Demolition will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
The team of Ax (Bill Eadie) and Smash (Barry Darsow) were alerted by Mark Calaway a.k.a. The Undertaker on their inclusion in this year’s class.
Demolition was initially comprised of Eadie and Randy Colley in early 1987. Colley was so identifiable as Moondog Rex that he was quickly swapped out for Darsow.
They were heavily compared to the Road Warriors and would become the WWF’s tag champions at WrestleMania 4 in March 1988 by beating Strike Force. The duo’s first reign lasted over one year, losing the belt to Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard and regaining it in October 1989.
Their third and final reign began at WrestleMania 6 when Ax & Smash beat Andre the Giant & Haku in Toronto. Later that year, Crush was inserted as a third man over a bizarre set of circumstances.
Eadie has outlined in interviews and “The Six Pack” by Brad Balukjian that he had a near-death experience eating shellfish, and it temporarily stopped his heart. It led to an irregular heartbeat, and it was recommended that he no longer wrestle, leading to Adams taking the spot. Eadie was assured he would be transitioned to become a road agent, but was let go by the company in late 1990.
Eadie filed a lawsuit in 1991 against the WWF and Vince McMahon on multiple charges, including breach of an oral contract for $2.5 million. It dragged for a decade and ended with a settlement for an undisclosed amount, which Eadie indicated he was very happy with.
He was also among the former WWE talents to sue the company in 2016 over the effects of concussions that they accused the WWE of being aware of, and being misclassified as independent contractors. The suit was dismissed two years later by Judge Vanessa Bryant.
Darsow continued his career in the WWF as Repo Man and went to WCW as the Blacktop Bully, and ‘Hole in One’ Barry Darsow, among his gimmicks. He returned to the WWF for the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-7 and the 15th Anniversary of Raw in 2007.
Both men retired from the ring in 2017.
