6. Demolition vs. Hart Foundation – SummerSlam – 8.27.90
In early 1990 the WWF’s tag team division essentially consisted of three top babyface tandems – Demolition, The Hart Foundation, and The Rockers.
Sure there were a few heel teams such as The Bolsheviks and The Orient Express, but they were all booked as jobbers to the stars, and the Harts and Rockers were presented as the only credible threats to the Champions Demolition. Just after WrestleMania VI it looked like the Harts were slowly turning heel, adopting some underhanded tactics and referring to Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty as “tumbling teenyboppers.” It seemed like Bret and Jim would be positioned as villain challengers to the popular facepainted duo of Ax & Smash. But two factors caused a change of plans.
The first was that the Harts were still extremely popular and the fans didn’t really want to boo them. The second was that the aging Bill Eadie (Ax) was no longer able to wrestle a full schedule and needed to take more of a managerial role in Demolition, necessitating the introduction of a younger third member, Crush. With Demolition now working as a three-man team it made more sense to turn them heel and invoke the “Freebird Rule,” where any two members of a Championship team could defend the Titles (I love this gimmick, by the way).
So at SummerSlam, the Hart Foundation were positioned as babyface underdogs facing a dastardly powerhouse team who frequently pulled the old “switcheroo” during their matches, subbing in a fresh man for an injured one. The result was a very strong 2/3 Falls match that saw Hart and Neidhart overcome the odds (with an assist from WWF newcomers Hawk & Animal) to regain the Tag belts.
After a brief, disappointingly one-sided feud with the Legion of Doom, Demolition were sadly phased out less than a year later, while the Harts enjoyed a strong run with the belts.
