Google News 
During the late 1980s, many wrestling fans speculated that Demolition was WWE's response to The Road Warriors, a famous tag team selling out arenas and headlining pay-per-view events. In a recent interview with the "Wrestling Perspective Podcast," Smash, one-half of the Demolition duo, debunked this theory, revealing that WWE's Vince McMahon had no intention of it creating a version of Animal and Hawk (The Road Warriors).
"When Vince pitched the gimmick, there was no mention of The Road Warriors," Smash said. "I never even considered that we were a replica of The Road Warriors." He pointed out the two teams' wrestling styles, noting that Demolition often wrestled on the mat, something The Road Warriors rarely did.
Smash Debunks Road Warriors Comparison
"Road Warriors never got down to the mat and wrestled," Smash stated. "We took bumps for teams like The Rockers. We worked with every team differently. We were not just the strong guys, and that's why I never saw ourselves as being like The Road Warriors." Smash further argued that the fanbases of the two tag teams were distinctly different.
The Road Warriors had fans in every territory except for WWE, while Demolition was popular in the WWE but not elsewhere. "The fans didn't know," Smash added. "You either watched WCW and NWA, or you watched WWF." In June 1990, The Road Warriors rebranded as the Legion of Doom (LOD) and finally transitioned to WWE.
This stirred up excitement about a potential rivalry between LOD and Demolition. Unfortunately, according to Smash, the rivalry and subsequent matches didn't meet expectations. Smash felt McMahon made a misstep by introducing Animal and Hawk as protagonists against the antagonist trio of himself, Ax, and Crush.
He argued that the teams should have been kept apart initially and let the audience decide their roles before creating a rivalry. This would have resulted in a much more significant match-up. Reflecting on this, Smash also mentioned the dream match of Ric Flair vs.
Hulk Hogan, another highly anticipated bout that didn't meet expectations and was eventually dropped from the WrestleMania 8 card. Smash felt the handling of the LOD vs. Demolition feud was a disappointment for all involved. "The issue is, they were trying to phase us out, but the fans didn't have it.
They wanted Road Warriors as protagonists, but they were antagonists," Smash lamented. "The rivalry could have elevated us to new heights. Instead, it went in the opposite direction and negatively impacted us."