Ax | |
---|---|
![]() Eadie in 2009 | |
Birth name | William Reid Eadie |
Born | Brownsville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | December 27, 1947
Spouse(s) | Sue Eadie |
Children | 2 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Bolo Mongol Ax The Masked Superstar Super Machine Billy Crusher Axis the Demolisher The Paramedic |
Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) [1] |
Billed weight | 291 lb (132 kg) [1] |
Billed from | Mongolia (as Bolo Mongol) Parts Unknown (as Ax) |
Trained by | Newton Tattrie |
Debut | December 15, 1972 |
Retired | August 12, 2017 |
William Reid "Bill" Eadie (born December 27, 1947) is an American retired professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar. He was a high school teacher and coach at Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Ohio, and at East Liverpool, Ohio.
Eadie's first match was on December 15, 1972, under the name "the Paramedic". [2] Throughout 1973, he wrestled under a mask as the tag team "Para-Medics" in the Sheik's Detroit territory. He then wrestled in Pittsburgh, Detroit, the WWWF, and the IWA as "Bolo Mongol", the new partner of his trainer, Geeto Mongol. [3] He soon entered the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling territory under the management of Boris Malenko and donned a mask as "the Masked Superstar", given the character at the advice of matchmaker George Scott. It was stated that he was an Olympic champion by various wrestling promoters. He challenged opponents with a $10,000 reward to whoever could break his "cobra clutch", as well as utilizing the "corkscrew neckbreaker". [4] The Masked Superstar was 6' 3", weighed 300 lbs and created many mismatches due to his size, strength and quickness. He had many bouts with Mighty Igor, Paul Jones, Blackjack Mulligan, Wahoo McDaniel, Mr. Wrestling II, Stan Hansen, "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, and Dick Murdoch. [4]
Although primarily a villain, he also appeared as a hero, teaming with Jones to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid Atlantic version) twice in 1980–1981. In 1984, he also teamed with King Kong Bundy (also a hero at the time) to defeat the Road Warriors for the NWA National Tag Team Championship (which he had previously held with Super Destroyer in 1982) but was forced to give up the title due to injuries suffered in a mysterious assault (kayfabe). He was the first wrestler (along with Blackjack Mulligan) to have one-hour cage matches, then have a series of "12" ninety-minute cage matches, against Mulligan. It is believed that neither feat of hour or hour and a half cage matches has since been performed by any wrestlers. [4] He was one of the first wrestlers to body slam André the Giant. [4] Among other accomplishments, he won four Georgia Heavyweight titles and unified that title with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. [5] [6]
As the Masked Superstar, Eadie also competed in the World Wrestling Federation against many top wrestlers in 1983–84. He fought against many top level opponents, including WWF champion Bob Backlund, WWF champion Hulk Hogan, future WWF champion Sgt. Slaughter, and Jimmy Snuka. [4]
Under the persona The Masked Superstar, he feuded with Dino Bravo and Rick Martel while teaming with King Tonga.
In 1985, he returned as Bolo for two TV appearances. [7]
In 1986, he returned to the World Wrestling Federation and became "Super Machine" with André the Giant as "Giant Machine" and Blackjack Mulligan as "Big Machine". Eadie was the primary mouthpiece of the team. The three Machines were introduced as rivals of Bobby Heenan and his massive tag team of Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. (The Machines' masks and gimmick were copied from New Japan Pro-Wrestling character "Super Strong Machine", played by Japanese wrestler Junji Hirata). [4] Eadie later dropped the Machine gimmick and left the WWF to head to Florida for a run as the Masked Superstar, upending Lex Luger to win the NWA Southern title. [8] He held the title for two weeks before Luger regained it.
In January 1987, Eadie returned to the WWF and formed the tag team Demolition with Randy Colley, formerly Moondog Rex, who wrestled as Smash while Eadie wrestled as Ax. Colley was later replaced by Barry Darsow as Smash, after it was discovered that too many people remembered Colley as Moondog Rex, the character he previously portrayed. Though they began as heels, their unique brawling style and charisma made them so popular that they became faces in November 1988. [9] They won the WWF Tag Team Championship three times as a team of two, but lost the belts at SummerSlam 1990 after they reverted to being heels by forming a threesome with Crush. [10] The trio concept was precipitated by a mutual decision to phase out the Ax character and for Eadie to take a backstage role in the company. [9] Popular rumor at the time cited heart problems on Eadie's part, which have been discredited in recent years.[ citation needed ] An allergic reaction to shellfish while in Japan after WrestleMania VI was the real cause of his temporary heart problem; Eadie confirmed this in a shoot interview in 2007.[ citation needed ] Before Eadie was medically cleared, Crush had been recruited as a temporary replacement. [9] Eadie's new position eventually fell through and his final WWF appearance was at Survivor Series 1990. [9] This event also marked the last time that he and Smash worked together for sixteen years.
In the midst of this time period, Eadie also played opposite Hulk Hogan as "Jake Bullet" in the movie No Holds Barred . He and Smash appeared in several Pizza Hut commercials for the "Kids Night Out" promotion widely seen on national television.
Around 1991, Ax formed a new tag team, using the Demolition name, and pairing up with a 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Canadian wrestler, dubbed "Canadian Giant" or "Demolition Hux." They toured with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, facing established stars such as Masa Saito, Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami, at the same time that Smash and Crush were still wrestling under the name for the then WWF and on Japanese tours with Super World of Sports. Eadie would then go on to form a third Demolition team with partner Blast (Carmine Azzato). They competed on a few independent shows, then went their separate ways.
Eadie also competed on the Southern independent circuit as The Masked Superstar. On August 15, 1997, Eadie was disqualified in a match against Jimmy Snuka at the IWA Night of the Legends show in Kannapolis, North Carolina after hitting special guest referee Ricky Steamboat. [11] [12] On March 1, 1998, he defeated Vladimir Koloff in Fredericksburg, Virginia to win the UCW Heavyweight Championship. On March 14, 1999, Eadie and Ben Steele captured the NAWA United States Tag Team Championship from Kane and Abel Atoms in Columbia, South Carolina. [13]
In 2013, Eadie wrestled occasionally for independent promotions and makes signing appearances in "legends" shows across the United States, Canada, and Europe. The Masked Superstar defeated Greg Valentine for the Mid-Atlantic Heritage Championship. The title changed hands at the Carolina Wrestling Classic on Saturday, June 2, 2007, at the L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina. The Millennium Wrestling Federation reunited Ax and Smash of Demolition at the Wrestling's Living Legends reunion April 1, 2007, prior to WrestleMania 23 in Windsor, Ontario. They began regularly competing as Ax and Smash for the first time in 16 years. Alongside One Man Gang, Demolition competed in the Chikara King of the Trios Tournament in 2008, but were eliminated in the second round by "The Fabulous Three" (Larry Sweeney, Mitch Ryder and Shayne Hawke). On March 28, 2009, Demolition Ax was inducted into the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA) Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ax was inducted because of his success, and the fact that he is a native of Brownsville, PA, also in Western Pennsylvania.
On October 2, 2010, Ax made his third appearance for the Dynamic Wrestling Alliance based in Middletown, Ohio. [14]
On May 21, 2011, Demolition reunited at Full Impact Pro's debut iPPV In Full Force. Their match against Tony DeVito and Ralph Mosco went to a no contest when local commentator and manager Larry Dallas came out and said his men wanted revenge. The ring was stormed by Manu, Sami Callihan, Blain Rage and Joey Attel. Demolition, Devito and Mosco managed to clear the ring and beat Dallas to end the show. [15]
Demolition returned to Chikara on September 16, 2012, taking part in a tag team gauntlet match, from which they eliminated The Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive and Max Smashmaster), before being eliminated themselves by their old WWF rivals, The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and Warlord). [16] On June 3, 2017, Eadie announced his retirement, [17] although he went on to have two more matches. His final singles match took place at KSWA's "Brawl Under the Bridge" event in the Homestead neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA on July 22, 2017. On August 12, 2017, Eadie had his final match, resulting in a victory in a 6-man tag team match for Georgia Premier Wrestling in Canton, Georgia. [18]
Eadie formerly supported the good work of the Inner Harbour Hospital Springs Campus in Rockmart, Georgia. For several years, the Masked Superstar has made many of his masks and wrestling gear available to wrestling fans through raffles and auctions, the proceeds of which support the general operating fund of the non-profit Inner Harbour Hospital, which has since closed and all operations moved to The Shoals campus in Douglasville, Georgia due to a lack of funding. [4]
In July 2016, Eadie was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. [19] US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018. [20] In September 2020, an appeal for the lawsuit dismissed by a federal appeals court. [21]
A long time friend of André the Giant outside of wrestling, Eadie revealed in a 2016 interview that André was the godfather to his two daughters. [22]
Christopher Alan Pallies was an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, trash-talking villain character.
Thomas Prichard is an American retired professional wrestler and author better known by the ring name Dr. Tom Prichard. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard.
George Gray is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name (The) One Man Gang. For three years in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was Akeem "The African Dream". Prior to this, he was the top heel for Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), and UWF Heavyweight Champion for six months in 1986 and 1987.
Michael Seitz is an American retired professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as an announcer under the name "Handsome" Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He is currently employed with WWE as Vice President, Creative Writing & Booking and is also a senior producer.
The Brain Busters was the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) name for the professional wrestling tag team of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Anderson and Blanchard adopted this name after joining the WWF in 1988 after leaving Jim Crockett Promotions, where the two men had wrestled as part of The Four Horsemen stable and had won the NWA World Tag Team Championship twice. As a team, Anderson and Blanchard are regarded by WWE as three-time world tag team champions, having won the WWF Tag Team Championship during their time in the WWF.
Roger Barnes is a Canadian former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. He is best known for his appearances with Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Championships held by Garvin over his career include the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He headlined the Starrcade 1987 pay-per-view event.
Dale Hey was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy "Jack" Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The Hollywood Blonds in the 1970s and as one of The Fabulous Freebirds in the 1980s. He was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 as part of The Fabulous Freebirds.
The Russian Team was a professional wrestling tag team and stable in the 1980s who attempted to prove their Soviet dominance over their opponents.
Adnan bin Abdul Kareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie, better known professionally as Adnan Al-Kaissie, was an Iraqi-American professional wrestler and manager best known as Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey, Billy White Wolf, or General Adnan. In 1971 he defeated André the Giant in Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad, under the auspices of his high school classmate, Ba'ath Party leader Saddam Hussein. He competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). On December 7, 1976, he won the WWWF World Tag Team Championship with Chief Jay Strongbow.
Daniel Briley, better known by the ring name "Nightmare" Danny Davis, is an American retired professional wrestler and referee. He is the founder and former owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Hiroaki Hamada, better known by his ring name Gran Hamada, is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro Wrestling and was the founder of Universal Lucha Libre. He has also had stints with the World Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling in the United States. His daughters Xóchitl Hamada and Ayako Hamada are professional wrestlers.
Barney William Irwin is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Wild" Bill Irwin. Irwin is also known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as The Goon in 1996 to 1997. He is the brother of the late Scott Irwin.
Larry Wayne Booker, better known by his ring names Moondog Spot and Larry Latham, was an American professional wrestler.
John L. Sullivan was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Johnny Valiant. He competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which became the World Wrestling Federation during his time with the promotion. He won the World Tag Team Championship two times. The first run was with his first and most famous storyline brother Jimmy Valiant over Tony Garea and Dean Ho on May 8, 1974; his second title run was with his second storyline brother Jerry Valiant over Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko on March 6, 1979.
Newton Tattrie was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Geeto Mongol.
Donald Delbert Jardine was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as The Spoiler. Jardine was a major star in various wrestling promotions. He worked in the World Wrestling Federation, first in 1974 and again from 1984 to 1986. But Jardine saw his greatest successes in the National Wrestling Alliance affiliated territories of Championship Wrestling from Florida, Georgia Championship Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling, which would eventually become known as World Class Championship Wrestling, from the early 1960s through the mid-1980s.
Jerry Stubbs is an American retired professional wrestler. Stubbs wrestled as Mr. Olympia in Bill Watts's Mid-South wrestling area and as the villainous Jerry "Mr. Perfect" Stubbs in Southeast/Continental wrestling promotions. Stubbs won multiple versions of the areas' singles and tag team titles as a member of the Stud Stable.
José Estrada Sr. is a retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler who was a longtime mainstay of the World Wrestling Council as well as having stints in North American promotions, most notably two separate periods of time for the World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation (WWWF/WWF). First in the late 1970s until 1984, holding the now inactive Junior Heavyweight Championship under his real name. From 1987 until 1989 he worked as Conquistador Dos, working as part of a masked team known as Los Conquistadores. He has also worked extensively in his native Puerto Rico, primarily for the World Wrestling Council (WWC) where he played the masked "Super Medico I", where he teamed both with a masked Don Kent in 1984 and his son José Estrada Jr. in 1990. He worked briefly in an early IWA as commissioner of the company then with the WWC in 2007 as a wrestling manager. His son is also a retired professional wrestler, who worked primarily in Puerto Rico.
Larry Richard Oliver was an American professional wrestler, known as "Crippler" Rip Oliver, who had success in Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW).
Seiei Kimura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Kengo Kimura and for his many years working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan.