Changes: Brain Busters

Revision as of 03:25, 13 July 2019

Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, known as members of the Four Horsemen, were a professional wrestling tag team in the 1980s competing in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as The Brain Busters.

History

National Wrestling Alliance

Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were founding members of the Four Horsemen, and often teamed up for six and eight man tag team matches with Ric Flair and Ole Anderson. Blanchard was the number two heel in the NWA, behind only NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. In his singles career in Jim Crockett Promotions Tully would win the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, the NWA National Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Television Championship. Meanwhile, Anderson was designated as the "Enforcer" of the stable, and teamed with Ole Anderson as the final version of The Minnesota Wrecking Crew. In the spring of 1987, Ole was kicked out of the Four Horsemen, and was replaced with associate member Lex Luger. Shortly after losing the Television Title, Blanchard quickly began teaming with Arn and targeted the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

First reign

Tully and Arn won the NWA World Tag Team Championship on September 29 1987 by defeating the Rock 'n' Roll Express after The Midnight Express attacked Ricky Morton prior to the match. They were immediately challenged by the Road Warriors aka the Legion of Doom (LOD) to a title match at Starrcade 1987 in the LOD hometown of Chicago. Despite a hostile pro LOD crowd, the Horsemen retained the titles on a reverse decision. The Horseman would next receive a stiff challenge from ex-Horsemen Lex Luger, and longtime Horseman rival Barry Windham, who were dubbed the Twin Towers. The teams met at the 1st ever Clash of the Champions live on TBS and the challengers upset the Horsemen, when heel miscommunication caused Anderson to get hit by a chair from Horsemen manager J.J. Dillon, and pinned by Luger.

Second reign

Arn and Tully regained the titles less than a month later on April 20 1988 when Barry Windham turned on his tag-team partner and joined the Four Horsemen. The duo would mainly defend the titles against various combinations of teams between the trio of Sting, Nikita Koloff and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Things began to sour behind the scenes for the champions, as Jim Crockett Promotions launched its first-ever uninterrupted pay-per-view, The Great American Bash, promoters were attempting to draw a large gate and, according to the DVD Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen, Blanchard had suggested a rematch with the Road Warriors, but instead they were booked against Sting & Koloff, (whom they wrestled to a time limit draw), and when the PPV payouts were given out, it was discovered that Dillon who was their manager received 3 times the payout of the 2-time World Tag Team Champions. This was the last straw for Blanchard, who saw this as an insult and immediately prepared to give his notice. Meanwhile, on camera, the champions had begun a feud with NWA United States Tag Team champions The Midnight Express, who they (kayfabe) considered to be ungrateful punks who weren't on their level. The Midnight Express won the titles from the Horsemen on September 10 1988, as both Blanchard and Anderson gave their notices to Jim Crockett Promotions, ending the original Four Horsemen and according to Blanchard, it was the end of an era.

World Wrestling Federation

The duo made their debut on the October 22, 1988 edition of Superstars of Wrestling as "The Brain Busters," due to being under management of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan (and, by default, members of the Heenan Family). It was commonplace for the WWF at this time to assign wrestlers to some sort of gimmick, or new identity. The Brain Busters were allowed to keep their names and ring persona. The only changes Arn and Tully made to their style were pointing to their heads to show they were smarter than everyone else and the use of a Spike piledriver as a finishing move.

The Brain Busters made their pay-per-view (PPV) debut at the 1988 Survivor Series in the 10 team tag match, where they eliminated the Hart Foundation, before being elimainated via double disqualification with the Rockers. This led to a match with the Rockers on WWF Superstars of Wrestling where both teams were again disqualified before the match could even get started. This kicked off a red hot series of house show matches. One match in particular on January 23 1989 was rated as one of the 50 greatest matches in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 10th anniversary issue, where the Brainbusters narrowly defeated the Rockers as Anderson held down Marty Jannetty's leg as Blanchard pinned him. The teams wrestled to yet another DQ on the March 11, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.

The Brain Busters made their first and only WrestleMania appearance at WrestleMania V against former WWF World Tag Team champions Strike Force. After an even start, the Brain Busters dominated the ex-champions as Rick Martel walked out on Tito Santana and he was brutalized and beaten after a spike piledriver and eventually pinned.

After their WrestleMania win, the Brain Busters finally got to face the WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition and defeated them by disqualification on the May 27, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. The Brain Busters defeated Demolition for the titles in a rematch on July 18, 1989 in a two out of three falls match. After losing the 1st fall, by pinfall, the Busters won the 2nd fall, via disqualification, and won the 3rd fall, with a distraction from Bobby Heenan and a steel chair thrown in from Andre the Giant, the Brain Busters ended Demolition's record-breaking 478-day title reign and became the first team to win both the WWF and NWA World tag-team titles. It also was the 1st time a title changed hands in a two out of three falls match where one of the decisions ended in a disqualification. The Brain Busters lost the titles back to Demolition on October 2 1989, in an equally controversial fashion as Blanchard, who was the illegal man, was pinned after receiving the Demolition Decapitation finisher. The Busters continued to defend the titles on house shows until the title change was acknowledged on television on November 4 1989.

Split

Their last match was a best-of-three-falls contest against The Rockers on Saturday Night's Main Event. The Brain Busters lost the first fall after not following directions from an enraged Heenan, who left the ringside area. The Brain Busters won the second fall, after which Heenan fired them during a backstage interview. The Rockers would go on to win the third and final fall of the match.

Bobby Heenan replaced Tully Blanchard at the Survivor Series, because he failed a drug test. Arn Anderson left the federation more or less immediately after the pay-per-view. Arn returned to the NWA in December, but at that time they refused to rehire Blanchard when news of his failed drug test became known, thus ending the Brain Busters for good. Tully Blanchard would renegotiate a new contract with NWA a few months later, but ultimately declined what he considered to be a very low offer (reportedly half of a previous verbal agreement).

André the Giant and Haku formed a tag team known as The Colossal Connection in part to replace The Brain Busters. The Colossal Connection replaced The Brain Busters in their feuds with Demolition and The Rockers, and soon after won the WWF tag team titles from Demolition on a November 1989 edition of Superstars. Eventually they lost the titles back to Demolition at WrestleMania VI. Directly following this loss The Colossal Connection disbanded.

In wrestling

Double team finishing moves
- Spike piledriver

Anderson's finishing moves
- Spinebuster

Blanchard's finishing moves
- Texas piledriver
- Slingshot suplex

Managers
- J.J. Dillion
- Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

Championships and accomplishments

National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (1989)
- PWI ranked them # 15 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003
World Wrestling Federation
- WWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time)

External links

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+{{Tabs
+|backcolor=#FFE93E
+|altbackcolor=#FFFFFF
+|bordercolor=silver
+|borderradius=6
+|height=2.2
+|maxwidth=20
+|tab1=General
+|tab2=Event history
+|tab3=Image gallery
+|tab4=Magazine covers
+|tab5=Merchandise
+}}
 {{Infobox Wrestling team
 |name=The Brain Busters
-|image =  [[Image:The Brain Busters.jpg|200px]]
+|image =  Arnanderson and tullyblanchard.png
 |members= [[Arn Anderson]]<br/>[[Tully Blanchard]]
 |former=
 |heights=Arn:6'1"<br>Tully:5'10"
-|weights=477lbs
+|weights=477 lbs
 |billed=
 |debuted=[[1986]]
 |disbanded=[[1989]]
-|promotions=[[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA]]<br/>[[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]]
+|promotions=[[NWA]]<br/>[[WWF]]
 |}}
-'''[[Arn Anderson]]''' and '''[[Tully Blanchard]]''', known as members of the [[Four Horsemen]], were a [[professional wrestling]] tag team in the 1980s competing in the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA) and the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF) as '''The Brain Busters'''.
+'''[[Arn Anderson]]''' and '''[[Tully Blanchard]]''', known as members of the [[Four Horsemen]], were a [[professional wrestling]] tag team in the [[1980]]s competing in [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] and the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF) as '''The Brain Busters'''.
-{{Navbuttons}}
 ==History==
 ===National Wrestling Alliance===
-Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were founding members of the Four Horsemen, and often teamed up for six and eight man tag team matches with [[Ric Flair]] and [[Ole Anderson]]. Blanchard was the number two [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] in the NWA, behind only [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship|NWA World Heavyweight Champion]] [[Ric Flair]], winning the [[WWE United States Championship|NWA United States Heavyweight Championship]], the [[NWA National Heavyweight Championship]] and the [[WCW World Television Championship|NWA World Television Championship]]. Meanwhile, Anderson was designated as the "Enforcer" of the stable, and teamed with Ole Anderson as the final version of The Minnesota Wrecking Crew. In the spring of 1987, Ole was kicked out of the Four Horsemen, and was replaced with associate member Lex Luger. Shortly after losing the Television Title, Blanchard quickly began teaming with Arn and targeted the NWA World Tag Team titles.
+Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were founding members of the Four Horsemen, and often teamed up for six and eight man tag team matches with [[Ric Flair]] and [[Ole Anderson]]. Blanchard was the number two [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] in the NWA, behind only [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship|NWA World Heavyweight Champion]] [[Ric Flair]]. In his singles career in Jim Crockett Promotions Tully would win the [[NWA United States Heavyweight Championship]], the [[NWA National Heavyweight Championship]] and the [[NWA World Television Championship]]. Meanwhile, Anderson was designated as the "Enforcer" of the stable, and teamed with Ole Anderson as the final version of The [[Minnesota Wrecking Crew]]. In the spring of 1987, Ole was kicked out of the Four Horsemen, and was replaced with associate member [[Lex Luger]]. Shortly after losing the Television Title, Blanchard quickly began teaming with Arn and targeted the [[NWA World Tag Team Championship]].
 ===First reign===
-Tully and Arn won the [[NWA World Tag Team Championship]] on September 29 [[1987]] by defeating the [[Rock 'n' Roll Express]] after [[The Midnight Express]] attacked Ricky Morton prior to the match. They were immediately challenged by the [[Road Warriors]] to a title match at [[Starrcade (1987)|Starrcade '87]] in the LOD hometown of Chicago. Despite a hostile pro LOD crowd, the Horsemen retained the titles on a reverse decision. The Horseman would next receive a stiff challenge from ex-Horsemen [[Lex Luger]], and longtime Horseman rival [[Barry Windham]], who were dubbed the Twin Towers. The teams met at the 1st ever Clash of the Champions live on TBS and the challengers upset the Horsemen, when heel miscommunication caused Anderson to get hit by a chair from Horsemen manager [[J.J. Dillon]], and pinned by Luger.
+Tully and Arn won the NWA World Tag Team Championship on September 29 [[1987]] by defeating the [[Rock 'n' Roll Express]] after [[The Midnight Express]] attacked Ricky Morton prior to the match. They were immediately challenged by the [[Road Warriors]] aka the Legion of Doom (LOD) to a title match at [[Starrcade 1987]] in the LOD hometown of Chicago. Despite a hostile pro LOD crowd, the Horsemen retained the titles on a reverse decision. The Horseman would next receive a stiff challenge from ex-Horsemen Lex Luger, and longtime Horseman rival [[Barry Windham]], who were dubbed the Twin Towers. The teams met at the 1st ever [[Clash of the Champions I|Clash of the Champions]] live on TBS and the challengers upset the Horsemen, when heel miscommunication caused Anderson to get hit by a chair from Horsemen manager [[J.J. Dillon]], and pinned by Luger.
 ===Second reign===
-Arn and Tully regained the titles less than a month later on April 20 [[1988]] when Barry Windham turned on his tag-team partner and joined the Four Horsemen. The duo would mainly defend the titles against various combinations of teams between the trio of [[Sting]], [[Nikita Koloff]] and [["Dr. Death" Steve Williams]]. Things began to sour behind the scenes for the champions, as the [[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA]] launched its first-ever uninterrupted pay-per-view, [[The Great American Bash]], promoters were attempting to draw a large gate and, according to the DVD ''Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen'', Blanchard had suggested a rematch with the [[Road Warriors]], but instead they were booked against Sting & Koloff, (whom they wrestled to a time limit draw), and when the PPV payouts were given out, it was discovered that Dillon who was their manager received 3 times the payout of the 2-time World Tag Team Champions. This was the last straw for Blanchard, who saw this as an insult and immediately prepared to give his notice. Meanwhile on camera, the champions had begun a feud with [[NWA United States Tag Team Championship|NWA United States Tag Team champions]] [[The Midnight Express]], who they ([[kayfabe]]) considered to be ungrateful punks who weren't on their level. The Midnight Express won the titles from the Horsemen on September 10 [[1988]], as both Blanchard and Anderson gave their notices to [[Jim Crockett Promotions]], ending the original [[Four Horsemen]] and according to Blanchard, it was the end of an era.
+Arn and Tully regained the titles less than a month later on April 20 [[1988]] when Barry Windham turned on his tag-team partner and joined the Four Horsemen. The duo would mainly defend the titles against various combinations of teams between the trio of [[Sting]], [[Nikita Koloff]] and [["Dr. Death" Steve Williams]]. Things began to sour behind the scenes for the champions, as Jim Crockett Promotions launched its first-ever uninterrupted pay-per-view, [[The Great American Bash]], promoters were attempting to draw a large gate and, according to the DVD ''Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen'', Blanchard had suggested a rematch with the [[Road Warriors]], but instead they were booked against Sting & Koloff, (whom they wrestled to a time limit draw), and when the PPV payouts were given out, it was discovered that Dillon who was their manager received 3 times the payout of the 2-time World Tag Team Champions. This was the last straw for Blanchard, who saw this as an insult and immediately prepared to give his notice. Meanwhile, on camera, the champions had begun a feud with [[NWA United States Tag Team Championship|NWA United States Tag Team champions]] [[The Midnight Express]], who they ([[kayfabe]]) considered to be ungrateful punks who weren't on their level. The Midnight Express won the titles from the Horsemen on September 10 [[1988]], as both Blanchard and Anderson gave their notices to Jim Crockett Promotions, ending the original [[Four Horsemen]] and according to Blanchard, it was the end of an era.
 ===World Wrestling Federation===
-The duo made their debut late in October 1988, as "'''The Brain Busters'''," due to being under management of [[Bobby Heenan|Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]] (and, by default, members of [[the Heenan Family]]). It was commonplace for the WWF at this time to assign wrestlers to some sort of gimmick, or new identity. The Brain Busters were allowed to keep their names and ring persona. The only changes Arn and Tully made to their style were pointing to their heads to show they were smarter than everyone else and the use of a spike piledriver as a finishing move.
+The duo made their debut on the [[October 22, 1988 WWF Superstars of Wrestling|October 22, 1988 edition of Superstars of Wrestling]] as "'''The Brain Busters'''," due to being under management of [[Bobby Heenan|Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]] (and, by default, members of [[the Heenan Family]]). It was commonplace for the WWF at this time to assign wrestlers to some sort of gimmick, or new identity. The Brain Busters were allowed to keep their names and ring persona. The only changes Arn and Tully made to their style were pointing to their heads to show they were smarter than everyone else and the use of a [[Spike piledriver]] as a finishing move.
-The Brain Busters made their [[pay-per-view]] (PPV) debut at the [[Survivor Series 1988|1988 Survivor Series]] in the 10 team tag match, where they eliminated the [[Hart Foundation]], before being elimainated via double disqualification with the [[Rockers]]. This led to a match with the Rockers on ''[[WWF Superstars of Wrestling]]'' where both teams were again disqualified before the match could even get started. This kicked off a red hot series of [[house show]] matches. One match in particular on January 23 [[1989]] was rated as one of the 50 greatest matches in the [[Pro Wrestling Illustrated]] (PWI) 10th year anniversary issue, where the Brainbusters narrowly defeated the Rockers as Anderson held down Marty Jannetty's leg as Blanchard pinned him. The teams wrestled to yet another DQ on the [[Saturday Night's Main Event results#Saturday Night's Main Event XX|March 11, 1989 edition]] of [[Saturday Night's Main Event]].
+The Brain Busters made their [[pay-per-view]] (PPV) debut at the [[Survivor Series 1988|1988 Survivor Series]] in the 10 team tag match, where they eliminated the [[Hart Foundation]], before being elimainated via double disqualification with the [[Rockers]]. This led to a match with the Rockers on ''[[WWF Superstars of Wrestling]]'' where both teams were again disqualified before the match could even get started. This kicked off a red hot series of [[house show]] matches. One match in particular on January 23 [[1989]] was rated as one of the 50 greatest matches in the [[Pro Wrestling Illustrated]] (PWI) 10th anniversary issue, where the Brainbusters narrowly defeated the Rockers as Anderson held down Marty Jannetty's leg as Blanchard pinned him. The teams wrestled to yet another DQ on the [[Saturday Night's Main Event results#Saturday Night's Main Event XX|March 11, 1989 edition]] of [[Saturday Night's Main Event]].
-[[File:Vlcsnap-2010-10-17-11h33m00s35.png|thumb|The Brain Busters at WrestleMania V]]The Brain Busters made their first and only [[WrestleMania]] appearance at [[WrestleMania V]] against former WWF Tag Team Champions [[Strike Force]]. After an even start, the Brain Busters dominated the ex-champions as [[Rick Martel]] walked out on [[Tito Santana]] and he was brutalized and beaten after a spike piledriver and eventually pinned.
+The Brain Busters made their first and only [[WrestleMania]] appearance at [[WrestleMania V]] against former [[World Tag Team Championship (WWE)|WWF World Tag Team champions]] [[Strike Force]]. After an even start, the Brain Busters dominated the ex-champions as [[Rick Martel]] walked out on [[Tito Santana]] and he was brutalized and beaten after a spike piledriver and eventually pinned.
-After their WrestleMania win, the Brain Busters finally got to face the [[World Tag Team Championship (WWE)|WWF World Tag Team Champions]] [[Demolition (professional wrestling)|Demolition]] and defeated them by disqualification on the [[Saturday Night's Main Event XXI|May 27, 1989 edition]] of ''Saturday Night's Main Event''. The Brain Busters defeated Demolition for the titles in a rematch on July 18, 1989 in a [[two out of three falls match]]. After losing the 1st fall, by pinfall, the Busters won the 2nd fall, via disqualification, and won the 3rd fall, with a distraction from Bobby Heenan and a steel chair thrown in from Andre the Giant, the Brain Busters ended Demolition’s record-breaking 478-day title reign and became the first team to win both the WWF and NWA World tag-team titles. It also was the 1st time a title changed hands in a two out of three falls match where one of the decisions ended in a disqualification. The Brain Busters lost the titles back to Demolition on October 2 [[1989]], in an equally controversial fashion as Blanchard, who was the illegal man, was pinned after receiving the Demolition Decapitation finisher. The Busters continued to defend the titles on house shows until the title change was acknowledged on television on November 4 [[1989]].
+After their WrestleMania win, the Brain Busters finally got to face the WWF World Tag Team Champions [[Demolition]] and defeated them by disqualification on the [[Saturday Night's Main Event XXI|May 27, 1989 edition]] of ''Saturday Night's Main Event''. The Brain Busters defeated Demolition for the titles in a rematch on July 18, 1989 in a [[two out of three falls match]]. After losing the 1st fall, by pinfall, the Busters won the 2nd fall, via disqualification, and won the 3rd fall, with a distraction from Bobby Heenan and a steel chair thrown in from Andre the Giant, the Brain Busters ended Demolition's record-breaking 478-day title reign and became the first team to win both the WWF and NWA World tag-team titles. It also was the 1st time a title changed hands in a two out of three falls match where one of the decisions ended in a disqualification. The Brain Busters lost the titles back to Demolition on October 2 [[1989]], in an equally controversial fashion as Blanchard, who was the illegal man, was pinned after receiving the Demolition Decapitation finisher. The Busters continued to defend the titles on house shows until the title change was acknowledged on television on November 4 [[1989]].
 ===Split===
@@ Line 43: / Line 54: @@
 ==In wrestling==
 *'''Double team finishing moves'''
-**[[Professional wrestling double-team maneuvers#Aided piledriver|Spike piledriver]]<ref name=OWWTully/>
+**[[Spike piledriver]]
 *'''Anderson's finishing moves'''
+**[[Spinebuster]]
-**[[Professional wrestling throws#Spinebuster|Spinning spinebuster]]<ref name=OWWArn>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/a/arn-anderson.html|title=Arn Anderson at Online World of Wrestling}}</ref>
 *'''Blanchard's finishing moves'''
+**[[Texas piledriver]]
-**[[Piledriver (professional wrestling)#Texas piledriver|Piledriver]]<ref name=OWWTully>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/t/tully-blanchard.html|title=Tully Blanchard at Online World of Wrestling}}</ref>
-**[[Suplex#Slingshot suplex|Slingshot suplex]]<ref name=OWWTully/>
+**[[Suplex#Slingshot suplex|Slingshot suplex]]
 *'''[[Manager (professional wrestling)|Managers]]'''
@@ Line 58: / Line 69: @@
 ==Championships and accomplishments==
 *'''[[National Wrestling Alliance]]'''
-**[[WCW World Tag Team Championship|NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'']] ([[List of WCW World Tag Team Champions|2 times]])
+**[[NWA World Tag Team Championship]] (2 times)
 *'''[[Pro Wrestling Illustrated]]'''
 **[[PWI Tag Team of the Year]] (1989)
@@ Line 66: / Line 77: @@
 ==See also==
+*[[The Four Horsemen]]
 *[[Anderson family]]
 *[[Enforcers]]
 *[[The Heenan Family]]
 *[[Minnesota Wrecking Crew]]
-==References==
-{{reflist}}
 ==External links==
+*[[File:Cm logo.jpg|50px]] [https://www.cagematch.net/?id=28&nr=16 Profile]
-* [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/b/brain-busters.html Profile at OWW]
+*[[File:Owow logo.jpg|50px]] [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/b/brain-busters.html Profile at OWW]
 [[Category:Jim Crockett Promotions teams and stables]]
 [[Category:World Wrestling Entertainment teams and stables]]
-[[Category:World Championship Wrestling teams and stables]]
+[[Category:NWA World Tag Team Champions]]
+[[Category:WWE World Tag Team Champions]]
+[[Category:1986 debuts]]
+[[Category:1989 disbandments]]