Jump to content

Smash (wrestler)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromBarry Darsow)
For the wrestler who originally and briefly portrayed the character of Smash, seeRandy Colley.

Smash
Smash in 2008
Birth nameBarry Allen Darsow
Born(1959-10-06)October 6, 1959(age 64)[1]
Minneapolis, Minnesota,U.S.[1]
Spouse(s)Theresa Darsow
ChildrenDakota Darsow
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Barry Darsow
The Blacktop Bully[2]
Crusher Darsow[2]
Krusher Khruschev[2]
Mr. Hole-In-One[2]
Repo Man[2]
Smash[2]
Tsar Mongo
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[3]
Billed weight290 lb (132 kg)[3]
Billed fromParts Unknown(as Smash)
The Motor City(as Repo Man)
Trained byEddie Sharkey[2]
Karl Gotch
Debut1983
Retired2017

Barry Allen Darsow[2](born October 6, 1959)[1]is an American retiredprofessional wrestlerwho performed asSmash,one half of the tag teamDemolition.He also wrestled asKrusher Kruschev,Repo Man,the Blacktop Bullyand "Mr. Hole in One"Barry Darsow.[4]

Throughout his career, he worked forJim Crockett Promotions,theWorld Wrestling Federation(WWF),World Championship Wrestling(WCW), and several regional promotions in the 1980s and 1990s. He is a four-time former world tag team champion, winning threeWWF World Tag Team Championshipsas part of Demolition and oneNWA World Tag Team Championshipas part of a three-man team withIvanandNikita Koloff(although the NWA no longer recognizes any former tag team champions prior to 1992, Darsow's championship is considered part of the WCW World tag team championship lineage), and a one-timeNWA United States Tag Team Champion.

Early life[edit]

Darsow attended high school inRobbinsdale, Minnesota,with six other future wrestlers:Curt Hennig,Richard Rood(Rick Rude),Brady Boone,Tom Zenk,John Nord(The Berzerker), and Scott Simpson (Nikita Koloff).[5][6]He also worked as abouncerwithThe Road Warriors,HawkandAnimal.

Professional wrestling career[edit]

Early career (1983–1984)[edit]

Darsow made his debut inHawaiias Tsar Mongo, before a short stint inNew Zealand.[2]He returned to Hawaii, before he began wrestling in 1983 in Georgia for Georgia Championship Wrestling before moving later that year to Mid-South Wrestling as Crusher Darsow, a turncoat American who was now aSovietsympathizer and a tag team partner ofNikolai Volkoff.[2]He changed his name to Krusher Khruschev and became the first ever Mid-South Television Title champion in a tournament by beatingTerry Taylorin the finals on May 2, 1984, but lost it to Taylor on June 16, 1984. Darsow moved on toFlorida Championship Wrestlingwhere he teamed withJim Neidhart.[2]They won the Florida United States Tag Team Titles on October 11, 1984, fromHector GuerreroandCocoa Samoa.[7]The team held them until December 1984, when they lost them toMarkandJay Youngblood.[7]

Jim Crockett Promotions (1984–1987)[edit]

Darsow as Krusher Kruschev

Khruschev moved on to theNational Wrestling Allianceto work forJim Crockett Jr.in December 1984. He was awarded a third of theNWA World Six-Man Tag Team ChampionshipwithIvanandNikita Koloffafter they fell out with their former partnerDon Kernodle.The Koloffs had already won theNWA World Tag Team Championshipand Ivan declared thatany two of them could defend the titles.[2]They feuded withThe Rock 'n' Roll Express(Ricky MortonandRobert Gibson) andThe Road Warriors.On July 9, 1985, he and Ivan lost the NWA Tag Titles to the Rock 'N Roll Express. The Koloffs subsequently regained and defended the belts without Khruschev's participation. AtStarrcade 1985,on November 28, Khruschev won the vacantNWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championshipby defeatingSam Houston.Later on that night, he was in the Koloffs' corner as they lost their Tag titles back to the Express in a cage match with Kernodle in the Express's corner.[8][9]On January 11, 1986, Khruschev severely injured his knee in a match with Houston onTBS.He lost the title to Houston and had to take almost six months off to recover.

Barry Windhamon top of Kruschev during a 1986 match

When Khruschev returned, Nikita was feuding withMagnum T. A.for theNWA United States Heavyweight Championship.On August 17, 1986, Khruschev helped Nikita win the title in the final match of a Best of 7 series by holding the referee while Nikita used his "Russian" chain on Magnum. After helping Nikita defeat Magnum, Khruschev and Ivan targeted the newNWA United States Tag Team Championship,which was to be awarded to the winners of a tournament. They reached the finals, held on September 26, 1986, and defeated the Kansas Jayhawks (Dutch Manteland Bobby Jaggers) with Nikita's help to become the first US Tag Team Champions. In October 1986, Magnum T. A. had a car accident that ended his career, and after admitting that he respected his one-time rival, Nikita turned his back on Ivan and Khruschev to team with Magnum's good friend,Dusty Rhodes.Kruschev and Ivan briefly feuded with Nikita and Rhodes but primarily defended their titles in rematches against Mantel and Jaggers. On December 9, 1986, they lost the US Tag Titles toRon GarvinandBarry Windham.Darsow left the NWA after disputing a pay off with Jimmy Crockett.

World Wrestling Federation (1987 − 1993)[edit]

Demolition (1987–1991)[edit]

Main article:Demolition
Smash twistingRaymond Rougeau's head during a match,c. 1988

Darsow next went to theWorld Wrestling Federation.He was brought into the company to be part of the tag teamDemolition,which had originally consisted ofBill Eadieas Ax andRandy Colley,who had been Moondog Rex ofThe Moondogs,as Smash. Darsow was tabbed as the new Smash after Colley, who wore face paint like Eadie did as part of his character, was deemed too recognizable even in disguise due to fans chanting "Moondog" at him whenever Demolition wrestled.[4][10]At first, they were managed byLuscious Johnny V,but he was soon replaced byMr. Fuji.Their initial feuds involved the team ofKen PateraandBilly Jack Haynes,andStrike Force(Tito SantanaandRick Martel). On March 27, 1988, atWrestleMania IV,they defeated Strike Force to win their firstWWF World tag team title,which they held for a record 16 months.[5][11]During this reign, they fell out with Mr. Fuji as he turned on them to manage their arch-rivals,The Powers of Pain(The BarbarianandThe Warlord). This doubleturnatSurvivor Series '88was the solution to the massive popularity being enjoyed by Demolition. Originally, they were the heels in their rivalry with the Powers of Pain; however, as a result of the incident at the Survivor Series, Demolition became full-fledgedbabyfaces.Demolition conclusively won the feud with their ex-manager and his new team when they defeated the Powers and Fuji in a five-man handicap tag match atWrestleMania V.

They lost the WWF Tag Team Title toThe Brain Busters(Arn AndersonandTully Blanchard) on the July 29, 1989Saturday Night's Main Event XXII.[12]They regained the title on October 2, but lost them to The Colossal Connection (HakuandAndré the Giant) on December 13.[13]They defeated the Connection atWrestleMania VIon April 1, 1990, to become the third ever team to win the titles a third time in WWF history.[14][15]The duo was joined byCrush(Brian Adams) later in 1990, making them a 3-man tag team and the second team Darsow had been involved in whose title reign operated under theFreebird Rule.Ax began appearing in a managerial role which was to eventually lead to the phasing out of the character.[5]Demolition lost the titles toThe Hart FoundationatSummerSlam '90.[16]After a feud withLegion of Doom,the team dropped down the card and would disband in the spring of 1991, with Crush leaving the WWF for a year and Smash wrestling as a singles wrestler,[5]primarily in house show undercards, where he was used to elevate other stars, such asKerry Von Erich,Greg ValentineandRicky Steamboat.His only victories during this run came overJim PowersandShane Douglas.He also appeared under a mask as an unnamed man hired byTed DiBiaseto wrestleVirgilon the August 18, 1991SummerSlam Spectacularspecial. His final recorded WWF match as Smash would occur on August 24, 1991, getting pinned byThe British Bulldog.

Repo Man (1991–1993)[edit]

While still wrestling as Demolition Smash, Darsow made his initial appearance as Repo Man on July 30, 1991, in Portland, Maine, wrestling in a dark match at aWrestling Challengetaping. Four days before his final match as Smash, he made a second appearance in a dark match at another Challenge Taping in Erie, PA and defeatedPhil Apolloon August 20. Following the August 24 house show defeat to Davey Boy Smith, Darsow retired the Demolition gimmick and was off the road for three months. On the November 9 edition ofPrime Time Wrestlinga vignette aired that introduced his new Repo Man character.[17]The repackaging was of a character who was a ubiquitous, sneakyheelcharacter who delighted inrepossessingitems such as cars from people when they were late on (or unable to make) their payments. As Repo Man, Darsow wore a blackdomino mask(similar toThe Lone RangerandZorro) and an outfit decorated with tire tracks, and had mannerisms similar toFrank Gorshin's portrayal ofThe Riddler.He always carried a tow rope that he would tie up opponents with after defeating them and then assault them after. The character was actually the idea of Darsow himself, who previously had a job repossessing cars.[18]Shortly after his debut, he was hired byTed DiBiaseto help him defeatVirgilfor theMillion Dollar Championship,[19]leading to a series of matches with Virgil. At theThis Tuesday in Texaspay-per-view, Repo Man and DiBiase defeated Virgil andTito Santana.[20]Repo Man made a memorable appearance at the1992 Royal Rumble,sneaking to the ring and eliminating Nikolai Volkoff and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine before eventually being eliminated byThe Big Boss Man.[21]He also appeared atWrestleMania VIII,teaming withThe MountieandThe Nasty Boysto be defeated by The Big Boss Man, Virgil,Hacksaw Jim DugganandSgt. Slaughter.[22]

Repo Man's most notable feud was with The British Bulldog in mid-1992, sparked by Repo Man hanging the Bulldog over the ring ropes with his tow rope on the May 3, 1992, episode ofWrestling Challenge.[23]The two had a series ofhouse showmatches as well as a match onPrime Time Wrestling,all of which saw Bulldog come out victorious. Repo Man lost a match to former partner Crush atSummerSlam,[24]though it was never acknowledged on television that Repo Man was actually Smash. He also worked against Jim Duggan on house shows during this period. Repo Man also had a short feud withRandy Savagein January 1993 when he repossessed Savage's hat on an episode ofMonday Night Raw.The two had a match the following week, which Savage won.[1]Repo Man made his final PPV appearance at the1993 Royal Rumble,where he was eliminated by Savage.[25]Originally, Darsow had planned that after a run as a villain, Repo Man would become a heroic character. However, the turn never happened.[18]His final recorded match in the WWF would be on March 28, 1993, a loss toTyphoon.

Independent Association of Wrestling (1993)[edit]

In 1993, Darsow joined the IAW promotion where he teamed withPaul Romato win the IAW Tag Team titles on February 4, 1993 (while he was still on the WWF roster). They held them until July 24, when they lost them toThe Iron SheikandBrian Costello.

World Championship Wrestling (1994–1995)[edit]

In 1994, Darsow signed with WCW. He first wrestled under his real name in January. By August, he began appearing in the front of events with a blow horn, making noise and berating thefaceswhile they wrestled, and would sometimes be kicked out of arenas by security. On the November 26 edition ofWCW Saturday Night,he was eventuallykayfabearrested for pushingDustin Rhodes.Col. Rob Parkerbailed Darsow out from jail, after which point Darsow became known asThe Blacktop Bully,with Parker as his manager. He feuded with Rhodes, but both were fired afterUncensored 1995,when he and Rhodes bothbladed(which was against WCW's 'no-blood' policy) during a "King of the Road" match in the back of a moving flatbed truck, which Darsow won.[1][26]

Independent circuit (1995–1997)[edit]

From there, he went toPro Wrestling Americain Minnesota to feud withWahoo McDanielandTom Zenk.He next appeared in theAmerican Wrestling Federation,withJimmy Valiant's wife Big Mama as his valet. The AWF folded at the beginning of 1997.

Return to WCW (1997–1999)[edit]

Darsow returned to WCW under his real name on October 6, 1997, teaming withJohn Nordto defeatMike EnosandWayne Bloomin a dark match prior toWCW Monday Nitro.For the following year, he appeared in the undercard as a heel, mostly on WCW's tertiary and quaternary showsWCW Saturday NightandWCW Worldwide.He also notably lost toGoldbergon the March 9, 1998, edition ofNitroand the April 16, 1998, edition ofWCW Thunder.On the October 17, 1998, edition ofSaturday Night,he was repackaged as "Mr. Hole-In-One", Barry Darsow, a villainous golf player. He often entered the ring in casual wear and aflat capas if ready to golf and, prior to matches, would offer his opponents a victory if they could make aputtin the ring, often only to sneak attack the opponent.[1][4]Darsow feuded with "Hacksaw"Jim DugganandChris Adamsduring this time, typically onSaturday Night.[1]On the April 24, 1999, edition ofWorldwide,Darsow dropped the golfer gimmick, returning to his given name and wearing a black singlet. On August 28, 1999, Darsow teamed withBobby Eatonin a loss toHarlem HeatonSaturday Night.AfterBooker Tpinned Darsow, Harlem Heat hit Darsow in the head with theirWCW World Tag Team Championships.Due to the blow to the head, in the following weeks, Darsow took on anamnesiagimmick,wherein he would reprise a different one of his past JCP/WCW gimmicks every week (the Smash and Repo Man gimmicks were WWE trademarks). On the September 18, 1999, edition ofWorldwide,Darsow reprised his Krusher Kruschev gimmick, and then returned to "Mr. Hole-In-One" on the September 18, 1999, edition ofSaturday Night.On October 2, 1999, he returned to his Blacktop Bully gimmick, which he used for the remainder of his time in WCW. His final match was a loss againstSteven Regalon the December 18, 1999, edition ofWorldwide.

Return to the independent circuit (2000–2001, 2007-2017)[edit]

Darsow as Demolition Smash at aJersey All Pro Wrestlingshow in 2009.

Darsow joined the WXO promotion run byTed DiBiase.He feuded withMike Enosuntil it folded shortly after in 2001.[2]That same year, Darsow made a special WWF appearance atWrestleMania X-Sevenfor the gimmickbattle royalas Repo Man.[27]After his Wrestlemania appearance Darsow retired from wrestling.

TheMillennium Wrestling Federation(MWF) helped reunite Darsow with his partnerAxas Demolition and the two appeared at the Wrestling Living Legends reunion in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in March 2007. On the March 2008 MWF Ultra television program, Darsow, as Demolition Smash teamed with former WCW wrestlerRick Fullerto defeatOx Baker's Army in a tag teamcasket match.[28]OnRaw XV,on the 15th-anniversaryWWE Rawspecial on December 10, 2007, Darsow participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal under his Repo Man persona.[29]

Alongside Ax and One Man Gang, he competed in theChikaraKing of the Trios Tournamentin 2008, but were eliminated in the second round by "The Fabulous Three" (Larry Sweeney,Mitch Ryder and Shayne Hawke). On October 28, 2009, Smash appeared, with his partner Ax, at theKeystone State Wrestling Alliance.Where they defeated Tag Team Champions Shawn Blanchard and Lou Martin for the KSWA Tag Team Championship, which they would hold for that match only before relinquishing them due to not being able to return for further shows. Darsow still competes on the independent circuit to this day with Ax. They are currently the GLCW and USXW Tag Team Champions. On March 12, 2011, Darsow made his Dynamic Wrestling Alliance debut atDynamic Destiny 2011teaming with Ax as they took on another former WWF World Tag Team combination,The Dream Team(Greg "The Hammer" ValentineandBrutus "The Barber" Beefcake).[30]

On May 21, 2011, Demolition reunited atFull Impact Pro's debutiPPVIn Full Force.Their match againstTony DeVitoand Ralph Mosco went to a no contest when local commentator and manager Larry Dallas came out and said his men wanted revenge. The ring was stormed byManu,Sami Callihan,Blain Rage and Joey Attel. Demolition, Devito and Mosco managed to clear the ring and beat Dallas to end the show.[31]Demolition returned to Chikara on September 16, 2012, taking part in a tag teamgauntlet match,from which they eliminated The Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive and Max Smashmaster), before being eliminated themselves by their old WWF rivals, the Powers of Pain.[32]

He retired from wrestling in 2017 after Ax retired.

Outside wrestling and in popular culture[edit]

Darsow balances his time between wrestling, his two businesses, his family, and the golf course. Darsow owns Added Value Printing, a printing company that specializes in hard-hats and medical supplies, and also sells real estate.[4]In December 2008, Darsow's son,Dakota,signed a developmental contract with WWE.[33]Darsow has worked with theMillennium Wrestling Federation(MWF)'s efforts with the Special Olympics. Darsow is good friends withArn Anderson,Barry Horowitz,Bill Irwin,andBrad Rheingans.[2]He was also good friends withCurt Hennig,Rick Rude(both of whom he attended high school with),Brady Boone,Dino Bravo,andBrian Adams.[2]Japanese bandAural Vampireproduced a song called "The Repoman" and use video footage of Darsow and other wrestlers in live performances. FormerRing of HonorperformerAdam Pearceis often heckled by fans who call him "Repo Man" because he looks similar to Darsow. At one match in 2007, at the pay-per-view taping forDriven,againstTakeshi Morishima,Pearce pulled a mask similar to the Repo Man's out of his tights and put it on to the delight of the crowd.

Personal life[edit]

In July 2016, Darsow was named part of aclass actionlawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit is litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in some number of other lawsuits against WWE.[34]The lawsuit was dismissed by US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryantin September 2018.[35]In September 2020, an appeal for the lawsuit was dismissed by a federal appeals court.[36]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

1The Koloffs won the tag team titles and then brought Darsow (as Krusher Khruschev) in and, using the "Freebird Rule", defended the titles in various combinations.
2In Demolition's third reign as WWF Tag Team Champions, Ax and Smash were joined byCrush,forming a three-man team and defending the titles under the Freebird Rule

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefg"Barry Darsow Profile".Online World of Wrestling.Archivedfrom the original on February 17, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnoOliver, Greg (April 5, 2001)."Barry Darsow: Happy to be done wrestling; Reflecting on a long list of characters".SLAM! Wrestling.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  3. ^abShields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009).WWE Encyclopedia.DK.p.246.ISBN978-0-7566-4190-0.
  4. ^abcdHoffman, Brett (February 28, 2007)."Where Are They Now? - Catching up with Smash".WWE.Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  5. ^abcdClevett, Jason (April 26, 2007)."Fan fests bring Demolition back together".SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^the power plant Robbinsdale High School
  7. ^abc"N.W.A. United States Tag Team Title".Wrestling-Titles.Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  8. ^"NWA Starcade 1985 -" The Gathering "".Online World of Wrestling. November 28, 1985.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  9. ^abBourne, Dick."The Definitive History of the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship".Mid-Atlantic Wrestling.Archivedfrom the original on December 31, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  10. ^Wrestlecrap.com induction of original Demolition, "featuring Bill Eadie and Pizza Face".
  11. ^ab"History of the World Tag Team Championship - Demolition (1)".WWE.Archivedfrom the original on January 18, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  12. ^"Saturday Night's Main Event Results".WWE. July 18, 1989.Archivedfrom the original on December 26, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  13. ^ab"History of the World Tag Team Championship - Demolition (2)".WWE.Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  14. ^"WrestleMania VI".WWE.Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  15. ^ab"History of the World Tag Team Championship - Demolition (3)".WWE.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  16. ^"SummerSlam 1990 Results".WWE.Archivedfrom the original on February 13, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  17. ^"WWF - 1991".The History of WWE.RetrievedApril 30,2022.
  18. ^ab"Chewin' the Turnbuckle with Smash/Repo Man".The Herald News.
  19. ^Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009).WWE Encyclopedia.Dorling Kindersley.p.246.ISBN978-0-7566-4190-0.
  20. ^"WWF This Tuesday in Texas results/info".Pro Wrestling History.RetrievedDecember 7,2011.
  21. ^"WWF Royal Rumble 1992 entrant/elimination info".Pro Wrestling History.RetrievedDecember 7,2011.
  22. ^"2008 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts".Wrestling's Historical Cards: WrestleMania VIII.Kappa Publishing. 2008. p. 120.
  23. ^British Bulldog vs Repo Man Wrestling Challenge May 3rd, 1992,retrievedJanuary 5,2020
  24. ^"WWF SummerSlam 1992 results/info".Pro Wrestling History.RetrievedDecember 7,2011.
  25. ^"WWF Royal Rumble 1993 entrant/elimination info".Pro Wrestling History.RetrievedDecember 7,2011.
  26. ^"Uncensored 1995".Online World of Wrestling. March 19, 1995.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  27. ^"WrestleMania X-Seven Results".WWE.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  28. ^"MWF Ultra & MWF Xtra Television Web-Casts".BostonWrestling.Archivedfrom the original on January 20, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  29. ^Plummer, Dale (December 10, 2007)."Raw: Nostalgia show quite the (beer) blast".SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  30. ^"DWA official site".Dynamic Wrestling Alliance.
  31. ^"List of died wrestler".KB.RetrievedMay 21,2011.
  32. ^"Past results".Chikara.Archived fromthe originalon October 17, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 16,2012.
  33. ^Hyatt, Missy."Missy Hyatt on wrestling conventions, women's wrestling, indy scene, more".Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online.Archivedfrom the original on February 13, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.
  34. ^"WWE sued in wrestler class action lawsuit featuring Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka, Paul 'Mr Wonderful' Orndorff".FoxSports.com.Fox Entertainment Group(21st Century Fox). July 18, 2015.RetrievedJuly 20,2016.
  35. ^Robinson, Byron (September 22, 2018)."Piledriver: WWE uses 'Hell in a Cell' as springboard to future shows".Montgomery Advertiser.RetrievedOctober 28,2018.
  36. ^"Former WWE Wrestlers' Lawsuit Over Brain Damage Is Dismissed".US News.September 9, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 1,2021.
  37. ^ab[1]Prowrestlinghistory.com Retrieved July 19, 2019

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBarry Darsow.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smash_(wrestler)&oldid=1234294831"