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The following press release was issued:
Sickles, Studs and Stolen Cars – The Many Faces of Barry Darsow
Titan Insider Press is proud to announce the release of Sickles, Studs and Stolen Cars, the memoir of wrestling legend, Barry Darsow. Having competed and thrived in Crockett Promotions as Krusher Khruschev, won multiple titles in the WWF as part of the iconic tag team Demolition with his partner Ax, and made the Repo Man gimmick a nostalgic fan favourite for fans of early 90’s pro wrestling, Darsow has done it all and looks back on his thirty year plus career.
With a foreword by Bill Eadie, Darsow’s partner for thirty years in Demolition, Sickles, Studs and Stolen Cars is written by Darsow along with Graham Johnson, looking back at the peak of wrestling popularity in the 1980’s from his run as part of The Russians in Crockett Promotions to the story of Demolition, one of the most popular tag teams in the history of World Wrestling Federation.
This exciting memoir takes readers back to the beginning, when a kid from Minnesota goes from attending high school with other future stars like Curt Hennig and Rick Rude, to working as a bouncer with The Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal. Darsow and Johnson paint a vivid picture of the territory system, Vince McMahon’s national expansion and the colorful figures
who’ve starred in each. This is both a fascinating snapshot and the ultimate history of a transformational time in professional wrestling.
● Tales of going to high school with fellow future wrestling stars John Nord (The Berzerker), Richard Rood (Rick Rude) and Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect)
● Hitting the gym, working out and training to wrestle under Eddie Sharkey with Rick Rude and The Road Warriors
● Bill Watts convincing Darsow to become a Soviet sympathiser in Mid South ● A phone call from Ric Flair that led Barry to Jim Crockett Promotions as part of The Russians
● After Moondog Rex failed as a member of Demolition, Barry Darsow found his big success, being paired with Bill Eadie as Demolition
● Brian Adams introduction as Crush to keep Demolition going after Bill Eadie almost died in hospital
● Wrestling on the back of a moving truck in WCW against Dustin Rhodes ● “Mr. Hole In One” Barry Darsow
About the Author
Barry Darsow is one of wrestling’s iconic characters from the 1980’s. His role as Smash of Demolition in the 1980’s led to the team winning championships, having VHS releases and action figures of themselves and developed a rabid fanbase that still buy retro action figures of them and visit them at fan conventions to this day.
Graham Johnson has written for Inside The Ropes Magazine for several years, usually covering the latest pay-per view offerings from All Elite Wrestling, but with a 9-5 job in the literary world, he’s been keen to help tell the story of a wrestling legend and was thrilled to do it with Barry Darsow, who he’d watched in his youth as Demolition Smash, Repo Man and even The Blacktop Bully.
Availability
Sickles, Studs & Stolen Cars is available now from Amazon and InsideTheRopesMagazine.com, in paperback and digital editions.
Passages from The Book:
Drinking with Andre The Giant
"It wasn't my intention to out-drink "The Eighth Wonder of the World", because I knew I'd be fighting a losing battle. But I figured I, at about 300 pounds, could hold my own for a while."
Barry and Bill Eadie’s Approach To Working As Demolition
"Bill and I did everything in our power to make sure that, even though we were going over, that none of the teams we worked with came out of the match "less than". And that's how we really earned the trust of our peers. They understood that Bill and I worked for everybody."
On Confronting Jim Crockett Before Leaving NWA
"If Jimmy was trying to call my bluff, he learned pretty fast that I wasn't bluffing. My mind was made up. I got up to leave, with absolutely zero intention of returning."
On Barry & Nikolai Volkoff Causing A Riot Trying To Leave The Arena
"We wanted the driver to gun it, but he was afraid he was going to run someone over. So he tried creeping through this gauntlet of angry humanity, some of whom tried prying open the back doors! ... The fans were pulling on the door, while others hammered the outside with makeshift weapons, as well as their own fists! I just yelled, "We gotta go! Go!"
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