First coming together in 1983, Animal and Hawk, collectively known as The Road Warriors, would prove a dominant force in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated WCW, where they quickly became one of the most popular tag teams of the 1980s. From there, international success would ensue, and the duo would become sensations in WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling while occasionally returning to WCW.
Despite their success and popularity, however, Hawk and Animal have experienced some serious on-screen humiliations over the course of their career, especially in the later years. These indignities include odd repackagings, questionable losses, and having an inanimate object as a manager.
10 Losing the World Tag Titles Via Shenanigans
It may come as a surprise, but The Road Warriors only enjoyed one run with the NWA World Tag Team Titles. After defeating The Midnight Express in a short match in October 1988, the Warriors embarked on a title reign that would last 155 days only to end at Clash of the Champions VI. On that show, Hawk and Animal lost the titles to The Varsity Club thanks to referee Teddy Long doing a fast three-count. While those kinds of finishes are meant to keep stars looking strong without a clean loss, it’s still kind of goofy to see monster men get bested by bad officiating.
9 Needless Renaming
In 1990, The Road Warriors made the jump from WCW to WWE, where their tag team got renamed, as wrestlers entering WWE often experience seemingly regardless of popularity outside the company. Suddenly, Hawk and Animal became The Legion of Doom, which was the same name of a Paul Ellering-led stable they were a part of in the early 1980s. However, the name “Road Warriors” sold them perfectly as Mad-Max-inspired wrestlers while Legion of Doom immediately brings to mind thoughts of the cheesy 1970s Superfriends cartoon.
8 Rocco
Before entering WWE, The Road Warriors were managed by Paul Ellering, one of pro wrestling’s greatest managers -- especially for dominant monster teams -- and one of the keys to the act’s success. While Ellering was not present for Hawk and Animal’s eight-month WWE Tag Team Title run, he was brought in after the fact, bringing a strange friend in tow.
That friend was Rocco, a literal ventriloquist’s dummy that served to undermine the threatening coolness of the now-Legion of Doom. L.O.D. themselves hated this addition and believed it a deliberate attempt to take them down a notch.
7 Their 1996 WCW Run
After leaving WWE in 1992, The Road Warriors reunited as a duo in 1996, making their return to WCW circa the Monday Night Wars. They were regulars in the tag team division but unsuccessfully challenged Lex Luger and Sting for the title on a couple of occasions. On a much stranger note, they went on to become #1 contenders after beating Harlem Heat on Nitro, but never got the title shot. This run in WCW would last about four months as the pair seemed to get lost in the shuffle of a roster that was getting overcrowded with stars.
6 Getting Wrecked By DX
Legion of Doom returned to WWE in 1997, becoming Tag Team Champions yet again only to lose the belts to a cheating New Age Outlaws on the 11/24 episode of Raw. A feud between the teams ensued, and weeks later L.O.D. found themselves subject to an attack from Shawn Michaels and Triple H alongside their future DX partners the Outlaws. It was bizarre to see one of wrestling’s most dominant tag teams get so thoroughly beat down as Animal was put through a table and Hawk’s head was shaved.
5 L.O.D. 2000
With the spring of 1998 came a strange repackaging of Hawk and Animal as the Legion of Doom evolved into L.O.D. 2000. Adopting Sunny as their manager, this attempt to refresh the team involved the duo sporting buzz cuts instead of their signature mohawks and updating their gear to a more traditionally sci-fi-inspired aesthetic rather than their post-apocalyptic thing, complete with helmets. Ultimately, the reboot didn’t really work, and L.O.D. themselves weren’t particularly keen on it.
4 The Angle With Droz
Depending on the situation and execution, incorporating real-life issues into a storyline can either enhance the angle or come off as being in poor taste. L.O.D.’s storyline with Puke is generally considered to be in the latter column, as it’s entirely based on Hawk’s real-life issues with substance abuse.
Basically, L.O.D. would experience kayfabe incidents like Hawk showing up drunk to tag matches, forcing Legion affiliate Puke to take his place. Soon enough, it would be revealed that this was all part of a sinister plan.
3 Falling Off The Titantron
The nadir of the Hawk/Puke storyline deserves its own section, as it’s a particular lowlight of the tag team’s career. In one infamous segment, Hawk climbed to the top of the Titantron displays with the intention of jumping off to his death. Puke followed, seemingly with the intention of saving him, but then appeared to shove him off the structure. It was then revealed that Puke had been enabling Hawk’s substance abuse in order to take his place in the tag team. Ultimately, Hawk and Animal would quit WWE over the storyline.
2 Animal Returns To WCW
After the most recent WWE debacle, Animal would return solo to WCW, albeit in a deeply underwhelming fashion. It was in the main event of the January 2001 pay-per-view Sin, as Sid Vicious, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, and a mystery opponent competed in a Four Corners match for the World Title. The mystery opponent appeared very late in the match and unmasked to reveal Road Warrior Animal, drawing very little reaction from fans. It likely didn’t help that this match is more famous for Sid’s horrific broken leg.
1 The 2005 Iteration
After Hawk’s death in 2003, Animal would return to WWE in 2005 and take part in a new version of the Legion of Doom, with Heidenreich taking Hawk’s place. While the duo would enjoy a three-month-long run with the tag team title, the idea of rebooting the tag team in the wake of Hawk’s passing seemed in poor taste. On top of that, Heidenreich was considered a lackluster wrestler, making this iteration of the team a questionable footnote rather than anything memorable.