No pro wrestling tag team ever struck fear in the hearts of their opponents quite like The Road Warriors in the 80s and early 90s. The combination of Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal had a reputation for working stiff, which didn't make them popular with the boys in the back but made them popular with fans, wherever they went.
Despite The Road Warriors' legendary status as a duo, there were several instances where they either incorporated another partner into the mix or tagged with someone else entirely. Road Warrior Animal specifically, teamed with several top-notch stars during his career. He also teamed with some lesser in-ring performers in his day.
10 Best: Ahmed Johnson
When Ahmed Johnson hit the scene in WWE in late 1995, he was like a bat out of hell. Ahmed's popularity exploded, seemingly overnight. At the time, Ahmed seemed like WWE's next megastar. Unfortunately, injuries, bad timing, and Ahmed's lack of improvement ultimately derailed his career.
Before that though, Ahmed lived out many pro wrestling fans' fantasies when he was an honorary Road Warrior. At WrestleMania 13, Ahmed teamed with The Legion Of Doom to face The Nation Of Domination in a Street Fight. Ahmed fit in with The L.O.D. perfectly that night and rumor has it he even kept the spiked shoulder pads as a souvenir.
9 Worst: Kanyon
The end of WCW wasn't exactly pleasant for anyone who had to live through it. At the time, many WCW performers were unsure about their future in the sport. Around that time though, Road Warrior Animal found his way back to WCW, alone. This led Animal to align with Ric Flair's Magnificent 7 faction as the group's enforcer.
That made Animal a heel. As a bad guy, Animal found himself teaming with some of WCW's lower mid-card heels. This included a one-off pairing with Kanyon. The team would lose their only match and never team up again, as WCW went out of business shortly after.
8 Best: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
In 1996, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was quickly climbing up the WWE Card. By 1997, Austin was undeniably a burgeoning megastar. Austin spent most of 1997 at odds with Bret Hart and The Hart Foundation. Their feud would be very heated and eventually grow to include other members of the WWE roster.
At In Your House: Canadian Stampede, The Hart Foundation took on Austin and his team in a 10-Man Tag Team Match. Austin had some serious backup that night which included Ken Shamrock, Goldust, Road Warrior Hawk, and of course Road Warrior Animal. Unfortunately, Austin, Animal, and their comrades wouldn't pick up the win that night.
7 Worst: Jim Duggan
For as big of stars as The Road Warriors were in The United States, they might have been even bigger stars over in Japan. Both Hawk and Animal had lucrative tours of Japan during their careers. By 2004 though, Road Warrior Hawk had tragically passed away, leaving Animal to fend for himself in The Land Of The Rising Sun.
At a retirement show for former WWE performer, Mike Rotunda, in 2004, Animal was part of a Six-Man Tag Team. The team included former WWE star "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. By that point, Duggan was just going through the motions in the ring. Unsurprisingly, Animal, Duggan, and their partner, Keizo Matsuda would fall short that night.
6 Best: Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes is one of the most gifted talkers in wrestling history. On top of that, "The American Dream" was the head booker for Jim Crockett Promotions during their hottest run in the 80s. During that time, Rhodes crossed paths with the Road Warriors as both allies and opponents.
While Dusty and The Road Warriors made excellent rivals, they were even better as a unit. Rhodes brought a fun flamboyance to The Road Warriors that helped fans relate to them even more. The Road Warriors and Dusty Rhodes were even two-time NWA Six-Man Tag Team Champions, further emphasizing just how great of a unit they were.
5 Worst: Paul Ellering
Today, pro wrestling managers aren't utilized as much as they were in years past. In previous eras, managers were used as mouthpieces for performers who weren't blessed with the gift of gab. Paul Ellering's relationship with The Road Warriors was a bit different. The Road Warriors technically didn't need Ellering as they were both good enough talkers.
However, when The Road Warriors were heels, having Ellering there to take an occasional beating made sense. Ellering teamed with The Road Warriors various times throughout the years in Six-Man Tag Team matches. While the three men were incredible as an act, as a three-man team, Ellering weighed them down a bit.
4 Best: Kensuke Sasaki
When Kensuke Sasaki's association with The Road Warriors first started in 1992, it was strictly with Road Warrior Animal, while he and Hawk weren't teaming. Sasaki would adopt the "Power Warrior" moniker and even don face paint and spiked shoulder pads while teaming with Animal.
Road Warrior Animal and Power Warrior would be known as The Hell Raisers and be one of the most dominant tag teams in New Japan Pro Wrestling during the time. Animal and Sasaki would have two reigns as IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. When Hawk and Animal reunited, Sasaki would continue to team with them on special occasions as Power Warrior.
3 Worst: Heidenreich
Some things in pro wrestling can be recreated. Some things cannot be recreated. This should go without saying, but The Road Warriors cannot be recreated. Kensuke Sasaki teaming with Road Warrior Animal and later with both Road Warriors is one thing. Having someone attempt to replace Road Warrior Hawk, a year after his death is another.
That's exactly what WWE attempted to do when they paired Road Warrior Animal with Heidenreich. Teaming together would've been bad enough but WWE went out of their way to try and make a new Legion Of Doom with Animal and Heidenreich. Needless to say, Heidenreich wasn't well received as a Road Warrior. Luckily, he'd be gone from WWE in early 2006, ending his alliance with Animal.
2 Best: Road Warrior Hawk
Sometimes in pro wrestling, a pair of performers are destined for each other. Sometimes it's as opponents. Other times it's as partners. Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal fall into the latter category. The two were first thrown together by Ole Anderson in Georgia Championship Wrestling. From there, their partnership blossomed.
Whether they were The Legion Of Doom in WWE or The Road Warriors everywhere else they went, they were dominant. They won every Tag Team Championship imaginable and many consider them the greatest tag team of all time. When looking at their resume, it's hard to argue against that.
1 Worst: Droz
In 2004, WWE attempted to carry on the Road Warriors/ Legion Of Doom legacy without the late great Road Warrior Hawk. Fans never bought it for a second. It was interesting of WWE to try this when they had already attempted something similar in 1998 and failed miserably. During The Attitude Era, The L.O.D. was repackaged as L.O.D. 2000.
When that didn't get the results the company was hoping for, they tried to add a third member to the group, Droz. Trying to breathe new life into a group is understandable. However, Droz was a terrible choice to be a Road Warrior. Furthermore, the storyline which saw Droz join The L.O.D. also incorporated elements of Road Warrior Hawk's real-life battle with alcoholism. Overall, trying to make Droz a Road Warrior was a bad idea as he and Animal had nowhere near the chemistry of the original team.