10 Wrestling Gimmicks Originally Designed For Other Wrestlers
9. Demolition Smash – Moondog Rex
As the WWF’s answer to the hugely popular Road Warriors of the NWA, Demolition were one of the most successful tag teams of the 1980s. With a title run that lasted a record 478 days (a feat only broken in 2017 by The New Day), Demolition were the most dominant tandem to grace WWF TV.
With such success as a duo, it’s shocking to discover that Bill Eadie and Barry Darsow were not originally planned to don paint as a team. The original incarnation of Demolition consisted of Bill Eadie and Randy Colley, better known to WWF fans as Moondog Rex of The Moondogs tag team.
Making their debut on the January 17th edition of WWF Superstars in 1987, Demolition defeated the team of Salvatore Bellomo and Mario Mancini; however, the pairing was short-lived. After just a handful of matches, it was decided that Colley was too recognisable to WWF fans and his distinct look allowed him to be easily identified as the former Moondog Rex.
With the Moondog association noticeably evident, WWF made the switch and replaced Colley with Darsow, who made his first appearance as Smash on the Valentine’s Day edition of WWF Superstars just one month after the Demolition gimmick had debuted. The team would pair up until Eadie left the WWF following Survivor Series 1990.