 Road Warrior Animal atRaw 1000 in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Michael Laurinaitis (1960-09-12)September 12, 1960[2] |
| Died | September 22, 2020(2020-09-22) (aged 60) Osage Beach, Missouri, U.S. |
Spouse(s) | Julie Laurinaitis(divorced) Kim Laurinaitis |
| Children | 3; includingJames Laurinaitis |
| Family | John Laurinaitis (brother) The Terminator (brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Animal Animal Warrior Road Warrior Animal[1] The Road Warrior |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 285 lb (129 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Chicago, Illinois[1] |
| Trained by | Eddie Sharkey |
| Debut | November 1982 |
| Retired | July 23, 2012 |
Joseph Michael "Joe" Laurinaitis (September 12, 1960 – September 22, 2020), better known by hisring nameRoad Warrior Animal (or simplyAnimal), was an Americanprofessional wrestler. Along withRoad Warrior Hawk, he was one-half of thetag team theRoad Warriors (also known as the Legion of Doom).[1]
Over the course of his career, Animal appeared withprofessional wrestling promotions includingGeorgia Championship Wrestling,Jim Crockett Promotions /World Championship Wrestling, theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA),All Japan Pro Wrestling, and theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) /World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He held multiplechampionships, including theAWA 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, andWWF Tag Team Championship, and headlined multiplepay-per-view events, including competing for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship atWCW Sin.
Animal was inducted into theWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2011, theWWE Hall of Fame in 2011, and theNWA Hall of Fame in 2012. The Road Warriors were namedTag Team of the Year by theWrestling Observer Newsletter in 1984, and the number one tag team of the "PWI years" byPro Wrestling Illustrated in 2003.
Laurinaitis was born inPhiladelphia on September 12, 1960. He is ofLithuanian ancestry.[3] He grew up in Minnesota, having to work for a living from a very early age. He attendedIrondale High School.[4] Because of his size and love of power lifting, Laurinaitis was an imposing figure and thus a very effective bouncer.[1] He worked as a bouncer at Gramma B's in theTwin Cities where he caught the eye ofEddie Sharkey, a well-known wrestling trainer. Sharkey thought that Laurinaitis andMike Hegstrand,Richard Rood, andBarry Darsow could make it big in professional wrestling, and trained all four of them.[5]
Laurinaitis made his debut in November 1982, competing asThe Road Warrior using a bikergimmick. After only a few matches as a singles competitor, his career and life would change thanks to an idea byPaul Ellering.
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WhenPaul Ellering was looking to put together a stable of heels inGeorgia 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 theVillage 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 fromThe Road Warrior, helping to paint the two as no-mercy monsters. Theirinterview style was vicious, yet charismatic and a bit humorous.[5] 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.[6] In Georgia, they won theNWA National Tag Team Championship four times.[7]
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.[6] They started to split their time between the AWA and theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) until finally leaving the AWA for big money contracts with the NWA and a huge push for the monster duo.[5] The move paid off instantly as they won the inauguralJim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament and feuded with the top stars of the NWA such asThe Four Horsemen andThe Russian Team (which included the Road Warriors' old training buddy Barry Darsow).[1][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] During their initial run in the NWA, they helped popularize theWarGames match, theScaffold match, and their trademarkChicago Street Fight.[9][16][17]
In 1988, the Road Warriors engaged in a violent feud withThe Powers of Pain (The Barbarian andThe Warlord) the first team that could truly match the Road Warriors in power (and who were one of the most well known Road Warrior clones). The Powers of Pain even went so far as to injure Animal's eye, (kayfabe) as his eye injury actually occurred days earlier during a match, during a weightlifting competition. When Animal returned, he initially wore a hockey goalie mask to protect his eye. The angle abruptly 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 and they did not want to get hurt by falling off the scaffold.[5]
Near the end of 1988, the Road Warriors captured theNWA World Tag Team Championship fromThe Midnight Express whom they mauled in short order to win the titles.[7] After being the "Uncrowned champions" for a long time the Road Warriors' run with the tag team titles was short-lived.Teddy Long used a fast count to cheat the Road Warriors out of their titles.[7] In their last year with the NWA, the Warriors feuded mainly withThe Varsity Club,The Samoan Swat Team, andThe Skyscrapers before leaving the NWA in the summer of 1990, due to conflicts withJim Herd.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
From 1984 to 1985, Animal wrestled for theAmerican Wrestling Association.
From 1985 to 1989, Animal wrestled forAll Japan Pro Wrestling.
The Road Warriors signed with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1990 and were pushed into a feud with the most famous of all "Road Warrior Clones",Demolition, a group which included their old training partner Barry Darsow.[1][25][26] Due to the ailing health of one of Demolition (Ax) he was replaced byCrush, but the magic of the original Demolition was gone and the feud did not live up to the high hopes of the fans.[5]
Just over a year after signing with the WWF, the Legion of Doom won theWWF Tag Team Championship and held it for over five months.[7] When they lost the titles, they briefly left the WWF, only to return with longtime manager Paul Ellering by their side, as well as a wooden ventriloquist dummy called "Rocco". Both members of the L.O.D. thought the Rocco gimmick was stupid, and it led to Hegstrand walking out of the WWF immediately followingSummerSlam 1992, leaving Laurinaitis on his own for the first time in nine years.[27] Animal went ahead and finished his contractual obligations with the WWF, as a singles wrestler and occasionally teaming with former rival Crush, formerly of Demolition. During a handicap match in Japan against theBeverly Brothers in September 1992, Laurinaitis legitimately injured his back from a botched double suplex and had to take a lengthy hiatus.[6] His last match was a victory over Papa Shango in San Francisco, California on October 16. After this his back was too injured to allow him to wrestle.[28]
Laurinaitis made some non-wrestling appearances in WCW in 1993. On August 18, at theClash of the Champions XXIV, Animal made his appearance, getting out of a blackCamaro Z28 indicating his partner Hawk wasDustin Rhodes' mystery partner againstRick Rude andThe Equalizer. On September 19, atFall Brawl, Animal was the advisor forSting's team, consisting of Sting,Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes, andThe Shockmaster for WarGames, defeatingBig Van Vader,Sid Vicious, andHarlem Heat.
For the next couple of years, Laurinaitis stayed out of the wrestling ring, collecting on an insurance policy fromLloyd's of London while Hegstrand competed all over the world. Near the end of 1995, Laurinaitis' back had finally recovered enough for him to return to active competition. Three years after everyone thought the Road Warriors had ended, they reunited and signed a contract withWorld Championship Wrestling.[5] On January 4, 1996, Animal seconded Hawk in his match againstScott Norton inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling's annualTokyo Dome show. Upon their return in January 1996, they immediately started a feud withthe Steiner Brothers, who returned in March, andHarlem Heat, before moving on to challenge the WCW Tag Team ChampionsSting andLex Luger.[29][30][31] The Road Warriors had several shots at the champions but never won the title in the six months they were with the company.The Steiner Brothers also arrived shortly after the Warriors did, and feuded with them to try to prove who the best team of all time was. The Steiners got the better of the feud and the Warriors left WCW in June 1996.
After leaving WCW, they returned to the WWF where the Legion of Doom took part in theStone Cold Steve Austin vs.the Hart Foundation feud, siding with Austin against the Harts.[32][33] The Legion of Doom also became two-time tag team champions on October 7, 1997, when they defeatedThe Godwinns.[7] In November 1997, the Legion of Doom faced the newly formedNew Age Outlaws (Road Dogg andBilly Gunn) and lost the titles to the upstart team.[7]
After several unsuccessful challenges, the L.O.D. were repackaged as "Legion of Doom 2000" with managerSunny, although she did not stay with the team for long.[5] At the same time, Paul Ellering returned, but sided withD.O.A., whom L.O.D. were feuding with at the time; Ellering and Animal explained on the Road Warriors DVD that it was hard for Ellering to work with another team against the Road Warriors and difficult to rip on his former team on promos.
In 1998, the Legion of Doom became involved in their most controversial angle; playing off Hegstrand's real life drug and alcohol problems. Hawk started to show up drunk or "unable to perform" on TV. As Hawk proved more and more erratic and unreliable, a third L.O.D. member,Puke, was introduced to team with Animal while Hawk dealt with his personal issues. The storyline ended with accusations that Puke had been the "enabler" of Hawk's problems, exploiting them to take Hawk's place in the team. During the controversial segment, Hawk was shown to have fallen off the Titan Tron. Neither Hegstrand nor Laurinaitis approved of the WWF exploiting Hegstrand's personal problems, which caused them to subsequently leave the WWF.[27]
While the Road Warriors never officially broke up, Animal started making an increasing number of solo appearances after they left the WWF as Hegstrand struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.[34]
After his release from WWF, the Road Warriors wrestled at the AJPW Giant Baba Memorial Show defeatingJun Akiyama andKenta Kobashi in Tokyo, Japan on May 2, 1999. In 2000, the Road Warriors worked fori-Generation Superstars of Wrestling in Australia feuding withThe Public Enemy over the i-Generation Tag Titles. They also worked in theindependent circuit.
Later that year, Animal wrestled forBattlearts in Japan as Animal Warrior teaming withAlexander Otsuka.
In January 2001, Animal returned with a prominent position in WCW as the "enforcer" of the stable known asThe Magnificent Seven with the objective to protect WCW World ChampionScott Steiner.[35] He appeared on the main event ofSin for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship against champion Scott Steiner,Jeff Jarrett andSid Vicious in a four corners match. Steiner retained the title. The Magnificent Seven split up shortly before Vince McMahon purchased WCW in March 2001; Animal's contract was not one of the contracts the WWF picked up.
After WCW folded, Animal reunited with Hawk atJersey Championship Wrestling defeating the Moondogs 2000 in Lodi, New Jersey on September 8, 2001. The Road Warriors mainly continued working in the independent circuit.
On June 22, 2002, Animal returned with Hawk atInternational Wrestling Superstars defeating the Headshrinkers in Atlantic City, New Jersey. That win not only won the team USA tournament it would also become the last World Tag-Team Championship for Animal and Hawk as the Road Warriors.
On October 4, 2003, Animal won the IWS International Championship by defeating"Mr. Irresistible" Matt Hendrickson by pin at the Armory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first and only time that Animal held a singles championship title.
In 2002, Animal once again returned toAll Japan Pro Wrestling as Animal Warrior teaming withKeiji Muto. In 2003, The Road Warriors last stint was forFighting of World Japan Pro Wrestling feuding withthe Shane Twins.
After Hawk's death, Animal returned to the ring nearly a year later focusing on his singles career. On May 11, 2008, Animal teamed withPower Warrior to defeatDamián 666 andEl Terrible to win the UWA Tag titles for Toryumon Mexico Dragonmania III in Mexico City, Mexico. Animal would then retire from wrestling.
The Road Warriors appeared inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling in late 2002 to early 2003 as part of a group that opposedVince Russo's factionSports Entertainment Xtreme, but would only wrestle one actual match for the promotion.[36]
On June 17, 2007, Road Warrior Animal returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on the pay-per-view,Slammiversary, withRick Steiner; he replacedScott Steiner, who was out with an injury. They ended up losing toTeam 3D.
On December 15, 2016, Animal returned to TNA for a guest appearance on theImpact Wrestling special, "Total Nonstop Deletion".
Animal and Hawk made a surprise appearance onRaw on May 12, 2003, when they took onKane andRob Van Dam for the World Tag Team Championship.[37] This would be the last time the two would pair together as Hawk died later that year, on October 19, 2003.[6]
Animal made a return to WWE on the July 14 episode ofSmackDown! in 2005, where he was challenged by the then-WWE Tag Team ChampionsMNM to a title match atThe Great American Bash.[38][39] Finding a new tag team partner inHeidenreich, Animal went on to defeat MNM for the titles, dedicating the win to Hawk by saying, "Hawk, this one was for you, brother!"[1][7] The two would team up for a few months in a new chapter of the Legion of Doom, with Heidenreich adopting the L.O.D.'s shoulder pads, face paint, and mohawk haircut. However, this came to an end with Heidenreich's release from WWE on January 17, 2006.[40]
On the March 3, 2006, episode ofSmackDown!, Animal teamed up withMatt Hardy to face MNM. After he and Hardy lost the match, Animal turnedheel for the second time in his career by attacking and injuring Hardy's knee.[41] Animal reasoned that he had realized that Hardy and Heidenreich were screw-ups and that Road Warrior Hawk was the only tag team legend and partner for him. After the heel turn, Animal, once again known simply as "The Road Warrior", would drop many aspects of the well-known Road Warrior gimmick, losing the face paint, and shoulder pads. Animal's look at this time was similar to his old Road Warrior gimmick in the early 1980s he had prior to teaming up with Hawk. On the March 17 episode ofSmackDown!, Animal lost to Hardy in aMoney in the Bank qualifying match.[42] Animal was defeated byUnited States ChampionChris Benoit on the March 31 episode ofSmackDown!.[43]
In his final WWE match, Animal defeatedPaul Burchill on the May 6, 2006, episode ofVelocity.[44] On June 26, 2006, Animal was released from his WWE contract.[45]
WWE announced on March 28, 2011, onRaw that the Road Warriors would be inducted into the 2011 Hall of Fame. Animal also spoke openly about his future induction on Right After Wrestling just minutes after the announcement onWWE Raw. Animal told hosts,Arda Ocal andJim Korderas that the WWE was going to create a physical Hall of Fame in Tampa and he was going to donate his trademarked 'spiked-shoulder pads' to that Hall.[46]
On the July 20, 2012, episode ofSmackDown onSyfy, Animal returned to faceHeath Slater in honor ofRaw's 1,000th episode. He went on to squash Slater. He then reappeared on the actual 1,000th episode on July 23 with other WWE Legends to helpLita take down Slater, in what would be Animal's final WWE appearance and the last match that he wrestled.
On September 1, 2018, Animal made a surprise appearance atAll In to open the event.[47][48]
On the June 12, 2020, episode of SWE Fury, a Plano, Texas–based nationally televised wrestling promotion,Teddy Long was named the new SWE General Manager alongside Road Warrior Animal, who served as his enforcer.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Dark Side of the Ring | Himself | "The Last Ride of The Road Warriors" |
Laurinaitis released an autobiography with William Andrew Wright titledThe Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling on March 1, 2011, published by Medallion Press, Inc. The book talks about the rise of The Road Warriors, shares funny stories of life on the road, and offers behind-the-scenes accounts of professional wrestling.[49]
Laurinaitis and his ex-wife Julie, a former powerlifter and bodybuilder, had two children, sonJames (born 1986) and daughter Jessica (born 1989). Laurinaitis also had a son named Joseph (born 1981) from a previous marriage.[50][51][52] He coached youth football for Wayzata, the school his son played for.[53]
Laurinaitis's brothers have both been involved in professional wrestling over the years.John Laurinaitis (Johnny Ace) is the former executive vice president of Talent Relations forWorld Wrestling Entertainment and a former wrestler.Marcus Laurinaitis is a former wrestler, mainly known as one half of the tag teamThe Wrecking Crew (Terminator / Fury).
Laurinaitis and his tag team partner Hegstrand owned two gyms in Minneapolis in the late 80s. The pair, alongside gym employees Bob Truax and Dan Stock, conceptualized theZubaz workout pants and helped popularize the brand globally.[54][55] Laurinaitis owned 25% of the company until its closure in 1996.
Laurinaitis became aborn again Christian in 2001.[56]
Laurinaitis's son,James Laurinaitis, playedlinebacker forOhio State University. As a sophomore, James won theBronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the best defensive player in the country, and was a finalist for theButkus Award, which is awarded to the best linebacker in the country. In 2007, James won the Butkus Award.[57] In fact,Sports Illustrated made a joke about borrowing his father's shoulder pads and later did an interview with him that included a picture of him wearing them.[58] He was drafted by theSt. Louis Rams in the second round as the 35th overall pick in the2009 NFL draft, and played with the Rams through the team's final season in St. Louis in2015, after which he moved to theNew Orleans Saints.
In July 2016, Laurinaitis was named part of aclass action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who had been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[59] US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018.[60] An appeal was filed but theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed it two weeks before Laurinaitis's death.[61]
Laurinaitis died of a heart attack on September 22, 2020, ten days after his 60th birthday, at the Margaritaville Resort (formerly known as the Tan-Tar-A Resort) inOsage Beach, Missouri.[62][63][64] WWE released a statement regarding his death.[65] Former Road Warriors managerPaul Ellering along with numerous others also paid tribute.[66] It was later confirmed that Laurinaitis died from a sudden heart attack shortly after his and his wife's wedding anniversary celebrations.[67] He had collapsed on the bed when he and his wife went back to their room.[68]
1The Road Warriors reign with the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, with Genichiro Tenryu, began December 7, 1988, after Ted Turner's purchase of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from Jim Crockett Jr. and having it renamed World Championship Wrestling.
2Hawk and Animal's reign with this championship also happened after Ted Turner bought and renamed the promotion. However, it took place before the title was renamed the WCW World Tag Team Championship.
(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)
(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)
(January 15, 2003) Vince Russo & Triple X (Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, and Elix Skipper) defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Jarrett, Dusty Rhodes, z,d The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)
(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)
After being attacked by WWE Tag Team Champions MNM, Road Warrior Animal stormed the ring to a tremendous ovation to make the save.
WWE.com reports that Heidenreich has been released from his WWE contract
(February 27, 2006) WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champions Johnny Nitro & Joey Mercury (w/ Melina) defeated Matt Hardy & Road Warrior Animal (mystery partner) in a non-title match when Mercury pinned Hardy following the Snapshot at 7:37 after Nitro prevented Mercury from sustaining the Doomsday Device, in which Animal went up top and Hardy lifted Mercury on his shoulders; after the bout, Animal argued with Hardy for the loss before attacking his injured knee and ramming it into the ringpost)
(May 2, 2006) Road Warrior Animal defeated Paul Birchill
WWE.com announced that Road Warrior Animal has been released
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