Behind the face paint, he was Michael Hegstrand. In the ring, he was the imposing, muscle-bound Road Warrior Hawk.
The Road Warriors were born in the National Wrestling Alliance in the early 1980’s when Paul Ellering assembled a crew of heels for a stable he was calling the Legion of Doom. The Legion (L.O.D. for short) initially consisted of the Road Warriors, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, The Spoiler, Matt Borne (later Doink the Clown), King Kong Bundy, Arn Anderson, The Iron Sheik and the original Sheik. Eventually, however, Hawk and his partner Animal claimed the name for themselves. For the duration of their careers, the names “The Road Warriors” and “The Legion of Doom” were interchangeable. The look of the Road Warriors (studded shoulder pads, mohawks, etc) as well as their name was taken from the post-apocolyptic Mad Max movies.
Call them what you will, the duo of Hawk & Animal captured tag team gold in a ridiculous number of promotions. They served as champions in the NWA, AWA, All Japan, New Japan, and WWE, among others. They won Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Tag Team of the Year Award on four occasions, an honor they were also awarded by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Their innovative powerhouse style and intimidating face paint led to many imitators, but none found quite the same success as the Road Warriors. In 2011, Hawk and his partner were inducted into the WWE’s Hall of Fame, and it’s not hard to see why.
Hawk & Animal composed one of the most recognizable tag teams in the history of the industry that we love so much. They were one of the teams that made tag team wrestling important, and their impact is felt still felt today. Their last appearance as a tag team came on an episode of Raw in May of 2003, a one-time appearance to wrestle the reigning tag team champions of the time, Rob Van Dam & Kane. Five months later, on October 19, 2003, Michael Hegstrand passed away in his home as the result of an apparent heart attack. He was 46 years old. Years later, Animal returned to the WWE for one last run, teaming with Heidenreich as L.O.D. 2005. Animal dedicated the new incarnation of the team’s entire run, including their tag title victory, to his fallen partner.
