1985 started with the Koloffs feuding with Kernodle & Ricky Steamboat mainly, but they were still going at it with Dusty & Manny for those NWA World Tag belts, but also in February 1985, Ivan & Nikita would add a third man to their team as Krusher Khruschev came on board. This would be a huge addition to them as on March 18^th 1985, the Koloffs regained the NWA World Tag Team titles from Rhodes & Fernandez in Fayetteville, North Carolina and as part of the deal, all 3 men were able to team with each other in combos to defend the belts and at this time they became the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team champs. Also in March, Kernodle enlisted the aid of Magnum T.A. and his former partner Sgt. Slaughter to battle the Russians at a big show in Greensboro where the faces won. For the next few months, the Russians were defending their belts all over the area, until they ran into the newest team in the territory by the name of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and on July 9^th 1985 in Shelby, North Carolina, the R’n’R defeated Ivan & Krusher for the belts. Also at the time, Nikita was wrestling more in singles as he was preparing to battle Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title and this feud really heated up when Nikita hit David Crockett with a Russian Sickle on World Wide Wrestling and since Crockett was a good friend to Flair, Flair took this extremely personal and became a true babyface for the last time until 1989. Then, on July 6^th 1985, they wrestled each other for the first time in Charlotte, North Carolina at the first ever Great American Bash where Flair won by DQ and also at the Bash and also before they lost the tag belts to the R’n’R, Ivan & Krusher battled the Road Warriors to a DDQ which started a feud between the Russians and the LOD.   More...