Badd Company was a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
tag team in the
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...
in the late 1980s, which later went by the name
the Orient Express
The Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato.
History
American Wrestling Association
After Badd Company ...
. They used the song "
Bad Company
Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell. Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, a ...
", by the
band of the same name as their theme song.
History
Championship Wrestling Association (1986–1988)
Both
Pat Tanaka
Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1963) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express. He is the so ...
and
Paul Diamond had competed in the
Championship Wrestling Association during 1986, Tanaka had teamed with
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development.
Beginning his career in his father ...
to win the
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...
while Paul Diamond had held the
CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship also with Jeff Jarrett.
In late 1986 the two tag-team specialists Tanaka and Diamond were teamed up to form “Badd Company",
where they held the federation's tag-team titles four times., a move that paid off pretty soon as the two won the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship, beating
Tarzan Goto
, better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ( ...
and
Akio Sato on December 15, 1986. The first reign was short lived as
The Sheepherders
The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions, ...
(
Luke Williams and
Butch Miller) defeated the young duo on January 10, 1987.
Badd Company quickly regained the titles only to lose them to Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato on February 5, 1987.
The Third run with the tag-team titles came on May 9, 1987 when the team beat
Mark Starr
Mark Ashford-Smith (December 26, 1962 – June 7, 2013) was an English professional wrestler best known by his ring name Mark Starr. He competed as a member of several tag teams.
Wrestling career Continental Wrestling Association (1986–198 ...
in a handicap match,
but lost them back to Mark Starr and his new tag team partner Billy Joe Travis. Badd Company had one last run with the International tag team titles as they won the vacant titles on May 25, 1987
and held them until July 6, 1987 where they lost the titles to
Bill Dundee
William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943) is a Scottish-born Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of J. C. Ice, Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby E ...
and
Rocky Johnson
Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisi ...
(who were the last International tag team champions).
While in Memphis Badd Company also won the CWA's main tag team titles, the
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...
defeating Jeff Jarrett and Billy Joe Travis for the gold on August 8, 1987.
Tanaka and Diamond soon lost them as
the Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and br ...
took the gold from them just over a month later.
American Wrestling Association (1988–1990)
After working as a team for almost a year Badd Company moved on from the CWA to the
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...
. In the AWA they were given identical ring gear, and were accompanied by flamboyant manager
Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. In the course of his wrestling career Page has wre ...
, who always had a number of
valets
A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet ...
, known as the
Diamond Dolls, with him.
The team's first feud was against
The Midnight Rockers, whom they defeated for the
AWA World Tag Team Championship
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.
History
When the NWA Minneapolis ...
on March 19, 1988.
They held the titles for a year, and feuded heavily with
Chavo and
Mando Guerrero
Armando Guerrero Llanes (born June 9, 1950), better known as Mando Guerrero, is a retired Mexican American professional wrestler. He also was the trainer for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, an all-female professional wrestling promotion. He ...
before losing their titles on March 25, 1989 to “the Olympians" (
Brad Rheingans
Brad Rheingans (born December 13, 1953) is an American former Greco-Roman wrestler and professional wrestler. He was a member of the United States' Greco-Roman wrestling teams for the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics, as well as winning two gold med ...
and
Ken Patera
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in ...
).
Shortly after losing their titles they split from Page, and had a short feud against each other before wrestling in singles competition until early 1990.
World Wrestling Federation (1990–1992)
Pat Tanaka, who is Hawaiian of Japanese descent, later signed with the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(WWF), where he formed another tag team called The Orient Express with
Akio Sato, managed by
Mr. Fuji
Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara (May 4, 1934 – August 28, 2016) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known professionally by his ring name Mr. Fuji (or Master Fuji to his protégés).
He was famous for often throwing salt in the ey ...
and billed from Japan. Paul Diamond was soon signed with the WWF as well, as a singles competitor.
When Sato decided leave the American wrestling scene, Diamond donned a mask and wrestled as "Kato" with Tanaka throughout 1991 and early 1992.
During this time the team had a very well received match with their old enemies the Rockers at the
1991 Royal Rumble and another match against the
New Foundation at the
1992 Royal Rumble, which were the only two PPV appearances for the New Orient Express.
Sato briefly rejoined the team in 1991 to team with Tanaka and “Kato" for a series of 6-man tag-team matches on various WWF house show but Sato left the WWF after only a handful of matches together. Tanaka would leave the WWF in February 1992. Diamond went on to wrestle as a singles competitor in the WWF first as Kato then later on he was chosen to take over the Max Moon costume after
Konnan
Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...
left the WWF, neither gimmick meeting with very much success. Diamond was released by the company in February 1993.
Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1994)
After Paul Diamond also left the WWF the two reunited as “Badd Company" to work for
Eastern Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(the forerunner to Extreme Championship Wrestling) in 1993. The team made their debut at
NWA Bloodfest: Part 1 on October 1, 1993 where they beat
The Bad Breed
The Bad Breed was the professional wrestling tag team of Axl Rotten with his storyline brother/real life protégé Ian Rotten. The team achieved their greatest fame in the Philadelphia professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestlin ...
(
Ian
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
and
Axl Rotten
Brian Knighton (April 21, 1971 – February 4, 2016), better known by the ring name Axl Rotten, was an American professional wrestler. In the early 1990s, he was a part of the tag team The Bad Breed with Ian Rotten. He had a short stint with Wor ...
). Later in the night Tanaka and Diamond got a shot at the
ECW Tag Team Champions
The ECW World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate and ECW precursor, Eastern Championship Wrestlin ...
Tony Stetson
Anthony Matteo (born March 21, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Hitman" Tony Stetson. He is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the 1990s.
Stetson was one of ECW's ini ...
and Johnny Hotbody, Badd Company lost.
The next night at
NWA Bloodfest: Part 2 Badd Company came up against one of ECW's new creations
Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...
(
Rocco Rock
Theodore James Petty (September 1, 1953 – September 21, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. Rock is best known for his appearances in Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Champion ...
and
Johnny Grunge
Michael Lynn Durham (July 10, 1966 – February 16, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge. He is known for his appearances with Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestli ...
) in one of their very early matches.
Later in the show Badd Company and the Public Enemy would clash again, this time in a
three way,
steel cage match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
that also included "Bad Breed", this time Public Enemy were victorious.
At ECW's next big show
Terror at Tabor
Terror at Tabor was a professional wrestling live event produced by Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on November 12, 1993, the day prior to November to Remember. The event was held in the Tabor Community Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in ...
on November 12, 1993 Badd Company beat the makeshift team of Don E. Allen and
Mr. Hughes. After the match Badd Company called out Public Enemy resulting in an impromptu match between Paul Diamond and Rocco Rock which Diamond won. Public Enemy quickly got a very brutal revenge on Badd Company as they defeated the duo in a "South Philly hood" match the very next day at
November to Remember
November to Remember (commonly abbreviated to N2R) was a professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was held during the month of November from 1993 to 2000. Starting with the 1997 edition the event was broadca ...
. At
Holiday Hell 1993 on December 26, 1993 Pat Tanaka defeated Rocco Rock in a "Body Count" match.
As 1993 turned to 1994 Badd Company set their sights on ECW Tag Team Champions
Kevin Sullivan and
The Tasmaniac, defeating them twice in non-title matches. At
The Night the Line Was Crossed
The Night the Line Was Crossed was a professional wrestling house show, live event produced by Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on February 5, 1994. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Exce ...
on February 5, 1994 Tanaka and his one night only partner
The Sheik defeated Sullivan and Tasmaniac, unfortunately the team had been stripped of the titles the night before. When Tanaka was rejoined by Diamond the team lost to the (once again) tag-Team champions when the gold was finally on the line. On March 27, 1994 Badd Company wrestled its last match for ECW, a house show victory over
Rockin' Rebel
Charles Williams (January 13, 1966 – June 1, 2018) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rockin' Rebel. He was best known for his appearances on the U.S. independent circuit with promotions such as Eastern Cha ...
and
Pittbull #1.
World Championship Wrestling and split (1994)
By the time Badd Company wrestled its last match for ECW, Tanaka and Diamond had already signed with
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
. Tanaka then made his on-screen debut as "Tanaka-San". Paul Diamond showed up with the Kato mask on using the name "Haito" only days after their last ECW match. The duo reprised their "Orient Express" gimmick but could not use the name since the WWF owned the trademark to it. The two men wrestled a couple of matches together
but they never achieved any notoriety in WCW. By the end of 1994, the team split.
Independent circuit (2006-2008)
They reunited as the Orient Express on March 25, 2006 for Blue Water Championship Wrestling in Port Huron, Michigan as they lost to Kevin Baker and Michael Barnes. They wrestled on the
independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
for the next couple of years. Their last match together was on April 18, 2008 defeating Joshua Masters and Kennedy Kendrick for All Star Wrestling Florida in Port Richey, Florida.
Championships and accomplishments
*
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...
**
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...
(
1 time)
**
AWA World Tag Team Championship
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.
History
When the NWA Minneapolis ...
(
1 time)
*
Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ref ...
**
CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship (
4 times)
*
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
**PWI ranked them # 99 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
See also
*
American Force (wrestling)
*
Diamond Exchange
The Diamond Exchange was a professional wrestling stable led by Diamond Dallas Page in the American Wrestling Association from 1988 to 1989. Page led a spiritual successor known as The Diamond Mine in World Championship Wrestling from 1991 to 1 ...
*
The Orient Express
The Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato.
History
American Wrestling Association
After Badd Company ...
References
{{AWA World Tag Team Championship
American Wrestling Association teams and stables
Extreme Championship Wrestling teams and stables
World Championship Wrestling teams and stables
WWE teams and stables