The Holy Demon Army
| The Holy Demon Army | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members |
Toshiaki Kawada Akira Taue |
| Name(s) | The Holy Demon Army |
| Heights | Kawada: 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Taue: 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in) |
| Combined weight |
233 kilograms (514 lb) |
| Debut | 1993 |
| Disbanded | 2000 (full time) 2009 (reunion match) |
The Holy Demon Army is a professional wrestling tag team that competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1990s. The team consisted of Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue. The HDA is the most successful and dominant team in the history of All Japan as they held the World Tag Team Championship a record six times as well as having won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League on 2 occasions.
The Holy Demon Army first formed in 1993 after Kawada's team with Mitsuharu Misawa broke up and Taue's team with Jumbo Tsuruta ended when Tsuruta's full-time wrestling career ended due to Hepatitis B. The team was given their first shot at the World Tag Team Championship on May 20, 1993 against The Miracle Violence Connection. The Army was successful and won their first championship. The team held the titles for 3 1/2 months and made two successful title defenses against future nemeses: Misawa and Kenta Kobashi and a rematch against the Miracle Violence Connection before eventually losing the titles to Stan Hansen and Ted Dibiase on September 3, 1993. Two months later, The Holy Demon Army entered the 1993 World's Strongest Tag Determination League hoping to regain the Tag Team Titles (that were vacated with the tournament winners becoming the new champions), despite it being their first tournament, the HDA finished 3rd with 11 points while Misawa and Kobashi won.
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. Despite failing to win the titles, Kawada enjoyed success winning the 1994 Champion Carnival on April 16, 1994. Six months later, on October 22, 1994, Kawada won the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship from Steve Williams. 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.
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