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Road Warrior Animal
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Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Michael Laurinaitis (September 12, 1960 – September 22, 2020), better known by his ring name Road Warrior Animal (or simply Animal), was an American professional wrestler. Along with Road Warrior Hawk, he was one-half of the tag team the Road Warriors (also known as the Legion of Doom).
Over the course of his career, Animal appeared with professional wrestling promotions including Georgia Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), All Japan Pro Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He held multiple championships, including the AWA World Tag Team Championship, NWA National Tag Team Championship, NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, WWE Tag Team Championship, and WWF Tag Team Championship, and headlined multiple pay-per-view events, including competing for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at WCW Sin.
Animal was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2011, the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, and the NWA Hall of Fame in 2012. The Road Warriors were named Tag Team of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 1984, and the number one tag team of the "PWI years" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 2003.
Laurinaitis was born in Philadelphia on September 12, 1960, to his parents Joseph Anthony and Lorna Ann. He is of Lithuanian ancestry. He grew up in Minnesota, having to work for a living from a very early age, he also participated in a wide variety of sports such football, baseball and hockey. He attended Irondale High School. Because of his size and love of power lifting, Laurinaitis was an imposing figure and thus a very effective bouncer. He worked as a bouncer at Gramma B's in the Twin Cities where he caught the eye of Eddie Sharkey, a well-known wrestling trainer. Sharkey thought that Laurinaitis and Mike Hegstrand, Richard Rood, and Barry Darsow could make it big in professional wrestling, and trained all four of them.
Laurinaitis made his debut in November 1982, competing as The Road Warrior using a biker gimmick. After only a few matches as a singles competitor, his career and life would change thanks to an idea by Paul Ellering.
When Paul Ellering was looking to put together a stable of heels in Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) called the "Legion of Doom", it was decided to put Laurinaitis together with his good friend Mike Hegstrand and change their names to "Animal" and "Hawk" respectively. Thus, the Road Warriors were born. They first started out as biker gimmicks; on The Road Warriors DVD, Animal said he felt like one of the Village People. To look more intimidating, the two shaved their heads into Mohawks and started wearing studded dog collars, spiked shoulder pads, and face paint. The look and name were taken from The Road Warrior, helping to paint the two as no-mercy monsters. Their interview style was vicious, yet charismatic and a bit humorous. They wrestled their first match together in June 1983.
The team was an instant hit, revolutionizing the tag-team scene with their power moves, no mercy attitudes, and innovative face paint that would spawn many future imitators in wrestling. In Georgia, they won the NWA National Tag Team Championship four times.
Their hard hitting style, no nonsense attitude, and winning ways made the Road Warriors fan favorites. Even when they were booked as heels, the fans refused to boo them. They started to split their time between the AWA and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) until finally leaving the AWA for big money contracts with the NWA and a huge push for the monster duo. The move paid off instantly as they won the inaugural Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament and feuded with the top stars of the NWA such as The Four Horsemen and The Russian Team (which included the Road Warriors' old training buddy Barry Darsow). During their initial run in the NWA, they helped popularize the WarGames match, the Scaffold match, and their trademark Chicago Street Fight.
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Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Michael Laurinaitis (September 12, 1960 – September 22, 2020), better known by his ring name Road Warrior Animal (or simply Animal), was an American professional wrestler. Along with Road Warrior Hawk, he was one-half of the tag team the Road Warriors (also known as the Legion of Doom).
Over the course of his career, Animal appeared with professional wrestling promotions including Georgia Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), All Japan Pro Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He held multiple championships, including the AWA World Tag Team Championship, NWA National Tag Team Championship, NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, WWE Tag Team Championship, and WWF Tag Team Championship, and headlined multiple pay-per-view events, including competing for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at WCW Sin.
Animal was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2011, the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, and the NWA Hall of Fame in 2012. The Road Warriors were named Tag Team of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 1984, and the number one tag team of the "PWI years" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 2003.
Laurinaitis was born in Philadelphia on September 12, 1960, to his parents Joseph Anthony and Lorna Ann. He is of Lithuanian ancestry. He grew up in Minnesota, having to work for a living from a very early age, he also participated in a wide variety of sports such football, baseball and hockey. He attended Irondale High School. Because of his size and love of power lifting, Laurinaitis was an imposing figure and thus a very effective bouncer. He worked as a bouncer at Gramma B's in the Twin Cities where he caught the eye of Eddie Sharkey, a well-known wrestling trainer. Sharkey thought that Laurinaitis and Mike Hegstrand, Richard Rood, and Barry Darsow could make it big in professional wrestling, and trained all four of them.
Laurinaitis made his debut in November 1982, competing as The Road Warrior using a biker gimmick. After only a few matches as a singles competitor, his career and life would change thanks to an idea by Paul Ellering.
When Paul Ellering was looking to put together a stable of heels in Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) called the "Legion of Doom", it was decided to put Laurinaitis together with his good friend Mike Hegstrand and change their names to "Animal" and "Hawk" respectively. Thus, the Road Warriors were born. They first started out as biker gimmicks; on The Road Warriors DVD, Animal said he felt like one of the Village People. To look more intimidating, the two shaved their heads into Mohawks and started wearing studded dog collars, spiked shoulder pads, and face paint. The look and name were taken from The Road Warrior, helping to paint the two as no-mercy monsters. Their interview style was vicious, yet charismatic and a bit humorous. They wrestled their first match together in June 1983.
The team was an instant hit, revolutionizing the tag-team scene with their power moves, no mercy attitudes, and innovative face paint that would spawn many future imitators in wrestling. In Georgia, they won the NWA National Tag Team Championship four times.
Their hard hitting style, no nonsense attitude, and winning ways made the Road Warriors fan favorites. Even when they were booked as heels, the fans refused to boo them. They started to split their time between the AWA and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) until finally leaving the AWA for big money contracts with the NWA and a huge push for the monster duo. The move paid off instantly as they won the inaugural Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament and feuded with the top stars of the NWA such as The Four Horsemen and The Russian Team (which included the Road Warriors' old training buddy Barry Darsow). During their initial run in the NWA, they helped popularize the WarGames match, the Scaffold match, and their trademark Chicago Street Fight.
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