Texas (also Memphis, I think), as a heel Rock N Roll Express knockoff. Davis also worked in Global, and did a bungee cord match, where they were suspended by bungee cords, bouncing around in the ring.
Meanwhile, look at Superstar: tall, big chest, small waist, big arms; fast and agile, powerful. He was a legit scary heel, who looked believable. When he was paired with Scott Irwin, as the Super Destroyer, they were a hell of a tag-team.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2020 7:54:38 GMT -5
I met Ax and Smash at the London Comic Con in 2017. So personable, but still menacing.
I loved their bout against the Powers of Pain at WrestleMania V. Those guys looked like they wanted to kill each other. And the credible commentary by Jesse Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon.
This is a good video:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2020 11:36:19 GMT -5
I mentioned Elizabeth a few pages back. One question I meant to ask is this, do you think if someone like her debuted today (which would be an achievement given how the business has evolved), do you think they'd try and get her to wrestle? If Elizabeth had had some wrestling training, I wouldn't have minded seeing a match such as Hulk Hogan and Elizabeth vs. Macho King & Queen Sherri.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2020 12:10:26 GMT -5
I mentioned Elizabeth a few pages back. One question I meant to ask is this, do you think if someone like her debuted today (which would be an achievement given how the business has evolved), do you think they'd try and get her to wrestle? If Elizabeth had had some wrestling training, I wouldn't have minded seeing a match such as Hulk Hogan and Elizabeth vs. Macho King & Queen Sherri. That's would be a dream couple tag team match ...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2020 12:13:34 GMT -5
I remember thinking about it during WrestleMania V. Hogan and Savage had some great matches (including in Paris and London during the 1989 world tour!), but now and again, adding something to the mix might have been fun. Of course, we saw that with the two Hogan/Beefcake vs. Macho King/Zeus matches, but if Elizabeth had been trained to wrestle, I think her versus Sherri would have added something to a Hogan/Savage match-up.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2020 17:25:17 GMT -5
I just don't think that Elizabeth had the right personality to be a professional wrestler; I only saw her once to have some streak of aggression and that's it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2020 17:40:08 GMT -5
I just love the intensity and believability of old-school wrestling:
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 19, 2020 20:22:34 GMT -5
These days, yeah, they would have tried to get Elizabeth in the ring. Hell, they did it in WCW under @#$%-stain (as Cornette calls the infamous Vinnie Ru)! Look at what happened with Debra McMichael, when she came into the WWF. It wasn't long before they put her in a match, and not even in real ring gear, but platform go-go boots! Granted, about all she and her opponent did was pull hair; but, she did take a bump or two. They did it with the Nitro Girls, after a while and even Stacey Keibler started doing (horrible) matches.
Look at AEW, Brandi isn't an active wrestler; but, she is bumping in most of Cody's matches. She's at least trained.
Traditionally, valets were the girlfriends of wrestlers (and/or wives). Sherri Martel and Madusa Micelli were two exceptions, as both active wrestlers and managers. They could take a bump without getting heat on the babyface.
Elizabeth had no training and no desire to be taking bumps in the ring and Randy shot down anything that would put her, potentially in harms way. You can call him controlling; but, he did loo out for her when they started to get squirrely with angles and if the boys were trying to be more than friends..
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2020 6:37:14 GMT -5
I know over time, there were many comparisons between the Midnight Rockers/Rockers and Rock 'N' Roll Express. Fair enough. But on their own merits, I was a fan of the Rockers. (Incidentally, any reason why they had "Midnight" as part of their name in the AWA?).
One of my favourite matches of 1991 was the Rockers vs. Orient Express bout from Royal Rumble 1991. In fact, I liked a lot of the Rockers/Orient Express bouts. Plus, they had great bouts against the likes of the Hart Foundation, Demolition, the Brain Busters, etc.
And even when a unit, they had some great singles bouts. In late 1990, Marty Jannetty had a solid bout against the Model Rick Martel, a credible, believable match. Also in late 1990, Shawn Michaels took on Ted DiBiase in a near-20 minute match. Like the Jannetty/Martel match, it was solid. And while I think Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect had a poor match at SummerSlam 1993, they had an excellent bout 2+ years earlier during the WWF's world tour. So whether as a unit or in singles bouts, I enjoyed watching them both (obviously, Jannetty didn't soar as high in later years, personal problems and all that).
I was absolutely horrified when Michaels turned on Jannetty on "The Barber Shop". That was real Cain and Abel stuff. I was really into the team, and seeing it end there was like seeing Batman turn on Robin!
I'll always have fond memories of the Rockers - and I'm glad they reunited for one night only in 2005.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2020 11:00:58 GMT -5
I was absolutely horrified when Michaels turned on Jannetty on "The Barber Shop". That was real Cain and Abel stuff. I was really into the team, and seeing it end there was like seeing Batman turn on Robin! I'll always have fond memories of the Rockers - and I'm glad they reunited for one night only in 2005. After that incident ... I was shocked and in disbelief and had a hard time accepting Shawn from that point on.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2020 11:22:10 GMT -5
In a kayfabe sense, you mean?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2020 13:36:23 GMT -5
In a kayfabe sense, you mean? Yes, you are right.
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