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Ax To Head All-Star Line-up At PAL, with Jake Roberts Co-Headliner

Posted: Apr 8th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Those who watched Bill Eadie specialize in beating people down should be interested to learn that his passion is building them up.

In the wrestling ring, Eadie was and is known as Ax, part of the famous tag team Demolition. Along with fellow former WWE stars Jake ?The Snake? Roberts and Brutus ?The Barber? Beefcake, Ax is scheduled to help headline the Top Rope Promotions wrestling card Friday (7 p.m. start) at the Fall River PAL Hall, 31 Franklin St.

Eadie, 60, wrestles occasionally. His regular job these days doesn?t pay like his wrestling job of 20 years ago ? at least not in terms of dollars. But Eadie will tell you it?s far more rewarding.
He is a teacher at Youth Villages Inner Harbour in Douglasville, Ga. The facility is a large psychiatric hospital that includes a school.

?It?s for sexually abused kids,? said Eadie, a certified special education and social studies teacher.

The kids, from grades 6 through 11, are sent to Inner Harbour, west of Atlanta, by the Georgia Dept. of Juvenile Justice. They?re not just sexually abused kids. They are kids who, in turn, have sexually abused others, Eadie said.

He said the facility is beautiful, covering 2,400 acres in rural Atlanta. There are no gates and the kids are offered a wide array of inside and outside activities.

An Ohio teacher and coach before he got into pro wrestling in the early 1970s, Eadie?s second teaching career provides great challenges daily. ?And,? he said, ?great rewards every day.? Ax, who teamed with Barry Darsow (Smash) to form the very popular and successful Demolition tag team, will this Friday be wrestling, selling autographs and pictures, and happily schmoozing with the fans at the Fall River PAL.

Fans may also remember him as the Masked Superstar, the nasty yet articulate pre- and post-Ax character he portrayed in many non-WWE territories, most notably George Championship Wrestling.

?It?s nice to know I made an impression,? he said. ?What?s really great is people remember us.?
Among Ax?s best friends in pro wrestling were Tito Santana (who has performed at the PAL) and the late Andre the Giant. Eadie said Andre was godfather to both of his daughters.

The doors open at 6:15 p.m. Friday. Refreshments will be available. And it?s not just an old-timer wrestling fest.

A bunch of Top Rope promotions? top guns are scheduled to appear. There will be a four-way Gold Rush/Interstate title ladder match and a women?s grudge match between Mistress Belmont and Luscious Latasha.

Tickets will be sold at the door. They may also be purchased in advance at Ultra Tan, 96 South Main St. or by calling 508-525-1866.

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We old-time (as in 1970s and 80s) pro wrestling fans get a long-awaited fix Friday, April 9. Jake ?The Snake? Roberts is helping to headline a 7 p.m. show at the Fall River Police Athletic League, 31 Franklin St.

Two other stars from that era ? Brutus ?The Barber? Beefcake and Ax of the tag team Demolition ? are also scheduled to appear on Top Rope Promotions' ?The Anniversary? show.

For the Snake, this is part of a 2010 farewell tour. He reiterated Monday night he?ll stop wrestling at the end of this calendar year, ?because I?m a grandfather and I?d like to do that.?

There also the issue of age and wear and tear. ?My mind and heart are still willing, but my body can?t carry it out,? he said. ?I?ve never wanted to disrespect the ring. I can?t do what I used to do. It?s time. Hell, I?m 55.?

But he thinks there?s enough left to make 2010 worthwhile for fans who buy tickets to see him work. And that includes the fans in Fall River on April 9.

?Hell yeah. I?ll make somebody miserable,? he said.

The former WWE superstar ? great feuds with Rick Rude, Rick Martel, Andre the Giant, The Undertaker ? has traveled the pro wrestling independent circuit for the last decade and more. He has also waged a well-publicized struggle with substance abuse. The Snake was the sad subject of a documentary which made no attempts to hide his drug addiction, and many contend Mickey Rourke?s character in ?The Wrestler? was based at least partly on Jake
Roberts.

It doesn?t take a Herculean search on YouTube to find evidence of the Snake?s demons, and the Florida resident (no, he was never from Stone Mountain, Ga.; he grew up in Texas) doesn?t try to convince anyone he?s put his addiction to rest.

?Some days are great. Some days are fair. Some days suck,? he said. ?You never get away from the monster.?

He offers advice that?s more of a warning.

?Don?t do it the first time. No one dreams about (getting addicted to drugs). It?s fun the first time. Then the monster takes over and you have no choice.?

Roberts said his road to drug addiction started in 1987 during a WWE plot twist where The Honky Tonk Man nailed Roberts from behind with a guitar. The blast, he said, severely damaged his C6 and C7 vertebrae. ?That was a real guitar,? Roberts said. With the neck injury, Roberts had two choices. Rest and rehab and risk losing his lofty spot on the WWE (then WWF) roster, or pop the pain killers, suck it up and keep his career cooking. ?I was afraid to step out of the ring,? he said. ?I was just starting to get going. I took shortcuts.?

The feud with The Honky Tonk Man led to their famous match at Wrestlemania III before an announced crowd of 93,000 at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich. In that match, Roberts had rock star Alice Cooper, a Detroit guy and someone Roberts had idolized while in high school, in his corner. Roberts said he recalled Cooper, despite being in his hometown, ?darn near passing out? on the way to the ring. ?It was too much of a rush,? the Snake said.

A second generation wrestler, Roberts thinks he can give the fans a rush at the Fall River PAL, though he won?t say precisely how he?ll do it. ?Hell, I don?t know,? he said. ?Expect the unexpected. I?ve never thought about it. That?s been my gift. I see what?s needed and deliver.?

The PAL doors open at 6:15 p.m. on April 9. Tickets are priced at $12 general admission, $18 second row, and $23 VIP (front row, with gift). Tickets will be sold at the door, though promoters said past Anniversary shows here have sold out. The PAL capacity is about 400.

For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, call 508-525-1866 or visit www.topropepromotions.com. Tickets are also available at Ultra Tan, 96 South Main St., Fall River.

For more information, visit www.topropepromotions.com.