Hawk

Stats

Height: 6’3”
Weight: 275 pounds
Weight Class: Super Heavyweight
From: Chicago, IL
Career Highlights : World Tag Team Champion; AWA Tag Team Champion; NWA Tag Team Champions; NWA National Tag Team Champion; NWA International Tag Team Champion; WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011

Attributes

Strike Power: 85
Grapple Power: 85
Submission: 75
Strike Defense: 80
Grapple Defense: 80
Speed: 65
Agility: 80
Adrenaline: 70
Recovery: 75
Durability: 85
Charisma: 85
Tag Team: 100
Overall: 89

Abilities

Hammer Throw
Resiliency

Signature Moves

Military Press Slam

Situation: Standing front

Texas Piledriver

Situation: Standing front

Finishers

Hangman’s Neckbreaker

Situation: Standing front

Diving Clothesline 3

Situation: Dive vs. standing opponent

Bio

The Road Warriors are the most dominant tag team in the history of sports-entertainment. It is not a topic of debate. It is a fact. Over the course of two decades, the trash-talking, muscle-bound tough guys from the mean streets of Chicago, IL, smashed every team put in front of them and captured championships wherever they went.

Their journey to supremacy began before they ever entered a wrestling ring. After a rough upbringing in the Windy City, Hawk and Animal both moved to Minneapolis, MN, where they became bouncers in some of the toughest joints in the area.

Their huge size and no-nonsense attitudes caught the attention of local grappler Eddie Sharkey, who offered to train the pair. Since they were already dealing with some of the meanest thugs around, it was a natural transition to sports-entertainment for the powerhouses.

In 1982, the team made its debut in Georgia Championship Wrestling. With their hair shaved into wild mohawks and their faces covered in war paint, Hawk and Animal based their look on the post-apocalyptic madmen who wreaked havoc on the badlands in the Mad Max film series.

Their unique appearance immediately brought them attention, but it was the carnage they caused in the ring that truly gave them a following. Led by their manager, Precious Paul Ellering, The Road Warriors wasted no time in capturing their first championship, winning the NWA National Tag Team title in 1983.

After conquering Georgia, The Road Warriors stomped into Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association and quickly defeated Baron von Raschke and The Crusher to become AWA Tag Team Champions in 1984.

The dominant duo would hold the title for over a year in the face of serious competition from The Rock ’N’ Roll Express, Harley Race and Stan Hansen, and The Freebirds.

With no one left to beat in the AWA, The Road Warriors went on a quest for the NWA Tag Team Championship. They made an immediate impact in 1986 by beating three teams in a single day to win a tag team tournament known as The Crockett Cup.

During this time, the team also began to carve out distinction in Japan by defeating some of the country’s top teams. Throughout the years, Hawk and Animal would regularly return to the Land of the Rising Sun and soon became two of the most respected and beloved competitors in the nation.

In the late ’80s, the NWA underwent a shakeup and became a part of WCW, but Hawk and Animal’s dominance continued unabated.

Now being exposed to a wider audience through Ted Turner’s programming, The Road Warriors exploded in popularity as they battered some of sports-entertainment’s top teams, including The Four Horsemen, The Varsity Club, and Doom.

With their trophy case overflowing, the team finally arrived in WWE in August of 1990. Now known as The Legion of Doom, the tough guys immediately disposed of Demolition before defeating The Nasty Boys to become the World Tag Team Champions at SummerSlam in 1991.

With this victory, The Legion of Doom became the only duo in the history of sports-entertainment to hold the tag team titles in AWA, NWA, and WWE.

In 1996, The Road Warriors went back to WCW and had several memorable rivalries with the likes of Sting and Lex Luger, The Steiner Brothers, and Harlem Heat.

The team couldn’t stay away from WWE, though, and returned in 1997. After again working their way up the ranks, they defeated The Godwinns to win their second World Tag Team Championship that same year.

In the many years since The Road Warriors first exploded on the scene in 1982, countless teams have attempted to imitate the explosive duo, but no one ever did it.

It is a testament to Hawk and Animal’s unmatched influence that no pair has come close to matching their success, dominance, and wealth of championships. Now, WWE proudly adds one more prize to their legacy—entry into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Breakdown

Like his partner Animal, Hawk is a well-rounded, powerful Superstar who is fun in Tag Team matches. His Power, Defense, Recovery, Durability, and Charisma attributes are all decent in the 80s, but unless you’re utilizing his 100 Tag Team attribute in a double-team move, you’re really dealing with a Superstar with an Overall rating in the lower to mid-80s. The Diving Clothesline is a fun, old-school Finisher to pull out in matches.