Beverly Brothers
| Beverly Brothers | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | Beau Beverly / Wayne Bloom Blake Beverly / Mike Enos |
| Name(s) | The Beverly Brothers The Destruction Crew (AWA) Minnesota Wrecking Crew II(NWA) |
| Billed heights | Bloom: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Enos: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Combined billed weight | 514 lb (233 kg; 36.7 st)[1] |
| Billed from | Chicago,Illinois- AWA Minneapolis,Minnesota- NWA/WCW Shaker Heights, Ohio- WWF |
| Debut | 1989 |
| Disbanded | 1998 |
| Years active | 1989–1998 |
| Trainer | Eddie Sharkey |
TheBeverly Brotherswere aprofessional wrestlingtag team comprisingMike EnosandWayne Bloomin theWorld Wrestling Federation.They were also known asThe Destruction Crewin theAmerican Wrestling Associationand theMinnesota Wrecking Crew 2in theNational Wrestling Alliance.The Destruction Crew won thePro Wrestling Illustrated1989 Rookie of the Year award, the only tag team to win this accolade.[2]
Career[edit]
American Wrestling Association (1989–1991)[edit]
Mike EnosandWayne Bloomstarted out in 1989 in theAmerican Wrestling Associationafter being trained byEddie SharkeyandmanagedbyJohnny Valiant.[3]Sporting matching ring attire and carryingsledgehammersto the ring, they were known as "The Destruction Crew". They feuded with The Olympians,Ken PateraandBrad Rheingans,and challenged them to a “car lifting” contest. During the challenge, The Crew attacked The Olympians and, instoryline,injured them. The Olympians' injuries forced them to vacate theirAWA Tag Team Championshipwhich were then placed in a tournament. The Crew went on to defeatGreg GagneandPaul Diamondto win the title tournament on October 1, 1989.[4]They also faced Rheingans and Paul Diamond and in asteel cage matchwhere the former was locked out of the cage only to have his partner decimated by The Destruction Crew. The team finally lost their Tag Team titles on August 11, 1990, toThe TrooperandD.J. Peterson.[4]Although neither Enos nor Bloom were technically "rookies," fans voted The Destruction Crew the 1989Rookie of the YearinPro Wrestling Illustrated,making them the only tag team to win this award.
By the end of 1990, the AWA was effectively on hiatus and would eventually shut down entirely by May 1991. The Destruction Crew's entrance theme in the AWA was the highly popularQueensong "We Will Rock You",a theme of defeating your opponents in sports and leaving them in humiliation. This was most fitting considering by the time the AWA went under, they were viewed upon as a tag team with one of the best win–loss records in the history of the company.
World Championship Wrestling (1990)[edit]
While still AWA World Tag Team Champions, the Destruction Crew joinedWorld Championship Wrestlingduring the spring of 1990. In WCW they wrestled under masks as the "Minnesota Wrecking CrewII "and were managed byOle Andersonwho was part of the original Minnesota Wrecking Crew. They attempted without success to win theNWA World Tag Team ChampionshipfromThe Steiner Brothersduring a brief feud.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1990)[edit]
After the AWA closed, the Destruction Crew went to Japan and compete in a series of matches in theNew Japan Pro-Wrestlingincluding an unsuccessful title match against then IWGP Tag Team ChampionsKeiji MutohandMasahiro Chonoon August 19, 1990.[5]
World Wrestling Federation (1991–1993)[edit]
On April 16, 1991, Enos & Bloom received a tryout match for theWorld Wrestling Federationat aWrestling Challengetaping in Cedar Rapids, IA.[6]In May 1991, the team were transformed into Beau (Bloom) and Blake (Enos), The Beverly Brothers. Now wearing flamboyant purple tights and capes to the ring, theirgimmickwas that of two spoiled rich brats. They were originally managed byCoach (John Tolos),then byThe Genius.They made their televised debut on the June 22 episode ofSuperstarsby defeatingenhancement talentsRob Jones and Tom Zeller. After making their WWFpay-per-viewdebut on a winning team atSurvivor Series '91,[7]they were launched into feuds with theLegion of Doom,The Bushwhackers(whom they defeated at the1992 Royal Rumble)[8]andThe Natural Disasters(who they unsuccessfully challenged for theWWF World Tag Team ChampionshipatSummerSlam '92).[9]By the later part of 1992, however, they would be used primarily to putoverother tag teams; they were on the losing end of an eight-man elimination tag team match atSurvivor Series '92[10]and were defeated by their old rivals The Steiner Brothers at the1993 Royal Rumble.[11]Throughout late 1992 and early 1993, they also found themselves in comedic mixed tag team matches, paired with Little Louie against The Bushwhackers andTiger Jackson.[12][13]
Bloom left the WWF in April 1993 and semi-retired from professional wrestling while Enos, still under the Blake Beverly moniker, remained in the company for a few months, mainly asenhancement talenton their weekly syndicated shows.
Minnesota (1994–1995)[edit]
They would reunite in Minnesota as the Destruction Crew from their AWA days. During this time they wrestled in the independent circuit. On November 20, they defeatedTekno Team 2000in at an AWA event in Red wing, Minnesota. In 1995 they once again went their separate ways.
World Championship Wrestling (1997–1998)[edit]
The two had a brief reunion inWorld Championship Wrestlingfrom 1997 to 1998 for a few matches. They remained low-card performers, and after a few matches together, the team finally disbanded.
Championships and accomplishments[edit]
- American Wrestling Association
- AWA World Tag Team Championship(1 time)
- AWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament (1989)[14]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
References[edit]
- ^Shields, Brian and Kevin Sullivan (2009).WWE Encyclopedia.DK/BradyGAMES. p.27.ISBN978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^Pro Wrestling Illustrated (1990). "PWI 1989 Rookie of the Year Award".PWI 1989 Reader Awards.London Publishing Co.
- ^Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson (2005).The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams.ECW Press.ISBN978-1-55022-683-6.
- ^abRoyal Duncan & Gary Will (2006).Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
- ^prowrestlinghistory.com."NJPW show results 1990".Archived fromthe originalon April 3, 2007.RetrievedApril 4,2007.
- ^"WWF 91".The History of WWE.RetrievedSeptember 8,2019.
- ^prowrestlinghistory.com."Survivor Series Show results (1991)".RetrievedApril 4,2007.
- ^prowrestlinghistory.com."Royal Rumble Show results (1992)".RetrievedApril 4,2007.
- ^prowrestlinghistory.com."SummerSlam Show results (1992)".RetrievedApril 4,2007.
- ^prowrestlinghistory.com."Survivor Series Show results (1992)".RetrievedApril 4,2007.
- ^prowrestlinghistory.com."Royal Rumble Show results (1993)".RetrievedApril 4,2007.
- ^"WWF 92".The History of WWE.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
- ^"WWF 93".The History of WWE.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
- ^"Pro Wrestling History".prowrestlinghistory.com.