The Powers of Pain

The Powers of Pain
Tag team
Members The Barbarian
The Warlord
Name(s) The Powers of Pain
The Super Assassins
The Super Destroyers
Heights Barbarian:
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Warlord:
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Combined
weight		 618 lb (280 kg; 44.1 st)[1]
Debut 1987
Promotions JCP
WWF
WWWA
GCW
Chikara

The Powers of Pain are a professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.

History

Jim Crockett Promotions

Terry Szopinski and Sione Vailahi were put together as a tag team called the Powers of Pain by Ivan Koloff and Paul Jones in the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions in late 1987. Szopinski was named "The Warlord," while Vailahi was known as "The Barbarian."

The Powers then began feuding with The Road Warriors. During their feud, they attacked the Road Warriors during a bench press contest between the two teams, ramming Road Warrior Animal's head into a stack of weights. A (legitimate) eye socket injury suffered by Animal at the time was attributed in kayfabe to the Powers' actions. Later during their feud, the Powers won the World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with Ivan Koloff from the Warriors and Dusty Rhodes.

They feuded for several more months until the Powers left the NWA while still the champions with Koloff when the Powers refused to do scaffold matches. As a result, the Powers and Koloff were stripped of the titles.

World Wrestling Federation

The Powers of Pain made their first appearance on June 18, 1988 on a house show in South Bend, Indiana and faced WWF World Tag-Team Champions Demolition via countout in their first match.[2] Upon their initial arrival the Powers were faces managed by Tito Santana.[3][4] They feuded with WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition (Ax and Smash)[1] who had defeated Strike Force (Santana and Rick Martel) for the titles and then injured Martel (kayfabe). The Powers were introduced as mercenaries to help Martel and Santana gain revenge on Demolition for both the title loss and the injury to Martel. At SummerSlam '88, The Baron debuted as their manager, leading them to victory over The Bolsheviks. The Baron would leave the WWF in early November.

They became heels while Demolition became faces when Mr. Fuji attacked Demolition at Survivor Series and aligned himself with the Powers of Pain. The Powers of Pain went on to win the match when they eliminated the foreign heel team The Conquistadors. The feud with Demolition ended at WrestleMania V when the Powers Of Pain teamed with Fuji and lost to Demolition when Ax pinned Fuji. Following their failure to win the titles, the Powers feuded with teams such as The Bushwhackers and The Rockers. At the 1989 Survivor Series, they along with Zeus were a part of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Team, losing to the Hulkamaniacs team of Hulk Hogan, Jake Roberts and Demolition. The Barbarian and The Warlord each eliminated members of Demolition, only to both be disqualified from the match for double teaming Hogan.

In March 1990, the team split, with Fuji selling Barbarian's contract to Bobby "The Brain" Heenan while selling Warlord's contract to Slick.[1] Their final match as The Powers of Pain came on March 25 in Hershey, Pennsylvania when they were defeated by Hulk Hogan & Big Bossman.[5]

Although not officially reunited as a tandem, The Warlord and The Barbarian would team again on January 18, 1992 at a house show in Boston, Massachusetts, losing to The New Foundation.[6]

World Championship Wrestling and independent circuit

Upon returning to the independent circuit, The Powers of Pain won the WWWA Tag Team Championship together on the independent circuit in the early 1990s before later debuting for World Championship Wrestling in November 1995. The team was put under masks as the Super Assassins and were managed by Col. Rob Parker. They only had three matches together (a win over The American Males and losses to The Nasty Boys and Sting and Lex Luger) before The Warlord left WCW in early 1996.

They later reformed their team in 2005 for Gladiator Championship Wrestling. The Powers of Pain reunited on September 16, 2012, in Chikara, taking part in a gauntlet match, from which they eliminated their old WWF rivals, Demolition, before being eliminated themselves by 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty.[7]

The Powers of Pain continue to wrestle occasionally, including schedule matches for Big Time Wrestling in February 2016.[8]

Other media

They filmed a shoot interview in 2004 with RF Video and spoke about their careers.[9]

In 2008, they introduced an energy drink in association with Gladiator Championship Wrestling.[9]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  2. ↑ http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/88.htm
  3. ↑ Warlord and Barbarian - Demolition's Nightmare - Pro Wrestling Illustrated November 1988
  4. ↑ PWI Poll - The Powers Of Pain - Pro Wrestling Illustrated December 1988
  5. ↑ http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/90.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/92.htm
  7. ↑ "Past results". Chikara. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  8. ↑ "The BIG TIME WRESTLING and OMEGA CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING come to Raleigh, NC Friday, February 26th 2016 LIVE at the world famous DORTON ARENA!". big-time-wrestling. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 "FAN Countdown: Top 75 Wrestling Tag Teams (Starts on Page 2) | Freakin' Awesome Network Forums". officialfan.proboards.com. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  10. 1 2 "Nitro report on January 1, 1996".
  11. ↑ Inside wrestling magazine, November 1992 issue, article: Warlord and Barbarian vs Bushwhackers, giving each other a beatin' - of the beatin path.
  12. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=1694
  13. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
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