William Reid "Bill" Eadie (born December 27, 1947) is an American retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

who has competed under the names of Ax as part of

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

and The Masked Superstar. He was a high school teacher and coach at Cambridge High School in

Cambridge, Ohio Cambridge is a city in and the county seat of Guernsey County, Ohio, United States. It lies in southeastern Ohio, in the Appalachian Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains 74 miles east of Columbus. The population was 10,635 at the 2010 census. I ...

, and at East Liverpool, Ohio.

Professional wrestling career

National Wrestling Alliance and World Wide / World Wrestling Federation (1973–1986)

Eadie's first match was on December 15, 1972, under the name "the Paramedic". 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 Newton Tattrie (July 12, 1931 – July 19, 2013) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Geeto Mongol (also spelled Geto Mongol). Tattrie started his career in the 1960s working for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling pro ...

. 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". 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 Richard Joseph "Dick" Garza (July 16, 1931 – January 7, 2002), better known as Mighty Igor Vodik, or simply Mighty Igor, was an American professional wrestler. He is a one time American Wrestling Association World champion. As Mighty Igor, he wa ...

, Paul Jones, Blackjack Mulligan,

Wahoo McDaniel Edward Hugh McDaniel (June 19, 1938 – April 18, 2002) was an American Choctaw-Chickasaw professional American football player and professional wrestler better known by his ring name Wahoo McDaniel. He is notable for having held the NWA United S ...

Mr. Wrestling II John Francis Walker (September 10, 1934June 10, 2020), better known by the ring name Mr. Wrestling II, was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Championship Wrestling from Florida and Georgia Championship ...

, Stan Hansen, "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, and Dick Murdoch. Although primarily a

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

, he also appeared as a

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

, 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. He was one of the first wrestlers to body slam André the Giant. Among other accomplishments, he won four Georgia Heavyweight titles and unified that title with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. He also competed in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

against many top wrestlers in 1983–84. He fought against many top level opponents, including WWF champion

Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1984 and in the 1990s, wher ...

, WWF champion

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

, future WWF champion

Sgt. Slaughter Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), best known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is a voice actor and retired American professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE in the ambassador program. From the late 1970s to the early 198 ...

, and

Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian American professional wrestler. He is better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010 ...

Return to WWF (1986–1990)

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 A machine is a device that uses energy to perform some activity or task. Machine, Machines, Machinery, The Machine, or The Machines may also refer to: Term of art More specific applications of the general term * Machine (mechanical) device de ...

' masks and gimmick were copied from

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

character "

Super Strong Machine (born December 20, 1956) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a trainer for the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, known primarily by his ring name . Career Hirata applied and was approved to the New Japan do ...

", played by Japanese wrestler Junji Hirata). Eadie later dropped the Machine gimmick and left the WWF to head to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

for a run as the Masked Superstar, upending

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

to win the NWA Southern title. He held the title for two weeks before Luger regained it. In January 1987, Eadie returned to the WWF and formed the tag team

with

Randy Colley Randy Colley (May 2, 1950 – December 14, 2019) was an American professional wrestler better known as Moondog Rex. He was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as a part of The Moondogs, and as the original Smash of D ...

, 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

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

s, their unique brawling style and charisma made them so popular that they became faces in November 1988. 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. 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. Popular rumor at the time cited heart problems on Eadie's part, which have been discredited in recent years. 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. Before Eadie was medically cleared, Crush had been recruited as a temporary replacement. Eadie's new position eventually fell through and his final WWF appearance was at Survivor Series 1990. 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 No holds barred or No Holds Barred may refer to: * ''No Holds Barred'' (1952 film), a film starring The Bowery Boys * ''No Holds Barred'' (1989 film), a film starring Hulk Hogan * ''No Holds Barred'' (Biohazard album) (1997) * ''No Holds Barred ...

''. He and Smash appeared in several

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

commercials for the "Kids Night Out" promotion widely seen on national television.

"New" Demolition; Independent circuit (1991–1999)

Around 1991, Ax formed a new tag team, using the Demolition name, and pairing up with a Canadian wrestler, dubbed "Canadian Giant" or "Demolition Hux." They toured with

, 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

at the ''IWA Night of the Legends'' show in

Kannapolis, North Carolina Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Cabarrus and Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord, North Carolina, Concord and northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina, ...

after hitting special guest referee

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

. On March 1, 1998, he defeated Vladimir Koloff in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

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 Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

Return to the independent circuit (1999–2017)

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 Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championship ...

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 The Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF) is a New England independent professional wrestling promotion based in Melrose, Massachusetts. Founded in January 2001 by promoters Dan Mirade & Neil Manolian, the MWF is one of the top promotions in the N ...

reunited Ax and Smash of Demolition at the Wrestling's Living Legends reunion April 1, 2007, prior to

WrestleMania 23 WrestleMania 23 was the 23rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event ...

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

. 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. On May 21, 2011,

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. 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 Powers of Pain are a professional wrestling tag team. History Paul Jones had previously managed The Barbarian (Sione Vailahi) in National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) territories during 1985–1987, while The Warlord (Terry Szopinski) and jo ...

( The Barbarian and

Warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

). On June 3, 2017, Eadie announced his retirement, 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 Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses *Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...

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.

Personal life

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. In July 2016, Eadie was named part of a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

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. US District Judge

Vanessa Lynne Bryant Vanessa Lynne Bryant (born January 27, 1954) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Early life Bryant was born in Queens, New York, and graduated from Howard University wit ...

dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018. In September 2020, an appeal for the lawsuit dismissed by a federal appeals court. 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. On January 13, 2021, it was reported that Eadie along with his wife and oldest grandson had tested positive for the

COVID-19 virus Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a p ...

. On June 11, 2021, wrestler Lanny Poffo posted online that Eadie had been taken to the hospital with symptoms of COVID-19 and has tested positive for COVID-19.

Championships and accomplishments

*All-American Wrestling **AAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

Killer Kyle Mark Kyle is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, known by his ring name, Killer Kyle. Kyle is best known for his successful stint in Smoky Mountain Wrestling as well as being a regular on the independent circuit in the southeastern ...

*American Wrestling Federation **AWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Cauliflower Alley Club ** Tag Team Award (2015) – with Smash *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) * Eastern Sports Association **

IW North American Heavyweight Championship This is a list of people who held the "North American Heavyweight Title" under the banner of ''International Wrestling'' (IW) from 1969 to 1984. The promotion was owned by the Eastern Sports Association from 1969 until 1976. The IW promotion ends w ...

( 1 time) * Georgia Championship Wrestling ** NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship ( 4 times) ** NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Austin Idol Michael McCord (born October 26, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Austin Idol. He is best known for his appearances in the Mid-South with the Continental Wrestling Association, in particular his rec ...

** NWA National Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) ** NWA National Tag Team Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with King Kong Bundy (1) and Super Destroyer (1) *Great Lakes Championship Wrestling **GLCW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Smash * International Wrestling Association ** IWA World Tag Team Championship (

) - with

* Keystone State Wrestling Alliance **KSWA "Brawl Under the Bridge" Championship (1 time) **KSWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Smash * Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling **

NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship was a tag team title defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coas ...

( 1 time) – with Masked Superstar 2 **

NWA Television Championship The WCW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship owned by the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion. The title was created in 1974 by Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) as a s ...

( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' (

) – with Paul Jones *Midwest Championship Wrestling Alliance **MCWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * NWA Big Time Wrestling **

NWA American Heavyweight Championship The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally created in ...

( 1 time) *NWA Detroit ** NWA World Tag Team Championship (''Detroit version'') (1 time) - with

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s by N ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 1 time) – with Masked Superstar 2 * New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2020 – with Smash *North American Wrestling Alliance **NAWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ben Steele * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2014 – as The Masked Superstar * Pro Wrestling Illustrated **PWI ranked him #112 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "

PWI Years ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

" in 2003 * Southern States Wrestling ** East Tennessee Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1999) *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *United States Wrestling League **USWL Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *United States Xtreme Wrestling **USXW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Smash *Universal Superstars of America **USA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **USA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Blast *

** WWF Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Smash

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ax 1947 births American male professional wrestlers American people of Scottish descent Living people Masked wrestlers NWA/WCW World Television Champions Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum People from Brownsville, Pennsylvania The Heenan Family members Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers NWF World Tag Team Champions NWA National Heavyweight Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) WCW World Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions NWA National Tag Team Champions