Road Warrior Animal Has Passed Away

Mightygoose

Registered User
Nov 5, 2012
5,586
1,382
Ajax, ON
Wow another one gone too soon :(. By looking at the second tweet in the OP, it sounds like it was sudden.

Both members of LOD/Road Warrior gone...very sad.

RIP Animal
 

Guardian17

Strong & Free
Aug 29, 2010
15,994
23,161
Winnipeg
Very sad news.

joe-road-warrior-animal-laurinaitis.jpg


 
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Mightygoose

Registered User
Nov 5, 2012
5,586
1,382
Ajax, ON
Looking back at some old PPVs. 1990 Survivor Series, just shy of the 30th anniversary of the show, all members of 'The Warriors' are now deceased.

Out of all 8 in the match, only 2 are alive today; the original members of Demolition (Ax and Smash) who some say the idea was inspired by Road Warriors. When LOD came to the WWF, Demolition called them 'imposters'.

Very sad....I feel so much older....
 

LeafSteel

GO LEAFS GO!!!
Mar 5, 2014
5,614
8,288
Toronto
So saddened by this.

Often imitated but never duplicated. The Road Warriors will always be GOAT.

Seeing them square off against Demolition will be something I never forget.

WHAT A RUUUUUSH!!!

RIP. :(
 

Megahab

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
7,162
1,258
Toronto
Two of the first things I've thought of after hearing this news:

-One of my all-time favourite Survivor Series teams was The Warriors - Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado, and LOD. All 4 have now died.

-One of my all-time favourite matches the 10-men tag match with the Hart Foundation vs. Austin, Shamrock, Goldust, and LOD. Now, 6 of the 10 guys in that match have died.
 

Guardian17

Strong & Free
Aug 29, 2010
15,994
23,161
Winnipeg
Two of the first things I've thought of after hearing this news:

-One of my all-time favourite Survivor Series teams was The Warriors - Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado, and LOD. All 4 have now died.

-One of my all-time favourite matches the 10-men tag match with the Hart Foundation vs. Austin, Shamrock, Goldust, and LOD. Now, 6 of the 10 guys in that match have died.

They were mine as well.

I didn't realize until recently that Kerry Von Erich was known as the Modern Day Warrior in WCCW.

So, that team had the Ultimate Warrior, the Road Warriors and the Modern Day Warrior.

 

BostonBob

4 Ever The Greatest
Jan 26, 2004
13,617
6,567
Vancouver, BC
I remember watching a great match back in 1985 at the old Montreal Forum - Hawk was a no-show that night so it was Animal & Paul Ellering vs Rick Martel & Jos LeDuc. The greatest thing I ever saw at a wrestling card happened just before the bell. My Dad was always able to get pretty good seats for wrestling in Montreal whether it was at the Forum or at the Centre Paul Sauve ( an area just outside downtown Montreal which was used mainly for junior hockey ) so I had a good view of what took place. This old lady stood up and started waiving her arms and swearing at the heels when suddenly she whipped her oversized purse at Animal. He caught the purse, took out a small change purse and gave it to Ellering and then threw the big purse back into the crowd. Some fans were laughing ( I know I was ) but others looked like they were about to charge the ring. I always wondered if she was a plant because it was all done so flawlessly by everybody involved. This match was also notable because it was the start of King Tonga's ( aka Haku and Meng ) face turn which was shocking as he had been the top heel in Montreal for about the last 2-3 years. Man - I miss those days. The only 2 things my Dad and I had in common was a love for rasslin' ( I know he would hate the crap they now call Sports Entertainment ) and hockey. He's probably the reason I am still a fan of both. :thumbu:


EDIT: I actually found the match on YouTube - the purse incident is not included which kind of sucks. This will also give some of you a chance to practice your French. ;)

 
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Sheppy

Registered User
Nov 23, 2011
55,686
57,314
The Arctic
I actually thought Animal was a bit older than he was. Figured he was mid-late 60's.

One of my favorite teams growing up, used to make their shoulder pads out of cardboard when i was little, haha.
 
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Adam Michaels

Registered User
Jun 12, 2016
77,248
123,905
Montreal


In the slideshow Bret posted, he is the only one still alive in those pictures. Hawk, Animal, Neidhard, and Okerlund have all passed on.
 
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SladeWilson23

I keep my promises.
Sponsor
Nov 3, 2014
26,735
3,220
New Jersey
In the slideshow Bret posted, he is the only one still alive in those pictures. Hawk, Animal, Neidhard, and Okerlund have all passed on.

Bret has had some close calls himself :(

As enjoyable as the 90's was for wrestling, I think we're starting to see the toll the culture of that era took on the performers' health. Cause of death for most of these always seems like it has something to do with drugs, heart issues, or suicide. Even the ones who are still alive had to battle a ton of demons.
 
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swflyers93

Registered User
Nov 19, 2007
4,208
243
Norristown, PA
Very heartbreaking news. I grew up watching the NWA/WCW when I was kid, like the mid 80s and the early 90s. I saw the matches that the Road Warriors had and their entrance music, Iron Man by Black Sabbath. It gave me chills. Back when the Philadelphia Convention Center was around, it was just another venue like the Spectrum. My dad, me and my brother saw the Road Warriors and Ric Flair. We got there and we had to sit next to two guys that looked just like the Road Warriors. At first I was scared of them but the end of the night, they were our buddies. The Road Warriors are the best tag team ever. I mean they legit made you think they could kill you if you messed with them. They will be missed. I remember this match well.
 

DaaaaB's

Registered User
Apr 24, 2004
8,260
1,839
Was sad to hear about this last week. The Road Warriors are my favourite tag team of alltime. Sucks that both are gone now. RIP
 

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