Barry Darsow Reveals the Secrets of Demolition: Face Paint, Ring Gear & Theme Music

[@WSI]

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[@WSI]

Apologies for video colours on this one - shouldn't be too distracting but when we finally realised how to improve the video quality the microphone all of a sudden died! Anyway, it's Barry Goddamn Darsow and he's the man and our latest guest on WSI!

[@Donathon-qx8kq]

I agree until he morphs into Duffer Darso.... love this (all) oll these channels

[@georgemaranville3305]

Color correction is a bold choice!

[@WSI]

@@georgemaranville3305 We even looked at replacing the background digitally - looked stupid. Just have to suffer with what we got.

[@thecedarriversnag]

I didn’t even notice until I read the comment 👍

[@stevebarnes8368]

It’s Barry Darsow, I don’t care if I have to see him through a sea of static. Could listen to him all day. Thank you for these videos

[@daveskimming6379]

These guys have to go into the HOF this year! I don't want to sound morbid but neither are getting any younger especially Bill. Both deserve their moment in the sun and for me still the most iconic tag team in WWE history Make it happen

[@LittleBigKid707b]

Unfortunately it probably won't happen in their lifetime. WWE won't consider anyone that has sued them. WWE generally has to be on good terms with you. Politics and money dictate who goes and doesn't go in the WWE HOF. Not necessarily who deserves it, which is why I never really considered the WWE HOF to be a real HOF. It's a nice showpiece but that's it.

[@daveskimming6379]

@@LittleBigKid707b more Vince wouldn't who doesn't appear to be a factor anymore. My hope is HHH has a little more common sense

[@alanguages]

Vader contacted WWE at least three times about being in the HOF, as he informed them, he had congestive heart failure and he did not have much time left. They never got back to him when he was alive.

[@daveskimming6379]

@@alanguages I know and thats one of the main reasons I think it's essential we don't have another situation like this again... The attitude towards Vader was disgusting

[@alanguages]

100%. Especially when Vader informed them multiple times about it. HHH did get UW and Bruno into the HOF, as he did not want something like Randy Savage passing away before being inducted to happen again. With that said, HHH only has so much he is able to do.@@daveskimming6379

[@hungchoonghow5857]

God! I just loved Demolition as a kid.

[@mamayl8592]

Love the Demolition interviews. Barry and Bill are cool and humble guys. I bet they're super cool to meet at shows.

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

Loved the Demolition facepaint, look, and theme song. They were my favorite tag team as a kid.

[@Brando-Lee3725]

I always loved the black hockey masks with the spikes ! As a kid I even spray painted a white one and ordered some screw on spikes from a add in a heavy metal magazine and stapled on black cloth on the back to try and emulate it lol ! I also had a spiked gauntlet , but I wore it to school one day and it was confiscated ! Ah.....Middle School in the late 80s heh heh . Great times .

[@scypsylock9402]

I remember hearing their theme song on the radio quite a few times too. The song made them even more real when you'd hear the lyrics playing and seeing them walking to the ring looking more imposing as ever. Still one of the greatest entrance songs and future HoF Tag Team Champions! It is a crime they were not in the HoF years ago!

[@sampleoffers1978]

I didnt hear it in my state. The station must be interesting.

[@Spooky_515]

Barry was one of my childhood idols. Seeing him always brings backs a lot of good memories

[@GlassTarantulah]

James keeps dropping jewels 💎. Barry is one of my favourite wrestlers thanks for this!

[@neilsmith9066]

I want to know How they felt about being #1 and #2 in the 1989 RR. The pops were Huge and I think it’s one of the great RR moments that never gets talked about

[@ricardoguanzon5874]

I also loved that the 3rd entrant was Andre!

[@neilsmith9066]

@@ricardoguanzon5874 yep!

[@KwaIified]

yup and then Andre comes down at 3...classic

[@ezrafranklin3547]

Thank you James! Always top tier quality quests! Love your personality... You have a way of comforting and doing your research on each quest to get the best out of each interview!

[@Brando-Lee3725]

Thanks for asking my question James ! And Thanks for answering Mr. Darsow ! Very much appreciated . And your follow up question about folks recognizing Randy "Moondog" Colley was the reason I asked about the tattoo/elbow pad covering it . I was a fan in the 80s and I never recognized Smash as Krusher until I saw the tattoo when his pad slipped down . If not for that I would not have known until years later !

[@CaseyWood-mn9vm]

Funny, as a young kid, when I saw Barry with Demolition I new in one second and my words were "Holy Crap, thats "Krusher kruschev" :) loved it :)

[@matthew80127]

You’ve become my favorite channel for shoot interviews! Keep up the great work. You need to get Nailz for an interview!!!

[@jensjesfjeld6238]

Barry is one of the nicest people I have ever met in pro wrestling. Got to see him work Ken Patera's charity shows in MN.

[@horizontoday7874]

Fuji definitely was the perfect choice for their manager. The tuxedo, face paint, and cane definitely complemented the Demolition brand!

[@tomjones2348]

Fascinating interview. James does his homework better than any other interviewer.

[@oldschoolrules1399]

Idk man, the first time I saw Barry as Smash I knew it was him right away. Same goes for when he became the Repo Man. Great interview.

[@jeyDsixx18]

Here comes the ax….here comes the smasher….the demolition walking disaster…still gets me amped as a mfer 😂

[@ben8447]

I'm so pleased you asked about their song. To me it is the greatest wrestling entrance song of all time. If I ever was to meet Barry or Bill, this is what I would have asked him about. But now you have saved me the job!

[@roccojamison89gooker51]

Bobby Heenan: Anybody ask them why they paint there faces? They must be extremely ugly. Gorilla Monsoon: You really think so? Heenan: I wouldn't paint my face. I'm quite handsome. Monsoon: You might consider it though.

[@dustinuhrich]

Love that you got Smash on now. Demolition is still my favorite tag team of all time.

[@aaronimpactgaming]

You knew Demolition were coming to an end when they turned heel with Crush and were given different theme music.

[@horizontoday7874]

I think they should’ve stayed heel the first time around.

[@J-_-]

Demolition definitely had one of the most kickass themes ever!

[@Senimis]

WSI, that was a great interview. I never knew Barry was the Repo man he definitely had a diverse range of characters he portrayed that was excellent.

[@timmc8444]

Great guy does great interviews

[@ericdravenX00X]

It always bothered me as a kid that i had the Demolition Smash action figure.. But could never find the Axe action figure.. One of my Favorite Tagteams as a kid.. Barry and Bill are both super kind guys along with giving 2 great interviews..

[@NickRHT]

Vice versa for me i had axe but really wanted smash too but never found him.

[@egomaniac247]

@@NickRHTsame here, I had Axe

[@horizontoday7874]

@@NickRHTRight! Ax was way more accessible than Smash back in the 80s

[@sampleoffers1978]

I only had Kamala and George steel, flesh colored back hair, terrible hunks of rubber probably toxic.

[@sarahmayfield9338]

Loved demolition, fav tag team all time

[@battlestarmarc]

Demolition was awesome. Great theme. Demolition Brain busters was a fantastic feud.

[@Ballpython77]

Still today AT 46 YEARS old, I still believe Demolition best tag team ever! with still the most bad ass theme ever! was a big influence on me as attitude. thank you guys! :)

[@MyBrainHurts2]

What was great was that Barry and Bill could go out in public as themselves and no one would recognize them as Demolition. I can count myself as one who didn't pick up on it.

[@guillaumeloyer7636]

Just amazing to see a guy that I liked so much as wrestler because of how savage he looked and now he seems just like this very great father guy very nice person. Great interview tks for doing this

[@darthsebio1726]

Best entrance song ever🤘💪...

[@stephenberry7876]

Demolition are by far my favourite tag team from that era. As a kid I absolutely loved them. Still do

[@horizontoday7874]

I remember when Bill started wearing a different studded arm band from Barry. I thought the original had gotten broken

[@wildwine6400]

Lol that ring gear certainly is something with the leather and studs. I legit have seen that exact gear worn by people at Pride festivals and in S&M shop windows 😅

[@phylliskumi4355]

Love the entrance song.

[@horizontoday7874]

I loved when they came down the aisle with Fuji!

[@NightWarriorAlive]

For the record, I knew that Repo Man was Demolition Smash. And remember, what's mine is mine, and what's yours- is mine TOO!! 😄

[@aaronst.pierre3080]

He was very good at getting into his gimmick

[@deebo1103]

Best theme song ever. Still listen to it to this day on heavy lifting training days. The song helped make the team, same situation with Warrior and his theme. You heard the guitars and you absolutely knew someone was getting their ass kicked.

[@michaelkrolewski7406]

Loved the hard rock theme song of theirs. It perfectly suited them as a Tag team.

[@fingersTitan]

As a 12 yr old. I didn't know Repo-man was Smash and Demolition were one of my fav tag teams.. Great wrestler.

[@DanlowMusic]

I did, but I am probably a couple years older. I was thinking why are they doing this to him? Lol

[@catrakes5276]

I remember the tip top of the tattoo is how I realized it was krusher. That was maybe 3 months after he started in wwf , up until then I had no idea . . Even tho I had seen him from ringside in jcp many many times. With hair and make-up you really didn't know

[@egomaniac247]

Loved these guys, loved their music, loved their in ring style…..but that song absolutely didn’t play on the radio in the US unless it was a local cable access type radio station haha

[@resonate9815]

Smash's face paint reminded me of a backgammon table. Ax was like the Ace of Diamonds with a touch of silver

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

6:00 The Demolition gear comes from the character Humungous in Mad Max 2 the Road Warrior. The film's Costume Designer Norma Morriceau lived in London in the 70s and hung around Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood and the SEX shop and was a fan of the Punk looks they designed which came from the S&M gay underground. So S&Ms influenced SEX punk gear influenced Norma Morriceau's outfit for Humungous influenced Demolition's look. Real S&M chest harnesses are made of leather, not cloth. The Road Warriors'/Powers of Pain's look was based on Humungous's boyfriend Wez from the same film.

[@TheRealDannAlexander]

Yes!!!! So looking forward to this whole interview!!! Hope he addresses getting screwed on a payout from Crockett. Barry deserved better.

[@jamesromero]

He does, and in depth

[@blackasylum9770]

My all time favorite team!

[@testodude]

Hate to disagree with Barry, but I recognized him in every one of his gimmicks from "Crusher" Darsow onward.

[@johngrenier7599]

All of the WWE women today have professional make-up artists doing their look before shows, same as being an actress in TV/film. Crazy that these "big, bad men" were doing it on their own and came out looking great.

[@georgecosrove3651]

Men too. Its a trillion dollar company

[@resonate9815]

Oh yes! I knew you were Repo Man, but my friend Shawn, who was a wrestler in Montreal had no idea.

[@neilsmith9066]

Hof Now!!!!

[@machinegunclemons876]

When will Demolition be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?

[@jtharris208]

I loved demolition!!

[@Filmation77]

4:27 it's a testament that he had three very distinct gimmicks and nobody connected them, it showed his acting talent

[@storagewars]

Les Démolitions, une équipe de heel que tout le monde adorait pour leur look , la puissance qu'ils dégageaient et leurs qualités de lutteurs. Une excellente équipe bien trop éphémère.

[@JackBarrett7]

I knew he was Repo Man as soon as he debuted the character.. I remember watching him in NWA as Krusher Khruschev, but didnt know he was Smash, too. Honestly, though,..I know Barry grew up with the Road Warriors, and was friends with em, but I dont like how it was only after Animal died that he and Eadie started saying "We weren't RW ripoffs, and didnt care if they thought it". Bc before it was "the gimmicks were too similar to not be". Demo. were a great team on their own, but Vince only 'created' them after he failed to get the Warriors in 86. He called Demolition 'OUR Road Warriors"

[@Saber808]

I see the Pinocchio nose growing.. He had the Ace Frehley like design.

[@horizontoday7874]

And the knee pad was definitely worn to cover the tattoo! Lol

[@movingman67]

The Repo Man was one of the most underrated gimmicks. He was hilarious!

[@davidmreyes77]

I think if you were a die hard regular watcher of the WWF from 88-92 you realized that when Repo Man debuted it was Smash repackaged.

[@Magus1213]

Definitely! Same with Steve Lombardi as the Brooklyn Brawler. Vince wasn’t fooling us with his gimmick roulette by that point.

[@Dizzy1980]

I was a huge Demolition fan, and I didn't realize it until after Repo Man's WWF run was over. To portray Repo Man, Smash had cut his hair, lost around 60 pounds, and spoke in a different voice. I didn't happen to notice the tattoo until later.

[@tomwalker389]

Smash's backgammon face paint was the intricate ever.

[@imogenaris1697]

Even if an NWA fan loved the Road Warriors, those fans would probably take one look at Demolition, thinking ripoff or not, & say "man, Demolition look fucking awesome!!" & they did. When Demolition destroyed their opponents they looked better doing it because they knew how to wrestle. Warrior's music is arguably the best originally written entrance theme. Demolition's is just as epic in defining the presentation of Demolition. When they stalked to the ring under those leather masks & spiked forearms & your heard those lyrics & that plodding guitar riff, IT WAS ON, all the way up to the masks coming off!

[@timgrzecki6539]

Just wanted to say thanks for asking my question and even trying a follow up to get a little more out of his short logical answer.

[@waynethompson6667]

Just as I knew he was the Repo Man, I recognized him instantly as Smash. I also thought he was covering up the big eagle tattoo.

[@DonMyers29497]

I guess i was one of the few that recognized him immediately when he came back as Repo Man. Lol

[@horizontoday7874]

Same.

[@BillBiggs1]

Your kidding me, Smash was the repo man 😂😂😂

[@horizontoday7874]

Lightning ⚡️ bolt? I always thought it was fire 🔥 flames lol

[@joelegue182]

I grew up on the NWA, so when Barry showed up as Smash I saw it immediately and I told my Grade 2 classmates during "Show & Tell" that Demolition Smash was Krusher Khrushchev 😹

[@pulsarstargrave256]

I watched both the WWF and the NWA and I still didn't recognize him in his various personas!

[@robertgraham5709]

My favourite tag team, always.

[@john-wj4ks]

Smash was my all time favorite wrestler. I spent $80 on a very bad silk screened tshirt with him on it because wwf merch wasnt available here.

[@dany-ps2my]

I watched both Crockett and wwf back then and I had no idea he was crusher back then , I knew he was repo though lol

[@robashley8227]

Demolition DESERVE to be in the WWE HoF!!!!

[@Bruv234]

Ring gear inspiration was a leather gay bar in NYC

[@pivotpointfilms]

Demolition never took bumps cause they were to busy Kickin Ass. Brutal

[@michaelkrolewski7406]

If you watch 'The Road Warrior', one of the characters is wearing a similar outfit as Demolition.

[@kurtwilliewalleye]

Didn't take me long to realize Smash, Crusher Kruschev and the Repo Man were all the same guy. I'm sure I wasn't the only one that knew.

[@405cards]

I loved the repoman, awesome gimmick.

[@johngrenier7599]

I'm curious bc Warrior and Powers of Pain always had their face paint come off in massive peels during any match. Ax and Smash never had that happen. Were they just using a different base paint or did they "work" in a way where it didn't happen?

[@johnnyvegas8030]

I think their ring gear was inspired by the Mad Max movies.

[@joesshows6793]

WWF was New England based and there was no NWA unless you got tapes as it was west/southern based and never traveled north east

[@randallstucky9013]

I knew and I'm a huge fan I always tried to figure it out by voices because of my vision impairment

[@anthonyosullivan268]

I always was interested in the elbow pad.

[@soulofanerd9364]

2:20 what in the HECK is he talking about??? 😆😆😆. He was feuding with The Road Warriors for months in JCP and was already friends with Animal PLUS the Barbarian was there in JCP at the same time. So how had he "never seen anyone with face paint"??? 😂

[@horizontoday7874]

Yea, Barry is telling a couple white lies here. 😂

[@borobinson7005]

As a kid i had no idea Axe was 12yrs older than Smash

[@KwaIified]

the original Mad Max inspired Demolition and the Road Warriors...even the Powers of Pain

[@Leaguefan01]

For me it will always be demolition as the greatest tag team of all time! They were just terrifying to look at and the way they carried themselves to the ring with all that gear on. They were the longest serving tag champs of all time untill the pancake wielding, unicorn wearing comedy act came along.

[@claytonjones8358]

Repo was cool with me!

[@DanlowMusic]

There was a divide and i knew who Crusher was. I think him having hair and facepaint is why people didn't recognize him. Now as far as Repoman, everybody knew who Repoman was. 😂

[@duckmangooo7376]

Hairs raised upon the arms, back of the neck. Saturday noon WWF wrestling. When the music came on the eye's of violence were alive.

[@fredpierce3069]

Demolition is a HOF tag team 4 certain!

[@williampartridge4595]

I loved it when Ax and Smash would beat the other tag team down as soon as they got in the ring.

[@ssdj04]

I knew for sure I was a big fan of the Russians As a little kid in NH we only had WWF. They’d come to our local hockey rink. When we got cable in 83, I found TBS and I preferred the NWA from then on.

[@stevep4574]

Ask him about Uncle Ivan Koloff!

[@jaritime1406]

Everyone knew Smash was the Repoman They even had a VHS match where they argue about it one would say i know this guy from somewhere the other NAW your mistaken but tell me your paid up on the car or i hear he'll SMASH a window it was a nudge Nudge wink wink

[@Hangingwithfarrah]

Wow since you mentioned s and m now I can’t get the gimp out of my head from pulp fiction

[@McRedneck]

if you watch some of the warriors matches, the paint got in his eyes and he had issues . match with savage at wm7 is a good example

[@troyt6864]

Who didn't know Krusher Kruschev, Smash, Blacktop Bully and Repo man was the same person?😂😂😂

[@ScotsGal]

I loved demolition in the wwf .....smash was my faviroute of the 2 ...then they went and flushed the whole thing down the crapper by adding crush ....I know they had to add crush because of bill eadies health problems at the time but just felt his addition kind of diluted the team