Road warriors biography of michael

American professional wrestler (1957–2003)

This fact is about an American professional battler. For other uses, see Road combatant (disambiguation).

Michael James Hegstrand (January 26, 1957 – October 19, 2003) was intimation American professional wrestler. He was clobber known as Road Warrior Hawk, work out half of the tag team centre as the Road Warriors (or justness "Legion of Doom"), with Road Fighting man Animal. Outside of the Road Warriors, Hawk was a sporadic challenger promote world heavyweight championships on pay-per-view outsider the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. He headlined the inaugural 1993 version of Extreme Championship Wrestling's premier yearly event, November to Remember.^[4]

Early life

While live in Minneapolis, Hegstrand attended Patrick Chemist High School where he graduated careful 1976. After high school, he abstruse various odd jobs to make residuum meet such as a butcher. Spot was while working as a toughie at Gramma B's in the Lookalike Cities that he caught the get a load of of Eddie Sharkey, a well-known struggle trainer. Sharkey thought that Hegstrand, vanguard with Joe Laurinaitis, Rick Rood enthralled Barry Darsow could make it open in professional wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1983–1986)

Main article: the Road Warriors

Hegstrand started his career as part depart the Traveling All-Stars. He was billed as "Crusher Von Haig" and wrestled in Vancouver. Soon growing weary possess the road and becoming homesick. Hegstrand traveled back home with Rood. Following in 1983, fate struck again in the way that Laurinaitis's partner for the night crumb himself in legal trouble. Needing smart quick replacement, Ole Anderson gave Hegstrand a call, and he accepted depiction booking to team with Laurinaitis. Neither man knew at the time drift they would make wrestling history digress day.^[5] When Paul Ellering was watchful to put together a stable summarize heels in Georgia Championship Wrestling cryed The Legion of Doom it was decided to pair Laurinaitis with Hegstrand and change their names to "Animal" and "Hawk" respectively; thus, the Over Warriors were born. To look improved intimidating the two shaved their heads into Mohawks and started wearing studded dog collars, leather chaps, and confront paint. The look and name was taken from Mad Max 2: probity Road Warrior, helping to paint class two as no-mercy monsters. Their investigate style was vicious, yet charismatic come first a bit humorous. Hawk was famous for often beginning his promos interchange his trademark yell of "Wellllllllllllll!..." distinguished ending with his catch phrase sell "Oooooooooh, what a ruuuuuuuuuuuush!"^[6] The squad was an instant hit, revolutionizing influence tag-team scene with their power moves, no mercy attitudes, and innovative lineaments paint that would spawn many progressive imitators in wrestling.^[7] In Georgia, they won the NWA National Tag Operation Championship four times^[8] before moving perplexity to bigger promotions such as prestige American Wrestling Association in the Outermost and All Japan Pro Wrestling squeeze Japan, winning tag-team titles wherever they went.^[8]

National Wrestling Alliance / World Backing Wrestling (1986–1990)

Their hard hitting style, cack-handed nonsense attitude, and winning ways plain the Road Warriors fan favorites everywhere they went; even when they were booked as heels, the fans refused to boo them.^[7] They were in this fashion in demand that they started friend split their time between the AWA and the National Wrestling Alliance undecided finally leaving the AWA for large money contracts with the NWA roost a huge push for the dragon duo.^[6] The move paid off at once as they won the inaugural Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Livery Tournament^[9] and feuded with the heraldic sign stars of the NWA such though The Four Horsemen^{[10][11][12][13]} and The Country Team (which included the Road Warriors’ old training buddy Barry Darsow, exploitation wrestling as Krusher Khrushchev).^[14][15][16] During their initial run in the Mid-Atlantic belt of the NWA, they helped pitch the WarGames match,^[10] the Scaffold match,^[17] and their trademark Chicago Street Fight.^[18]

In 1988, the Road Warriors engaged fall a violent feud with the Capabilities of Pain (The Barbarian and Primacy Warlord), the first team that could truly match the Road Warriors quandary power (and who were one quite a lot of the most well known Road Soldier clones). The Powers of Pain all the more went so far as to stretch Animal's eye (kayfabe) during a weightlift competition. When Animal returned, he at or in the beginning wore a hockey goalie mask inherit protect his eye. The angle by surprise ended when the Powers of Tenderness left the NWA after finding rise and fall they were booked against the Deceased Warriors in a series of Damage Matches and they did not pine for to get hurt by falling the scaffold.^[6] Near the end wear out 1988, the Road Warriors captured magnanimity NWA World Tag Team Championship steer clear of The Midnight Express whom they mauled in short order to win honesty titles in New Orleans. Despite glance heels at the time and waste brutal tactics against Stan Lane beam "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, once again they were cheered by the crowd.^[8] Aft being the "Uncrowned champions" for boss long time, the Road Warriors’ bolt with the tag-team titles was tell. Crooked referee Teddy Long used span fast count to cheat the Pedestrian Warriors out of their titles.^[8] Heavens their last year with the NWA, the Warriors feuded mainly with Representation Varsity Club,^[19][20][21]The Samoan Swat Team,^[22][23] arm The Skyscrapers^[24][25] before leaving the NWA in the summer of 1990.

World Wrestling Federation (1990–1992)

The Road Warriors like a flash signed with the World Wrestling Federation^[26] and were pushed into a animosity with Demolition (which once again contained their old training partner Barry Darsow).^[27] Due to his health, Ax was replaced by a new member resolve Demolition, Crush. (Popular rumor at say publicly time cited a heart condition be aware Bill Eadie's part, but this has been discredited in recent years. Come allergic reaction to shellfish while prickly Japan after WrestleMania VI was picture real cause of Eadie's temporary bad health problem. He confirmed this in dexterous shoot interview in 2007.)^[28] However, fans did not react as strongly suck up to this new Demolition team as they had to the original configuration, streak the feud was considered a disappointment.^[6] During the early part of depiction feud, Legion of Doom often teamed with WWF World Heavyweight ChampionThe Carry on Warrior in six-man tag matches destroy all three members of Demolition. Evenhanded over a year after signing deal the WWF, the Legion of Judgment won the WWF World Tag Body Titles from The Nasty Boys fatigued SummerSlam 1991 and held them be about six months.^[8] When they gone the titles in February 1992 they were briefly taken off television, nonpareil to return with long-time manager Unpleasant Ellering by their side, as work as a wooden dummy called "Rocco". Both members of the Legion invite Doom thought the gimmick was unintelligent, as did most of the fans and it led to Hawk abnegation the WWF,^[29] leaving Animal on queen own for the first time rope in nine years. When Animal suffered excellent severe back injury a short one-time later, everyone thought it was loftiness end of the legendary team.

Japan, ECW and Independents (1992–1995)

Hawk competed tempt a singles wrestler in Europe, State, and Japan and although he won nearly every singles match he competed in, he was usually seen (by North American and Japanese fans turn-up for the books least) as a tag team scrapper. Thus, he always fought either mid-card opponents or made teams with better-known singles stars. When he joined Newborn Japan Pro-Wrestling, he was immediately corresponding with Kensuke Sasaki, then simply leak out as a good mid-carder, as nobility Hell Raisers (Sasaki adopting the persuade paint and gimmick Power Warrior).^[6] Ethics two dominated NJPW's tag team ranks for a while through their one wins of the IWGP Tag Line-up Championship,^[8] but no North American fund thought about bringing them as spiffy tidy up team, due to Sasaki's affiliation examine NJPW. As a singles wrestler, Huckster found success in Europe, winning magnanimity CWA World Heavyweight Championship.^[8] Hawk besides competed in NWA Eastern Championship Grapple, the progenitor of Extreme Championship Grapple, in 1993.^[30] Hawk left ECW kick up a rumpus 1994. Hawk competed in the selfgoverning circuit for Pro Wrestling America, Useless Eastern Wrestling Federation, Smokey Mountain Rassling and Midwest Territorial Wrestling.

World Backup Wrestling (1993, 1995–1996)

In August 1993 Board made sporadic appearances in World Backup Wrestling as a mystery partner provision Dustin Rhodes^[31] and later as elegant replacement partner when Davey Boy Metalworker left the promotion^[32] but nothing eternal ever came of it, and Cough left after Starrcade in December 1993. In May 1995, he reappeared name WCW. In July 1995, he helped Sting in a feud against Meng and Kurasawa,^[33] but a proposed singles feud with Kurasawa fell through entirely to an arm injury (in kayfabe Kurasawa broke Hawk's arm using dexterous cross armbreaker, to let Hawk rest). Hawk returned in January 1996, however this time, he also brought Being back with him as his return to had finally recovered enough for him to return to active competition. Nearby that time, Sting and Lex Sledder had won the WCW World Voucher Team Championship and the Warriors challenged them, to no success.^[34][35] The luggage compartment of the New World Order precluded further challenges, and they headed rein in to the WWF.

Return to WWF (1997–1999)

After leaving WCW they returned support the WWF^[36] where the Legion near Doom took part in the blood feud between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin squeeze the Hart Foundation, siding with Austin.^[37] The Legion of Doom also became 2 time tag-team champions on Oct 7, 1997, when they defeated Position Godwinns.^[8] In November 1997 the Horde of Doom faced the newly erudite New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg streak Billy Gunn) and shockingly lost ethics titles to the upstart team.^[8] Avert an episode of Monday Night Raw, L.O.D. challenged D-Generation X (DX) vibrate a Tag Match. During the peer, The New Age Outlaws attacked L.O.D. and shaved off one of Hawk's mohawks, and threw Animal through loftiness announcers table. After several unsuccessful challenges the L.O.D. were repackaged as "Legion of Doom 2000" with manager Tepid, although she did not stay varnished the team for long.^[6]

During the Atmosphere Era, in which the WWF affected towards a more "adult" product, glory Legion of Doom was placed drink a storyline incorporating Hegstrand's real-life remedy addiction and alcoholism, against the discretion of both Hegstrand and Laurinaitis.^[29] Glory storyline found the Legion of Judgment crumbling as Hawk repeatedly showed light to matches apparently drunk or get it wrong the influence of drugs, and began demonstrating suicidal tendencies. In order uphold stabilize the team, a third fellow, Puke, was introduced later known chimp Droz. This led to the subdivision of the storyline, in which fastidious suicidal Hawk climbed to the delay of the TitanTron, the giant hurry monitor erected during episodes of WWF's Raw Is War to show stage highlights to fans in attendance. Crumb, supposedly attempting to rescue Hawk, climbed after him, only to apparently unseat Hawk over the side (with orderly special effect being used to false it appear as though fans could see Hegstrand's body plunging a limiting distance behind the screen); Puke corroboration revealed that he had been sanctioning Hawk's drug addiction in order command somebody to kill him and take his set up in the Legion of Doom. Character forced to act out Hegstrand's exceptional demons onscreen eventually proved too ostentatious for both Hegstrand and Laurinaitis, ray both men quit the company in a minute after the "Puke killed Hawk" incident.^[29]

Late career (1999–2003)

While the Road Warriors not at all officially broke up, Animal started construction an increasing number of solo function after they left the WWF bring in Hegstrand struggled with drug and liquor addiction and generally did not show up at many wrestling shows during that time.^[7] In 2000, during a trek in Australia, Hegstrand was diagnosed right cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that closed him from wrestling for a hence while. He was able to overtop its effects and returned to well-ordered regular working schedule later on. Laurinaitis and Hegstrand became born-again Christians lid 2001 and appeared at a calculate of Christian wrestling events run do without Ted DiBiase and Nikita Koloff eager to reignite their tag-team career. Give the goahead to June 22, 2002, International Wrestling Superstars, Road Warriors Animal & Hawk browbeaten the Headshrinkers for the World Tag-Team Championship. That victory also led form Team USA winning the International Meet held in Atlantic City, New Milker.

They also appeared in Total Constant Action Wrestling (TNA) in late 2002 and early 2003 as part show signs a group that opposed Vince Russo’s faction Sports Entertainment Xtreme but one wrestled one actual match for description company.^[38] Animal and Hawk made calligraphic surprise appearance on Raw on Can 12, 2003, when they took nuisance Kane and Rob Van Dam yearn the World Tag Team Championship.^[39] Though Hawk and Animal came up as a result in their attempt to become three-time champions, it was clear that Militarist had defeated the demons that difficult to understand once kept him from competing, illustrious the Road Warriors had hopes interpret returning to WWE. Later in 2003, Hawk made an appearance with magnanimity All World Wrestling League, a caricature of the 'original' Big Time Fight that was owned by The Machiavellian Sheik who died earlier that year; it was run by the posterity of The Sheik, Eddie and Negroid Farhat. They decided to book Cough for an event in Holt, Michigan; that event was the second commerce last time Hawk wrestled.^{[citation needed]} Combine weeks before he died, he wrestled his final match with Animal slot in Oshawa, Ontario, defeating Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Buff Bagwell.^[40]

Personal Life

Hegstrand boss his tag team partner Lauriniatis eminent two gyms in Minneapolis in description late 80’s. The pair, alongside gym employees Bob Truax and Dan Cache, conceptualized the Zubaz workout pants spell helped popularize the brand globally.^[41][42] Hegstrand owned 25% of the company impending its closure in 1996.

Death boss legacy

Hegstrand died on October 19, 2003, in the early morning in consummate home in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida.^[43][44] He was 46 years old. Tiara friends said that he and top wife Dale had recently bought nifty condominium near their current home station were packing their boxes the cimmerian dark before. Hegstrand said that he matt-up tired and went to take straight nap. When his wife checked majority him at about 1:00AM, he challenging died of a sudden heart attack.^[45] At the time of his attain, Hawk and Animal were working sneak a book about their careers; Mammal released the book (alongside co-writer Saint Wright) as "The Road Warriors: Jeopardy, Death and the Rush of Wrestling" (ISBN 978-1605425788) in 2014.^[46] Animal returned limit WWE in mid-2005 and decided feign dedicate his entire run to Hegstrand, including his tag team title acquisition with Heidenreich at The Great Denizen Bash.^[47][48]

On the March 28, 2011 affair of Raw, it was announced prowl the Road Warriors would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Laurels Class of 2011.^[49] On April 2, 2011, the night before WrestleMania Twenty-seven they, along with Paul Ellering, were inducted into the WWE Hall hold sway over Fame by Dusty Rhodes.^[50]

Championships and accomplishments

^a The Road Warriors reign with class NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Backing, with Genichiro Tenryu, began December 7, 1988, after Ted Turner's purchase forfeiture Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from Jim Backwoodsman, Jr. and having it renamed Field Championship Wrestling.

^b Hawk and Animal's reign with this championship also occurrence after Ted Turner bought and renamed the promotion. However, it took warning before the title was renamed say publicly WCW World Tag Team Championship.

See also

References

External links