Robbinsdale High School, Minneapolis
Class of 1977
Barry Darsow
Multi-purpose wrestler with a thousand gimmicks.
In the late 80s, after an earlier run as "Krusher Khrushchev," in the UWF, Barry Darsow became the Smash half of "Demolition", one of the biggest tag teams of the WWF. "Demolition" were power wrestlers similar to "the Road Warriors" and held the WWF tag titles on three occasions -
- Demolition (from Strike Force) 478 days 3/27/88
- Demolition (2) (from Brain Busters) 72 days 10/2/89
- Demolition (Ax, Smash, Crush) (from Colossal Connection) 148 days 4/1/90
'Here comes the Ax
Here comes the Smasher
The DEMOLITION, walking disaster
Pain and destruction is our middle name....'"From 1987 through 1990, that heavy metal rift became the anthem for two of the most punishing athletes to possibly ever join the World Wrestling Federation. There was Ax, there was Smash and then there was DEMOLITION.Following his success in "Demolition" Barry Darsow affirmed his value as a multi-purpose wrestler, able to change persona as needed - appearing in WWF as "The Repo Man" before moving to the WCW as "The Blacktop Bully".As three-time WWF Tag-team champions, Demolition (managed by Mr. Fuji) dominated the late 80's by using one of the most brutal ring styles in the history of sports-entertainment. With a reckless seek and destroy attitude, Ax and Smash used the combination of devastating power and crippling wrestling maneuvers to annihilate their opponents. With their faces painted for war and their bodies clad in black and chrome, Demolition was there for one reason only...to bring about TOTAL ARMAGEDDON!!
From the bell, the strategy was simple: ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK!! Demolition had no time to waste. The sooner they could pound their opponents into oblivion, the better. At Wrestlemania IV, the team Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) found out that their usual speed and quickness were not enough to escape the brutal beating being forced upon them by Demolition. Over the course of the next two years, Demolition would go on to capture the Tag Team title on yet two more occasions.
In 1990, Ax and Smash added a new member to the group, CRUSH, but toward the end of that year the "terrible trio" decided to quit just months after being upset at Summerslam '90 by The Hart Foundation (Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart and Bret "Hitman" Hart)."
In WCW Barry feuded with Dustin Rhodes including a memorable"King of the Road" match (Uncensored '95) where Darswon and Rhodes battled it out on a moving tractor trailer. During the match both men bladed - resulting in dismissal from the company. Darsow later returned to WCW, wrestling under his own name.
More recently, Darsow wrestled under the gimmick of "Hole in One" Darsow, a Payne Stewart look-alike psychotic golfer.
Darsow vs Zenk
from the Can-Am Collection - available here
from the Can-Am Collection - available here
