Holy Demon Army
Holy Demon Army | |
---|---|
Tag team | |
Members | Toshiaki Kawada Akira Taue |
Name(s) | Holy Demon Army[1] |
Billed heights | Kawada: 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] Taue: 1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in)[3] |
Combined billed weight | 233 kg (514 lb) |
Debut | 1993 |
Disbanded | 2000 (full time) 2009 (reunion match) |
The Holy Demon Army (HDA) was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue. The HDA competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1990s and is considered the most successful and dominant team in the history of All Japan[1] as they held the World Tag Team Championship a record six times,[4] as well as having won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League on two occasions.[5]
History
The Holy Demon Army first formed in 1993 after Kawada's team with
A few months later on May 21, 1994, the Holy Demon Army were granted a title shot against Misawa and Kobashi; the match went over 40 minutes but the Army came up short.[9] Despite failing to win the titles, Kawada enjoyed success winning the 1994 Champion Carnival on April 16, 1994.[10] Six months later, on October 22, 1994, Kawada won the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship from Steve Williams.[11] After the Triple Crown victory, the Army entered the 1994 World's Strongest Tag Determination League but once again came in 3rd with Misawa and Kobashi winning for the second time.[12]
On January 24, 1995, HDA got another title shot against Misawa and Kobashi but the match this time ended in a 60-minute time limit draw.
Entering the new year, HDA lost the tag titles to Stan Hansen and Gary Albright on January 24, 1996.[14] One month later, on February 20, 1996, the Holy Demon Army received a rematch and won the titles back for the third time.[14] During their third reign, Taue won the 1996 Champion Carnival.[16] On May 23, 1996 The Army lost the titles to Misawa and his new partner, Jun Akiyama.[4] 48 hours later on May 25 however, Taue got revenge for the Army when he defeated Misawa to win the Triple Crown.[17] After Taue lost the title to Kenta Kobashi on July 24,[17] HDA resumed their team. They entered the 1996 World's Strongest Tag Determination League and after coming close the three previous years, the Army finally claimed their first Tag League by defeating Misawa and Akiyama in the finals.[18]
Continuing their momentum, the Holy Demon Army defeated Johnny Ace and Steve Williams on January 17, 1997 to regain the title for the fourth time.[4] On April 19, 1997, Kawada won his second Champion Carnival,[19] but lost the tag titles to Kobashi and Ace on May 27, 1997.[4] After the title loss, the Army wouldn't challenge for the rest of the year but entered the 1997 World's Strongest Tag Determination League and once again emerged victorious as they once again defeated Misawa and Akiyama in the finals.[20]
On January 25, 1998, The Holy Demon Army won their fifth Tag Team Championship by defeating Kobashi and Ace.[4] This title reign was the team's most successful as they held the title for over 11 months and made four successful title defenses in that time.[21] During the title reign, the Army won more gold when Kawada defeated Misawa to win his second Triple Crown on May 1, 1998 at All Japan's first Tokyo Dome show but he would eventually lose the title one month later to Kenta Kobashi on June 12, 1998.[22]
The Army lost the titles on January 7, 1999 to Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama.[7] Following the title loss, two weeks later on January 22, Kawada defeated Misawa out of nowhere to win his third Triple Crown;[22] however during the match he broke his arm and would be forced to forfeit the championship on January 29.[17] For the rest of 1999, HDA had a quiet year as they rarely teamed up as Kawada spent most of the year injured.
On June 9, 2000, the Holy Demon Army faced
Aftermath and Reunion
After breaking up, Kawada would continue to be a top star in All Japan winning the Triple Crown two more times
Taue meanwhile, largely has phased himself out of the main event and into the midcard due to age and injuries. His only highlights include main eventing the first NOAH show on August 5, 2000[27] and having one reign with the GHC Heavyweight Championship in 2005.[28] In 2009, following the death of Mitsuharu Misawa, Taue became president of Pro Wrestling NOAH.
On October 3, 2009, The Holy Demon Army reunited for one match at the Mitsuharu Misawa Osaka Memorial show.[29] In the main event, the Army defeated Jun Akiyama and KENTA.[29]
Having been inactive since August 2010, Kawada appeared at Taue's official retirement ceremony in December 2013, but only to greet him.[30]
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (4 times)- Kawada (3) & Taue (1)
- World Tag Team Championship (6 Times)
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League (1996, 1997)
- Champion Carnival (1994, 1996, 1997)- Kawada (94, 97) Taue (96)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI named them #8 of the best 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" in 2003[31]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2022)
- Tokyo Sports
References
- ^ a b "Holy Demon Army". Puroresucentral.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b c d e f "All Japan World Tag League Championship". Puroresucentral.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "All Japan Real World Tag League Page 3". Puroresucentral.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Jumbo Tsuruta". Puroresucentral.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b c d "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b c "PUROLOVE.com".
- ^ "PUROLOVE.com".
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b c d "All Japan Triple Crown Championship". Puroresucentral.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ a b "Purolove.Com". Purolove.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Great Voyage 2013 in Tokyo vol.2~田上明引退記念大会~". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years". Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ^ a b "The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo: Puroresu Awards: 1990s". Puroresu Dojo.