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PWINSIDER Q&A: DEMOLITION, NEXT DIVA IN PLAYBOY, BISCHOFF VS. FOLEY AND MORE

What was the behind the scenes story regarding the change of Demolition from Ax & Smash to Smash & Crush? I'd heard previously Ax left because health-wise he couldn't handle the schedule, so was the WWF always planning a long term change and simply had a 3-man tag team for most of 1990 so the fans would have already accepted Crush as a member of Demolition upon Ax's departure or was a 3-man tag team something they wanted & had to revise their plans when Ax quit?

I believe they wanted to begin moving Ax out of the role, which eventually led to his departure from the company. There was a lawsuit going for a number of years filed by Bill Eadie against the WWF, which was eventually settled since he's come to terms for a Ax action figure through Jakks Pacific.

Has there ever been a women's wrestling match in which one of the participants bladed? Or are the women wrestlers much more vain about their looks than the men and don't want to be left with scars running across their foreheads?

Yes, there absolutely have been matches where blading has taken place in women's bouts, mostly in Japan. However, there are some female performers here in the United States who have been known to do so as well, including LuFisto and Mickie Knuckles. IWA Mid-South even held a "Queen of the Death Match" tournament last year. Obviously, most women are going to be more cautious about their appearances, but there are some who, just like the guys, will do what they do for love of the business.

Recently Eric Bischoff claimed Mick Foley was hypocritical for complaining about Bischoff ripping him while giving away his WWF title win on Nitro, saying Mick tore him apart in interviews in ECW to get over. What do you think?

I think Bischoff needs to go back and watch his ECW tapes because Foley never, ever ripped on him. What Foley did do, in order to get heel heat, was praise the Bischoff to the ends of the earth, wear a t-shirt emblazoned with Bischoff's face, and beg Bischoff to take him back to WCW. I don't know how Eric sees that as Foley ripping on him to get over, but many times in wrestling, some personalities would rather believe what they want to believe. Did Foley use WCW to help his ECW heel run? Yes, but he did so by praising the company. What Bischoff did was downright mean spirited in hopes of killing interest in the title change, only to have the door slam him right back in the face.

With Ashley the new Playboy model, who's next?

Well, chances are it won't happen until next year, but I would think that Layla El would be the frontrunner, given that all the previous Diva Search winners have posed.

How did the Great Malenko pass away?

Boris "The Great" Malenko, father of Dean and Joe Malenko, passed away on 9/1/94 due to complications of the form of cancer known as Leukemia.

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