Every now and then, we get to see a great wrestler or wrestlers appear and they take the world by storm, and on this day in wrestling history the Road Warriors debuted in Georgia Championship Wrestling.
When Ole Anderson put Joe Laurinaitis and Mike Hegstrand together to form the Road Warriors on September 23, 1983, he had no idea the force he was about to release.
After their initial appearance in NWA’s GCW territory, and with “Precious” Paul Ellering as their manager, though he was briefly fired after a few months and then rehired, Hawk and Animal took the wrestling world by storm.
They were given the NWA tag team championship on their debut, and they were so believable no one questioned it.
Ellering’s stable, The Legion of Doom, consisted of them, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and The Spoilers, but the group was short lived.
The stable’s name would remain with the Road Warriors and would become their team’s name when they went to the WWE.
As Ellering said on Dark Side of the Ring that they decided to make the world their territory and set out and conquered it all.
It’s the presentation
Their stiff and powerful performance in the ring complimented their appearance and instantly won fans over.
Their reputation proceeded them as there are plenty of stories that their opponents would sometimes take their equipment and leave when they saw they were facing the Road Warriors.
But it wasn’t a one sided affair as it’s been reported that Animal and Hawk would give a portion of their earnings to the team they squashed, which went a long way to give them a good reputation that might’ve offset their stiffness in the minds of some.
Throughout their career, they dominated like few others and led to a series of copycat teams like The Blade Runners (Sting and Ultimate Warrior) and Demolition and the Powers of Pain in the WWE.
It was the ultimate form of flattery as every promoter wanted their own Road Warrior team, and it only added to their legacy.
They survived a lot of problems mainly due to Hegstrand’s substance abuse problems, but he eventually found a way to deal with and control them prior to his death in 2003.
Laurinaitis would continue their legacy for the next 17 years before he passed away in 2020.
It was the end of an era, but not the memories. It’s sometimes hard to believe how fast the years have gone by, but this day in wrestling history will love on as the one to give us the greatest tag team in history.
Who’s your favorite tag team? Let us know in the comments below.
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