- Road Warriors
Infobox Wrestling team
article_name= Road Warriors
type= T
caption=Hawk and Animal
members=Hawk AnimalPaul Ellering (manager)
Heidenreich
Kensuke Sasaki
Puke
Sunny (valet)
Christy Hemme (valet)
names=Road Warriors
The Legion of Doom
L.O.D. 2000
Hell Razors
Hell Raisers
former_members=
debut=1983
disbanded=2005
promotions=AWA
NWA
WCW
WWF/E AJPW NJPW|The Road Warriors were aprofessional wrestling tag team famously composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis, though other members were added later. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in theAmerican Wrestling Association , theNational Wrestling Alliance , andWorld Championship Wrestling , and the name Legion of Doom (L.O.D. for short) in the World Wrestling Federation. Under either name, their gimmick was the same - two imposing musclebound wrestlers inface paint .Generally recognized as the greatest tag team in professional wrestling history, the pair is well known as innovators, popularizing the use of face paint, using their massive physiques and power moves to win over audiences, and introducing a tandem maneuver known as the
Doomsday Device . Both men used the move as a team finisher throughout their careers, even when teaming with other partners.History
The Road Warriors began as part of Paul Ellering's Legion of Doom stable in
Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1983. The careers of Hawk and Animal spanned two decades, featuring stops in theNational Wrestling Alliance ,American Wrestling Association ,All Japan Pro Wrestling ,New Japan Pro Wrestling ,World Championship Wrestling , and the World Wrestling Federation, as well as numerous independent promotions across theUnited States cite book | author=Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson | title= The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams | publisher=ECW Press | year=2005| id=ISBN 978-1-5502-2683-6] . Their name (and to some extent, their look) was taken from theMel Gibson movie "" cite video | people =Various Comments: | title = [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476485/ Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team] | medium =DVD | publisher = WWE Home Video | location =USA | date = 14 June 2005] .Georgia Championship Wrestling
In the early 1980s, in NWA's
Georgia Championship Wrestling ,Paul Ellering introduced a stable called "The Legion of Doom" that consisted of the Road Warriors, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, The Spoiler, Matt Borne,King Kong Bundy ,Arn Anderson , TheIron Sheik and the original Sheik. Animal had briefly competed as the Road Warrior before Ellering paired him up with fellow Chicagoan Hawk to form the Road Warriors. 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 through out their career . Animal reveals in the "Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag-Team in Wrestling History (2005)" DVD set that the name "Legion of Doom" was taken from theSuper Friends cartoon [cite video | people =Joseph “Animal” Laurinaitis: | title = [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476485/ Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team] | medium =DVD | publisher = WWE Home Video | location =USA | date = 14 June 2005] .The Road Warriors’ high impact power style and unique attire quickly got them noticed by the 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 . In 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. It took them less than 6 months from their debut to win the
NWA National Tag Team Championship a title they’d win three more times while in Georgiacite book | author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will | title=Wrestling Title Histories | publisher=Archeus Communications | year=4th Edition 2006 | id=ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 ] .Japan
In 1985 the Road Warriors began touring Japan, mainly with
All Japan Pro Wrestling where they made an immediate impact squashing the monster team ofKiller Kahn 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 85 and 86 made the Road Warriors such legends in Japan that they toured in Japan 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 &Genichiro Tenryu and would hold them for 15 months before losing them to PWF World Tag-Team champions Jumbo Tsuruta & 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.American Wrestling Association
The Road Warriors moved on to
Verne Gagne 'sAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) along with their manager Paul Ellering. On August 25, 1984 they defeatedThe Crusher andBaron Von Raschke for theAWA World Tag Team Championship . The Road Warriors were brought in by Gagne to work as heels, but their squash matches soon won over fans. They became the AWA's top draw throughout 1984 and 1985, feuding primarily with TheFabulous Freebirds in the AWA, but began splitting their time between the AWA and the NWA where they started feuding with NWA World Tag-Team Champions The Russian Team while still holding the AWA Tag-Team titles. Hawk and Animal eventually lost the AWA titles toJimmy Garvin and Steve Regal on September 29, 1985 due to the interference of the Freebirds. The Road Warrior’s last appearance in the AWA came in a cage match against the team of Garvin and Michael Hayes atWrestleRock 86 which the Warriors wonNational Wrestling Alliance
In the middle of 1986, The Road Warriors moved to
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) exclusively, winning the inaugural Jim Crocket Sr. Memorial Cup Tag-Team Tournament by beatingRon Garvin andMagnum T.A. in the finals [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/cup.html#1st | title = NWA Crockett Cup Results (1986) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . Building upon their rapid push, Hawk and Animal were featured attractions of theGreat American Bash tour where they were matched against Ivan and Nikita Koloff [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#86 | title = NWA Great American Bash Results (1986 #1) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] andthe Midnight Express [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#86b | title = NWA Great American Bash Results (1986 #2) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . At Starrcade '86, the Road Warriors were featured in a Scaffold Match, defeating the Midnight Express [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#86 | title = NWA Starrcade Results (1986) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] .The Road 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 War Games Match cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#87 | title = NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #1) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . The Road Warriors were on the winning side of War Games both matches that summer [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#87c | title = NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #3) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] taking their feud with the Horsemen to Starrcade 87, where they lost by disqualification toTully Blanchard andArn Anderson [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#87 | title = NWA Starrcade Results (1987) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . The Road Warriors also picked up the NWA Six-Man tag-team titles twice alongside Dusty Rhodes. The Warriors engaged in a violent feud with ThePowers 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 the NWA after finding out they were booked against the Road Warriors in a series of Scaffold Matches that they were supposed to lose.In 1988, Hawk and Animal turned heel, mauling the Midnight Express for the
NWA World Tag Team Championship on October 29, 1988 . In November of that year the Road Warriors played a role in ending Dusty Rhodes' tenure as head booker for the promotion. During the November 26th episode of "World Championship Wrestling", which was under strict instructions from TBS television executives prohibiting blading, the Road Warriors attacked Rhodes, removing a spike from the shoulder pads, and attempting to gouge his eye out. 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 Six-Man titles; they picked Genichiro Tenryu but the titles were quickly abandoned.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 Steve Williams) on April 2, 1989 [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#VI | title = NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VI) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . 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. Hawk and Animal would spend the rest of their tenure in the NWA feuding with teams like The Samoan Swat Team [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#VIII | title = NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VIII) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#89 | title = NWA Great American Bash Results (1989) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] and The Skyscrapers [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/havoc.html#89 | title = NWA Halloween Havoc Results (1989) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#X | title = NWA Clash of the Champions Results (X) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . Their last big win in the NWA came when they defeated three other teams (including the red hotSteiner Brothers ) to win the Ironman Tag-Team Tournament at Starrcade 1989 “Future Shock” [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#VIII | title = NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VIII) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#89 | title = NWA Great American Bash Results (1989) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] and The Skyscrapers [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#89 | title = NWA Starrcade Results (1989) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] .The Road Warriors made their last PPV appearance on May 19, 1990 at
Capital Combat where they teamed with Norman “The Lunatic” against Kevin Sullivan, Cactus Jack andBam Bam Bigelow [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/miscppv.html#capitol | title = NWA Capitol Combat Results | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] in a match that was cut from the commercial tape of the event.During their NWA stint, the group became well known for using the
Black Sabbath song "Iron Man" as their entrance theme.World Wrestling Federation
When Hawk and Animal signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1990,
Vince McMahon retired the Road Warriors moniker. They both made their TV debuts on the July 15, 1990 episode of Wrestling Challenge. In WWF/WWE the team would be known only as the Legion of Doom [cite web| url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/90.htm | title = WWF Show Results 1990 | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007 | author = Graham Cawthon | quote = (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)] . Hawk and Animal immediately entered into a feud with Demolition, the team McMahon had supposedly created in their likeness three years earlier. Which lead into a televised six-man tag-team match where Hawk and Animal teamed up withUltimate Warrior against Demolition. However,Bill Eadie , who played Demolition member "Ax", was getting older and an agreement was made to phase him out and eventually replace him with Crush. Eadie was moved into a role as manager for the team with the hope of taking a front office position, which eventually fell through [cite book | author=Brian Shields | title=Main event – WWE in the raging 80s| publisher=Pocket Books| year=4th Edition 2006 | id=ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6 ] . The Legion of Doom / Demolition feud didn't have the expected intensity because of the change and L.O.D. soon set their sights on the gold. At SummerSlam 1991, the Legion of Doom defeatedThe Nasty Boys to win the World Tag Team Championship, becoming the first and only team to win world tag titles in all three of the top promotions of the 1980s. Hawk and Animal would go on to lose the titles toMoney Inc. on February 7, 1992 after which they briefly left the federation.LOD would return a short time later with original manager Paul Ellering. The team incorporated a
ventriloquist dummy called Rocko (which served as their “inspiration”), but this gimmick was short-lived. Hegstrand left the company immediately after Summer Slam 1992 while Laurinaitis stuck around, finishing the team's contractual obligations on his own, before injuring his back forced him into a lengthy hiatuscite book | author=R.D. Reynolds and Randy Baer | title=Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling | publisher=ECW Press| year=2003 | id=ISBN 1-55022-584-7 ] .The Hell Raisers
Infobox Wrestling team
article_name=The Hell Raisers
type=T
caption=
members=Hawk Warrior Power Warrior
heights=6 ft 3 in (191 cm) – Hawk Warrior 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) – Power Warrior
weights=518 lb (240 kg)
debut=1992
disbanded=1994
promotions=NJPW AJPW|When Hawk left the WWF after SummerSlam 1992 he traveled to Japan and started working for
New Japan Pro Wrestling where he quickly teamed up with the young mid-carderKensuke Sasaki who was soon dubbed “Power Warrior” as he adopted the trademark Road Warrior face paint and spiked shoulder pads. The duo was dubbed The Hell Raisers and carried on the legacy of the Road Warriors in NJPW winning the IWGP Tag Team Titles fromTony Halme &Scott Norton and then again later from the team of Scott Norton and Hercules (known as the Jurassic Powers) . They also competed in both the 1993 [cite web|url=http://www.puroresufan.com/njpw/history/tagleague.php|title=NJPW Super Gade Tag League history|accessdate=2007-04-17| quote=(1993) 5. Hawk Warrior & Power Warrior [10] ] and 1994 versions of the Super Grade Tag league making it to the semi finals of the 1994 tournament before losing toMasahiro Chono andSuper Strong Machine [cite web|url= http://www.puroresufan.com/njpw/history/tagleague.php|title=NJPW Super Gade Tag League history|accessdate=2007-04-17|quote= (1994) 3. Hawk Warrior & Power Warrior [14] ] .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 near the end of 1994, 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” gimmick and face paint.
During this stint, they used the theme song "Hellraiser" by Heavy Metal band
Motörhead .World Championship Wrestling
When Laurinaitis’s back was finally healed enough for him to return to wrestling, the Road Warriors signed a contract with
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in late 1995. Upon their return in 1996, immediately started a feud with the returning Steiner Brothers, as well asHarlem Heat before moving on to challenging the WCW Tag-Team Champions Sting &Lex Luger . The Road Warriors had several shots at the champions but never won the titles [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/s-brawl.html#VI | title = WCW SuperBrawl Results (VI) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/uncensor.html#96 | title = WCW Uncensored Results (1996) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] .Hegstrand & 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 [cite video | people =Eric Bischoff: | title = [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476485/ Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team] | medium =DVD | publisher = WWE Home Video | location =USA | date = 14 June 2005 ] .Return to the WWF
After leaving WCW and taking various independent bookings both in the U.S. and Japan before signing with the WWF, making their surprise return on "Monday Night Raw" on February 24, 1997, where they destroyed
the Headbangers , despite both teams being counted out [cite web| url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/97.htm | title = WWF Show Results 1997 | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 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)] . The Legion of Doom would be heavily involved in the feud with theHart Foundation siding withStone Cold Steve Austin ,Ken Shamrock and Goldust at [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/miscppvs1990s.html#16 | title = WWF In Your House Results (Canadian Stampede) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . The Legion of Doom also became 2 time tag-team champions on October 7, 1997 when they defeatedThe Godwinns . In November 1997 the Legion of Doom faced the newly formedNew Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) and shockingly lost the titles to the upstart team.The Legion of Doom would challenge the N.A.O. several times in the next couple of months but without winning the gold. In late January 1998, the Legion of Doom disappeared from WWF television.
Legion of Doom 2000
Hawk and Animal next appeared at
WrestleMania XIV during a tag-team Battle Royal where they sported a new look, new shoulderpads and intimidating helmets, a new manager (Sunny) and a new name the Legion Of Doom 2000, billed as an updated version of the Road Warriors “for the new millennium”. LOD 2000 won the battle royal and earned a shot at the tag-team titles, but did not manage to win the gold [cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/mania.html#XIV | title = WWF WrestleMania Results (XIV) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] .Sunny soon left the team and Droz started to appear with them when Hawk was “incapacitated”, he later became an official member called Puke. At the same time,
Paul Ellering returned, but sided with D.O.A., whom L.O.D. 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 first time in the history of the Road Warriors they participated in a 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. 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 & Laurinaitis voiced their objections to it, the angle was dropped, and the Legion of Doom left the WWF.Independents
After leaving the WWF, the Road Warriors would appear for various independent federations, including the i-Generation pay-per-view in July 2000 where they won the promotion's Tag Team titles. They performed both as a team and individually. Animal competed solo for WCW for a while as Hegstrand dealt with his personal issues [cite video | people =Joseph “Animal” Laurinaitis: | title = [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476485/ Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag-Team] | medium =DVD | publisher = WWE Home Video | location =USA | date = 14 June 2005] . Hegtrand finally overcame his battle with addiction and became a
born-again Christian appearing onTed DiBiase 's religion and wrestling shows in 2003. The Road Warriors also appeared very briefly inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling during the early days of the federation, saving Americas Most Wanted, and debuting to what Jeremy Borash quotes as "A 1985 Road Warrior Pop." [cite web| url = http://www.tnawrestling.com/info/quickresults/weeklyppv/2003.html | title = TNA Weekly PPV Results 2003| accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = tnawrestling.com | quote = (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)] .World Wrestling Entertainment
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 [cite web| url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/03.htm | title = WWE Show Results 2003| accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007 | author = Graham Cawthon | quote = (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)] . The Road Warriors had hoped to get a full time contract with the WWE but nothing ever came of it. Hegstrand died five months later on October 19, 2003 ending the reign of the most dominant tag-team in the business.L.O.D. 2005
Animal would later return to WWE in 2005 [cite web| url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/05.htm | title = Smackdown Results (July 14, 2005) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007 | author = WWE.com | quote = After being attacked by WWE Tag Team Champions MNM, Road Warrior Animal stormed the ring to a tremendous ovation to make the save.] , teaming with Heidenreich in a feud against the tag team
MNM . At the Great American Bash on July 24, 2005 [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/gabash.html#2005 | title = WWE Great American Bash Results (2005) | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007| author = prowrestlinghistory.com] , Animal and Heidenreich defeated MNM to win theWWE Tag Team Championship . After winning the titles Heidenreich changed his appearance, to a look that better suited the Legion of Doom image by shaving his hair and wearing face paint.On August 18, 2005, Heidenreich was officially made part of the "L.O.D" and was presented with his own Road Warrior "spikes". Shortly after winning the tag team titles, 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!" [cite web| url = http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/archive/hawk | title = Win one for Hawk | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007 | author = WWE.com] . During the feuds with MNM, L.O.D. would be joined by
Christy Hemme , who acted as a valet/manager for a short while.On the October 28, 2005 edition of "SmackDown!", L.O.D. lost the tag team titles to MNM in a Fatal Fourway tag match that also featured
Paul Burchill & William Regal andThe Mexicools (Super Crazy &Psicosis ). A few months later, on January 17, 2006, Heidenreich was released from WWE [cite web| url = http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/exec/view.cgi/24/16973 | title = WWE News: WWE updates status of drug testing program, Heidenreich released | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007 | author = Wade Keller | quote = WWE.com reports that Heidenreich has been released from his WWE contract] . Animal continued to perform for WWE for a few months before he was also released [cite web| url = http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/exec/view.cgi/24/16973 | title = WWE News: Sabu vs. Cena, RVD vs. Rey, Animal released, Rock movie update | accessmonthday = April 17 | accessyear = 2007 | author = Wade Keller | quote = WWE.com announced that Road Warrior Animal has been released] .On November 18, 2006, Road Warrior Animal appeared in full gear on
ESPN 's pre-game "College Gameday " show. He was shown in a video clip to promote the #1 Ohio St. vs. #2 Michigan rivalry game, where his son (James Laurinaitis ) was preparing to start at Linebacker for Ohio State.Infobox Wrestling team
article_name=The Hell Warriors
type=T
caption=
members=Animal Warrior Power Warrior
heights=6 ft 1 in (185 cm) – Animal Warrior 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) – Power Warrior
weights=528 lb (239 kg)
debut=2007
disbanded=
promotions=AJPW|The Hell Warriors
On September 1, 2007, Road Warrior Animal appeared at
All Japan Pro Wrestling 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 andShuji Kondo .Incarnations
The Road Warriors/Legion Of Doom
*Road Warrior Hawk
*Road Warrior Animal
* "Precious" Paul ElleringThe Hell Raisers
* Hawk Warrior
* Power WarriorL.O.D. 2000
*Road Warrior Hawk
*Road Warrior Animal
* Puke
* SunnyL.O.D. 2005
*Road Warrior Animal
* Heidenreich
*Christy Hemme The Hell Warriors
* Animal Warrior
* Power WarriorIn wrestling
*Finishing and signature moves:*"
Doomsday Device " - InnovatedChampionships and accomplishments
The Road Warriors / Legion Of Doom
*
All Japan Pro Wrestling :*NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time)*
American Wrestling Association :*AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time)*
Georgia Championship Wrestling :*NWA National Tag Team Championship (4 times)*
i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling :*i-Generation Tag Team Championship (3 times) (First and Last) (Shortest reign) (Most reigns)*
Jim Crockett Promotions |World Championship Wrestling :*NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Dusty Rhodes (2) andGenichiro Tenryu (1):*NWA World Tag Team Championship "(Mid-Atlantic version)" (1 time):*NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup winners in 1986.:*NWA Iron Team Tournament winners in 1989.*World Wrestling Federation:*WWF Tag Team Championship (2 times)
*
Pro Wrestling Illustrated :*PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1982.:*PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1984.:*PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1985.:*PWI Feud of the Year award in 1987 - Road Warriors & Super Powers vs. The Four Horsemen.:*PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1988.:*PWI ranked them # 1 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003.:*PWI Top 5 Tag Team (No.1)*Other titles:*IPW Tag Team Championship (1 time):*PCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time):*WWZ Tag Team Championship (1 time)
*
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards :*Rookie(s) of the Year (1983):*Tag Team of the Year (1984):*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)The Hell Raisers
*
New Japan Pro Wrestling :*IWGP World Tag Team Championship (2 times)*
Pro Wrestling Illustrated :*PWI ranked them #50 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years"L.O.D. 2005
*
World Wrestling Entertainment :*WWE Tag Team Championship (2 time)The Hell Warriors
:*
UWA Tag Team Championship (1 time, current)References
External links
* [http://www.roadwarriorsinc.com/ RoadWarriorsInc.com (Official Website)]
* [http://www.wrestleinfo.com/TheRoadWarriors.html/ Road Warriors entry at wrestleinfo.com]
* [http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/bios/hawk.html “Wrestling Accelerator” profile: Hawk]
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