Demolition Discussed For WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025 After Signing Legends Deals (WWE News)

Having recently signed WWE Legends deals, could Demolition soon be heading into the WWE Hall of Fame?

As part of penning a Legends contract, that means WWE will be able to license merchandise for both Ax and Smash and the broader Demolition team. And per Fightful Select, the legendary tag team has also been discussed for a long, long overdue WWE Hall of Fame induction.

Considering how Demolition was such a special team for the then-WWF at such a special time in the company's history, it's astonishing that they're not in the Hall of Fame yet. Of course, the reason for this omission revolves around certain lawsuits against WWE that Ax and Smash were involved with, not to mention Bill 'Ax' Eadie trying to legally claim the Demolition rights shortly after he left the company in the '90s.

That's not to say that Demolition and WWE haven't worked together in the years since the team departed the promotion, with Ax and Smash featured in the WWE 12 video game, not to mention a few WWE action figures for the team, although those figures were due to deals signed with toy manufacturers Jakks Pacific,

On the WWE Hall of Fame point, Fightul specifies that Demolition has been brought up in discussions about potential HOF inductees, not that the team will definitely be going in. Still, this does come on the back of last year's Hall of Fame ceremony and WrestleMania XL, with Demolition revealing post-'Mania that they'd been invited to the WrestleMania Weekend festivities, but that they had to decline due to prior commitments elsewhere.

Of course, Demolition eventually brought in a third man, Crush - as portrayed by Brian Adams - when health concerns over Bill Eadie came to the fore. There's no word at this stage on whether Crush is being considered for any Hall of Fame spot alongside Ax and Smash, with Crush joining the team shortly after WrestleMania VI and being a part of the group for its final year in WWE.

One Of The WWE Hall Of Fame's Most Glaring Omissions

Over the years, there have been so many glaring omissions from the WWE Hall of Fame, with those HOF spots being decided on the whim of one man: Vince McMahon.

McMahon famously fell out with various big-name talents over the decades, and there are even a few notable instances of Triple H working as a bridge-building peacemaker to get certain huge stars into the WWE Hall of Fame, with Bruno Sammartino and Ultimate Warrior two prime examples of that. And for Demolition, they found themselves in that bracket of extremely Hall of Fame-worthy wrestlers who McMahon, for whatever reason, continuously ignored for induction.

As alluded to, Demolition was part of the 2016 class action lawsuit against WWE that alleged the company was responsible for traumatic brain injuries suffered by talents. There was also the aforementioned case brought by Ax against the promotion in the mid-'90s, where he attempted to claim the rights to the Demolition name and gimmick.

For those younger fans who maybe aren't too familiar with Demolition, the team debuted in the World Wrestling Federation in 1987. While Bill 'Ax' Eadie and Barry 'Smash' Darsow are who fans think of when they think of Demolition, that original iteration of the tag team featured Randy Colley - the former Moondog Rex - as Smash. With Johnny Valiant as their manager, this version of Demolition wrestled just three matches before Colley was replaced by Darsow as Smash. But already by this point, the basic outline of Demolition was set in place - the face paint, the studded entrance gear, the masks, and the backbreaker/elbow drop finishing move combo.

Kayfabe-wise, Johnny Valiant - or Luscious Johnny V, as he was back then - sold Demolition's contracts to Mr. Fuji, and with that, Demolition was fully off to the races. Ax and Smash would become one of the most dominant teams in WWE history, winning their first slice of tag gold at WrestleMania IV by defeating Strike Force to become the WWF Tag Team Champions. From there, Demolition would hold those belts for a mammoth, record-setting 478 days, successfully defending them against the likes of the Hart Foundation, the British Bulldogs, the Brain Busters, the Rockers, the Powers of Pain, and the Twin Towers. The team would stay together through until 1991, would be three-time WWF Tag Team Champions by the time all was said and done, would eventually get a really fun babyface run, and, as mentioned, would bring in Crush in 1990.

At a time when the WWE's tag team ranks were thriving with so many all-time great teams, Demolition was so often at the top of the mountain, meshing a smash-mouth style with a phenomenal look and presence. And when it comes to any and all Hall of Fames, few tag team acts are as deserving of a spot as Demolition.

Once Demolition's WWE tenure came to an end in 1991, Ax would continue to work the gimmick on the independent scene, Smash would be repackaged as Repo Man, and Crush would be repackaged as, well, Crush - first as Kona Crush and then as the heel Crush with Mr. Fuji as his manager.

For this interested in reading more about Demolition's spot in history and why a Hall of Fame spot is long overdue, be sure to check out our Why WWE Needs To Immediately Fix THIS Historic Mistake article from last year.