Road Warrior Animal Passes Away, AEW Comments

WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest legends of all time Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Michael Laurinaitis) has passed away at the age of 60. The heart-breaking news was first posted by fellow WWE Hall of Famer “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan on Hogan’s Twitter.

In 1983, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) started teaming as The Road Warriors/ Legion Of Doom. The Road Warriors are known as the greatest tag team of all time. They have won several championship titles throughout their career, including the WWE/F Tag Team Titles, the NWA World Tag Team Titles and the AWA World Tag Team Titles.

The Road Warriors was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011 with Laurinaitis and Paul Ellering accepting the induction. Road Warrior Animal’s last match ever was for the WWE on the July 17th, 2012 episode of SmackDown, where he destroyed Heath Slater. He then made an appearance on the 1,000th episode of Monday Night RAW days later to join other WWE legends in beating Heath Slater down.

Several wrestling companies and personalities sent their heart-felt messages on the tragic death of Road Warrior Animal. One of those companies is All Elite Wrestling. At the ALL IN PPV in 2018, which was one of the main reason AEW was formed, Road Warrior Animal appeared as a surprise guest.

You can check out All Elite Wrestling’s message below:

AEW and the wrestling world mourn the passing of the legendary Road Warrior Animal, our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans. pic.twitter.com/xAzwv8gngw

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) September 23, 2020