Blast from the past: Bill Eadie

[justtxyank]

Maybe you don't recognize the name, but surely you will recognize one of his famous characters; The Masked Superstar and, perhaps more famous, Ax of Demolition.

Many wrestling fans today don't realize this, but Bill Eadie was one of the more consistent hands in the business in the 1980s. His run in Demolition is obviously legendary, but his run as The Masked Superstar was almost even more noteworthy.

Did You Know: The Masked Superstar was originally slated to be the man to take the belt off of Bob Backlund and transition to Hulk Hogan. Backlund refused to do the job to Eadie however, as in a time where even the WWF protected kayfabe, Backlund didn't want to lose to a wrestler without an amateur background. Enter The Iron Sheik, and well, the rest is history.

Discussion:

1) Would history be any different if it HAD been The Masked Superstar that transitioned to Hogan?

2) What is your favorite Bill Eadie character and why?

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

I think Bill Eadie was an amazing talent, and I love listening to him talk to this day in shoot interviews. His perspective on the business is so brutally honest and hilarious at times.

However, I don't think he was the right guy to take the title off of Backlund. Iron Sheik was tailor-made to be the one to take the fall to Hogan. It just wouldn't have the same overall appeal to it since Hogan emerged from the Sheik win as an American Hero for taking down the evil Iranian holding the belt hostage. I still think Hogan would have been just as big of a star, it just would have taken a little bit longer for the wheels to get rolling if it was Eadie that took the fall.

Ax was obviously his bigger drawing character as he made quite a bit of change off Demolition merchandise during their face run with the company. He and Smash were on the front of cereal boxes at one point. Masked Superstar never got that kind of attention despite being the fall guy to the stars at many Garden shows. Ax was definitely my favorite role that he played.

 

[Pedigree1]

Bill Eadie is a forgotten gem with the younger generation and its a shame. I really dont remember too much about the masked superstar aspect of him. Demolition was by far one of the greatest,tag teams of all-time. Eadie made quite a name for himself as one half of Demolition. His earlier promos were great,and if given the chance he would have made a fine champion IMO.

Eadie was a modern day throwback a original tough guy but like a lot of the stars back then got lost in the shuffle. I wish whatever issue is between himself and Vince,they would patch it up and Demolition would be in the HOF

 

[enviousdominous]

One gimmick that caught my eye when I was about five years old was The Super Machine. My first exposure to pro-wrestling was watching puroresu matches, and my favorite performer at the time was Jumbo Tsuruta. My attention shifted to the WWF mostly because I thought that Super Machine was Jumbo Tsuruta in a mask. I imagined a whole scenario where Super Machine would beat Hulk Hogan and reveal himself as Jumbo Tsuruta, and he would bring puroresu to the states.

It wasn't until the internet came around that I realized I was cheering for Bill Eadie the entire time, I just referred to him as Ax back then. Demolition was way over, but I had never pictured Ax as a potential world champion. I probably wouldn't have had much faith in the Masked Superstar if I was around when he was coming up.

If Super Machine had captured the world title, I'd have marked out like a lottery winner. The delusion that it was Jumbo Tsuruta doesn't make too much of a difference, I think it's a huge compliment to be mistaken for Jumbo based on your wrestling skill.

 

[GameOver]

no way in hell could anyone else have pulled off the draw power that was Hulkamania, many greater men the Eadie tried and it didn't work, Eadie may have been talented but he certainly wasn't on the same level as Backlund, or Hogan.

 

[justtxyank]

no way in hell could anyone else have pulled off the draw power that was Hulkamania, many greater men the Eadie tried and it didn't work, Eadie may have been talented but he certainly wasn't on the same level as Backlund, or Hogan.

I think you may have missed the question. Nowhere did anyone suggest Eadie replacing Hogan. It was Eadie replaying Iron Sheik as the traditional champ between Backlund and Hogan and whether or not that would have made any difference. Obviously Eadie had no shot to ever be a Hogan like draw.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

no way in hell could anyone else have pulled off the draw power that was Hulkamania, many greater men the Eadie tried and it didn't work, Eadie may have been talented but he certainly wasn't on the same level as Backlund, or Hogan.

You clearly have no idea what you're talking about first based on the fact that you lack reading comprehension. Then there's the fact that you say Masked Superstar wasn't on the same level as Backlund... which is kind of funny considering Masked Superstar was selling out shows as the Main Event versus the likes of Mr. Wrestling, Bob Backlund, Bruno, and other top guys.

 

[thebarber]

I still cannot believe Bill Eadie isnt in the Hall of Fame. His run with Barry Darsow and 3 time WWF tag titles was solid, but this was also his LAST run in WWE. HIs Masked Superstar character was over in all of the territories he was in, and working alongside Blackjack Mulligan and Andre with The Machines for a brief time was hammy but fun back in the mid 80s. I really don't think he would have made it much more different though whether it was he or Shiek who dethroned Bcaklund before dropping the belt onto Hogan in January 1984, but it would have made sense as Superstar was the one who injured Backlund's back"kayfabe", weakening him for the match with Iron Sheik.
Im a huge Eadie fan and though I do not consider him a lost gem, I can see how many younger fans wouldnt recognise his brilliant career more than just Axe in Demolition.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Maybe you don't recognize the name, but surely you will recognize one of his famous characters; The Masked Superstar and, perhaps more famous, Ax of Demolition.

Many wrestling fans today don't realize this, but Bill Eadie was one of the more consistent hands in the business in the 1980s. His run in Demolition is obviously legendary, but his run as The Masked Superstar was almost even more noteworthy.

Did You Know: The Masked Superstar was originally slated to be the man to take the belt off of Bob Backlund and transition to Hulk Hogan. Backlund refused to do the job to Eadie however, as in a time where even the WWF protected kayfabe, Backlund didn't want to lose to a wrestler without an amateur background. Enter The Iron Sheik, and well, the rest is history.

Discussion:

1) Would history be any different if it HAD been The Masked Superstar that transitioned to Hogan?

2) What is your favorite Bill Eadie character and why?

Eadie was awesome, and in addition to almost getting to be the guy to take the belt off of Backlund... if it wasn't for the fact that he was a gimmick wrestler (Masked Superstar), there was probably a realistic chance he could have had a run as a traveling NWA champion... maybe cutting into some of the time Race spent as champ. He was a strong worker, could get heat, great interview, well respected by all the promoters. He fit every criteria that the NWA board looked for in a traveling champion.

One thing I've never got about the Backlund thing though, is that kayfabe wise, part of the Masked Superstar's gimmick was that he was an Olympic champion. He wasn't of course, and legit didn't have the type of amateur background that Backlund wanted from the guy he dropped the title to, but this was the kayfabe era, and kayfabe wise, the Masked Superstar was a more legitimate amateur than Bob Backlund was, and as legitimate as the Iron Sheik was (who also had the Olympic champion gimmick going for him). Going by kayfabe, it shouldn't have mattered to Backlund either way if it was Sheik or Superstar.

Of course it worked out pretty good in the end with the Sheik being the transitional champion.