PG-13 vs. The World

[KB8]

That Rockers v Haku/Barbarian match is a blast. The spot where Michaels nips up and Barbarian fucking murders him with a clothesline is one of my favourite spots ever. I think Marty gets steamrolled by a Bill Eadie clothesline in the Rockers/Demos match that's been pimped in this thread (which I agree is an awesome little match). That spot rules.

[FLIK]

I can point to Morton getting a reaction that only a few guys in the NWA were getting at the time. I can point to him being tarred and feathered on TV. Going back further, I can point to his participation in things like Tupelo Concession Stand brawls, which were hugely influential and involved Atsushi Onita, without which there would be no FMW.

Just popping in to add that Morton did a few FMW tours in 97 & was awesome thear too

[El-P]

Just popping in to add that Morton did a few FMW tours in 97 & was awesome thear too

Yep. Too bad most of the matches were clipped though. Frankly, the Rock'n'Roll even way past their prime in 1998 in WWF were still way too good to be used like they were.

[Matt D]

Dylan,

 

you should watch Hart Foundation vs US Express (Spivey version). It's got an awesome finish out of nowhere. Worth seeing just for that.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xczqpa_ha...ress_shortfilms I think it's that one.

 

 

 

Might be the other one (the boston one) but I can't load that one right now.

[Victator]

The RnR had a really good match with the Headbangers on Raw during that WWF run.

 

 

1997.12.13 (Fan Cam) FBI vs Chris Candido & Lance Storm (I don't remember if it was as good as the TV match)

Not nearly as good and bordered on bad. It was a serious disappointment since I downloaded the show just for that match. It was not their fault though. It was a TV taping and Heyman did a series of bullshit finishes that would of made Vince Russo blush.

[Dylan Waco]

The RnR had a really good match with the Headbangers on Raw during that WWF run.

 

 

1997.12.13 (Fan Cam) FBI vs Chris Candido & Lance Storm (I don't remember if it was as good as the TV match)

Not nearly as good and bordered on bad. It was a serious disappointment since I downloaded the show just for that match. It was not their fault though. It was a TV taping and Heyman did a series of bullshit finishes that would of made Vince Russo blush.

 

I don't agree that the match was bad but the finishing run was terrible and ruined the previous work to some degree. The work prior to that point was excellent - on par or better than the 98 tv match. But the match literally just ends after a cluster of bullshit. ON the plus side Tommy Rich did kiss Francine.

[Victator]

Yeah the work before that was good. But the ending was so bad it ruined the rest of the match for me. Its rare for me to ever let an ending ruin a match for me. But fuck that was a bad finish.

[goodhelmet]

OK, give me a list of Demolition's five best matches, the British Bulldogs' Top 5 and Hart Foundation's Top 5. I want to know what their greatest collection of matches happen to be. After that, stop just listing matches and not explaining what made them great. If you explained it at another board, cut and paste it here. I want to read some match reviews and real arguments, not random two sentence posts.

[Victator]

Sorry I never did any Demolition reviews so I can't help. http://drvictatorpresents.blogspot.com/201...-aftermath.html

[goodhelmet]

I know you did so don't be a smartass. I wanted the five best Demo matches copy and pasted on this board where the actual discussion was taking place.

[Victator]

That link has a Top Ten from me and Matt.

 

Surrounded are full reviews of the ten matches. I'm sure I have done full reviews for Harts/Busters and Harts/Towers I know I have never did one for Hart Foundation/Strike Force MSG.

[Strummer]

It seemed like the Warriors actually started having more competitive matches once they joined the WWF. Which goes entirely against the "heel-in-peril" stereotype of that company, but it felt like they spent more time selling and less time killing people than they had in the NWA.

the "heel in peril" style seemed to go away in the late 80s/early 90s. During the first few years of the boom it was obviously the preferred way of working tags

[Victator]

The Rockers vs. WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition

10/24/88; Madison Square Garden

 

Vic: When talking about Strike Force vs Demolition I say that visually Strike Force were the perfect rivals for Demolition. The Rockers fit into this mold too. But not for being white bread and plan. Here its more the youthful high energy and speed vs the brawling and power of Demolition. This match is why Pro Wrestling is the best.

 

The match works really well in the context of Demolition's 1988. From the start of the year they have destroyed teams like the Rougeaus, the Bulldogs and Strike Force with relative ease. In the summer they killed Rick Martel. At Summerslam they even beat the Hart Foundation. So it seems obvious the Rockers are going to be destroyed with Demolition taking them lightly.

 

At first Ax Lays out Shawn with clubbering. Shawn runs off the ropes with a great looking cross body but Ax catches him. I love the way he slams Shawn. Like he is just throwing him across the ring. Shawn starts firing back on Ax and Ax has this look of shock and anger that the pretty boy would dare fight back. the Rockers keep Demolition off balance with their speed and technique. As Matt said even now its striking how fast paced this match was. They are going 100 miles an hour and Demolition is keeping up. Doing lots of quick tags and arm wringers.

 

Compared to the Strike Force or Bulldog matches, its shocking to see Demolition selling this much for the Rockers. Smash is bouncing all over the place. Smash is really great at stooging in a way Ax can't. Love this section with ax taking all these dropkicks. Getting up and swinging wild at Marty with him ducking each one then coming back with more.

 

Later Ax comes in and the Rockers start using the same tactics with him. Before Ax ends the nonsense with a violent looking headbutt. Demolition now have the advantage and are really working Marty over. Marty flies across the ring off of one punch and Smash sells it hurting his hand. They are just whipping him from pillar to post. Marty get a nice looking flying back elbow and gets Shawn in. After a brief flurry of offense, Ax pulls him out of the ring. Again I have to put over how fast Shawn Micheals is. He looks like he was in a car wreck going to the floor.

 

The Rockers disadvantage here is not matching the Demos power and experience. Smash puts Shawn in the Boston Crab an tags in Ax. I love how Ax calmly walks in and drops a hammer across his back. Now Shawn is in trouble because Demolition are not using just brute force. But are methodically taking him apart.

 

Shawn finally gets the hot tag. He fights both of Demolition alone. Shawn joins him and the Rockers hit a great sequence of double teams concluding with the Rocket Launcher for a very near fall. This crowd is super hot. Going nut for everything. You can believe the Rockers could win the belts.

 

The finish is great because its clean. Demolition does not cheat they just out team the Rockers and catch Marty with a big clothesline to the back of the head.

 

Matt D: This is just a really great match. There's not too much to talk about in the way of background. The Rockers started their second stint in the WWF in June of 1988. Demolition was closing in on the face turn at Survivor Series 1988. Fuji is at ringside and he always works really well with the Rockers. Jannetty's said that Fuji was sort of a evil mentor in the ways of backstage pranks for them, and the chemistry shows over the years.

 

The most remarkable thing about the match is how it seems to start in super fast forward. The Rockers are just moving amazingly fast and Ax is keeping up and selling and stooging perfectly, going just as fast himself. Even twenty plus years later it's downright striking to watch. From there it moves on to the Rockers trying to work over Smash's arm with some really great double-teaming, doing anything they can to equalize the Demolition strength. It's back and forth for a bit until the rope is pulled down and Michaels takes a really nasty bump to the floor. When they get him back in, the story becomes about working over his back, injured in the fall, including a lengthy Smash Boston Crab. Despite how much the speedy beginning stands out, I think my favorite single part of the match is when Smash finishes the hold and tags in Axe. One of the announcers(check who) talks about the damage done to the Lumbar region and Smash, coming out to the apron, hears him and shouts. "It's not a Lumbar. It's HIS BACK!" making for a really funny moment.

 

Eventually Michaels gets out of a bearhug and makes the hot tag to Jannetty who comes in with punches and the Rockers' quick comeback leading to the finishing segment. The Rockers hit the non-rocket launcher and despite knowing better, I think the match might be over for a moment (and the crowd is SURE of it), until Ax breaks up the pin. The finish comes shortly thereafter when Smash gets Jannetty into a bearhug, bringing him over to the corner where Ax just destroys him with a punch/clothesline. It's a totally believable and nasty finish. Just a knockout blow.

 

Solid, exciting match all around. The transitions are believable. The work is logical. The crowd's really into it. The finish looks great. This is a totally slept upon match and it's a shame. More of a shame is that the Rockers actually get better over the next couple of years, but by the time Demolition are heels again, Ax is more or less out of the equation and the team is a pale reflection of what it is here.

 

 

 

 

Demolition © vs. The Hart Foundation

Summer Slam 88 - August 29, 1988, Madison Square Garden

 

Matt D: This is a match right here. I don't even see how people can compare the Summerslam 90 match to this. This is just so much more. It's still got the big match feel. In fact, it's got as big a "big match feel" as any of the initial heel run Demolition matches, and unlike the 90 match, it's both a Demolition match AND a Harts match. It's this awesome uber-hybrid.

 

Backstory is simple. Demolition has run over every team since crushing Patera/Boone/BJH in late 87. They took Strike Force's belts and put Martel out of action. They are the irresistible object. The Harts turned face after WM IV and for this match Jimmy Hart (who still owns the Foundation's contracts) is in Demolition's corner. The fans are hugely behind them and they are unlike any team Demolition has faced up to this point. They are the unstoppable force.

 

Demos come in confident. It's Ax pushing around Bret to start. The clubbering looks nasty in this match as does Ax's slam. He misses a big elbow drop and it's shine time for the Harts (though it doesn't feel that like formula here at all). Bret takes Smash's head off with a punch on the apron. Two punches to the gut off the ropes and a roll-up. Bret goes flying as Ax kicks out and Ax draws back, slowing things down and making the tag, no longer underestimating anyone. It's a good opening segment. Lots of energy and character. Neidhart tags in and tries to control Smash with the arm. Smash keeps finding a way to reverse it and go for an impact move, but Neidhart turns it back around. Smart, logical back and forth stuff here that ends when Ax kicks Neidhart's back from the apron. Demos take over, clubbering and using quick tags, cutting off the ring, and you think Neidhart is going to be the FIP but he nails Ax off a back body drop attempt and makes a tag. So far, Harts are matching Demolition. Just like the Demos make their opponents work for everything, the Harts are doing the same thing. It's very different stylistically than the Brainbusters matches where the Busters were doing everything under the sun or the Towers matches where it was about superior size. This is Tag Team Toughness vs Tag Team Toughness right here.

 

And the Demolition react to it. When Bret comes in, Ax, in 1988, at the height of Demos heel power, BEGS OFF, to BRET, not even Neidhart. That is AMAZING to me. Demolition don't beg off to anyone. And it's so smart, and it's part of this awesome story being told here. Such a different reaction than the push and taunting that started the match. Smash comes in and Bret punches a few times and dropkicks him before trying a whip in the corner. Smash reverses it and Bret goes shoulder first into the pole. At the same time Neidhart is temporarily drawn away by Jimmy Hart. Thus starts something you don't see in almost any other Demolition match, opportunistic attacking of a bodypart after an injury spot. But it's warranted here. Demolition realize that their normal tactics just might not be enough against the Harts. They sense blood and they'll go outside of their normal strategy to capitalize on it. And for the next few minutes the are going to just destroy Bret's shoulder. Stomps. Double-team clubbering. Twisting it over the rope. Punches. Illegal attacks from the apron. A great bum's rush into the corner. Ax slamming it into Smash's boot. A killer shoulder-breaker. A freaking Pat O'Connor spinning armhold. An armbar where Ax just grinds his boot into the shoulder. Clotheslining it over the top rope. And a bum's rush into the ringpost on the outside. It's all quick and effective offense and none of it even resembles a resthold. Quick shifts. Quick changes. The pure unbridled offensive power of Demolition.

 

Finally, Ax goes to clothesline Bret's head off and Bret ducks it and hits the Hart Attack clothesline (sans bearhug of course) and the crowd goes crazy. But this is a Demolition match and that's not enough in itself. Smash distracts the ref and he misses the tag and then when Neidhart complains Smash switches with Ax (and the crowd gets hostile). Smash slams Bret's shoulder into two turnbuckles, but then runs into a Bret boot and Smash Flops. Bret makes the hot tag and the crowd goes nuts. Neidhart comes in with killer forearms, a dropkick, spinning slams, and the best collision I've seen out of the Demos. A big clothesline takes Smash outside, and then the Harts do the Neidhart-slingshot spot, but all the way to the Outside and the crowd goes NUTS. Great spot. Neidhart rolls him back in and hits a powerslam for 2, then tags Bret and hits the assisted cannonball shoulder thrust into the corner for two. Bret hits a good backbreaker but Ax is there to pull him off. This draws Neidhart in and we go towards the finish. Fuji draws neidhart back to his corner. The ref comes along. Anvil smashes Fuji, but Jimmy Hart's out there too and he throws Ax the megaphone. Bret puts up Smash for the piledriver. Ax clobbers him with the megaphone. Smash gets the pin.

 

It's a really great match and a perfect combination of the Harts presence and energy and Demolition's structure and logic and force. The fact that it only has 10:00 or so of actual match time actually helps keep it controlled and focused and it's really great. Yeah, I could have used Bret selling the shoulder towards the end a bit more but I'm not sure that would have added too much to the match and I know the fans sure didn't care. They were molten throughout. It's a great match and very different than the Busters and Connection and Towers matches. And it's different than the Rockers and Rogueaus and Bulldogs and BJH matches. The one thing that's constant in all of them? The overwhelming logic and realism of Demolition. With this match, though, the Harts have the presence, instinct, and momentum to believably meet that head-on in meaningful ways, and the end result is something that's not just sound, smart, and even great, but that is downright spectacular.

 

Vic: Now this is the great Demolition/Hart Foundation match. This a Evelventy Gajillion times better than the 90 match.

 

This is a really significant match for me. Hart Foundation is one of my favorite teams. Maybe tied with Demolition. Anyway Demolition has run roughshod over the WWF for nearly two years. They have ran thru the Rougeaus, The Killer Bees, the British Bulldogs and Strike Force for the titles. But to me the Hart Foundation are like Hulk Hogan and the WWF championship. Until you beat Hulk you are just renting the title.

 

Angle wise my favorite thing is Jimmy Hart joining Demolition and Fuji for one night. He still has the Hart Foundation under contract and gets a percentage of their earnings. So he is so mad at Bret and Anvil he is willing to sacrifice tag team title money. Of course not thirty minutes before Honky Tonk Man got crushed by the Ultimate Warrior. That has no bearing on this match just fun to think about.

 

Match starts with Ax and Bret and Ax waste no time in beating Hart down. Ax misses the elbow and Bret lights him up. He then pops Smash one for good measure. Bret tries to rollup Ax but he quickly kicks out. Smash comes in and Bret hits him with two armdrags. Neidhart is tagged in and he comes off the second with an ax handle on Smash.

 

He hits Smash with a forearm and starts pummeling him. Anvil runs off the ropes and Ax kicks him in the back of his head. AX is tagged in and he beats down Neidhart. Smash comes back in and he starts clubbering. But now AX is quickly tagged back in. Anvil catches him with a forearm and tags out.

 

Ax begs off from Bret which is super rare from Ax. He has only done that for the Ultimate Warrior. Bret knocks Ax out of the ring and catches Smash with a great looking dropkick. Nobody does a dropkick like Bret. It looks really unique. Starts from a running position but then does a kind of flipping dropkick.

 

He goes to irish whip Smash but Smash reverses and Bret runs into the post. Now the real heat section of the match starts. Smash starts stomping Bret's shoulder. Meanwhile Jim Neidhart has had enough of being berated by Jimmy Hart and runs him to the back.

 

Ax is working over Bret's shouldber by wrapping it in the rops and pulling. Really nice painful looking armwork. Great section with Bret's arm stuck in the ropes. Ax hits him the ref starts counting and at five Ax stops. But while the ref is admonishing him. Smash starts punching Bret in the shoulder. This continues for another minute or two.

 

Ax removes Bret and drives his shoulder into the turnbuckle. Followed by Ax stomping him down. Bret is fantastic as he looks like he is dying. Smash is back in and he hits the rare shoulderbreaker. Smash then puts him in a arm submission.

 

Ax comes back in and he puts his foot on Bret's shoulder and pulls. Bret gets thrown to the outside and Smash throws him into the steel post. Followed by Ax kicking him from the apron.

 

Ax whips Bret into the ropes but Bret ducks the clotheslne and hits his own Hart attack clothesline. This where you would expect the tag but Demos cut him off. Smash charges Bret in the corner and Bret boots him in the face.

 

Now the Anvil is tagged in. He hits Smash with two forearms hits Ax with a dropkick. Hits these nice looking body slams on both Demos. Then clotheslines Smash out of the ring. Neidhart is in the ring alone and the fans all stand up, cheering and applauding and it's a great visual.

 

Now the highlight of the match. Bret slingshots JJim Neidhart over the top rope on to Smash!!!!! How is this not talked about more. This is a near 300 pound man doing a dive to the floor in 1988!!!!!!

 

According to the Harts they had to talk to Demolition for a week to get them to agree to this.

 

Neidhart tosses him back in and hits the powerslam for 2. I love how happy Neidhart looks as he is pinning Smash as he just knows they are champs again. Then his look of shock then disappointment.

 

Bret is tagged and they do the reverse Irish Whip shoulderblock in the corner. Love how Anvil just springs backward to his stomach. Goes for the pin and fans are counting along. When Smash kicks out fans just yell. Bret hits the backbreaker but Ax is on the apron now and breaks it up. This brings back in Anvil who starts forearming Ax in the corner.

 

Fuji climbs up on the apron and Neidhart starts hitting him. Bret is hitting Smash and gets ready to hit the piledriver. Jimmy Hart comes back tosses Ax the megaphone who clocks Bret giving Demolition the win.

 

Whew that was something. Love the match as much now as I did the first time. That finishing sequence from Neidhart coming out to the end was great.

 

 

 

 

 

Demolition© vs Twin Towers - Boston Garden - 6/3/89

 

Vic: This is a rematch from the first match in Boston. Ronnie Garvin is the gust referee which was from Demos and Akeem wiping out the ref in the previous match.

 

Right away Demos attack the Towers and they are slugging it out. Bossman gets knocked out of the ring by Smash and Demolition beat down Akeem and the fans go nuts. Ax puts Akeem in a arm wringer. again I have to say how much I love Akeem's Fred Sanford selling.

 

Akeem rakes Ax across the eyes and tags in Bossman. He does not fare any better as Ax clubbers him and works over his arm. Smash is tagged in and Garvin shows his authority by breaking them up. Garvin does a great job as guest referee. He is not noticeable most of the time except when it counts. Smash clubbers Bossman and Bossman sells a preemptive clubber. But its does not look like a mistake as much as a guy flinching when he thinks he is getting hit.

 

Both Demos are in and they beat Bossman down to his knees then he does this great bop bag sell. This is at the point where Bossman went from good to great. A huge improvement over the year before and he was not bad then.

 

Fans are losing it over Demolition beating down Bossman. Bossman headbutts Ax in the gut and tags in Akeem. Love how excited Akeem is to work over somebody. Lays a few into Ax and tags out as soon as Ax fights back. I think the story here is the Towers have learned from the previous matches and are now working as a team. Lots of quick tags and teamwork.

 

Ax gets Smash in and they go for the double suplex but Akeem runs in and prevents it. Akeem got popped on the apron by Smash and he steals every scene with his selling. Not gonna go into this here but it really sucks a guy as great as One Man Gang disappeared from the wrestling scene after 1991.

 

Bossman catches Smash with a nice boot to the head. Smash is in the corner and Akeem hits him with great looking butt crashes that look like they are killing Smash. Hits Smash with some jabs then runs him over while Smash is draped across the second rope.

 

Now the Towers are in control using smart work keeping him away from Ax. Bossman hits the power spinebuster. But instead of pinning him, Bossman gloats. Damn Bossman doesn't he ever learn. Then Smash uses a inside cradle for 2. Its not pretty but Demolition has never done that. We get another false tag, with Akeem distracting the ref.

 

Smash finally gets to tag out. Now Ax is in the ring and he slams Akeem and I lost it for that. Both Demos are beating down the Towers. Akeem grabs the night stick and accidentally KO's Bossman giving Demolition the win. Now Akeem gets popped in the gut. This was the perfect conclusion to this feud with no loose ends. Demolition look great and the Towers still have heat. This match is one of the best I have seen so far.

 

Matt D: So when we last left Demolition and the Twin Towers, the nightstick got involved leading to a DQ (or double DQ depending on where and when you saw the match) and a beat down on the Demos by the Towers. Nothing was resolved. Thus, the WWF has provided the only referee that could handle the match for the rematch: Rugged Ronnie Garvin. We all know about the Valentine/Garvin feud so I won't waste time there. This is a great return match which feels totally different than the first matches in the series and has a great, great finish, literally one of the best I've ever seen, no lie. Right to it then.

 

First image: It's actually sort of cool to see the police officers escort Bossman down to the ring. All of them are in blue together. It's like he has a posse. They threaten Alfred which is funny. Bossman kicks high to warm up as Akeem jives. Ax and Smash come down to a super pop. This is, in my mind, the very height of Ax's face power. You're not going to find a match where he's a better face than he is here. Anyway, Demolition take the gear off on the outside, look at each other, nod, and then roll in to start brawling with the Towers from the get go. Ax ducks Akeem and clotheslines him. Smash hits this neat uppercut thing on Bossman and then elbows him out and they double clubber on Akeem. If in the Boston #1 match, the work was tighter and in MLG shortly thereafter, the character stuff was more evident, here it's sort of both and more. The character stuff is front and center. Akeem is selling like a man possessed. Literally. There is a demon in there, and it makes Akeem want to sell his groin in the funkiest way possible during an armbar. Yes it does. Ax stalks around Akeem, keeping him from his corner, drops him with a clothesline and does the mightiest face scream that you'll see this side of Conan the Barbarian. It's pretty awesome.

 

Smash tags in and makes Akeem eat this awesome clubbering to the face and I really have to stop commenting on every little thing but so much of it is great. Akeem is bouncing in his selling so much that he keeps going after the hitting stops. This one I'll blame on momentum. he's like a weeble wobble. Finally Akeem punches Ax right in the face and walks over to make the tag. It's not as cool as Bossman's reverse whip from MLG or his run to his corner while holding a Demo in the last Boston match, but it gets the job done. This is a differently structured match, after all.

 

Anyway, Bossman comes in and it's real back and forth. Highlights: 1.) You don't disrespect Ronnie Garvin. 2.) Bossman keeps selling during the clubbering that never comes and I can't pin this one on momentum. 3.) The superawesome teeter-totter agility sell by Bossman on his knees. 4.) No cool transition. Just a low-ish blow by Bossman. Ah well. Then he makes the hot tag and it's great listening to Alfred go on about how Akeem's strange jive punches seem to work for him. There have just been tons of character stuff out of the Towers here. This is much more of a back and forth match than the previous ones. Here, the Towers haven't come into this match overconfident. They've learned their lesson and they're using teamwork much better. Everytime it seems like one team has a good advantage, the guy getting beat on gets a quick shot in and makes a tag. Here Ax manages to tag into Smash and he just takes Bossman's head off with a clothesline. Then comes the double punch to the gut and it looks for a second like Demos are going to double suplex Bossman. Akeem comes in to break it up, though and bossman immediately hits a killer Mafia Kick on Smash and Towers retake the offensive.

 

Akeem hits four butt drops in the corner on Smash and then dances out and keeps jive punching him. Smash tries to fight back but to no avail. He ends up draped on the ropes so that Akeem can hit the charging butt splash. And NOW that they finally have a solid advantage, the Towers get overconfdient. Smash is playing a great FIP here, going for the corner and fighting back but Towers are using their girth to cut off the ring and are making smart tags. I swear that Akeem is a man possessed in this match compared to the last two. Bossman hits a nasty Spinebuster slam and parades around the ring cockily for a while, seemingly to setup for the slam-747. Smash hits a small package out of nowhere though. This angers Bossman and he kicks Smash onto the rope, telling Akeem to hold him from the outside so that he can go for a soaring butt guillotine of his own. Smash moves at the last second however and the foot comes real close to Akeem as Bossman crotches himself. Still, hot tags NEVER come easy in Demolitionland (never, ever. It's one thing they believed in religiously and good on them), so Akeem distracts Garvin at a key moment. This causes Ax to come in angry and THAT allows Akeem to hit a KILLER leg drop. But Smash ducks a clothesline a minute later and hits a killer extendo-arm clothesline of his own (like earlier in the match).

 

This time, with a MASSIVE hand slap Smash makes the hot tag and Ax comes in. AND HE SLAMS AKEEM and then puts his arms up and screams as if he just won Olympic gold. I had remembered Smash (who Alfred always points out is the power man of the team) doing this, not Ax, and it's all the more awesome that it's Eadie. In that moment, he ascends to babyface godhood, just the height of his face power.

 

Then comes the LIGHTNING finish. It's awesome and out of nowhere and you have NO idea what happened until they show the replay. And the execution of it is just amazing. It's like a reveal which makes you go "Oh shit! What happened?" And then when they show you what happened again, you love it. It comes out of nowhere and just the speed and suddenness of the execution is awesome.

 

But yeah, this is a great series of matches and this is just really good stuff. If you haven't watched any of the Towers matches yet, watch Boston #1 and then MLG, and then this one. You won't regret it.

[Victator]

WWF Tag Team Champions the Brainbusters vs. Demolition

MSG - 9-30-89

 

Matt D: Honestly, I'm just glad this match exists. We're so lucky that WWF taped for the MSG Network and NESN and what have you. Imagine if we just had PPVs and CV tapes and PTWs to go off of? Anyway, we're lucky this match exists and it's a good one. This comes after the Busters won the title so the two teams know each other pretty well by now.

 

It starts with the Busters in the ring and Demos walking through the hallways. Yes, even with the masks on, it's easy to tell which one is Smash because of his hyped up body language. Sometimes I wonder if he has ADHD in all the best possible ways. Big brawl from the get go, even before Demos take off the masks. It leads to Arn and Tully tossed into each other with a big sell (and I always wish that heel Demolition sold that spot just a little better). Ends up being Arn and Smash. Arn hits a crisp sunset flip. Smash sinks down and punches him in the side of the throat repeatedly, nastily. Arn comes up and goes to tag Ax in groggily and if that doesn't bring a smile to your face when you see it, then you have no soul. Smash follows up the potatoing with an AWESOME big boot, which he never does in any other match I've seen. Tully's tagged in, trades blows with Smash, only to end up in a bearhug allowing Smash to walk him right into the corner for the Demolition Double-Team Turnbuckle Clubber. Ax tries to choke Tully, but Arn comes around to clobber him from the outside and then tries to get some shots in, but Ax reverses and clotheslines one and then the other in a straight line. Fast, fast pace for this opening segment with lots of neat stuff.

 

All of this stuff continues from the last few matches with the Demos being more than the Busters' match in the early going. The difference here, of course, is that the Busters have the belts now and that changes the dynamic somewhat. Anyway, a neck vice on Arn by Smash leads to a fun moment where Tully, hanging way over the middle of the ropes, makes a tag and the ref doesn't allow it. I swear that the Busters were playing these strangely earnest characters in the WWF. We get a few more minutes of Arn eating offense with Ax being particularly intense. He just has these bursts of real intensity throughout.

 

Arn finally makes a desperate tag and Tully comes right off the top. It's amazing how quick he can be. Busters are all over Smash in their corner, do a double whip since nothing else would contain him, and Arn hits the Spinebuster, but even that's not enough when the Demos are chasing the belts. He tries for a knee drop and Smash catches it and does his stand up into a flip and atomic drop into their corner. It's a cool variation on the last time he did it which was off a stomp and lead to just dropping Arn onto his butt. Smash does the triple fist pump/scream afterwards and the crowd goes nuts. Tully almost takes over with dirty tactics but he runs into Ax's foot from the outside and the Demos are cutting the Busters off at every turn. There's a moment here when Ax has Tully in a nasty chinlock that sums up the match: Tully tries to pull Ax's hair. Ax lets out a yelp of pain, and then he pulls right back on Tully's to maintain control. That's the match.

 

Finally, the Busters cheat to get ahead and it works, with Tully drawing Smash into the ring, the ref taking his life into his hands by grapping Smash's wrist to get him out (But if the Demos get DQed they can't get the belts, so there is that), and tully coming off the top again while Ax has the neck vice on. Busters cheat SO hard to keep ahead. With goading of Smash at every moment. Honestly, no one this side of the Young Stallions had to work so hard to get offense on Demolition but it works so well because the Busters are portrayed as doing everything right despite having such a hard time of it and Demolition as cheating just as much, and of course, they keep winning against Demolition in the end. Spoiler warning: they keep the belts.

 

Anyway, Tully locks a KILLER chinlock on Ax, one of the nastiest I've seen, but Ax stands up and it's portrayed as this awesome struggle. Busters double-team and stay on top, beating down Ax anyway imaginable over the next couple of minutes and Ax just eats the offense awesomely. Some of the best FIP stuff I've seen out of Ax, especially considering it only last a couple of minutes. That's just the pace of this match. Eventually, he fights back long enough to get Tully out of the way so it's one on one and while Arn has the advantage, they end up hitting heads off the ropes. But they delay the hot tag by having Tully RUN around the ring at a key moment. Arn then comes off the top only to eat the awesome clothesline counter (done by Ax instead of Smash as opposed to the 2/3 falls match). Tully comes in at a key moment again but it's too late. Perfectly time hot tag. Smash runs in, a total house of fire. He bullcharges through Tully, and slams Arn, tosses Tully's head into the corner post, crushes Arn's skull on the mat, catches Tully off the top with an inverted atomic drop, signals to the crowd and points at arn, and then clotheslines Tully over the top. This is like the best hot tag offense I've ever seen here. Then Smash lifts up Arn in a bodyslam position and drops him over the top rope with Ax assisting from the outside. It's just a killer finisher and you think there's going to be a title change but Arn pulls the ref out and it's a DQ. Great match. Maybe as good as the Rockers one. Maybe better. Watch this.

 

Vic: On Saturday Nights Main Event The Brainbusters (Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson) defeated Ax and Smash of Demolition for the tag team titles. This is the big rematch in Madison Square Garden. Busters are managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

 

Champions are waiting in the ring when Demolition's music starts. I love the way guys are shown walking down the hall in MSG, really makes a match look like a big deal. Demolition walking to the ring with purpose. The Busters attack them before they can remove their hoods. Tully attacks Smash as he enters the ring and its on. Ax is in and the Brainbusters are getting their asses kicked. Demos whip the Busters into one another then double clubber Arn before removing their hoods.

 

The story here is the same as other Demos/Busters matches. The Brainbusters are no match for Demolitions power and Demolition have equal or greater team work. Arn goes for the Sunset flip and Ax starts punching him in the neck. One thing I enjoy about Demolition face matches are they modify old wrestling cliches. Here instead of hitting Arn once he just pummels him.

 

The Busters/Demos series is a bit like the old Wolf/Sheepdog cartoons. Busters are determined to steal some sheep but that sheepdog just punches him in the mouth each time.

 

I think Demolition were the perfect opponents for Tully and Arn. In his shoot Tully talked about how he liked to get a bare minimum of heat to keep the fans hooked in. So this works with Demolition. They get beaten on just enough to keep the fans hooked in.

 

Arn whips Ax into the ropes and Ax clotheslines both of them like dominoes.

 

This goes without saying but Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard are the greatest. Everything ARn does here is great. He does this selling that gets over Demolition as being super tough without making him look weak.

 

Arn gets knocked to the floor and Ax rams him into the ring and throws Tully into the turnbuckle. Busters finally gain the advantage when Arn hits a nice looking elbow in Smash's back. Liked Smash's spastic selling. Then Tully comes off the top with a flying elbow. Arn hits the spinebuster but does not go for the pin. He must be the one giving Big Bossman advice.

 

Arn goes for a knee drop and Smash blocks in and atomic drops Arn into an Ax boot. Tony Schiavonie and Hillbilly Jim make a really good announce team. Jim drops his schtick mostly and Tony has the smooth delivery and play by play he is good for.

 

Tully comes in and Ax knees him in the back as he bounces off the ropes. Ax then starts clubbering. Again I want to put over how great Tully Blanchard is.Everything he does looks fantastic. Everything he does looks like he means it.

 

Busters finally get the big heat segment on Demolition. Double teaming and choking Ax with the tag rope. Tully clamps on this chinlock that looks brutal like he is trying to rip Ax's head off. Ax starts powering out and Tully tags in Arn, Arn walks in and belts Ax with a hard one.

 

Busters are firmly in control and this is just great work between two master tag teams. I could watch these guys wrestle forever.

 

Ax gets the hot tag and Smash is a house of fire. He hits Tully with a brutal looking atomic drop. Then clotheslines him out of the ring. Demolition hits Arn with an assisted Stun Gun bjt Tully pulls the ref out before three drawing the DQ.

 

 

 

 

Colossal Connection © vs Demolition - 12/28/89 - MSG

 

Matt D: So here's another opinion I can't shake. I think that late 80s Andre is just amazing as a worker. He was completely immobile but he had an incredible presence and he worked so, so smart. He couldn't do much so he made sure everything he did do mattered as much as humanly possible within the psychological context of the match. That's worth a million bucks, right there. I don't think there's anyone in the world that thinks more highly of the SNME Warrior/Andre than me. I think that match won the WON Worst Worked Match of the Year in 89 and that's just absurd. It had a great story and was so smartly worked. It's aged great.

 

BUT we're talking about Demolition here. We're talking about Demolition vs Andre and Haku. I'm sure we'll cover the Colossal Connection Title Win Squash because it's a remarkable and unique Demolition match. This is very shortly thereafter and the Demos want revenge. This is late era Andre and guess what, it's a really smart, really fun match. Of course it is.

 

The story of the match is simple. The Demos want revenge. The Demos want their titles back. They're the well-oiled machine. The Colossal Connection is something else. They play on the fact that Andre is increasingly immobile, that he's the ultimate weapon to be used at exactly the right time. Haku is to stay in the match until it is absolutely necessary to tag in the force of nature that is Andre. Their teamwork is not smooth. It is not supposed to be smooth. They're still nigh-unbeatable. There's actually a Colossal Connection/Rockers match out there that shows this off beautifully. In that match, the Rockers are doing fine vs Haku and die instantly and dramatically the second Andre gets tagged in. Ax and Smash are NOT the Rockers however.

 

So Haku tries to fight them off from the get go and he does pretty well with strikes and kicks until the Demos get him into their corner. The thing you have to understand about Demolition doubleteams is that for the most part they're not going to do fancy moves. What they are going to do are lots of quick tags where they come in and beat on their opponent as much as possible. Poor Haku gets this in droves. There's a great moment in here where Smash taunts at Andre and Andre makes this awesome bestial nose in response.

 

Anyway, Haku hits an awesome kick counter out of an arm-wringer and makes the tag to Andre who promptly misses a big butt drop. He's down and Demos take right back over. Quick tags and clubbering to a prone Andre. Andre in 89 was presented as an absolute force of nature. If he touched you, your internal organs blew up. It was awesome, trust me. It's awesome here. Demos clubber. Andre gets in a kick. Demos fall. Demos come back in to clubber. Andre hits a punch from the ground. Demos fall. And repeat. Eventually, Andre makes it up and tags in Haku allowing the Colossals to take over for a while, until Haku misses an Andre-assisted Splash in the corner on Ax. Andre is just sensational here. He had pinned Ax into the corner with his body and slowly walks away as Haku charges in only to miss. Andre, however, is doing this weird little dance and laughing at Smash, thinking that the move was successful. Every little thing he did at this point was just gold.

 

The hot tag that follows leads us eventually into a big brawl and finish. Andre hits the headbutt of doom on Smash, knocking him to the outside for the countout. Demos get their heat back by decapitating Haku after the match, keeping the feud building towards Wrestlemania VI. Really fun match and wildly different from yesterday's match. Great presence all around.

 

Vic: I have vivid memories of the match where Andre and Haku won the tag belts. It actually happened only twenty miles away. Andre and Haku destroyed the Demos with little effort and won the tag team titles. I was use to bad guys winning titles. Just that summer Demolition lost the tag titles to Bobby Heenan's Brainbusters. But in those cases the heels always cheated and pulled a fast on. In this case Andre and Haku just beat up Demolition like they were Gary Stambough and Duane Gill. For an 8 year old Demolition fan that was just scary.

 

This is the rematch from Madison Square Garden. The match is telling a pretty clear story. The Demos are trying to end the match as quickly as possible. The key to this is Haku. So Ax and smash stay on him and stay on him pummeling him so he can't tag Andre. But Haku is a tough guy and he will eventually get the advantage and does when he tags Smash with a side kick and finally tags in the Giant.

 

Smash is still able to dodge the Andre butt crash. Tags in Ax and Ax starts pummeling Andre. Again there is some desperation here. Demolition knows if Andre gets to his feet they are in trouble. One Andre strike equals ten normal ones.

 

Eventually Andre tags Ax with a good one and The Connection have the advantage. It seems like a light came on and they know they are going to have to use team work to win.

 

Haku knocks the wind out of himself on an attempted double team. Smash comes in as a house of fire beating up both Haku and nails Andre once or twice. The referee is trying to get Ax off of Haku which allows Andre to headbutt Smash and knock him to the floor causing a count out.

 

After the match Demolition attack Andre and Haku. Knocking the Giant to the floor and giving Haku the Demolition Decapitator elbow and counted to three.

[smkelly]

You know I wish reviewers would stick to the star system. If there is a *** tacked on to the end of one of those reviews, it would tell me I can wait on this one. But if there is ****+, I'm gonna hunt it down and watch it. Reading reviews like that are reading full-length movie reviews. Spoils the shit out of the movie.

[Victator]

Star ratings suck. The only worthwhile system is pass/fail or good/bad. If you want more detail have a conversation.

[El-P]

Star rating is goofy as hell, and I don't like it much, but I hate the fail/pass system because it prevents any middle ground.

[Victator]

In the end you like something or you hate Going on pass/fail forces one to articulate how they feel. Personally if I am talking about a match/movie/book etc, I like it. Otherwise I'm wasting my time.

[El-P]

The Rockers vs. WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition

10/24/88; Madison Square Garden

Yep, excellent match. Against the Rockers, one of the greatest tag team of all-time.

 

Demolition © vs. The Hart Foundation

Summer Slam 88 - August 29, 1988, Madison Square Garden

Good but overrated. Against the Hart Foundation, who were really a terrific team despite one half not being that great, but Neidhart just overachieved in big matches sometimes.

 

Demolition© vs Twin Towers - Boston Garden - 6/3/89

Haven't seen this one, but the Twin Towers were easily a better team than the Demos in my mind.

 

WWF Tag Team Champions the Brainbusters vs. Demolition

Interesting to watch, but Arn & Tully really wre fucked by the WWF style of working. This probably wouldn't make a top 30 Arn & Tully match.

 

Colossal Connection © vs Demolition - 12/28/89 - MSG

Haven't seen this specific one, but the match at Mania was just terrible. Poor Andre couldn't do shit and was just sad to watch. Haku worked his ass off and was more credible than both Demos as an ass-kicker. I'll be glad to never sit down before a Colossal Connection match ever again, Andre at this time is just no fun at all and cringe worthy.

 

So yeah, the Demos had a few good matches against some great teams (then again, the Busters matches are just super low in the totem pole or Arn & Tully so that's not exactly a huge positive). That's what decent teams do.

[El-P]

In the end you like something or you hate Going on pass/fail forces one to articulate how they feel. Personally if I am talking about a match/movie/boo etc, I like it. Otherwise I'm wasting my time.

Dunno. Sometimes it's worthy to talk about a match/movie I don't like to think about why it didn't work. And god knows I've seen some terrible movies recently.

[Victator]

The Demolition matches were the best matches Tully and Arn ever had. Slightly better than the matches against the Rock and Roll Express and way better than the overrated Rockers series.

 

The talking point of "oh they only had great matches with great teams." Like no shit I don't recall Tully/Arn working classics with fucking Jimmy Valiant and Bugsy McGraw. Or the Rockers having ****** matches with The Bolsheviks. Tully and Arn had an awful match with the Young Stallions. I suppose that makes them a bad team. And hey The Shadows had a good match with them on Superstars, I suppose that makes the Shadows better than the Brainbusters.

[El-P]

The talking point of "oh they only had great matches with great teams."

I don't see any great matches in the matches you listed. The best of the bunch is the Rocker one, and I would not call it great. Each time they have a good match they are paired with a much superior team. I'll say the word that shouldn't not be said in 2011, they are *carryable*. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Not really good either, but paired up with the right team, they are competent enough to deliver good stuff. That's my opinion of the Demos.

 

Like no shit I don't recall Tully/Arn working classics with fucking Jimmy Valiant and Bugsy McGraw. Or the Rockers having ****** matches with The Bolsheviks. Tully and Arn had an awful match with the Young Stallions. I suppose that makes them a bad team. And hey The Shadows had a good match with them on Superstars, I suppose that makes the Shadows better than the Brainbusters.

You're not even trying here, you know I didn't said or even slightly implied that.

Dylan and I agree to disagree on many things. You seem to have an issue with anyone not sharing the same opinion as you.

[Victator]

I have an issue with other people even breathing.

 

Each time they have a good match they are paired with a much superior team.

Except none of those teams are superior. Shit only one of them is even equal.

 

 

Its when people use weasel words like "carryable" that my dander gets raised/ Exactly how were they "carried"? Since its clear Demolition always called the match.

[JerryvonKramer]

So we're still talking about Demolition? Didn't we agree to disagree on this?

[El-P]

So we're still talking about Demolition? Didn't we agree to disagree on this?

No. Demolition are obviously better than freaking Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard, The Rockers, The Hart Foundation, One Man Gang & Big Bubba, the Rock'n Roll Express, the MX and probably Kawada & Misawa too. And if you don't agree you're a moron.

Or something...