Barry Darsow
Encyclopedia
Barry Darsow is a former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...

, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully. Throughout his career he worked for Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...

, the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 (WWF), World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

 (WCW), and several regional promotions in the 1980s and 1990s. He is a four-time former world tag team champion, winning three WWF World tag team titles as part of Demolition and one NWA World tag team title
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...

 as part of a three-man team with Ivan and Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff is a retired American professional wrestler,. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he wrestled as "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff, which was a play on the nickname of fan favorite "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes .Nikita was brought into the National...

 (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-time NWA United States tag team champion
WCW United States Tag Team Championship
The WCW United States Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship contested for in the United States-based National Wrestling Alliance , Jim Crockett Promotions , and World Championship Wrestling promotions. The title was only contestable by male tag teams and in tag...

.

Early life

Darsow attended high school in Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Robbinsdale is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,953 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

 with six other future wrestlers: Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...

, Richard Rood
Richard Rood
Richard Erwin Rood , better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation , in the 1980s and 1990s.Among other accolades, Rude was a four-time world...

 (Rick Rude), Brady Boone, Tom Zenk
Tom Zenk
Thomas Erwin "Tom" Zenk is a former Mr. Minnesota Bodybuilder, and most notably a American professional wrestler, also known by his nickname Z-Man.-Early career:...

, John Nord
John Nord
John Nord is a retired American professional wrestler. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.-Career:John Nord started wrestling in late 1984 as "The Barbarian" for Mid-South Wrestling under manager Skandor Akbar...

 (The Berzerker), and Scott Simpson (Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff is a retired American professional wrestler,. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he wrestled as "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff, which was a play on the nickname of fan favorite "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes .Nikita was brought into the National...

). He also worked as a bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...

 with the Road Warriors
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...

, Hawk
Road Warrior Hawk
Michael James Hegstrand was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors or The Legion of Doom , with Road Warrior Animal.-Early life:While living in Chicago, Hegstrand met Joe Lauranaitis, who would be later...

 and Animal
Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...

.

Professional wrestling career

Darsow made his debut in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, before a short stint in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. He returned to Hawaii, before he began wrestling in 1983 in Georgia for Georgia Championship wrestling before moving in 1984 to Mid-South Wrestling as "Krusher Darsow", a turncoat American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 who was now a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 sympathizer and a tag team partner of Nikolai Volkoff
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation...

. He changed his name to Crusher Khruschev and won the first ever Mid-South Television Title in a tournament by beating Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...

 in the finals on May 2, 1984 but lost it back to Taylor on June 16, 1984. Darsow moved on to Florida Championship Wrestling where he teamed with Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...

. They won the Florida United States Tag Team Titles on October 11, 1984 from Hector Guerrero
Hector Guerrero
Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, better known simply by his paternal name, Héctor Guerrero...

 and Cocoa Samoa
Cocoa Samoa
Ulualoaiga Onosai Tuaolo Emelio was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Cocoa Samoa.-Professional wrestling career:He began his training by studying martial arts in Japan...

. The team held them until December 1984, when they lost them to Mark
Mark Youngblood
Mark Romero is a retired American second generation professional wrestler better known by his ring name Mark Youngblood.-Career:...

 and Jay Youngblood
Steven Romero
Steven Nicolas Romero was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Jay Youngblood. He wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions in a tag team with Ricky Steamboat...

.

Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1987)

Krusher moved on to the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

 to work for Jim Crockett, Jr.
Jim Crockett, Jr.
Jim Crockett, Jr. is a former professional wrestling promoter. From 1973 to 1988, he owned Jim Crockett Promotions , a wrestling company affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance...

 in December 1984. He was awarded a third of the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with Ivan Koloff and Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff is a retired American professional wrestler,. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he wrestled as "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff, which was a play on the nickname of fan favorite "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes .Nikita was brought into the National...

. The Koloff's had already won the NWA World Tag Team Championship
NWA World Tag Team Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship is the professional wrestling world tag team championship within the NWA framework.-History:...

 and Ivan declared that any two of them could defend the titles. They feuded with The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton
Ricky Morton
Richard Wendell "Ricky" Morton is an American professional wrestler who has worked for such wrestling organizations as Jim Crockett Promotions, the American Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and Total Nonstop Action...

 and Robert Gibson
Reuben Kane
Robert Gibson is a professional wrestler. He is famous as half of the tag team known as Rock 'N Roll Express, with Ricky Morton.-Early career:Cain started wrestling as Robert Gibson in 1977...

) and the Road Warriors
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...

. On July 9, 1985, he and Ivan lost the NWA Tag Titles to the Rock 'N Roll Express.

At Starrcade 1985
Starrcade (1985)
Starrcade '85: The Gathering was the third annual Starrcade professional wrestling event produced by Jim Crockett Promotions under the National Wrestling Alliance banner...

, on November 28, Krusher won the vacant NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested for in Jim Crockett Promotions , a territory-promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . The title was only contestable by male individual wrestlers...

 by defeating Sam Houston
Michael Smith (wrestler)
Michael Maurice Smith is a second generation professional wrestler who is best known for competing under the ring name Sam Houston in the 1980s...

. On January 11, 1986, Krusher severely injured his knee in a match with Houston on TBS. He lost the title to Houston and had to take almost six months off to recover.

When Krusher returned, Nikita was feuding with Magnum T.A.
Magnum T.A.
Terry Wayne Allen is a retired American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Magnum T.A..-Early years:...

 for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....

. On August 17, 1986, Krusher 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, Krusher and Ivan targeted the new NWA United States Tag Team Championship
WCW United States Tag Team Championship
The WCW United States Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship contested for in the United States-based National Wrestling Alliance , Jim Crockett Promotions , and World Championship Wrestling promotions. The title was only contestable by male tag teams and in tag...

, 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 Mantel
Wayne Cowan
Wayne Keown is an American professional wrestler, and author better known by his ring name, Dutch Mantel or Dutch Mantell. He currently is semi-retired but still makes occasional wrestling appearances. He was previously with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a writer behind the scenes...

 and 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 Krusher to team with Magnum's good friend, Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...

. Krusher 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 to Ron Garvin
Ron Garvin
Ron Garvin is a Canadian former professional wrestler and referee most known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance.-Early career:...

 and Barry Windham
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....

. Darsow's contract eventually ran out and he left Jim Crockett Promotions.

Demolition (1987–1991)

Darsow next went to World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

, where he replaced Randy Colley
Randy Colley
Randy Colley is a retired professional wrestler better known as Moondog Rex.-Professional wrestlling career:Colley competed in the World Wrestling Federation, where in 1981 he won the WWF Tag Team Championship with Moondog King as the Moondogs...

 as Smash in the tag team Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...

, alongside Ax
Bill Eadie
Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...

. At first, they were managed by Johnny Valiant
John L. Sullivan (wrestler)
John L. Sullivan is a retired professional wrestler better known as Johnny Valiant. He competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation , which became the World Wrestling Federation during his time with the promotion. He won the World Tag Team Championship two times...

, but he was soon replaced by Mr. Fuji
Harry Fujiwara
Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...

. Their initial feuds involved the team of Ken Patera
Ken Patera
Ken Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter...

 and Billy Jack Haynes
Billy Jack Haynes
William Albert Haynes, III is a retired American professional wrestler better known as Billy Jack Haynes.-Early career :...

, and Strike Force
Strike Force (professional wrestling)
Strike Force was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation composed of Rick Martel and Tito Santana.-History:...

 (Tito Santana
Tito Santana
Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation...

 and Rick Martel
Rick Martel
Richard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...

).

On March 27, 1988 at WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....

, they defeated Strike Force to win their first WWF World tag team title, which they held for a record 16 months. They later lost Mr. Fuji as he left to manage their newest rivals, the Powers of Pain
Powers of Pain
The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...

 (The Barbarian
Sione Vailahi
Sione Havea Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known in wrestling as The Barbarian.-Life and career:Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers...

 and The Warlord
Terry Szopinski
Terry Scott Szopinski is an American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name The Warlord and for his tenures in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of the Powers of Pain alongside The Barbarian.-National Wrestling Alliance / Jim Crockett...

). The double turn at Survivor Series 1988
Survivor Series (1988)
Survivor Series was the second annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...

 was the solution to the massive popularity being enjoyed by Demolition, who were designed to be the heels in their rivalry with the Powers of Pain.

They lost the WWF Tag Team Title to Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...

 and Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen....

, known as The Brain Busters, on the July 29, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event
WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
Saturday Night's Main Event is a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It aired occasionally from 1985 to 1992, under the World Wrestling Federation banner on NBC in place of Saturday Night Live. It returned to the air on March 18, 2006, in an 8 EST time slot...

. They regained the title on October 2, but lost them to The Colossal Connection (Haku and André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...

) on December 13. They defeated the Connection at WrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI was the World Wrestling Federation's sixth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event and the first to be held outside of the U.S...

 on April 1, 1990 to become the third full-time team to win three titles in WWF history. The duo was joined by Crush
Brian Adams (wrestler)
Brian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler. Adams gained fame in the 1990s while performing for the World Wrestling Federation , under the name Crush, and for World Championship Wrestling under his given name.Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, Adams was a two time WCW World Tag Team...

 (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 the Freebird Rule. Ax began appearing in a managerial role which was to eventually lead to the phasing out of the character. Demolition lost the titles to The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....

 at SummerSlam 1990
SummerSlam (1990)
SummerSlam was the third annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 27, 1990 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card featured ten televised matches, including two main events...

. After a feud with the Legion of Doom
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...

, 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 in the lower card as a singles wrestler. His final recorded match as Smash would occur on August 24, 1991, getting pinned by Davey Boy Smith.

Repo Man (1991–1993)

In late 1991, Darsow was repackaged as "Repo Man", a ubiquitous, sneaky heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...

 character who delighted in repossessing
Repossession
Repossession is generally used to refer to a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased in a transaction. Repossession is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having right of ownership of the property in question takes the property...

 items such as cars from people when they were late on (or unable to make) their payments. Repo Man wore a black Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....

-like mask and an outfit with tire tracks on them, and had mannerisms similar to Frank Gorshin
Frank Gorshin
Frank John Gorshin, Jr. was an American actor and comedian. He was perhaps best known as an impressionist, with many guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show...

's portrayal of The Riddler
Riddler
The Riddler is a fictional character, a comic book character and supervillain published by DC Comics, and an enemy of Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #140 ....

. He always carried a tow rope that he would tie up opponents with after defeating them and then assault them after. Shortly after his debut, he helped Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...

 defeat Virgil
Mike Jones (wrestler)
Mike Jones is an American professional wrestler, who most recently performed for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Virgil, where he appeared on its Raw brand as Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s personal assistant...

 for the Million Dollar Championship
Million Dollar Championship
The Million Dollar Championship was a professional championship in WWE created by The "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. The Million Dollar Belt was designed by Terry Betteridge of Betteridge Jewelers in Stamford, Connecticut. The belt is gold plated, made with cubic zirconia, and has three tiny...

, leading to a series of matches with Virgil.

Repo Man's most notable feud was with The British Bulldog
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...

 in mid-1992, sparked by Repo Man hanging the Bulldog over the ring ropes with his tow rope on an episode of Wrestling Challenge
WWF Wrestling Challenge
WWF Challenge is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1996. The show premiered as WWF Wrestling Challenge and became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match...

. The two had a series of house show matches as well as a match on Prime Time Wrestling
WWF Prime Time Wrestling
WWF Prime Time Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It aired on the USA Network from 1985-1993. A precursor to Monday Night Raw, Prime Time Wrestling was a two-hour long, weekly program that featured stars of the World Wrestling...

, all of which saw Bulldog come out victorious. Repo Man lost a match to former partner Crush at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1992)
SummerSlam was the fifth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 29, 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, England but was aired in the United States on August 31...

, though it was never acknowledged on television that Repo Man was actually Smash. Repo Man also had a short feud with Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...

 in January 1993 when he stole Savage's hat on an episode of Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

. The two had a match the following week, which Savage won. His final recorded match would be on March 28, 1993, a loss to Typhoon
Fred Ottman
Fred Ottman is a retired American professional wrestler best known as Tugboat or Typhoon and teaming with John "Earthquake" Tenta as The Natural Disasters in the World Wrestling Federation. Ottman is also well-known for his infamous "Shockmaster" gimmick in World Championship Wrestling...

.

Independent Association of Wrestling (1993)

In March 1993, Darsow left the WWF and joined the IAW promotion where he teamed with Paul Roma
Paul Roma
Paul Roma is a professional wrestler who is known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling primarily as a tag-team wrestler alongside such partners as Jim Powers, Hercules, Arn Anderson and Paul Orndorff.-World Wrestling Federation :Paul Roma entered...

 to win the IAW Tag Team titles on February 4, 1993. They held them until July 24, when they lost them to the Iron Sheik and Brian Costello.

World Championship Wrestling (1994–1999)

Darsow went to WCW in 1994 where he was always seen in the front row with a blow horn making noise and berating the faces
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...

 while they wrestled. He was soon "arrest
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...

ed" for pushing Dustin Rhodes. Col. Rob Parker
Robert Fuller
Robert Welch is a professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring names Robert Fuller and Col. Robert Parker. Robert and his brother Ron co-owned Continental Championship Wrestling for a time.-Career:...

 bailed him out and he became "The Blacktop Bully", with Parker as his manager. He feuded with Rhodes but was fired after Uncensored 1995, when he and Rhodes both bladed (which was against WCW's 'no-blood' policy) during a "King of the Road" match in the back of a moving flatbed truck.

From there, he went to Pro Wrestling America
Pro Wrestling America
Pro Wrestling America is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the 1980s and early 1990s. Founded and promoted by retired wrestler Eddie Sharkey, a longtime veteran of the American Wrestling Association and owner of the Pro Wrestling America Training...

 in Minnesota to feud with Wahoo McDaniel
Wahoo McDaniel
Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel was a Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American who achieved fame as a professional American football player and later as a professional wrestler.-Early life:...

 and Tom Zenk
Tom Zenk
Thomas Erwin "Tom" Zenk is a former Mr. Minnesota Bodybuilder, and most notably a American professional wrestler, also known by his nickname Z-Man.-Early career:...

. He next appeared in the AWF, Tito Santana's promotion. He had Jimmy Valiant
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as Jimmy Valiant.-Personal life:...

's wife Big Mama as his valet. The AWF folded at the beginning of 1997, and Darsow disappeared until October 1997, when he returned to WCW wrestling under his own name, and then repackaged in October 1998 as "Stewart Pain", a villainous golf player named after Payne Stewart
Payne Stewart
William Payne Stewart was an American professional golfer who won three majors in his career, the last of which occurred only months before he died in an airplane accident at the age of 42....

. He often entered the ring in casual wear and a flat cap
Flat cap
A flat cap is a rounded men or women's cap with a small stiff brim in front. Cloths used to make the cap include original wool, tweed , and cotton. Less common materials may include leather. Cord flat caps are also worn in various colours. The inside of the cap is usually lined with silk for...

 as if ready to golf and, prior to matches, would offer his opponents a victory if they could make a putt in the ring, often only to sneak attack the opponent. After the real Stewart was killed in an airplane crash Darsow kept the gimmick but was renamed "Mr. Hole-in-One" Barry Darsow and also "Putting" Barry Darsow. Darsow feuded with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan , better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling...

 and Chris Adams during this time, typically on WCW's "C-show" WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...

. Darsow's golf gimmick was able to keep him in WCW until the end of 1999, when he left the company.

2000–present

Darsow joined the WXO promotion run by Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...

. He feuded with Mike Enos
Mike Enos
Mike Enos is a retired professional wrestler who wrestled mainly as a tag-team wrestler in World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation between 1989 and 2000....

 until it folded shortly after in 2001. That same year, Darsow made a special WWF appearance at WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven was the seventeenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 1, 2001 at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas...

 for the gimmick battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...

 as the "Repo Man".

The Millennium Wrestling Federation
Millennium Wrestling Federation
The Millennium Wrestling Federation is a New England independent professional wrestling promotion based in Melrose, Massachusetts. Founded in January 2001 by promoters Dan Mirade & Neil Manolian, the MWF is one of the top promotions in the Northeastern United States along with Chaotic Wrestling,...

 (MWF) helped reunite Darsow with his partner Ax
Bill Eadie
Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...

 as Demolition and the two appeared at the Wrestling Living Legend's reunion in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in March 2007. On the March 2008 MWF Ultra television program, Darsow, as "Demolition Smash" teamed with former WCW wrestler Rick Fuller
Rick Fuller
Richard Fuller is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances World Championship Wrestling. He would later be featured in several video games including WCW Nitro and WCW/NWO Thunder....

 to defeat Ox Baker
Ox Baker
Douglas A. Baker better known professionally as Ox Baker, is an American former professional wrestler and actor, and was feared for his dreaded finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!" He has appeared in several...

's Army in a tag team casket match.

On Raw XV, on the 15th-anniversary WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

special on December 10, 2007, a bald Darsow participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal under his "Repo Man" persona.

Alongside Ax and One Man Gang, he competed in the Chikara King of the Trios Tournament in 2008, but were eliminated in the second round by "The Fabulous Three" (Larry Sweeney
Larry Sweeney
Alexander K. Whybrow was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name Larry Sweeney...

, Mitch Ryder and Shayne Hawke
Shayne Hawke
Shayne Hawke is an Canadian professional wrestler. Hawke is best known for his work with Chikara and International Wrestling Syndicate.-Early career:...

).

Darsow still competes on the independent circuit to this day with fellow Demolition member Ax
Bill Eadie
Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...

. They are currently the GLCW and USXW Tag Team Champions.

On March 12, 2011 Darsow is scheduled to make his Dynamic Wrestling Alliance debut at Dynamic Destiny 2011 teaming with Demolition Ax as they take on another former WWF World Tag Team combination, The Dream Team (Greg "The Hammer" Valentine & Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake).

On May 21, 2011 Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...

 reunited at Full Impact Pro
Full Impact Pro
Full Impact Pro is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Florida. Their shows are taped and then sold as DVDs. Full Impact Pro was the sister promotion of Ring of Honor until 2009...

's debut iPPV
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

 In Full Force. Their match against Tony DeVito
Tony DeVito
Anthony "Tony" DeVito is an American professional wrestler, best known for working in Extreme Championship Wrestling and Ring of Honor...

 and 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 by Manu
Afa Anoa'i, Jr.
Afa Anoa'i, Jr. is an American professional wrestler of Samoan descent. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he competed on its Raw brand under the ring name Manu.-World Xtreme Wrestling:...

, Sami Callihan
Sami Callihan
Sam Johnston is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "The New Horror" Sami Callihan. He competes for promotions including Combat Zone Wrestling, Dragon Gate USA, NWA Force One Pro Wrestling, EVOLVE Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Absolute Intense Wrestling, and Insanity Pro...

, Blain Rage and Joey Attel. Demolition, Devito and Mosco managed to clear the ring and beat Dallas to end the show.

Outside wrestling and in popular culture

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. In December 2008, Darsow's son, Dakota
Dakota Darsow
Dakota Darsow is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time working in World Wrestling Entertainment developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling , under the ring names Maverick Darsow and Barry Allen.Darsow is a second-generation professional wrestler; his father...

, signed a developmental contract with WWE. Darsow has worked with the Millennium Wrestling Federation
Millennium Wrestling Federation
The Millennium Wrestling Federation is a New England independent professional wrestling promotion based in Melrose, Massachusetts. Founded in January 2001 by promoters Dan Mirade & Neil Manolian, the MWF is one of the top promotions in the Northeastern United States along with Chaotic Wrestling,...

 (MWF)'s efforts with the Special Olympics. Darsow is good friends with Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...

, Barry Horowitz
Barry Horowitz
Barry Horowitz is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation.-Career:Horowitz, who is Jewish, attended Florida State University, where he studied sports nutrition and wrestled...

, Bill Irwin
Barney Irwin
Barney William Irwin is a professional wrestler best known as Bill Irwin.-Professional wrestling career:Bill Irwin started wrestling in 1979 in the National Wrestling Alliance's Central States territory and in World Class Championship Wrestling...

, and Brad Rheingans
Brad Rheingans
Brad Rheingans is a former Greco-Roman and professional wrestler.-Career:Rheingans was an NCAA champion in 1975 for North Dakota State University and wrestled in the 1976 Olympics, placing fourth...

. He was also good friends with Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...

, Rick Rude, Brady Boone, Dino Bravo
Dino Bravo
Adolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:...

, and Brian Adams
Brian Adams (wrestler)
Brian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler. Adams gained fame in the 1990s while performing for the World Wrestling Federation , under the name Crush, and for World Championship Wrestling under his given name.Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, Adams was a two time WCW World Tag Team...

.

Japanese band Aural Vampire
Aural Vampire
is a Japanese darkwave music duo consisting of Exo-Chika and Raveman . They hail from Tokyo, Japan and compose mainly darkwave music. Aural Vampire has toured Europe numerous times and been featured in magazines such as Astan Magazine and The Dose...

 produced a song called "The Repoman" and use video footage of Darsow and other wrestlers in live performances. Former Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...

 performer Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion in his fourth reign and the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also a former PWG Champion....

 is 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 for Driven
ROH Driven
Driven was a professional wrestling pay-per-view promoted by Ring of Honor. It took place on June 23, 2007 at the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, and first aired on September 21.-Results:-External links:*...

, against Takeshi Morishima
Takeshi Morishima
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently performing for Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan and has performed for Ring of Honor in the United States in the past. He is a former Ring of Honor World champion...

, Pearce pulled a mask similar to the Repo Man's out of his tights and put it on to the delight of the crowd.

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
    • As Barry Darsow
      • Barely Legal
    • As Repo Man
      • The Crowbar (Single leg Boston crab)
      • Grapevine leg lock

  • With Ax
    Bill Eadie
    Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...

     or Crush
    Brian Adams (wrestler)
    Brian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler. Adams gained fame in the 1990s while performing for the World Wrestling Federation , under the name Crush, and for World Championship Wrestling under his given name.Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, Adams was a two time WCW World Tag Team...

  • Demolition Decapitation (Backbreaker hold / Diving elbow drop combination)

  • Managers
    Manager (professional wrestling)
    In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...

    • Mr. Fuji
      Harry Fujiwara
      Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...

    • Jimmy Hart
      Jimmy Hart
      James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...

    • Col. Robert Parker
      Robert Fuller
      Robert Welch is a professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring names Robert Fuller and Col. Robert Parker. Robert and his brother Ron co-owned Continental Championship Wrestling for a time.-Career:...


Championships and accomplishments

  • Championship Wrestling from Florida
    • NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) – with Jim Neidhart
      Jim Neidhart
      James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...


  • Great Lakes Championship Wrestling
    • GLCW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Ax
      Bill Eadie
      Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...


  • Independent Association of Wrestling
    • IAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Roma
      Paul Roma
      Paul Roma is a professional wrestler who is known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling primarily as a tag-team wrestler alongside such partners as Jim Powers, Hercules, Arn Anderson and Paul Orndorff.-World Wrestling Federation :Paul Roma entered...


  • Jim Crockett Promotions
    Jim Crockett Promotions
    Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...

    • NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
      NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
      The NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested for in Jim Crockett Promotions , a territory-promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . The title was only contestable by male individual wrestlers...

       (1 time)
    • NWA United States Tag Team Championship
      NWA United States Tag Team Championship
      The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used by several championships that were or currently are under the National Wrestling Alliance 's supervision:...

       (1 time) – with Ivan Koloff
    • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)
      WCW World Tag Team Championship
      The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...

       (2 times) – with Ivan Koloff or Nikita Koloff
      Nikita Koloff
      Nikita Koloff is a retired American professional wrestler,. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he wrestled as "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff, which was a play on the nickname of fan favorite "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes .Nikita was brought into the National...

    • NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 time) – with Ivan and Nikita Koloff

  • Pro Wrestling Report
    Pro Wrestling Report
    The Pro Wrestling Report is a weekly sports talk radio/television program, first broadcast on March 18, 1998. PWR is produced by Dameon Nelson. PWR primarily covers the three largest professional wrestling promotions in the United States: WWE Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. The...

    • PWR Lifetime Achievement Award (2010) - with Ax

  • United States Xtreme Wrestling
    • USXW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Ax
  • Mid-South Wrestling Association
    • Mid-South Television Championship (1 time)

  • World Wrestling Federation
    World Wrestling Entertainment
    World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

    • WWF Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Ax


1 The 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.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK