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|promotions = [[All Japan Pro Wrestling|AJPW]]<br />[[American Wrestling Association|AWA]]<br />[[Georgia Championship Wrestling|GCW]]<br />[[Jim Crockett Promotions|JCP]]<br />[[New Japan Pro Wrestling|NJPW]]<br />[[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA]]<br />[[Super World of Sports|SWS]]<br />[[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling|TNA]]<br />[[Toryumon (Último Dragón)|Toryumon Mexico]]<br />[[Ultimate Pro Wrestling|UPW]]<br />[[Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts)|UWF]]<br />[[World Championship Wrestling|WCW]]<br />[[Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling|World Japan]]<br />[[WWE|WWF/E]]<br />[[Pro Wrestling Zero1|ZERO1]]
|promotions = [[All Japan Pro Wrestling|AJPW]]<br />[[American Wrestling Association|AWA]]<br />[[Georgia Championship Wrestling|GCW]]<br />[[Jim Crockett Promotions|JCP]]<br />[[New Japan Pro Wrestling|NJPW]]<br />[[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA]]<br />[[Super World of Sports|SWS]]<br />[[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling|TNA]]<br />[[Toryumon (Último Dragón)|Toryumon Mexico]]<br />[[Ultimate Pro Wrestling|UPW]]<br />[[Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts)|UWF]]<br />[[World Championship Wrestling|WCW]]<br />[[Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling|World Japan]]<br />[[WWE|WWF/E]]<br />[[Pro Wrestling Zero1|ZERO1]]
}}
}}
'''The Road Warriors''', also known as the '''Legion of Doom''', were a [[professional wrestling]] [[tag team]] composed of [[Road Warrior Hawk]] (Michael Hegstrand) and [[Road Warrior Animal]] (Joseph Laurinaitis)<ref name=OWOW>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/r/road-warriors.html|title=Road Warriors profile|publisher=Online World of Wrestling|accessdate=March 29, 2011}}.</ref> They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in the [[American Wrestling Association]] (AWA), the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA), and [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW), and the name "Legion of Doom" (LOD) in the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF). Under either name, their [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick|gimmick]] was the same – two imposing wrestlers in [[face paint]]. For brief periods, other wrestlers were added as stand-in partners for both men. In Japan in the 1990s, [[Kensuke Sasaki|Kensuke "Power Warrior" Sasaki]] often teamed with Hawk and Animal, separately and together.
'''The Road Warriors''', also known as the '''Legion of Doom''', were a [[professional wrestling]] [[tag team]] composed of [[Road Warrior Hawk]] (Michael Hegstrand) and [[Road Warrior Animal]] (Joseph Laurinaitis)<ref name=OWOW>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/r/road-warriors.html|title=Road Warriors profile|publisher=Online World of Wrestling|accessdate=March 29, 2011}}.</ref> They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in the [[American Wrestling Association]] (AWA), the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA), and [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW), and the name "Legion of Doom" (LOD) in the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF). For brief periods, other wrestlers were added as stand-in partners for both men. In Japan in the 1990s, [[Kensuke Sasaki|Kensuke "Power Warrior" Sasaki]] often teamed with Hawk and Animal, both separately and together.


Hawk and Animal were known for their impressive physiques, as their physical size was larger than most wrestlers of the era. Their face paint and spiked armor were inspired by the [[Mad Max (franchise)|Mad Max]] film ''[[Mad Max 2|The Road Warrior]]''; they were the first wrestlers to bring a theme from a movie into the wrestling world.<ref>{{cite book
Hawk and Animal's face paint and spiked armor were inspired by the [[Mad Max (franchise)|Mad Max]] film ''[[Mad Max 2|The Road Warrior]]''; they were the first wrestlers to bring a theme from a movie into the wrestling world.<ref>{{cite book
|last1 = Laurinaitis
|last1 = Laurinaitis
|first1 = Joe "Animal"
|first1 = Joe "Animal"
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===Georgia Championship Wrestling (1983{{ndash}}1984)===
===Georgia Championship Wrestling (1983{{ndash}}1984)===
Animal had briefly competed as the Road Warrior before [[Ole Anderson]] paired him up with [[Mike Hegstrand]] to form the Road Warriors in 1983. They were initially brought into [[Paul Ellering|"Precious" Paul Ellering]]'s stable as a replacement for his team of [[Matt Osborne|Matt Borne]] and [[Arn Anderson]], after Borne was fired from the company. After a few months of rapid success, the Road Warriors dumped Ellering as manager, claiming they needed no manager. This was short-lived, as in early 1984, along with "Precious" Paul Ellering formed a [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable|stable]] called "The Legion of Doom" in the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA)'s [[Georgia Championship Wrestling]] (GCW) territory. The group consisted of the Road Warriors, [[Jake Roberts|Jake "The Snake" Roberts]], & [[Don Jardine|The Spoiler]]. The stable was short lived and the name "Legion of Doom" soon referred only to the Road Warriors and Ellering with either name used interchangeably throughout their career.<ref name="LODDVD">{{cite video|people =Various Comments:|title=Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476485/|medium=DVD|publisher=WWE Home Video|location=USA|date=June 14, 2005}}</ref> Animal reveals in the ''Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag-Team in Wrestling History'' DVD set that the name "Legion of Doom" was taken from the ''[[Super Friends]]'' cartoon.<ref>{{cite video|people=Joseph “Animal” Laurinaitis:|title=Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476485/|medium=DVD|publisher=WWE Home Video|location=USA|date=June 14, 2005}}</ref>
In early 1984, along with "Precious" Paul Ellering, they formed a [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable|stable]] called "The Legion of Doom" in the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA)'s [[Georgia Championship Wrestling]] (GCW) territory. The group consisted of the Road Warriors, [[Jake Roberts|Jake "The Snake" Roberts]], & [[Don Jardine|The Spoiler]]. The stable was short lived and the name "Legion of Doom" soon referred only to the Road Warriors and Ellering with either name used interchangeably throughout their career.<ref name="LODDVD">{{cite video|people =Various Comments:|title=Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476485/|medium=DVD|publisher=WWE Home Video|location=USA|date=June 14, 2005}}</ref> Animal reveals in the ''Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag-Team in Wrestling History'' DVD set that the name "Legion of Doom" was taken from the ''[[Super Friends]]'' cartoon.<ref>{{cite video|people=Joseph “Animal” Laurinaitis:|title=Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476485/|medium=DVD|publisher=WWE Home Video|location=USA|date=June 14, 2005}}</ref>


The Road Warriors’ high impact power style and unique attire quickly got them noticed by fans and dreaded by opponents, so much so that some wrestlers would grab their bag and leave the arena when they saw they were scheduled to face the Road Warriors.<ref name="LODDVD"/> In [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], the team quickly rose to the top despite being very young and without the traditional “paying dues” period just because they were so believable in their role as power monsters. They gained a reputation for being very stiff and not selling simply because they could and as a result most of their matches ended quickly. They won the [[NWA National Tag Team Championship]] upon their debut, a title they would win three more times while in Georgia.<ref name="Titles">{{cite book|author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will|title=Wrestling Title Histories|publisher=Archeus Communications|year=2006|edition=4th|isbn=0-9698161-5-4}}</ref>
The Road Warriors’ high impact power style and unique attire quickly got them noticed by fans and dreaded by opponents, so much so that some wrestlers would grab their bag and leave the arena when they saw they were scheduled to face the Road Warriors.<ref name="LODDVD"/> They won the [[NWA National Tag Team Championship]] upon their debut, a title they would win three more times while in Georgia.<ref name="Titles">{{cite book|author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will|title=Wrestling Title Histories|publisher=Archeus Communications|year=2006|edition=4th|isbn=0-9698161-5-4}}</ref>


===American Wrestling Association (1984{{ndash}}1986)===
===American Wrestling Association (1984{{ndash}}1986)===
In 1984, the Road Warriors moved on to [[Verne Gagne]]'s [[American Wrestling Association]] (AWA) along with their manager Paul Ellering. On August 25, 1984, they defeated [[The Crusher (wrestler)|The Crusher]] and [[Baron von Raschke]] for the [[AWA World Tag Team Championship]].<ref name="Titles"/> The Road Warriors were brought in by Gagne to work as heels, but their [[Squash (professional wrestling)|squash matches]] soon won over fans. They became the AWA's top draw throughout 1984 and 1985, feuding primarily with [[The Fabulous Ones]] and later [[The Fabulous Freebirds]]. The Warriors then began splitting their time between the AWA and [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] (JCP) where they started feuding with [[NWA World Tag Team Championship|NWA World tag team champions]] [[The Russian Team|The Russians]], all while still holding the AWA belts, The AWA & various NWA members [[Pro Wrestling USA|were co-promoting cards at the time]], in an effort to compete with the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]]. Hawk and Animal eventually lost the AWA title to [[Jimmy Garvin]] and "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal on September 29, 1985, due to the interference of the Freebirds.<ref name="Titles"/> The Road Warriors' last appearance in the AWA was on April 20, 1986 at [[WrestleRock 86|WrestleRock]] where they defeated the team of Garvin and [[Michael Hayes (wrestler)|Michael Hayes]] in a steel cage match.
In 1984, the Road Warriors moved on to [[Verne Gagne]]'s [[American Wrestling Association]] (AWA) along with their manager Paul Ellering. On August 25, 1984, they defeated [[The Crusher (wrestler)|The Crusher]] and [[Baron von Raschke]] for the [[AWA World Tag Team Championship]].<ref name="Titles"/> Hawk and Animal lost the AWA title to [[Jimmy Garvin]] and "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal on September 29, 1985, due to the interference of the Freebirds.<ref name="Titles"/> The Road Warriors' last appearance in the AWA was on April 20, 1986 at [[WrestleRock 86|WrestleRock]] where they defeated the team of Garvin and [[Michael Hayes (wrestler)|Michael Hayes]] in a steel-cage match.


During their AWA stint the team became well known for using the [[Black Sabbath]] song "[[Iron Man (song)|Iron Man]]" as their [[Music in professional wrestling|entrance theme]].
During their AWA stint the team became well known for using the [[Black Sabbath]] song "[[Iron Man (song)|Iron Man]]" as their [[Music in professional wrestling|entrance theme]].


===Japan (1985{{ndash}}1990)===
===1987{{ndash}}1990===
In March 1985, the Road Warriors began touring [[Japan]], mainly with [[All Japan Pro Wrestling]] (AJPW) where they made an immediate impact squashing the monster team of [[Killer Khan]] and [[Animal Hamaguchi]] in under 4 minutes. This and subsequent dominant victories garnered the Road Warriors a lot of Japanese wrestling media headlines and front-page stories. Their tours with AJPW in 1985 and 1986 made the Road Warriors such legends in Japan that they toured the country whenever they were “between contracts” of the big three.


The Road Warriors won the [[NWA International Tag Team Championship]] on March 12, 1987 from [[Jumbo Tsuruta]] and [[Genichiro Tenryu]]<ref name="Titles"/> and would hold them for 15 months before losing them to PWF World Tag Team champions Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu to unify the titles as the AJPW World Tag Team titles, making the Road Warriors the last defending champions of the NWA International Tag Team titles.<ref name="Titles"/> Their last match in Japan during this period was on July 22, 1990, for [[New Japan Pro Wrestling]] (NJPW), losing to [[Masahiro Chono]] and [[Keiji Mutoh]] by disqualification.
The Road Warriors won the [[NWA International Tag Team Championship]] on March 12, 1987 from [[Jumbo Tsuruta]] and [[Genichiro Tenryu]]<ref name="Titles"/> and would hold them for 15 months before losing them to PWF World Tag Team champions Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu to unify the titles as the AJPW World Tag Team titles, making the Road Warriors the last defending champions of the NWA International Tag Team titles.<ref name="Titles"/> Their last match in Japan during this period was on July 22, 1990, for [[New Japan Pro Wrestling]] (NJPW), losing to [[Masahiro Chono]] and [[Keiji Mutoh]] by disqualification.
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The Warriors joined forces with [[Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)|Dusty Rhodes]] and Nikita Koloff in a bloody feud with [[The Four Horsemen (professional wrestling)|The Four Horsemen]]. During the 1987 Great American Bash, the rival sides faced off in the first ever [[WarGames match]].<ref name="WG">{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#87|title=NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #1)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> The Road Warriors were on the winning side of War Games both matches that summer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#87c|title=NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #3)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> taking their feud with the Horsemen to Starrcade '87, where they lost by disqualification to [[Tully Blanchard]] and [[Arn Anderson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#87|title=NWA Starrcade Results (1987)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> The Road Warriors also picked up the [[NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship]] twice alongside Dusty Rhodes.<ref name="Titles"/> The Warriors engaged in a violent feud with [[The Powers of Pain]] ([[The Barbarian (wrestler)|The Barbarian]] and [[The Warlord (wrestler)|The Warlord]]) where the Road Warriors finally met their equal physically, but the angle ended when the Powers of Pain left JCP after finding out they were booked against the Road Warriors in a series of Scaffold Matches that they were supposed to lose.<ref name="Tag">{{cite book|author=Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson|title=The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams|publisher=ECW Press|year=2005|isbn=978-1-55022-683-6}}</ref>
The Warriors joined forces with [[Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)|Dusty Rhodes]] and Nikita Koloff in a bloody feud with [[The Four Horsemen (professional wrestling)|The Four Horsemen]]. During the 1987 Great American Bash, the rival sides faced off in the first ever [[WarGames match]].<ref name="WG">{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#87|title=NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #1)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> The Road Warriors were on the winning side of War Games both matches that summer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#87c|title=NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #3)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> taking their feud with the Horsemen to Starrcade '87, where they lost by disqualification to [[Tully Blanchard]] and [[Arn Anderson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#87|title=NWA Starrcade Results (1987)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> The Road Warriors also picked up the [[NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship]] twice alongside Dusty Rhodes.<ref name="Titles"/> The Warriors engaged in a violent feud with [[The Powers of Pain]] ([[The Barbarian (wrestler)|The Barbarian]] and [[The Warlord (wrestler)|The Warlord]]) where the Road Warriors finally met their equal physically, but the angle ended when the Powers of Pain left JCP after finding out they were booked against the Road Warriors in a series of Scaffold Matches that they were supposed to lose.<ref name="Tag">{{cite book|author=Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson|title=The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams|publisher=ECW Press|year=2005|isbn=978-1-55022-683-6}}</ref>


In 1988, Hawk and Animal quietly turned heel and finally won the [[NWA World Tag Team Championship]] on October 29, 1988 in [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]] at a house show against the Midnight Express, In November of that year the Road Warriors played a role in ending Dusty Rhodes' tenure as head [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Book|booker]] for the promotion. During the November 26 episode of ''[[History of World Championship Wrestling#NWA years|World Championship Wrestling]]'', which was under strict instructions from [[TBS (TV network)|TBS television]] executives prohibiting [[Blading (professional wrestling)|blading]], the Road Warriors attacked Rhodes, removed a spike from their shoulder pads, and attempted to gouge his eye out.<ref name="Tag"/> Rhodes was fired for that episode shortly after [[Starrcade (1988)|Starrcade '88]]. Before Rhodes was fired, Animal beat him at the ''Clash of the Champions'', so the Road Warriors were allowed to pick a new partner to hold the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team titles; they picked AJPW superstar [[Genichiro Tenryu]] but the titles were quickly abandoned.<ref name="Titles"/>
During the November 26, 1988 episode of ''[[History of World Championship Wrestling#NWA years|World Championship Wrestling]]'', which was under strict instructions from [[TBS (TV network)|TBS television]] executives prohibiting [[Blading (professional wrestling)|blading]], the Road Warriors attacked Rhodes, removed a spike from their shoulder pads, and attempted to gouge his eye out.<ref name="Tag"/> Rhodes was fired for that episode shortly after [[Starrcade (1988)|Starrcade '88]]. Before Rhodes was fired, Animal beat him at the ''Clash of the Champions'', so the Road Warriors were allowed to pick a new partner to hold the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team titles; they picked AJPW superstar [[Genichiro Tenryu]] but the titles were quickly abandoned.<ref name="Titles"/>


The Road Warriors quickly turned face yet again due to overwhelming fan support no matter how brutal or violent they were. Their World Tag Team title reign came to an end when they faced [[The Varsity Club]] ([[Mike Rotunda]] and [["Dr. Death" Steve Williams|Steve Williams]]) on April 2, 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#VI|title=NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VI)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> The title change was a controversial one as referee [[Theodore Long|Teddy Long]] performed an excessively fast count. Long would be fired from his job due to the count but the titles were not returned to the Road Warriors.<ref name="Titles"/> Hawk and Animal would spend the rest of their tenure in [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW) (as JCP became to be known after being purchased by [[Turner Broadcasting System]] in 1988) feuding with teams like [[The Headshrinkers|The Samoan Swat Team]]<ref name="NWA Clash of the Champions Results">{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#VIII|title=NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VIII)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref><ref name="prowrestlinghistory.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#89|title=NWA Great American Bash Results (1989)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> and [[The Skyscrapers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/havoc.html#89|title=NWA Halloween Havoc Results (1989)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#X|title=NWA Clash of the Champions Results (X)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> Their last big wins in WCW came when they defeated three other teams (including the red hot [[Steiner Brothers]]) to win the ''Ironman Tag Team Tournament'' at [[Starrcade (1989)|Starrcade 1989 “Future Shock”]]<ref name="prowrestlinghistory.com"/><ref name="NWA Clash of the Champions Results"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#89|title=NWA Starrcade Results (1989)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> (The Steiners actually defeated the Warriors by pinfall in their match, but the Warriors won the round robin style tournament on a point system basis.) and over [[The Skyscrapers]] in a Chicago Street Fight at [[WrestleWar (1990)|WrestleWar '90: Wild Thing]].
The Road Warriors soon turned face. Their World Tag Team title reign came to an end when they faced [[The Varsity Club]] ([[Mike Rotunda]] and [["Dr. Death" Steve Williams|Steve Williams]]) on April 2, 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#VI|title=NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VI)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> The title change was a controversial one as referee [[Theodore Long|Teddy Long]] performed an excessively fast count. Long would be fired from his job due to the count but the titles were not returned to the Road Warriors.<ref name="Titles"/> Hawk and Animal would spend the rest of their tenure in [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW) (as JCP became to be known after being purchased by [[Turner Broadcasting System]] in 1988) feuding with teams like [[The Headshrinkers|The Samoan Swat Team]]<ref name="NWA Clash of the Champions Results">{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#VIII|title=NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VIII)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref><ref name="prowrestlinghistory.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#89|title=NWA Great American Bash Results (1989)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> and [[The Skyscrapers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/havoc.html#89|title=NWA Halloween Havoc Results (1989)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#X|title=NWA Clash of the Champions Results (X)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> Their last big wins in WCW came when they defeated three other teams (including the red hot [[Steiner Brothers]]) to win the ''Ironman Tag Team Tournament'' at [[Starrcade (1989)|Starrcade 1989 “Future Shock”]]<ref name="prowrestlinghistory.com"/><ref name="NWA Clash of the Champions Results"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#89|title=NWA Starrcade Results (1989)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> (The Steiners actually defeated the Warriors by pinfall in their match, but the Warriors won the round robin style tournament on a point system basis.) and over [[The Skyscrapers]] in a Chicago Street Fight at [[WrestleWar (1990)|WrestleWar '90: Wild Thing]].


The Road Warriors made their last WCW [[pay-per-view]] appearance on May 19, 1990 at [[Capital Combat]] where they teamed with [[Mike Shaw|Norman “The Lunatic”]] against [[Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)|Kevin Sullivan]], [[Mick Foley|Cactus Jack]] and [[Bam Bam Bigelow]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/miscppv.html#capitol|title=NWA Capitol Combat Results|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> in a match that was cut from the commercial tape of the event. They left WCW in June 1990 due to [[Heat (professional wrestling)|heat]] with then-WCW head [[Jim Herd]] according to Animal on their WWE produced DVD.
The Road Warriors made their last WCW [[pay-per-view]] appearance on May 19, 1990 at [[Capital Combat]] where they teamed with [[Mike Shaw|Norman “The Lunatic”]] against [[Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)|Kevin Sullivan]], [[Mick Foley|Cactus Jack]] and [[Bam Bam Bigelow]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/miscppv.html#capitol|title=NWA Capitol Combat Results|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> in a match that was cut from the commercial tape of the event. They left WCW in June 1990 due to [[Heat (professional wrestling)|heat]] with then-WCW head [[Jim Herd]] according to Animal on their WWE produced DVD.


===World Wrestling Federation (1990{{ndash}}1992)===
===World Wrestling Federation (1990{{ndash}}1992)===
When Hawk and Animal signed with the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF) in June 1990, [[Vince McMahon]] retired the Road Warriors moniker, since at the time there was other wrestlers with "warrior" in their names, such as [[The Ultimate Warrior]] and [[Kerry Von Erich]] "The Modern Day Warrior".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://411mania.com/wrestling/road-warrior-animal-says-wwe-hurt-tag-team-divisions-talks-becoming-legion-doom/|title=411MANIA|website=Road Warrior Animal Says WWE Has Hurt Their Tag Team Divisions, Talks Becoming Legion of Doom}}</ref> They both made their TV debuts on the July 15, 1990 episode of ''[[WWF Challenge|Wrestling Challenge]]''. In the WWF the team would be known only as the "Legion of Doom".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/90.htm|title=WWF Show Results 1990|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=Graham Cawthon|quote=(June 25, 1990) The Legion of Doom defeated [[Black Bart (wrestler)|Black Bart]] & Tom Stone at 1:12 when Road Warrior Hawk pinned Stone following the Doomsday Device (LOD's debut)}}</ref> Despite the altered team name, they were still individually introduced as "Road Warrior" Hawk and "Road Warrior" Animal.
When Hawk and Animal signed with the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF) in June 1990, [[Vince McMahon]] retired the Road Warriors moniker, since at the time there were other wrestlers with "warrior" in their names, such as [[The Ultimate Warrior]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://411mania.com/wrestling/road-warrior-animal-says-wwe-hurt-tag-team-divisions-talks-becoming-legion-doom/|title=411MANIA|website=Road Warrior Animal Says WWE Has Hurt Their Tag Team Divisions, Talks Becoming Legion of Doom}}</ref> As such, they wrestled as '''Legion of Doom'''. To their opponents and detractors (such as [[Bobby Heenan]]), they were referred to as '''Legion of Dummies'''.<ref>http://whatculture.com/wwe/10-shortest-wrestlemania-matches-of-all-time?page=3]</ref><ref>http://vaughnsnetwork.blogspot.com/2015/02/50-greatest-wrestlers-pt-3-21-30.html</ref> They both made their TV debuts on the July 15, 1990 episode of ''[[WWF Challenge|Wrestling Challenge]]''. In the WWF the team would be known only by this name.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/90.htm|title=WWF Show Results 1990|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=Graham Cawthon|quote=(June 25, 1990) The Legion of Doom defeated [[Black Bart (wrestler)|Black Bart]] & Tom Stone at 1:12 when Road Warrior Hawk pinned Stone following the Doomsday Device (LOD's debut)}}</ref>


Hawk and Animal immediately entered into a feud with [[Demolition (professional wrestling)|Demolition]], the team McMahon had supposedly created in their likeness three years earlier, which led into a televised six-man tag-team match where Hawk and Animal teamed up with [[WWE World Heavyweight Championship|WWF World Heavyweight Champion]] Ultimate Warrior against all three members of Demolition.<ref>{{cite book|title=Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s|last=Shields|first=Brian|page=[https://archive.org/details/mainevent00bria/page/112 112]|publisher=[[Pocket Books]]|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4165-3257-6|url=https://archive.org/details/mainevent00bria/page/112}}</ref> [[Bill Eadie]] (Ax) was having health issues and an agreement was made to phase him out and eventually replace him with [[Brian Adams (wrestler)|Crush]] (Brian Adams), while [[Barry Darsow]] continued in his role of Smash. Ax was moved into a role as manager for the team with the hope of taking a front office position, which eventually fell through. The Legion of Doom / Demolition feud did not have the expected intensity because of the change and LOD soon set their sights on the tag team titles. At [[SummerSlam (1991)|SummerSlam 1991]] in [[Madison Square Garden]], the Legion of Doom defeated [[The Nasty Boys]] in a no DQ street fight to win the [[WWE World Tag Team Championship|World Tag Team Championship]], becoming the only team to win world tag titles in all three of the top promotions of the 1980s.<ref name="Titles"/> Hawk and Animal would eventually lose the titles to [[Money Inc.]] (IRS (Mike Rotunda) and [[Ted DiBiase]]) on February 7, 1992 after which they briefly left the promotion.<ref name="Titles"/>
Hawk and Animal immediately entered into a feud with [[Demolition (professional wrestling)|Demolition]] (as an angle, both tag teams claimed that the other "walked in their shadow"), the team McMahon had supposedly created in their likeness three years earlier, which led into a televised six-man tag-team match where Hawk and Animal teamed up with [[WWE World Heavyweight Championship|WWF World Heavyweight Champion]] Ultimate Warrior against all three members of Demolition.<ref>{{cite book|title=Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s|last=Shields|first=Brian|page=[https://archive.org/details/mainevent00bria/page/112 112]|publisher=[[Pocket Books]]|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4165-3257-6|url=https://archive.org/details/mainevent00bria/page/112}}</ref> [[Bill Eadie]] (Ax) was having health issues and an agreement was made to phase him out and eventually replace him with [[Brian Adams (wrestler)|Crush]] (Brian Adams), while [[Barry Darsow]] continued in his role of Smash. Ax was moved into a role as manager for the team with the hope of taking a front office position, which eventually fell through. The Legion of Doom / Demolition feud did not have the expected intensity because of the change and LOD soon set their sights on the tag team titles. At [[SummerSlam (1991)|SummerSlam 1991]] in [[Madison Square Garden]], the Legion of Doom defeated [[The Nasty Boys]] in a [[no disqualification match]] (billed a "street fight") to win the [[WWE World Tag Team Championship|World Tag Team Championship]], becoming the only team to win world tag titles in all three of the top promotions of the 1980s.<ref name="Titles"/> Hawk and Animal would eventually lose the titles to [[Money Inc.]] (IRS (Mike Rotunda) and [[Ted DiBiase]]) on February 7, 1992 after which they briefly left the promotion.<ref name="Titles"/>


LOD would return a short time later with their original manager [[Paul Ellering]] at [[WrestleMania VIII]]. The team later incorporated a [[Ventriloquism|ventriloquist]] dummy called "Rocco" (Originally introduced as "Freckles" in front of a live crowd at a WWF TV Taping, the segment bombed so badly that it never aired) which served as their “inspiration”, but this gimmick was short-lived. Hegstrand left the company in disgust with the Rocco gimmick immediately after [[SummerSlam (1992)|SummerSlam 1992]] at the [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] where LOD rode to the ring on motorbikes in front of over 80,000 fans. He then went AWOL in [[London]] after the event with [[John Nord]] (The Berzerker) and missed the flight back to the [[United States|U.S.]], while Laurinaitis stuck around and finished the team's contractual obligations with former Demolition member Crush (now repackaged from his Demolition character to being a face, becoming a tanned muscle guy from the beaches of his native [[Hawaii]]) replacing Hawk on [[house show]]s in [[Europe]] in mid September 1992, after Hawk left the WWF. Crush and Animal teamed to defeat [[The Beverly Brothers]] five times and [[Paul Diamond|Kato]] and [[Steve Keirn|Skinner]] once. Paul Ellering also joined Crush and Animal in some six man tag team matches. When the newly formed team returned to [[North America]], Animal and Crush both started wrestling singles matches and the team was no more.<ref>Inside Wrestling, February 1993, issue, article: Our urgent message to Animal and Crush: Don't dismantle the new legion of doom!, pp.34-37.</ref> Shortly after Animal then left the WWF, because an injury to his back forced him into a lengthy hiatus.<ref name="WrestleCrap">{{cite book|author=[[R.D. Reynolds]] and Randy Baer|title=Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling|publisher=ECW Press|year=2003|isbn=1-55022-584-7|url=https://archive.org/details/wrestlecrapveryw00rdre}}</ref>
When the newly formed team returned to [[North America]], Animal and Crush both started wrestling singles matches and the team was no more.<ref>Inside Wrestling, February 1993, issue, article: Our urgent message to Animal and Crush: Don't dismantle the new legion of doom!, pp.34-37.</ref> Shortly after Animal then left the WWF, because an injury to his back forced him into a lengthy hiatus.<ref name="WrestleCrap">{{cite book|author=[[R.D. Reynolds]] and Randy Baer|title=Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling|publisher=ECW Press|year=2003|isbn=1-55022-584-7|url=https://archive.org/details/wrestlecrapveryw00rdre}}</ref>


===New Japan Pro Wrestling===
===New Japan Pro Wrestling===
Line 101: Line 100:
===Return to the WWF===
===Return to the WWF===
====Early feuds (1997{{ndash}}1998)====
====Early feuds (1997{{ndash}}1998)====
After leaving WCW, the duo took various independent bookings both in the [[United States|U.S.]] and [[Japan]] before signing with the WWF, making their surprise return on the February 24, 1997 edition of ''[[WWE Raw|Monday Night Raw]]'' where they destroyed [[the Headbangers]], despite both teams being counted out.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/97.htm|title=WWF Show Results 1997|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=Graham Cawthon|quote=(February 24, 1997) The Legion of Doom fought the Headbangers to a double count-out; after the bout, Road Warrior Hawk hit the flying clothesline on one of the Headbangers (LOD's surprise return match after more than a four-year absence)}}</ref>The Legion of Doom then went on to team with Ahmed Johnson to face nation of domination members, Farooq, Chainz, and savior Vega in a steet fight at Wrestlmania 13,in there home town of Chicago. after defeating The Nation,The victors went on to doomsday device The team of Pg 13. before The match Amhed was given special shoulder pads like The LoD wear, however they were never returned..The Legion of Doom would be heavily involved in the feud with the [[Hart Foundation]] siding with [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]], [[Ken Shamrock]] and [[Goldust]] at [[In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede|In Your House: Canadian Stampede]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/miscppvs1990s.html#16|title=WWF In Your House Results (Canadian Stampede)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> The Legion of Doom also became 2-time WWF tag team champions on October 13, 1997 when they defeated [[The Godwinns]].<ref name="Titles"/> In November 1997, the Legion of Doom faced the newly formed [[The New Age Outlaws|New Age Outlaws]] ([[Road Dogg]] and [[Billy Gunn]]) and lost the titles to the upstart team.<ref name="Titles"/>
After leaving WCW, the duo took various independent bookings both in the [[United States|U.S.]] and [[Japan]] before signing with the WWF, making their surprise return on the February 24, 1997 edition of ''[[WWE Raw|Monday Night Raw]]'' where they destroyed [[the Headbangers]], despite both teams being counted out.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/97.htm|title=WWF Show Results 1997|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=Graham Cawthon|quote=(February 24, 1997) The Legion of Doom fought the Headbangers to a double count-out; after the bout, Road Warrior Hawk hit the flying clothesline on one of the Headbangers (LOD's surprise return match after more than a four-year absence)}}</ref> The Legion of Doom would be heavily involved in the feud with the [[Hart Foundation]] siding with [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]], [[Ken Shamrock]] and [[Goldust]] at [[In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede|In Your House: Canadian Stampede]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/miscppvs1990s.html#16|title=WWF In Your House Results (Canadian Stampede)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref> The Legion of Doom also became 2-time WWF tag team champions on October 13, 1997 when they defeated [[The Godwinns]].<ref name="Titles"/> In November 1997, the Legion of Doom faced the newly formed [[The New Age Outlaws|New Age Outlaws]] ([[Road Dogg]] and [[Billy Gunn]]) and lost the titles to the upstart team.<ref name="Titles"/>


The Legion of Doom would challenge the Outlaws several times in the next couple of months but could not win the gold. On one episode of Raw, the Outlaws shaved the head of Road Warrior Hawk and were beaten down further by DX. On February 23, 1998, on ''Raw'', the Legion of Doom seemed to have won the Tag Team titles back when they hit the Doomsday Device, but as Animal went for the pin, the referee was distracted by Hawk's celebration, allowing the Outlaws to take advantage and win the match. After the match, the Legion of Doom brawled with one another out of frustration and weren't seen on WWE television after that, indicating that the team was disbanded for good.
The Legion of Doom would challenge the Outlaws several times in the next couple of months but could not win the gold. On one episode of Raw, the Outlaws shaved the head of Road Warrior Hawk and were beaten down further by DX. On February 23, 1998, on ''Raw'', the Legion of Doom seemed to have won the Tag Team titles back when they hit the Doomsday Device, but as Animal went for the pin, the referee was distracted by Hawk's celebration, allowing the Outlaws to take advantage and win the match. After the match, the Legion of Doom brawled with one another out of frustration and weren't seen on WWE television after that, indicating that the team was disbanded for good.
Line 108: Line 107:
Hawk and Animal next appeared as Legion of Doom 2000, billed as an updated version of the Road Warriors “for the new millennium”, at [[WrestleMania XIV]] during a tag team [[Professional wrestling battle royal|Battle Royal]]. The duo sported a new look, including new shoulder pads and helmets (the helmets wouldn't last long, as Hawk got rid of his by throwing it to the crowd) and a new manager in [[Tammy Lynn Sytch|Sunny]]. LOD 2000 won the battle royal and earned a shot at the tag team titles, but did not manage to win the gold.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/mania.html#XIV|title=WWF WrestleMania Results (XIV)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref>
Hawk and Animal next appeared as Legion of Doom 2000, billed as an updated version of the Road Warriors “for the new millennium”, at [[WrestleMania XIV]] during a tag team [[Professional wrestling battle royal|Battle Royal]]. The duo sported a new look, including new shoulder pads and helmets (the helmets wouldn't last long, as Hawk got rid of his by throwing it to the crowd) and a new manager in [[Tammy Lynn Sytch|Sunny]]. LOD 2000 won the battle royal and earned a shot at the tag team titles, but did not manage to win the gold.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/mania.html#XIV|title=WWF WrestleMania Results (XIV)|accessdate=April 17, 2007|author=prowrestlinghistory.com}}</ref>


Sunny soon left the team and [[Droz (wrestler)|Droz]], then known as Puke (Darren Drozdov, a former [[defensive end]] for the [[Denver Broncos]] who earned the name Puke when caught vomiting on ''[[Monday Night Football]]''), started to accompany them to the ring. At the same time, [[Paul Ellering]] returned, but sided with the [[Disciples of Apocalypse]] (DOA), whom LOD were feuding with at the time; Ellering and Animal explained on the DVD it was hard for them to rip on each other on promos. For the second time in the history of the Road Warriors they participated in a [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Angle|storyline]] where tension arose between the members, teasing a break up. In this storyline, Hawk was seen by his partner Animal as unfit to wrestle and Puke was tapped to take Hawk's place in the tag team as an official member. The angle played off Hegstrand's real life alcohol and drug issues, going so far as to faking a suicide jump off the top of the TitanTron. After the angle bombed and both Hegstrand and Laurinaitis voiced their objections to it, the angle was dropped.<ref name="WrestleCrap"/> The Legion of Doom made a very brief return, first on the March 22, 1999 ''Raw is War'' by attacking [[Pat Patterson (wrestler)|Pat Patterson]] and [[Gerald Brisco]] in a backstage skit after the two impersonated LOD in a handicap match against [[Shane McMahon]], on the March 15, 1999 ''Raw is War''. Both LOD entered the pre-WrestleMania battle royal with the last two participants getting a tag team title shot later at [[WrestleMania XV]] but both came up short. They would make one final appearance on the March 29, 1999 ''Raw'' challenging [[Owen Hart]] and [[Jeff Jarrett]] for the tag team titles but failed them; they left the WWF afterwards.<ref name=WWF9099Book>{{cite book | first=Graham | last=Cawthon | title=the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999 | publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform | year= 2013 | asin=B00RWUNSRS}}</ref>
Sunny soon left the team and [[Droz (wrestler)|Droz]], then known as Puke (Darren Drozdov, a former [[defensive end]] for the [[Denver Broncos]] who earned the name Puke when caught vomiting on ''[[Monday Night Football]]''), started to accompany them to the ring. At the same time, [[Paul Ellering]] returned, but sided with the [[Disciples of Apocalypse]] (DOA), whom LOD were feuding with at the time; Ellering and Animal explained on the DVD it was hard for them to rip on each other on promos. For the second time in the history of the Road Warriors they participated in a [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Angle|storyline]] where tension arose between the members, teasing a breakup. In this storyline, Hawk was seen by his partner Animal as unfit to wrestle and Puke was tapped to take Hawk's place in the tag team as an official member. The angle played off Hegstrand's real life alcohol and drug issues, going so far as faking a suicide jump off the top of the TitanTron. After the angle bombed, both Hegstrand and Laurinaitis voiced their objections to it and so the angle was dropped.<ref name="WrestleCrap"/> The Legion of Doom made a very brief return, first on the March 22, 1999 ''Raw is War'' by attacking [[Pat Patterson (wrestler)|Pat Patterson]] and [[Gerald Brisco]] in a backstage skit after the two impersonated LOD in a handicap match against [[Shane McMahon]], on the March 15, 1999 ''Raw is War''. Both LOD entered the pre-WrestleMania battle royal with the last two participants getting a tag team title shot later at [[WrestleMania XV]] but both came up short. They would make one final appearance on the March 29, 1999 ''Raw'' challenging [[Owen Hart]] and [[Jeff Jarrett]] for the tag team titles but failed them; they left the WWF afterwards.<ref name=WWF9099Book>{{cite book | first=Graham | last=Cawthon | title=the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999 | publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform | year= 2013 | asin=B00RWUNSRS}}</ref>


===Japan and Independent circuit (1999{{ndash}}2003)===
===Japan and Independent circuit (1999{{ndash}}2003)===

Revision as of 16:50, 31 January 2020

This article is about the professional wrestling team. For other uses, see Road warrior.
"The Hell Raisers" redirects here. For other uses, see Hellraiser (disambiguation).

The Road Warriors
File:The Road Warriors.png
Animal and Hawk
Stable
MembersRoad Warrior Hawk
Road Warrior Animal
Paul Ellering (manager)
Crush
Droz
Heidenreich
Power Warrior
Sunny (manager)
Christy Hemme (valet)
Name(s)The Road Warriors
Legion of Doom[1]
The Hell Raisers
LOD 2000
LOD 2005
The Hell Warriors
American Originals
Combined
billed weight		575 lb (261 kg; 41.1 st)[2]
Billed fromChicago, Illinois[1]
Debut1983[1]
Disbanded2014
Years active1983–2014

The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis)[1] They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the name "Legion of Doom" (LOD) in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). For brief periods, other wrestlers were added as stand-in partners for both men. In Japan in the 1990s, Kensuke "Power Warrior" Sasaki often teamed with Hawk and Animal, both separately and together.

Hawk and Animal's face paint and spiked armor were inspired by the Mad Max film The Road Warrior; they were the first wrestlers to bring a theme from a movie into the wrestling world.[3] They also introduced a tandem maneuver known as the Doomsday Device.[4] Both men used the move as a team finisher throughout their careers, even when teaming with other partners.

The Road Warriors are regarded by many as the greatest tag team in professional wrestling history.[4][5]

History

Georgia Championship Wrestling (1983–1984)

In early 1984, along with "Precious" Paul Ellering, they formed a stable called "The Legion of Doom" in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) territory. The group consisted of the Road Warriors, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, & The Spoiler. The stable was short lived and the name "Legion of Doom" soon referred only to the Road Warriors and Ellering with either name used interchangeably throughout their career.[6] Animal reveals in the Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag-Team in Wrestling History DVD set that the name "Legion of Doom" was taken from the Super Friends cartoon.[7]

The Road Warriors’ high impact power style and unique attire quickly got them noticed by fans and dreaded by opponents, so much so that some wrestlers would grab their bag and leave the arena when they saw they were scheduled to face the Road Warriors.[6] They won the NWA National Tag Team Championship upon their debut, a title they would win three more times while in Georgia.[8]

American Wrestling Association (1984–1986)

In 1984, the Road Warriors moved on to Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association (AWA) along with their manager Paul Ellering. On August 25, 1984, they defeated The Crusher and Baron von Raschke for the AWA World Tag Team Championship.[8] Hawk and Animal lost the AWA title to Jimmy Garvin and "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal on September 29, 1985, due to the interference of the Freebirds.[8] The Road Warriors' last appearance in the AWA was on April 20, 1986 at WrestleRock where they defeated the team of Garvin and Michael Hayes in a steel-cage match.

During their AWA stint the team became well known for using the Black Sabbath song "Iron Man" as their entrance theme.

1987–1990

The Road Warriors won the NWA International Tag Team Championship on March 12, 1987 from Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu[8] and would hold them for 15 months before losing them to PWF World Tag Team champions Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu to unify the titles as the AJPW World Tag Team titles, making the Road Warriors the last defending champions of the NWA International Tag Team titles.[8] Their last match in Japan during this period was on July 22, 1990, for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), losing to Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh by disqualification.

Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling (1986–1990)

On April 19, 1986, The Road Warriors won the inaugural Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament by beating Ron Garvin and Magnum T.A. in the finals.[9] Building upon their rapid push, Hawk and Animal were featured attractions of The Great American Bash 1986 tour where they were matched against Ivan and Nikita Koloff[10] as well as the Midnight Express.[11] At Starrcade '86, the Road Warriors were featured in a Scaffold Match, defeating the Midnight Express.[12]

The Warriors joined forces with Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff in a bloody feud with The Four Horsemen. During the 1987 Great American Bash, the rival sides faced off in the first ever WarGames match.[13] The Road Warriors were on the winning side of War Games both matches that summer[14] taking their feud with the Horsemen to Starrcade '87, where they lost by disqualification to Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson.[15] The Road Warriors also picked up the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship twice alongside Dusty Rhodes.[8] The Warriors engaged in a violent feud with The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and The Warlord) where the Road Warriors finally met their equal physically, but the angle ended when the Powers of Pain left JCP after finding out they were booked against the Road Warriors in a series of Scaffold Matches that they were supposed to lose.[16]

During the November 26, 1988 episode of World Championship Wrestling, which was under strict instructions from TBS television executives prohibiting blading, the Road Warriors attacked Rhodes, removed a spike from their shoulder pads, and attempted to gouge his eye out.[16] Rhodes was fired for that episode shortly after Starrcade '88. Before Rhodes was fired, Animal beat him at the Clash of the Champions, so the Road Warriors were allowed to pick a new partner to hold the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team titles; they picked AJPW superstar Genichiro Tenryu but the titles were quickly abandoned.[8]

The Road Warriors soon turned face. Their World Tag Team title reign came to an end when they faced The Varsity Club (Mike Rotunda and Steve Williams) on April 2, 1989.[17] The title change was a controversial one as referee Teddy Long performed an excessively fast count. Long would be fired from his job due to the count but the titles were not returned to the Road Warriors.[8] Hawk and Animal would spend the rest of their tenure in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) (as JCP became to be known after being purchased by Turner Broadcasting System in 1988) feuding with teams like The Samoan Swat Team[18][19] and The Skyscrapers.[20][21] Their last big wins in WCW came when they defeated three other teams (including the red hot Steiner Brothers) to win the Ironman Tag Team Tournament at Starrcade 1989 “Future Shock”[19][18][22] (The Steiners actually defeated the Warriors by pinfall in their match, but the Warriors won the round robin style tournament on a point system basis.) and over The Skyscrapers in a Chicago Street Fight at WrestleWar '90: Wild Thing.

The Road Warriors made their last WCW pay-per-view appearance on May 19, 1990 at Capital Combat where they teamed with Norman “The Lunatic” against Kevin Sullivan, Cactus Jack and Bam Bam Bigelow[23] in a match that was cut from the commercial tape of the event. They left WCW in June 1990 due to heat with then-WCW head Jim Herd according to Animal on their WWE produced DVD.

World Wrestling Federation (1990–1992)

When Hawk and Animal signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in June 1990, Vince McMahon retired the Road Warriors moniker, since at the time there were other wrestlers with "warrior" in their names, such as The Ultimate Warrior.[24] As such, they wrestled as Legion of Doom. To their opponents and detractors (such as Bobby Heenan), they were referred to as Legion of Dummies.[25][26] They both made their TV debuts on the July 15, 1990 episode of Wrestling Challenge. In the WWF the team would be known only by this name.[27]

Hawk and Animal immediately entered into a feud with Demolition (as an angle, both tag teams claimed that the other "walked in their shadow"), the team McMahon had supposedly created in their likeness three years earlier, which led into a televised six-man tag-team match where Hawk and Animal teamed up with WWF World Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Warrior against all three members of Demolition.[28] Bill Eadie (Ax) was having health issues and an agreement was made to phase him out and eventually replace him with Crush (Brian Adams), while Barry Darsow continued in his role of Smash. Ax was moved into a role as manager for the team with the hope of taking a front office position, which eventually fell through. The Legion of Doom / Demolition feud did not have the expected intensity because of the change and LOD soon set their sights on the tag team titles. At SummerSlam 1991 in Madison Square Garden, the Legion of Doom defeated The Nasty Boys in a no disqualification match (billed a "street fight") to win the World Tag Team Championship, becoming the only team to win world tag titles in all three of the top promotions of the 1980s.[8] Hawk and Animal would eventually lose the titles to Money Inc. (IRS (Mike Rotunda) and Ted DiBiase) on February 7, 1992 after which they briefly left the promotion.[8]

When the newly formed team returned to North America, Animal and Crush both started wrestling singles matches and the team was no more.[29] Shortly after Animal then left the WWF, because an injury to his back forced him into a lengthy hiatus.[30]

New Japan Pro Wrestling

The Hell Raisers and Road Warriors reunion (1992–1996)

The Hell Raisers
Tag team
MembersHawk Warrior
Power Warrior
Billed heights6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) – Hawk Warrior
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) – Power Warrior
Combined
billed weight		518 lb (235 kg)
Debut1992
Disbanded1995
Years active1992–1995

When Hawk left the WWF after SummerSlam 1992 he traveled to Japan and started working for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) where he quickly teamed up with young mid-carder Kensuke Sasaki who was soon dubbed "Power Warrior" as he adopted the trademark Road Warrior face paint and spiked shoulder pads.[16] The duo was dubbed "The Hell Raisers" and carried on the legacy of the Road Warriors in NJPW winning the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Tony Halme and Scott Norton in December 1992 [8] and then again from the team of Scott Norton and Hercules (known as the Jurassic Powers) in January 1994.[8] They also competed in both the 1993[31] and 1994 versions of the Super Grade Tag league making it to the semi finals of the 1994 tournament before losing to Masahiro Chono and Super Strong Machine.[32]

Teaming with Hawk (or Hawk Warrior as he was called) helped elevate Kensuke Sasaki in the eyes of the fans, so much so that when the Hell Raisers broke up in the middle of 1995, Sasaki shed the Power Warrior gimmick and became a main eventer on the singles scene. On special occasions, Sasaki would break out the "Power Warrior" persona, similar to Keiji Mutoh and his "Great Muta" persona.

During this stint, they used the theme song "Hellraiser" by Ozzy Osbourne.

When Animal came back from his back injury, he joined the duo in Japan in 1996. The three were announced collectively as the Road Warriors, using "Iron Man" as their theme music.

Return to WCW (1996)

When Laurinaitis’ back was finally healed enough for him to return to wrestling, the Road Warriors signed a contract with WCW in late 1995. Upon their return in January 1996, immediately started a feud with the returning Steiner Brothers, as well as Harlem Heat before moving on to challenging the WCW Tag Team Champions Sting and Lex Luger. The Road Warriors had several shots at the champions but failed to win the titles.[33][34]

Hegstrand and Laurinaitis stayed with WCW for about six months, before leaving over a dispute with Eric Bischoff. The pair made claims that Bischoff promised them a second-highest paid contract, as well as a separate contract from Japan, something which he denies remembering.[35]

Return to the WWF

Early feuds (1997–1998)

After leaving WCW, the duo took various independent bookings both in the U.S. and Japan before signing with the WWF, making their surprise return on the February 24, 1997 edition of Monday Night Raw where they destroyed the Headbangers, despite both teams being counted out.[36] The Legion of Doom would be heavily involved in the feud with the Hart Foundation siding with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock and Goldust at In Your House: Canadian Stampede.[37] The Legion of Doom also became 2-time WWF tag team champions on October 13, 1997 when they defeated The Godwinns.[8] In November 1997, the Legion of Doom faced the newly formed New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) and lost the titles to the upstart team.[8]

The Legion of Doom would challenge the Outlaws several times in the next couple of months but could not win the gold. On one episode of Raw, the Outlaws shaved the head of Road Warrior Hawk and were beaten down further by DX. On February 23, 1998, on Raw, the Legion of Doom seemed to have won the Tag Team titles back when they hit the Doomsday Device, but as Animal went for the pin, the referee was distracted by Hawk's celebration, allowing the Outlaws to take advantage and win the match. After the match, the Legion of Doom brawled with one another out of frustration and weren't seen on WWE television after that, indicating that the team was disbanded for good.

LOD 2000 (1998–1999)

Hawk and Animal next appeared as Legion of Doom 2000, billed as an updated version of the Road Warriors “for the new millennium”, at WrestleMania XIV during a tag team Battle Royal. The duo sported a new look, including new shoulder pads and helmets (the helmets wouldn't last long, as Hawk got rid of his by throwing it to the crowd) and a new manager in Sunny. LOD 2000 won the battle royal and earned a shot at the tag team titles, but did not manage to win the gold.[38]

Sunny soon left the team and Droz, then known as Puke (Darren Drozdov, a former defensive end for the Denver Broncos who earned the name Puke when caught vomiting on Monday Night Football), started to accompany them to the ring. At the same time, Paul Ellering returned, but sided with the Disciples of Apocalypse (DOA), whom LOD were feuding with at the time; Ellering and Animal explained on the DVD it was hard for them to rip on each other on promos. For the second time in the history of the Road Warriors they participated in a storyline where tension arose between the members, teasing a breakup. In this storyline, Hawk was seen by his partner Animal as unfit to wrestle and Puke was tapped to take Hawk's place in the tag team as an official member. The angle played off Hegstrand's real life alcohol and drug issues, going so far as faking a suicide jump off the top of the TitanTron. After the angle bombed, both Hegstrand and Laurinaitis voiced their objections to it and so the angle was dropped.[30] The Legion of Doom made a very brief return, first on the March 22, 1999 Raw is War by attacking Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco in a backstage skit after the two impersonated LOD in a handicap match against Shane McMahon, on the March 15, 1999 Raw is War. Both LOD entered the pre-WrestleMania battle royal with the last two participants getting a tag team title shot later at WrestleMania XV but both came up short. They would make one final appearance on the March 29, 1999 Raw challenging Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett for the tag team titles but failed them; they left the WWF afterwards.[39]

Japan and Independent circuit (1999–2003)

After leaving the WWF, the Road Warriors would appear for various independent federations

On May 2, 1999 they returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling to team with Johnny Ace as they defeated Jun Akiyama, Kenta Kobashi, and Hakushi at the Giant Baba Memorial Show. Then they went to Australia winning the iGW Tag Team Titles against Public Enemy for i-Generation pay-per-view on June 30, 2000. They performed both as a team and individually.

Animal would return to World Championship Wrestling and competed solo in WCW in early 2001 before WWF bought the company in March 2001. Hegstrand dealt with his personal issues.[40]

In 2001 they feuded with The Nasty Boys for the Xcitement Wrestling Federation. On June 22, 2002, performing for International Wrestling Superstars (IWS), Road Warriors Animal and Hawk defeated the Headshrinkers for the World Tag-Team Championship. That victory also led to Team USA winning the international tournament held in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The Road Warriors also appeared very briefly in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) during the early days of the promotion, saving America's Most Wanted, and debuting to what Jeremy Borash quoted as "A 1985 Road Warrior Pop".[41]

Hegstrand finally overcame his battle with addiction and became a born-again Christian appearing on Ted DiBiase's religion and wrestling shows in 2003.

Second return to WWE and Hawk's death (2003)

The Road Warriors' last TV appearance as a team occurred on the May 12, 2003 Raw episode in a tag team match against the WWE World Tag Team Champions, Rob Van Dam and Kane.[42] The Road Warriors had hoped to get a full-time contract with WWE but nothing ever came of it.

Once again they returned to Japan competing in Fighting Of World Japan Pro-Wrestling defeating The Shane Twins for the Tag Team titles on March 1, 2003. They dropped the titles to the Twins three months later. Their last match was defeating The Shane Twins on July 11, 2003.

Road Warrior Hawk died five months later on October 19, 2003.

Third return to WWE

LOD 2005 (2005–2006)

Animal would later return to WWE in 2005,[43] teaming with Heidenreich in a feud against the tag team MNM. At The Great American Bash on July 24, 2005,[44] Animal and Heidenreich defeated MNM to win the WWE Tag Team Championship in a match personally dedicated by Animal to Hawk.[8] After winning the titles Heidenreich changed his appearance, to a look that better suited the Legion of Doom image by shaving his hair into a mohawk and wearing face paint.

On August 18, 2005, Heidenreich was officially made part of LOD and was presented with his own "Road Warrior spikes". Shortly after winning the tag team titles,[8] Animal paid tribute to his late partner and friend by looking up to the heavens above and saying, "Hawk, this one's for you, brother!".[45] During their feud with MNM, LOD were joined by Christy Hemme, who acted as a valet/manager for a short while.

On the October 28, 2005 edition of SmackDown!, LOD lost the tag team titles to MNM in a Fatal Four-Way tag match that also featured Paul Burchill and William Regal and The Mexicools (Super Crazy and Psicosis).[8] A few months later, on January 17, 2006, Heidenreich was released from WWE.[46] Animal continued to perform for WWE under his old persona, The Road Warrior, for a few months before he was also released.[47]

The Hell Warriors
Tag team
MembersAnimal Warrior
Power Warrior
Billed heights6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) – Animal Warrior
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) – Power Warrior
Combined
billed weight		528 lb (239 kg)
DebutSeptember 1, 2007
DisbandedFebruary 13, 2014

The Hell Warriors (2007–2014)

On September 1, 2007, Road Warrior Animal appeared for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and teamed with Sasaki to form the Hell Warriors, with Animal being billed as "Animal Warrior" to match up with Sasaki's "Power Warrior" and Hawk's "Hawk Warrior" gimmick. The newly formed Hell Warriors defeated the team of "brother" YASSHI and Shuji Kondo.[48]

On May 11, 2008, The Hell Warriors wrestled in Toryumon Mexico's Dragon-Mania show. They defeated Damián el Terrible and Damián 666 to win the UWA World Tag Team Championship (not the same championship revived by El Dorado Wrestling).

On February 13, 2014, Power Warrior announced his retirement from professional wrestling, ending The Hell Warriors' run.

Their theme music was a megamix of "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath and "Hellraiser" by Ozzy Osbourne.

Fourth return to WWE

WWE Hall of Fame (2011)

On April 2, 2011, The Road Warriors with Paul Ellering were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Video games

The Road Warriors made appearances in the video games WCW Wrestling, WWF WrestleFest, WWF European Rampage Tour, the SNES version of WWF Super WrestleMania, Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II, and Showdown: Legends of Wrestling as well as in the THQ wrestling games WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw, WWE Legends of WrestleMania, WWE '12 , WWE '13 and WWE All Stars.

Incarnations

Championships and accomplishments

The Road Warriors/Legion of Doom/LOD 2000

The Hell Raisers

LOD 2005

The Hell Warriors

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Road Warriors profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved March 29, 2011..
  2. ^ Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  3. ^ Laurinaitis, Joe "Animal"; Wright, Andrew William (2011). The Road Warriors: Danger, Death and the Rush of Wrestling. Medallion Media Group. p. 369. ISBN 9781605421537. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Diaz, Angel (May 25, 2011). "Dynamic Duos! The Most Memorable Tag Teams in Wrestling History". Complex. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "Wrestling History: 2003". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Various Comments: (June 14, 2005). Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team (DVD). USA: WWE Home Video.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  7. ^ Joseph “Animal” Laurinaitis: (June 14, 2005). Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team (DVD). USA: WWE Home Video.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
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  11. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "NWA Great American Bash Results (1986 #2)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
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  14. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #3)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  15. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "NWA Starrcade Results (1987)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  16. ^ a b c Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson (2005). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-683-6.
  17. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VI)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  18. ^ a b prowrestlinghistory.com. "NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VIII)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
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  24. ^ "411MANIA". Road Warrior Animal Says WWE Has Hurt Their Tag Team Divisions, Talks Becoming Legion of Doom.
  25. ^ http://whatculture.com/wwe/10-shortest-wrestlemania-matches-of-all-time?page=3]
  26. ^ http://vaughnsnetwork.blogspot.com/2015/02/50-greatest-wrestlers-pt-3-21-30.html
  27. ^ Graham Cawthon. "WWF Show Results 1990". Retrieved April 17, 2007. (June 25, 1990) The Legion of Doom defeated Black Bart & Tom Stone at 1:12 when Road Warrior Hawk pinned Stone following the Doomsday Device (LOD's debut)
  28. ^ Shields, Brian (2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Pocket Books. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6.
  29. ^ Inside Wrestling, February 1993, issue, article: Our urgent message to Animal and Crush: Don't dismantle the new legion of doom!, pp.34-37.
  30. ^ a b R.D. Reynolds and Randy Baer (2003). Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-584-7.
  31. ^ "NJPW Super Gade Tag League history". Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007. (1993) 5. Hawk Warrior & Power Warrior [10]
  32. ^ "NJPW Super Gade Tag League history". Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007. (1994) 3. Hawk Warrior & Power Warrior [14]
  33. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "WCW SuperBrawl Results (VI)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  34. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "WCW Uncensored Results (1996)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  35. ^ Eric Bischoff (June 14, 2005). Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team (DVD). USA: WWE Home Video.
  36. ^ Graham Cawthon. "WWF Show Results 1997". Retrieved April 17, 2007. (February 24, 1997) The Legion of Doom fought the Headbangers to a double count-out; after the bout, Road Warrior Hawk hit the flying clothesline on one of the Headbangers (LOD's surprise return match after more than a four-year absence)
  37. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "WWF In Your House Results (Canadian Stampede)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  38. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com. "WWF WrestleMania Results (XIV)". Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  39. ^ Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN B00RWUNSRS.
  40. ^ Joseph “Animal” Laurinaitis (June 14, 2005). Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team (DVD). USA: WWE Home Video.
  41. ^ tnawrestling.com. "TNA Weekly PPV Results 2003". Archived from the original on January 27, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007. (January 15, 2003) Vince Russo & Triple X (Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, & Elix Skipper) defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Jarrett, Dusty Rhodes, & The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal)
  42. ^ Graham Cawthon. "WWE Show Results 2003". Retrieved April 17, 2007. (May 12, 2003) WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Rob Van Dam & Kane defeated the Legion of Doom when RVD pinned Road Warrior Hawk following the chokeslam / Five Star Frog Splash combo (LOD's surprise return after more than a 4-year absence)
  43. ^ WWE. "Smackdown Results (July 14, 2005)". Retrieved April 17, 2007. After being attacked by WWE Tag Team Champions MNM, Road Warrior Animal stormed the ring to a tremendous ovation to make the save.
  44. ^ "WWE Great American Bash Results (2005)". Pro Wrestling History. April 17, 2007.
  45. ^ WWE (April 17, 2007). "Win one for Hawk".
  46. ^ Wade Keller. "WWE News: WWE updates status of drug testing program, Heidenreich released". Archived from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007. WWE.com reports that Heidenreich has been released from his WWE contract
  47. ^ Wade Keller. "WWE News: Sabu vs. Cena, RVD vs. Rey, Animal released, Rock movie update". Archived from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007. WWE.com announced that Road Warrior Animal has been released
  48. ^ "Kensuke Office Show Results (Featuring ROH Title Match and....Road "brother" YASSHI?) - Wrestling Forum: WWE, Impact Wrestling, Indy Wrestling, Women of Wrestling Forums". www.wrestlingforum.com.
  49. ^ https://twitter.com/CACReunion/status/1214208300050288640
  50. ^ "Pro Wrestling History". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  51. ^ Meltzer, Dave (November 17, 2012). "Sat. update: Great TV show, WWE multiple releases, Austin talks WWE Hall of Fame, Best night for Bellator, PPV predictions, NWA Hall of Fame, James Storm headlines benefit show, Devitt takes another title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
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  53. ^ "Lawler, McMahon, Road Warriors among PWHF Class of 2011". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. November 26, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
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  55. ^ 東京スポーツ　プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved January 20, 2014.
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