Bill Eadie Discusses The Origin Of Demolition, Getting Smash Involved 

On the latest episode of The Snake Pit, Bill Eadie (Ax) detailed the genesis of the Demolition gimmick and how Barry Darsow (Smash) came to be his partner, replacing Randy Colley (Moondog Rex). You can check out some highlights below:

On Randy Colley coming up with the tag team idea: “Randy Colley came up with the idea. I don’t know if people remember that Randy was in there as The Moondogs before, and then he was working as a single. Then he came up with the concept, I think basically off of the movies that were out at that particular time. He presented it to me, and I was going back and forth to Japan and was scheduled to make a trip to Japan at that time. We presented it to Vince, [McMahon] and Vince liked the idea.”

On what was bad about the idea: “The only bad thing was the characters were going to get over, but they were not going to get over because people recognized Randy at that time. I had been in there during that period as the Masked Superstar, so they had no facial recognition [of me]. But of course, Randy was the Tag Team Champion for a number of years as The [Moondogs], and people surely knew what he looked like. So it was unfortunate; we had two events for TV tapings, and at both of them, the crowd reaction was positive for the characters as we entered the arena and got into the ring. But as soon as we took the outer masks off, everybody recognized Randy, and they started saying, ‘Moondog, Moondog, Moondog.’ So I felt that because he developed it, I would step aside. Because I was going back to Japan back and forth anyway and had a standing agreement with them. And he said, ‘No, I think you’re right, they’re going to recognize me.’”

On going to McMahon about it: “He graciously stepped aside, and we approached Vince. We said, ‘We need a new member. The characters are going to get over. I think that they’ll do very well, but they’re not going to do well with Randy.’ He said, ‘I agree. I’ve watched it; I’ve listened to the fans. We have to find a new partner.’ Well, at that time, he proposed three other guys that were in the territory, very similar to Randy’s situation. And I said, ‘That’s not going to work. They’re going to know them too.’ So that’s when I went to Japan, and then Barry was involved in the next move.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Snake Pit with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.