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Demolition was a prolific tag team from the late 80s and early 90s in WWE. It comprised of Bill Eadie aka Ax, Barry Darsow aka Smash, and later Brian Adams aka Crush joined them as well. When they first won the WWE Tag Team Championship in 1988, they held those titles for 478, days which is the fourth-longest reign in the championship’s history.
However, they still hold the record for the longest reign with the classic WWE titles. They eventually won the titles two more times throughout their career and were joined by Crush midway through their third reign. In their accomplished career, they feuded with many legendary tag teams such as Legion of Doom, The Ultimate Warriors, and The Rockers to name a few.
Demolition Saw Darker Days After Leaving WWE
Demolition may have had a stellar run with the company, a run that most tag teams could only dream of, but they eventually had to disband. Ax had health issues due to his food allergies which pushed him to the background, and he eventually left the company. Ax mentioned the reason for his departure from the company in Jim Ross’ The Ross Report in 2015. He claimed to have an allergic toxic reaction to the shrimp that he ate in Japan. “I had an allergic reaction to shrimp, after traveling to Japan so much that I developed a toxic build-up of iodine…Some promises that were made weren’t kept, so it was time to leave”. Soon Smash and Crush faced a decline in popularity as well due to the rise of LOD and left the wrestling juggernaut later.
Crush would then return to the company for a solo run but never reached the top tier level in the organization. Post to their exit from WWE, Ax and Smash tried to live off the Demolition fame by playing knock-off versions of themselves like Axis the Demolisher, Demolition Blast, and Repo Man in the independent circuit as well as other promotions. Since nothing was working, Bill Eadie (Ax) decided to sue WWE for the rights to the “Demolition” name and gimmick in 1997.
Demolition Sued WWE To Acquire Their Name Rights
Demolition was a gimmick created together by Eadie and Vince McMahon There was an understanding between the two parties that he would receive royalties from the use of this gimmick by the company in terms of merchandise sales and other profits, which he also did. But among many things, he wanted the rights to his character Ax and Demolition so that he could use it for himself outside the company. Eadie was joined in this lawsuit by Randy Colley, the original Smash, who was replaced by Barry Darsow later. Coley wanted royalties for the Smash character as well. In the end, the court ruled in favor of Titan Sports aka WWE. They ended up owning the rights to the name and gimmick as well as all the copyrights to the Demolition merchandise.
Demolition was also part of a class action lawsuit in 2016 against WWE where 51 wrestlers had claimed to have suffered brain injuries due to WWE’s ignoring concussions over the years. The case is still ongoing, although it’s not very strong as the U.S. Supreme Court had denied hearing it due to delays and was denied by other courts as well.
Demolition's Lawsuit Angles Excluded Them From A WWE Hall Of Fame Induction
It’s said that this lawsuit is the reason Demolition hasn’t been inducted to the WWE Hall Oo Fame yet. Eadie confirmed this fact in a 2018 Sports Illustrated interview as well. “I’m almost certain it’s because of the lawsuit…It could happen, it might not happen, but Barry and I know that the fans know that Demolition should be in the Hall Of Fame.” Bill Eadie may not be in the WWE Hall Of Fame anytime soon but he is already in the Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame and Museum in Amsterdam, New York."
Apart from Demolition’s Ax, he is also known for playing “The Masked Superstar” in many organizations, where he wrestled wearing a luchador mask, a gimmick whose copyright he owns himself. Eadie and Barry Darsow make a living from attending wrestling conventions whereas Coley and Adams have passed away.
Despite fighting legal battles with the same company that made them a recognized name in the wrestling world, Demolition will go down in history as one of the strongest and most talented WWE tag teams of all time.
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