The Interview with Road Warrior “Animal”

Cefus and Tom spoke with Road Warrior Animal about his new book and his most recent WWE Hall of Fame induction. Listen to the interview below

The Road Warriors recounts the blood, raw power and glory days of wrestling’s ultimate tag-team duo!

Wrestling superstar Road Warrior Animal offers a no-holds-barred memoir that’s as merciless, action-packed and unpredictable as he was in the ring!

CHICAGO: Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis, a bodybuilder and bouncer from a small Midwest town, rose to the pinnacle of the wrestling world as half of the famed tag-team duo, the Road Warriors. Together with Mike Hegstrand (a.k.a. Road Warrior Hawk) the pair—whose spiked attire and signature closer, the Doomsday Device—would be catapulted to superstar status and delight audiences for nearly two decades as wrestling’s baddest and boldest tag team of all time. The Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling (Medallion Press, March 1, 2011) by Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis with Andrew William Wright is an action-packed, adrenaline ride through the rollercoaster career of the legendary tag-teamers. With a foreword by “Precious” Paul Ellering, the duo’s longtime manager and honorary third tag-teammate, The Road Warriors recalls their greatest matches and gives an insider’s look at the pair’s meteoric and sudden rise to the GCW (George Championship Wrestling) stage and their unopposed dominations in the GCW, AWA, NWA, WCW and WWF.

Under the guidance of Precious Paul, the Road Warriors were crowned instant champs in their GCW debut. Together with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and the Spoiler, they formed the Legion of Doom, a moniker which would become their trademarked name in the WWF.

Giving a raw and rare glimpse into the business of pro wrestling, The Road Warriors follows Animal’s remarkable career, from his initial failures to the duo’s several title matches, their travels to Japan, the War Games, their time in the WCW and the biggest wrestling event of all time, the WWF’s Wrestlemania, while delivering a blow-by-blow reenactment of their greatest matches. “In a lot of ways, Hawk & I symbolized what the Reagan era in the U.S. was all about at that time: being the top super power in the world and hot-dogging it all the way with force, flash and balls,” says Animal.

The Road Warriors also offers a backstage pass to one of wrestling’s most controversial eras—the 1980’s wrestling wars and the rise of the WWF. An era of rampant steroid and drug abuse, contract negotiations and Vince McMahon as wrestling’s controversial king, The Road Warriors showcases the turmoil, collapse and rise of various pro wrestling circuits. Laurinaitis also discloses whether or not wrestling is “fake” in The Road Warriors and candidly discusses various wrestling legends, including Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Rick Rude, the Baron & Crusher, The Four Horsemen, Sting & Lex Luger and Nikita Koloff.

Going beyond the gimmick, Animal soberly addresses the collapse of the Road Warriors in the 90’s, his turn to Christianity and the deaths of various wrestling stars, including the 2003 death of his tag-team partner, Road Warrior Hawk.

ABOUT JOE “ANIMAL” LAURINAITIS

Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis is an internationally recognized professional wrestling superstar. He is the cofounder of the sporting clothes company Zubaz and an avid motivational speaker to youth groups across the United States.