Marcus Laurinaitis is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

retired

professional wrestler 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 or ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

, The Wrecking Crew (Fury) & Terminator. He wrestled primarily in Florida (FCW), Japan (All-Japan Pro Wrestling & New Japan Pro Wrestling), and Europe (CWA), as well 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 ...

(WCW). He is the brother of fellow professional wrestlers

John Laurinaitis John Hodger Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1962), also known by his former ringname Johnny Ace, is an American retired professional wrestler and business executive. He has wrestled for such promotions as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), All Japan ...

and

Road Warrior Animal Joseph Michael Laurinaitis (September 12, 1960 – September 22, 2020), better known by his ring name Road Warrior Animal (or simply Animal), was an American professional wrestler. Along with Road Warrior Hawk, he was one half of the tag team T ...

Professional wrestling career

Marcus made his debut in 1987 after being trained by his brothers Joseph and John, as well as by Gene Anderson and

Nelson Royal Nelson Combs (July 21, 1935 – February 3, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, better known by his ring name, Nelson Royal. He held the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on six occasions along with numerous ...

, and initially worked for Dusty Rhodes in Texas for a new NWA under the name The Terminator. He joined Devastation Incorporated managed by Skandor Akbar and tagged with The Angel of Death and Black Bart. He made a run with The Fabulous Freebirds, Sting, Rick Steiner and the Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner tag team. One of his earliest encounters with the Fabulous Freebirds was at the New Orleans Superdome in a First Blood cage match where The Terminator was one of the last to survive the blood bath until Terry Gordy eventually defeated him. In late 1987 Marcus toured with

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

in November and December. While in Japan he teamed up with

Tom Zenk Thomas Erwin Zenk (November 30, 1958 – December 9, 2017) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1986 to 1987, American Wrestling Association (AWA) 198 ...

to participate in the 1987 version of the

World's Strongest Tag Determination League __NOTOC__ The , more commonly known in the West as the Real World Tag League, is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling since 1977, usually, run on the first weeks of December. The first tournament was actually ...

where he competed against such teams as

Jumbo Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyw ...

and

Yoshiaki Yatsu Yoshiaki Yatsu (谷津嘉章 ''Yatsu Yoshiaki'', born July 19, 1956) is a Japanese professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is known for being one-half of the first-ever All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Champi ...

(the winners),

Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian American professional wrestler. He is better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010 ...

and

Bruiser Brody Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the yea ...

The Great Kabuki , better known as , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is famous as the first to blow Asian mist in his opponents' faces. Professional wrestling career Mera was born on September 8, 1948 in Nobeoka, Japan. He started wrestling in 19 ...

and

John Tenta John Anthony Tenta Jr. (June 22, 1963June 7, 2006) was a Canadian professional wrestler and sumo wrestler (''rikishi'') best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake, though initially known as Canadian Earthquake. ...

, and

Terry Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albrit ...

and

Dory Funk, Jr. Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promote ...

The Terminator and Zenk finished in 11th place only ahead of

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

and

Chris Youngblood Christopher Romero (February 10, 1966 – July 7, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Chris Youngblood. A second generation wrestler, he was the son of Ricky Romero and the brother of Mark and Jay Youngblood ...

. After the tour Marcus returned to Florida where he participated in a tournament to crown a new

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...

, losing in the final to Mike Graham. When Marcus returned he also teamed up with his brother Johnny to challenge for the

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in NWA Florida Underground Wrestling. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was ...

chasing the champions Mike Graham and

Steve Keirn Stephen Paul Keirn (born September 10, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as we ...

until September 20, 1988, where the Laurinaitis brothers won the gold. Marcus and Johnny defended the titles for over 3 months until they came across Florida newcomers

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 brawl ...

(

Jerry Sags Jerome Saganowich (born July 5, 1964) is an American professional wrestler best known by his wrestling name Jerry Sags. He is a member of the tag team The Nasty Boys with partner and long-term friend Brian Knobbs. Early life and education Sags w ...

and

Brian Knobs Brian Yandrisovitz (born May 6, 1964), better known as Brian Knobbs, is an operatic tenor and an American professional wrestler best known as half of the tag team The Nasty Boys with his partner Jerry Sags. Early life Knobbs was born on May 6 ...

) who took the gold from them. The brothers would come back strong only 3 weeks later to regain their gold and hold on to it until March 24, 1989, where the Nasty Boys once again beat them for the gold. During their second run with the gold Marcus and Johnny also toured with

as a team. Shortly afterwards Johnny Ace left Florida Championship Wrestling to compete in

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

as one of the “Dynamic Dudes” (with

Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...

). The team known as the Bounty Hunters won the Florida tag team titles in November, but when one of the Bounty Hunters was injured Marcus stepped in and teamed up with the other Bounty Hunter to defend the tag team titles. The team held the gold until the Nasty Boys beat them on a card in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

on January 6, 1990.

The Wrecking Crew

While competing in Florida Marcus ended up teaming with

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

(who was known as “The Bounty Hunter”), initially as a makeshift team because Green’s other partner got injured but soon the two started teaming regularly first under the name The Terminators then later on as The Wrecking Crew where Laurinaitis became known as "Fury" and Green was renamed “Rage”. The team competed for the International Wrestling Federation based in Florida showing themselves to be a force in the tag team division. On May 28, 1992, the duo beat IWF Tag Team Champions

The Long Riders ''The Long Riders'' is a 1980 American Western film directed by Walter Hill. It was produced by James Keach, Stacy Keach and Tim Zinnemann and featured an original soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Cooder won the ''Best Music'' award in 1980 from the L ...

( Brett Colt and

Kip Winchester Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, although he is currently finding renewed popularity under the ring name Daddy Ass, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wr ...

). By late 1992 the Wrecking Crew got signed by

, making their debut in January 1993. Shortly after their debut the Wrecking Crew got national exposure by competing at

Clash of the Champions XXII ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). T ...

on January 13 where they defeated Tom Zenk and

Johnny Gunn Thomas Brandi (born July 9, 1966) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation from 1996 to 1998 under the ring name Salvatore Sincere. Brandi is also known for his appearances with ...

. After their success at the clash the team rode on a wave of success defeating Gunn and Zenk repeatedly as well as looking impressive against temporary teams such as

2 Cold Scorpio Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name 2 Cold Scorpio (sometimes spelled Too Cold Scorpio). He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extrem ...

& Johnny B. Badd and

Marcus Bagwell Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fi ...

& Joey Maggs. By March the team was contesting a series of matches with future

WCW World Tag Team Champions The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). ...

2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell as well as feuding with the identical twin duo known as The Cole Twins (Keith and Kent Cole). The feud with the Cole Twins was soon expanded to also include Bagwell and Scorpio as well as Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce. As the feud wore on the Cole Twins got the upper hand in the feud over the two big men. The Wrecking Crew also faced ”Cactus” Jack and The Barbarian in a series of house show matches. As summer turned to fall, the Wrecking Crew’s time with WCW ended, returning to the independent scene. In 1994 the Wrecking Crew traveled to Europe to work for

Otto Wanz Otto Wanz (June 13, 1943 – September 14, 2017) was an Austrian professional wrestler and Boxing, boxer. He made his professional wrestling debut in 1968. He is a one time American Wrestling Association champion and former operator of the Catch W ...

’

Catch Wrestling Association The Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) was a professional wrestling organization based in Austria and Germany that was founded in 1973. It was run by Otto Wanz. The CWA featured a traditional brand of mat wrestling mixed with various “Strong Man ...

. On July 24 they defeated David Finlay and John Hawk in the finals of a tournament to crown new CWA Tag Team Champions after

Larry Cameron Larry Cameron (November 4, 1952 – December 13, 1993) was an American professional football player and wrestler. Football career Larry Cameron was born and raised in Natchez, MS. When he was a teenager, he played football in high school and c ...

had died during a match. Rage & Fury held the belts for only 3 weeks before being unseated by CWA regulars August Smisl and

Ulf Herman Ulf Nadrowski (born April 4, 1966) is a German professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ulf Herman. He is best known in the United States for his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling where he was part of The Full Blooded Ital ...

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The Wrecking Crew also worked in South Africa at this time for promoter Paul Lloyd touring through Johannesburg, Durbin and Cape Town. In 1995 the Wrecking Crew toured with All Japan Pro Wrestling over the summer being put over young teams like Kentaro Shiga and

Maunakea Mossman Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak i ...

. The highlight of their summer tour was a clash with multiple time

All Asia Tag Team Champions The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance ...

Doug Furnas Dwight Douglas Furnas (December 11, 1959 – March 2, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and powerlifter. He was an APF National and World Powerlifting Champion, who set multiple world records in the 275 pound weight class. As a wrestler, ...

and

Dan Kroffat Daniel Kroffat (born June 14, 1945) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s, where he invented the ladder match. Professional wrestling career Stampede W ...

which the Wrecking Crew lost.

Championships and accomplishments

CWA World Tag Team Championship The CWA World Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It lasted from 1980 through 1983. Title history Footnotes Refere ...

( 1 time) - with Rage * International Championship Wrestling Association ** ICWA Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Al Green * International Wrestling Association ** IWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) -

Sunny Beach Slanchev Bryag ( bg, Слънчев бряг , en, Sunny Beach) is a seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, north of Burgas. Created in 1958 as a weekend getaway for Bulgarian families, Sunny Beach has become the largest tourist an ...

and Rage * International Wrestling Federation ** IWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Rage *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

( 3 times) - with

Johnny Ace John Marshall Alexander Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid 1950s. Alexander died of an accidental self-inflicted gunsh ...

(2) and the Bounty Hunter (1) **

( 1 time) * Pro Wrestling Federation ** PWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with the Bounty Hunter *

Windy City Pro Wrestling Windy City Pro Wrestling is an American regional professional wrestling promotion originally based in Chicago, Illinois. Established as Windy City Wrestling by retired wrestler Sam DeCero in 1988, the promotion was one of several major regiona ...

** WCPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Rage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Terminator, The 1965 births Living people American male professional wrestlers American people of Lithuanian descent Professional wrestlers from Illinois Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Philadelphia 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Tag Team Champions