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EspañolROAD WARRIOR ANIMAL
(Redirected from Joseph Laurinaitis)
'Joseph "Joe" Laurinaitis' (born January 26 1960) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, 'Road Warrior Animal'. Along with Road Warrior Hawk, Laurinaitis was one-half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors.
Joe Laurinaitis grew up in Minnesota, having to work for a living from a very early age. Because of his size and love of power lifting, Joe was an imposing figure and thus a very effective bouncer. He worked as a bouncer at Grandma B's in the Twin Cities where he caught the eye of Eddie Sharkey, a well known wrestling trainer. Sharkey thought that Joe along with Mike Hegstrand, Richard Rood, and Barry Darsow could make it big in professional wrestling. He believed in them so much that he trained all four of them personally.[2]
Joe made his debut in November 1982, competing as 'The Road Warrior' using a biker gimmick. After only a few matches as a singles competitor, Joe’s career and life would change forever thanks to an idea by Paul Ellering.
Main articles: Road Warriors
When Paul Ellering was looking to put together a stable of heels in Georgia Championship Wrestling called 'The Legion of Doom', it was decided to put Joe together with his good friend Mike Hegstrand and change their names to 'Animal' and 'Hawk' respectively. Thus, the Road Warriors were born. 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 was taken from '', helping to paint the two as no-mercy monsters. Their interview style was vicious, yet charismatic and a bit humorous.
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.[3] In Georgia, they won the NWA National Tag Team Championship four times before moving on to bigger promotions, such as the American Wrestling Association in the US and All Japan Pro Wrestling in Japan, and winning more tag team titles.[4]
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 until finally leaving the AWA for big money contracts with the NWA and a huge push for the monster duo. The move payed off instantly as they won the inaugural Jim Crocket 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).[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] During their initial run in the NWA, they helped popularize the WarGames match, the Scaffold match, and their trademark Chicago Street Fight.[13][14]
In 1988, the Road Warriors engaged in a violent feud with The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and The 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) 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.
Near the end of 1988, the Road Warriors captured the NWA World Tag Team Championship from The Midnight Express whom they mauled in short order to win the titles. 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. In their last year with the NWA, the Warriors feuded mainly with The Varsity Club, The Samoan Swat Team, and The Skyscrapers before leaving the NWA in the summer of 1990.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
The Road Warriors immediately signed with the World Wrestling Federation in 1990 and were pushed into a feud with the most famous of all “Road Warrior Clones”, Demolition (which once again included their old training partner Barry Darsow).[22][23]. Due to the ailing health of one of Demolition (Ax) he was replaced by Crush but the magic of the original Demolition was gone and the feud did not live up to the high hopes of the fans.
Just over a year after signing with the WWF, the Legion of Doom won the WWF World Tag Team Titles and held them for about 8 months. When they lost the titles, they briefly left the WWF only to return with long time manager Paul Ellering by their side, as well as a wooden dummy called “Rocco”. Both members of the L.O.D. thought the gimmick was stupid, and it led to Hawk quitting the WWF, leaving Animal on his own for the first time in 9 years.[24] Animal teamed with former enemy turned “face” Crush for a while but before the team could make any kind of progress Animal legitimately injured his back and was forced into retirement late in 1992.
For the next couple of years, Animal stayed out of the wrestling ring, collecting on a very lucrative insurance policy from Lloyd's of London while Hawk competed all over the world. Near the end of 1995, Animal's 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 with World Championship Wrestling. Upon their debut in 1996, they immediately started a feud with the Steiner Brothers and Harlem Heat, before moving on to challenge the WCW Tag Team Champions Sting & Lex Luger.[25][26][27] The Road Warriors had several shots at the champions but never won the titles in the 6 months they were with the company.
After leaving WCW they returned to the WWF where the Legion of Doom took part in the Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. the Hart Foundation feud, siding with Austin against the Harts.[28][29]. The Legion of Doom also became 2 time tag team champions on October 7 1997 when they defeated The Godwinns. In November 1997, the Legion of Doom faced the newly formed New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) and lost the titles to the upstart team.
After several unsuccessful challenges the L.O.D. were repackaged as 'Legion of Doom 2000' with manager Sunny, although she did not stay with the team for long.
In 1998, the Legion of Doom became involved in their most controversial angle to date, playing off Hawk’s real life drug and alcohol problems. Hawk started to show up drunk or “unable to perform” on TV (according to the storyline). 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 this segment, Hawk infamously was shown to have fallen off the Titan Tron. It was a controversial segment that pushed the envelope of good taste and that was the hallmark of the WWF's "Attitude" era. Neither Hawk nor Animal approved of the WWF exploiting Hawk’s personal problems, essentially making light of them by turning it into a storyline and left the WWF.
While the Road Warriors never officially broke up, Animal started making an increasing number of solo appearances after they left the WWF as Hawk struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.
Animal landed a prominent position in WCW as the “Enforcer” of the stable known as The Magnificent Seven with the objective to protect WCW World Champion Scott Steiner.[30] Animal most likely landed the high-profile part thanks to his brother John who had a powerful behind-the-scenes role with the company. The Magnificent Seven split up shortly before Vince McMahon purchased WCW, Animal’s contract was not one of the contracts the WWF picked up.
The Road Warriors appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in late 2002-early 2003 as part of a group that opposed Vince Russo’s faction 'Sports Entertainment Xtreme' but only wrestled one actual match for the federation.[31]
Animal and Hawk made a surprise appearance on RAW on May 12 2003 when they took on Kane & Rob Van Dam for the World Tag Team Championship.[32] Although Hawk and Animal came up short in their attempt to become three-time champions, it was clear that Hawk had defeated the demons that had once kept him from competing, and the Road Warriors had hopes of returning to WWE. However, Road Warrior Hawk died on October 19 2003.
Animal made a return to WWE on an episode of ''SmackDown!'' in 2005, where he was challenged by the then-WWE Tag Team Champions MNM to a title match at ''The Great American Bash''.[33][34] Finding a new tag team partner in Heidenreich, Animal went on to defeat MNM for the titles, dedicating the win to Hawk by saying, "Hawk, this one's for you, brother!" 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.[35]
On the March 3 2006 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Animal teamed up with Matt Hardy to face MNM. After he and Hardy lost the match, Animal turned heel for the second time in his career by attacking and injuring Hardy's knee.[36] Animal reasoned that he had realized that Hardy and Heidenreich were screw-ups and that Road Warrior Hawk was the only tag team legend 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 May 6 2006 edition of ''Velocity'' (taped May 2), Animal defeated Paul Burchill.[36] This was his final WWE television appearance. On June 26 2006, Animal was released from his WWE contract.[38]
On June 17, 2007, Road Warrior Animal redebuted on the TNA Pay-Per-View, Slammiversary, with Rick Steiner. They ended up losing to Team 3D; he replaced Scott Steiner after he was out with an injury. It is believed that Animal is under a contract to TNA but he has yet to make an appearance since Slammiversary.
★ 'Finishing and signature moves'
:
★ 'Powerslam'
:
★ '''Animal Strike''' (Right hand punch with brass knuckles)
:
★ Gorilla press drop
:
★ Powerbomb
:
★ Shoulder block
:
★ Big boot
:
★ Standing dropkick
★ 'With Road Warrior Hawk, Droz and Heidenreich'
:
★ 'Doomsday Device' Road Warrior Animal's Alumni Profile
★ 'Managers'
:
★ Paul Ellering
:
★ Sunny
:
★ Christy Hemme
★ 'Quotes'
:
★ "That's right, What a Rush!"
:
★ "It's the L.O.D., baby!"
:
★ "There's gonna be a vintage Road Warrior beat down!"
:
★ "I am the Road Warrior!"
:
★ "I'm the big bad animal man!"
:
★ "It's time to eat some turkey, because I'm an animal!"
★ 'International Wrestling Superstars World Tag Team Champions-with Hawk
All Japan Pro Wrestling]]'
:
★ NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'American Wrestling Association'
:
★ AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling'
:
★ World Japan Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Georgia Championship Wrestling'
:
★ NWA National Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling'
:
★ i-Generation Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Independent Pro Wrestling'
:
★ IPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling'
:
★ NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Road Warrior Hawk & Dusty Rhodes (1) and Road Warrior Hawk & Genichiro Tenryu (1) 1
:
★ NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk2
:
★ NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament winner in 1986 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ NWA Iron Team Tournament winner in 1989 - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Professional Championship Wrestling (Texas)'
:
★ PCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Pro Wrestling Illustrated'
:
★ PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1983 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1984 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1985 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ PWI Feud of the Year award in 1987 - with Road Warrior Hawk and The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff) vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Lex Luger)
:
★ PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1988 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ PWI ranked him # '64' of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
:
★ PWI ranked him # '1' of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" - with Road Warrior Hawk in 2003.
★ 'World Wrestling Entertainment | World Wrestling Federation'
:
★ WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Heidenreich
:
★ WWF World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'World Wrestling Zone'
:
★ WWZ Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Wrestling Observer Newsletter'
:
★ Rookie(s) of the Year award in 1983 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ Tag Team of the Year award in 1984 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
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.
Joseph's brothers are or have both been involved in professional wrestling. John Laurinaitis (Johnny Ace) is a WWE agent and former wrestler. Marcus Laurinaitis is a former wrestler, mainly known as one half of the tag team ''The Wrecking Crew'' (Terminator / Fury).
Joseph's son, James Laurinaitis, plays linebacker for Ohio State University's football team. As a sophomore, James won the prestigious Nagurski Award, given to the best defensive player in the country, and was a finalist for the Butkus Award, which is awarded to the best linebacker in the country.[39] 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.[40]
Animal, as well as Hawk, became born-again Christians in 2003 and appeared at a number of Christian wrestling events run by Ted DiBiase and Nikita Koloff.
★ Road Warrior Hawk
★ Legion of Doom
1. Statistics for Professional wrestlers
2. The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams, Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson, , , ECW Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-5502-2683-6
3.
4. Wrestling Title Histories, Royal Duncan & Gary Will, , , Archeus Communications, 4th Edition 2006, ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
5. NWA Crockett Cup Results (1986) prowrestlinghistory.com
6. NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #1) prowrestlinghistory.com
7. NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #2) prowrestlinghistory.com
8. NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #3) prowrestlinghistory.com
9. NWA Starrcade Results (1987) prowrestlinghistory.com
10. NWA Great American Bash Results (1986) prowrestlinghistory.com
11. NWA/AWA Star Wars Results (Dec 1985) prowrestlinghistory.com
12. NWA/AWA Star Wars Results (1986) prowrestlinghistory.com
13. NWA Starrcade Results (1986) prowrestlinghistory.com
14. NWA Wrestle War Results (1990) prowrestlinghistory.com
15. NWA Chi-Town Rumble Results prowrestlinghistory.com
16. NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VI) prowrestlinghistory.com
17. NWA Wrestle War Results (1989) prowrestlinghistory.com
18. NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VIII) prowrestlinghistory.com
19. NWA Great American Bash Results (1989) prowrestlinghistory.com
20. NWA Halloween Havoc Results (1989) prowrestlinghistory.com
21. NWA Clash of the Champions Results (X) prowrestlinghistory.com
22. WWF Show Results 1990 Graham Cawthon
23. Main event – WWE in the raging 80s, Brian Shields, , , Pocket Books, 4th Edition 2006, ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6
24. Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling, R.D. Reynolds and Randy Baer, , , ECW Press, 2003, ISBN 1-55022-584-7
25. WCW SuperBrawl Results (VI) prowrestlinghistory.com
26. WCW Uncensored Results (1996) prowrestlinghistory.com
27. WCW Slamboree Results (1996) prowrestlinghistory.com
28. WWF Show Results 1997 Graham Cawthon
29. WWF In Your House Results (Canadian Stampede) prowrestlinghistory.com
30. WCW Sin Results prowrestlinghistory.com
31. TNA Weekly PPV Results 2003 tnawrestling.com
32. WWE Show Results 2003 Graham Cawthon
33. Smackdown Results (July 14, 2005) WWE.com
34. WWE Great American Bash Results (2005) prowrestlinghistory.com
35. WWE News: WWE updates status of drug testing program, Heidenreich released Wade Keller
36. WWE Show Results 2006 Graham Cawthon
37. WWE Show Results 2006 Graham Cawthon
38. WWE News: Sabu vs. Cena, RVD vs. Rey, Animal released, Rock movie update Wade Keller
39. Player Bio: James Laurinaitis : Football Ohio State Buckeyes Official Website
40. SI Players: First Person James Laurinaitis, Ohio State Linebacker Elisabeth Newman
★ RoadWarriorsInc.com (Official Road Warriors Website)
★ Road Warrior Animal Speaks On Hawk's Death, WWE & More
★ Interview with Animal by Genickbruch.com
★ WWE Alumni Profile
'Joseph "Joe" Laurinaitis' (born January 26 1960) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, 'Road Warrior Animal'. Along with Road Warrior Hawk, Laurinaitis was one-half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors.
Career
Joe Laurinaitis grew up in Minnesota, having to work for a living from a very early age. Because of his size and love of power lifting, Joe was an imposing figure and thus a very effective bouncer. He worked as a bouncer at Grandma B's in the Twin Cities where he caught the eye of Eddie Sharkey, a well known wrestling trainer. Sharkey thought that Joe along with Mike Hegstrand, Richard Rood, and Barry Darsow could make it big in professional wrestling. He believed in them so much that he trained all four of them personally.[2]
Joe made his debut in November 1982, competing as 'The Road Warrior' using a biker gimmick. After only a few matches as a singles competitor, Joe’s career and life would change forever thanks to an idea by Paul Ellering.
Beginning of the Road Warriors
Main articles: Road Warriors
When Paul Ellering was looking to put together a stable of heels in Georgia Championship Wrestling called 'The Legion of Doom', it was decided to put Joe together with his good friend Mike Hegstrand and change their names to 'Animal' and 'Hawk' respectively. Thus, the Road Warriors were born. 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 was taken from '', helping to paint the two as no-mercy monsters. Their interview style was vicious, yet charismatic and a bit humorous.
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.[3] In Georgia, they won the NWA National Tag Team Championship four times before moving on to bigger promotions, such as the American Wrestling Association in the US and All Japan Pro Wrestling in Japan, and winning more tag team titles.[4]
National Wrestling Alliance (1988-1990)
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 until finally leaving the AWA for big money contracts with the NWA and a huge push for the monster duo. The move payed off instantly as they won the inaugural Jim Crocket 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).[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] During their initial run in the NWA, they helped popularize the WarGames match, the Scaffold match, and their trademark Chicago Street Fight.[13][14]
In 1988, the Road Warriors engaged in a violent feud with The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and The 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) 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.
Near the end of 1988, the Road Warriors captured the NWA World Tag Team Championship from The Midnight Express whom they mauled in short order to win the titles. 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. In their last year with the NWA, the Warriors feuded mainly with The Varsity Club, The Samoan Swat Team, and The Skyscrapers before leaving the NWA in the summer of 1990.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
World Wrestling Federation (1990-1992)
The Road Warriors immediately signed with the World Wrestling Federation in 1990 and were pushed into a feud with the most famous of all “Road Warrior Clones”, Demolition (which once again included their old training partner Barry Darsow).[22][23]. Due to the ailing health of one of Demolition (Ax) he was replaced by Crush but the magic of the original Demolition was gone and the feud did not live up to the high hopes of the fans.
Just over a year after signing with the WWF, the Legion of Doom won the WWF World Tag Team Titles and held them for about 8 months. When they lost the titles, they briefly left the WWF only to return with long time manager Paul Ellering by their side, as well as a wooden dummy called “Rocco”. Both members of the L.O.D. thought the gimmick was stupid, and it led to Hawk quitting the WWF, leaving Animal on his own for the first time in 9 years.[24] Animal teamed with former enemy turned “face” Crush for a while but before the team could make any kind of progress Animal legitimately injured his back and was forced into retirement late in 1992.
World Championship Wrestling (1996)
For the next couple of years, Animal stayed out of the wrestling ring, collecting on a very lucrative insurance policy from Lloyd's of London while Hawk competed all over the world. Near the end of 1995, Animal's 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 with World Championship Wrestling. Upon their debut in 1996, they immediately started a feud with the Steiner Brothers and Harlem Heat, before moving on to challenge the WCW Tag Team Champions Sting & Lex Luger.[25][26][27] The Road Warriors had several shots at the champions but never won the titles in the 6 months they were with the company.
World Wrestling Federation (1997-1998)
After leaving WCW they returned to the WWF where the Legion of Doom took part in the Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. the Hart Foundation feud, siding with Austin against the Harts.[28][29]. The Legion of Doom also became 2 time tag team champions on October 7 1997 when they defeated The Godwinns. In November 1997, the Legion of Doom faced the newly formed New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) and lost the titles to the upstart team.
After several unsuccessful challenges the L.O.D. were repackaged as 'Legion of Doom 2000' with manager Sunny, although she did not stay with the team for long.
In 1998, the Legion of Doom became involved in their most controversial angle to date, playing off Hawk’s real life drug and alcohol problems. Hawk started to show up drunk or “unable to perform” on TV (according to the storyline). 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 this segment, Hawk infamously was shown to have fallen off the Titan Tron. It was a controversial segment that pushed the envelope of good taste and that was the hallmark of the WWF's "Attitude" era. Neither Hawk nor Animal approved of the WWF exploiting Hawk’s personal problems, essentially making light of them by turning it into a storyline and left the WWF.
While the Road Warriors never officially broke up, Animal started making an increasing number of solo appearances after they left the WWF as Hawk struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.
World Championship Wrestling (2001)
Animal landed a prominent position in WCW as the “Enforcer” of the stable known as The Magnificent Seven with the objective to protect WCW World Champion Scott Steiner.[30] Animal most likely landed the high-profile part thanks to his brother John who had a powerful behind-the-scenes role with the company. The Magnificent Seven split up shortly before Vince McMahon purchased WCW, Animal’s contract was not one of the contracts the WWF picked up.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002-2003)
The Road Warriors appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in late 2002-early 2003 as part of a group that opposed Vince Russo’s faction 'Sports Entertainment Xtreme' but only wrestled one actual match for the federation.[31]
World Wrestling Entertainment (2003-2006)
2003
Animal and Hawk made a surprise appearance on RAW on May 12 2003 when they took on Kane & Rob Van Dam for the World Tag Team Championship.[32] Although Hawk and Animal came up short in their attempt to become three-time champions, it was clear that Hawk had defeated the demons that had once kept him from competing, and the Road Warriors had hopes of returning to WWE. However, Road Warrior Hawk died on October 19 2003.
2005-2006
Heidenreich and Road Warrior Animal as the WWE Tag Team Champions
Animal made a return to WWE on an episode of ''SmackDown!'' in 2005, where he was challenged by the then-WWE Tag Team Champions MNM to a title match at ''The Great American Bash''.[33][34] Finding a new tag team partner in Heidenreich, Animal went on to defeat MNM for the titles, dedicating the win to Hawk by saying, "Hawk, this one's for you, brother!" 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.[35]
On the March 3 2006 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Animal teamed up with Matt Hardy to face MNM. After he and Hardy lost the match, Animal turned heel for the second time in his career by attacking and injuring Hardy's knee.[36] Animal reasoned that he had realized that Hardy and Heidenreich were screw-ups and that Road Warrior Hawk was the only tag team legend 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 May 6 2006 edition of ''Velocity'' (taped May 2), Animal defeated Paul Burchill.[36] This was his final WWE television appearance. On June 26 2006, Animal was released from his WWE contract.[38]
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2007-present)
On June 17, 2007, Road Warrior Animal redebuted on the TNA Pay-Per-View, Slammiversary, with Rick Steiner. They ended up losing to Team 3D; he replaced Scott Steiner after he was out with an injury. It is believed that Animal is under a contract to TNA but he has yet to make an appearance since Slammiversary.
In wrestling
★ 'Finishing and signature moves'
:
★ 'Powerslam'
:
★ '''Animal Strike''' (Right hand punch with brass knuckles)
:
★ Gorilla press drop
:
★ Powerbomb
:
★ Shoulder block
:
★ Big boot
:
★ Standing dropkick
★ 'With Road Warrior Hawk, Droz and Heidenreich'
:
★ 'Doomsday Device' Road Warrior Animal's Alumni Profile
★ 'Managers'
:
★ Paul Ellering
:
★ Sunny
:
★ Christy Hemme
★ 'Quotes'
:
★ "That's right, What a Rush!"
:
★ "It's the L.O.D., baby!"
:
★ "There's gonna be a vintage Road Warrior beat down!"
:
★ "I am the Road Warrior!"
:
★ "I'm the big bad animal man!"
:
★ "It's time to eat some turkey, because I'm an animal!"
Championships and accomplishments
★ 'International Wrestling Superstars World Tag Team Champions-with Hawk
All Japan Pro Wrestling]]'
:
★ NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'American Wrestling Association'
:
★ AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling'
:
★ World Japan Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Georgia Championship Wrestling'
:
★ NWA National Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling'
:
★ i-Generation Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Independent Pro Wrestling'
:
★ IPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling'
:
★ NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Road Warrior Hawk & Dusty Rhodes (1) and Road Warrior Hawk & Genichiro Tenryu (1) 1
:
★ NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk2
:
★ NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament winner in 1986 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ NWA Iron Team Tournament winner in 1989 - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Professional Championship Wrestling (Texas)'
:
★ PCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Pro Wrestling Illustrated'
:
★ PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1983 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1984 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1985 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ PWI Feud of the Year award in 1987 - with Road Warrior Hawk and The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff) vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Lex Luger)
:
★ PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1988 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ PWI ranked him # '64' of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
:
★ PWI ranked him # '1' of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" - with Road Warrior Hawk in 2003.
★ 'World Wrestling Entertainment | World Wrestling Federation'
:
★ WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Heidenreich
:
★ WWF World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'World Wrestling Zone'
:
★ WWZ Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Road Warrior Hawk
★ 'Wrestling Observer Newsletter'
:
★ Rookie(s) of the Year award in 1983 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ Tag Team of the Year award in 1984 - with Road Warrior Hawk
:
★ Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
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.
Personal life
Joseph's brothers are or have both been involved in professional wrestling. John Laurinaitis (Johnny Ace) is a WWE agent and former wrestler. Marcus Laurinaitis is a former wrestler, mainly known as one half of the tag team ''The Wrecking Crew'' (Terminator / Fury).
Joseph's son, James Laurinaitis, plays linebacker for Ohio State University's football team. As a sophomore, James won the prestigious Nagurski Award, given to the best defensive player in the country, and was a finalist for the Butkus Award, which is awarded to the best linebacker in the country.[39] 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.[40]
Animal, as well as Hawk, became born-again Christians in 2003 and appeared at a number of Christian wrestling events run by Ted DiBiase and Nikita Koloff.
See also
★ Road Warrior Hawk
★ Legion of Doom
References
1. Statistics for Professional wrestlers
2. The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams, Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson, , , ECW Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-5502-2683-6
3.
4. Wrestling Title Histories, Royal Duncan & Gary Will, , , Archeus Communications, 4th Edition 2006, ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
5. NWA Crockett Cup Results (1986) prowrestlinghistory.com
6. NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #1) prowrestlinghistory.com
7. NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #2) prowrestlinghistory.com
8. NWA Great American Bash Results (1987 #3) prowrestlinghistory.com
9. NWA Starrcade Results (1987) prowrestlinghistory.com
10. NWA Great American Bash Results (1986) prowrestlinghistory.com
11. NWA/AWA Star Wars Results (Dec 1985) prowrestlinghistory.com
12. NWA/AWA Star Wars Results (1986) prowrestlinghistory.com
13. NWA Starrcade Results (1986) prowrestlinghistory.com
14. NWA Wrestle War Results (1990) prowrestlinghistory.com
15. NWA Chi-Town Rumble Results prowrestlinghistory.com
16. NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VI) prowrestlinghistory.com
17. NWA Wrestle War Results (1989) prowrestlinghistory.com
18. NWA Clash of the Champions Results (VIII) prowrestlinghistory.com
19. NWA Great American Bash Results (1989) prowrestlinghistory.com
20. NWA Halloween Havoc Results (1989) prowrestlinghistory.com
21. NWA Clash of the Champions Results (X) prowrestlinghistory.com
22. WWF Show Results 1990 Graham Cawthon
23. Main event – WWE in the raging 80s, Brian Shields, , , Pocket Books, 4th Edition 2006, ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6
24. Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling, R.D. Reynolds and Randy Baer, , , ECW Press, 2003, ISBN 1-55022-584-7
25. WCW SuperBrawl Results (VI) prowrestlinghistory.com
26. WCW Uncensored Results (1996) prowrestlinghistory.com
27. WCW Slamboree Results (1996) prowrestlinghistory.com
28. WWF Show Results 1997 Graham Cawthon
29. WWF In Your House Results (Canadian Stampede) prowrestlinghistory.com
30. WCW Sin Results prowrestlinghistory.com
31. TNA Weekly PPV Results 2003 tnawrestling.com
32. WWE Show Results 2003 Graham Cawthon
33. Smackdown Results (July 14, 2005) WWE.com
34. WWE Great American Bash Results (2005) prowrestlinghistory.com
35. WWE News: WWE updates status of drug testing program, Heidenreich released Wade Keller
36. WWE Show Results 2006 Graham Cawthon
37. WWE Show Results 2006 Graham Cawthon
38. WWE News: Sabu vs. Cena, RVD vs. Rey, Animal released, Rock movie update Wade Keller
39. Player Bio: James Laurinaitis : Football Ohio State Buckeyes Official Website
40. SI Players: First Person James Laurinaitis, Ohio State Linebacker Elisabeth Newman
External links
★ RoadWarriorsInc.com (Official Road Warriors Website)
★ Road Warrior Animal Speaks On Hawk's Death, WWE & More
★ Interview with Animal by Genickbruch.com
★ WWE Alumni Profile
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