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00:30They were just like the guys in Mad Max.
00:33I mean, they were meaner than the guys in Mad Max.
00:36In the history of professional wrestling,
00:38no duo has dominated the ring like Hawk and Animal.
00:42The Rogue Warriors.
00:44When we go to Japan, they were like Godzilla.
00:48You look at them and you went,
00:50holy shit, I hope they don't kill me.
00:53They were legitimate tough guys.
00:54They clawed their way to the top,
00:57becoming one of wrestling's biggest attractions.
01:00But an unrelenting lifestyle for one
01:02ultimately led to their downfall.
01:05Party hard, play hard.
01:07He lives hard.
01:08That switch would flip after the bash of Bam.
01:12I woke up this morning.
01:13This is where I felt sick.
01:15It becomes a way off as well as an escape.
01:19You'll feel like you'll want to be dead
01:21when we're done with you.
01:23The Rogue can eat you alive.
01:25At the age of 46, Rogue Warrior Hawk
01:27unexpectedly passed away of a suspected heart attack.
01:31I literally cried like a baby.
01:32I mean, that was my friend.
01:35I've been through hell and back with this guy.
01:37Oh my God, all right!
01:46The art of tag team wrestling engages fans
01:50in a dynamic, far more complex way
01:52than one-on-one matches.
01:54The greatest tag team duos in history
01:56share a sixth sense,
01:58operating as two halves of one whole.
02:01There's no one without the other.
02:02And no team proves that more
02:05than Mike Hawk Eggstrand
02:08and Joe Animal Laurinaitis.
02:10In an era dominated by iconic personalities...
02:14Just what exactly goes to the Rogue Warriors' mind?
02:17...whose singles matches were the star attraction.
02:20The Rogue Warriors would break the mold
02:22as comic book heroes come to life
02:24and post-apocalyptic warriors
02:26beyond the realms of Earth.
02:28The most important thing to us
02:30has always been beating people up.
02:32Their larger-than-life personas
02:34propelled them to main event status
02:35around the world,
02:37winning titles wherever they went.
02:39But the price for success is often high.
02:41And in this episode,
02:43we reveal the heavy costs paid by both men
02:45and how their wrestling brotherhood
02:47met its heartbreaking end.
02:50I think tag team wrestling
02:52is the most interesting part
02:53of the wrestling business.
02:54Tag team wrestling is an art.
02:57It's a four-person athletic dance.
02:59A road warrior animal.
03:02What half of the greatest tag team ever
03:04in the history of professional wrestling?
03:07The Road Warriors.
03:08There's more of a story told with the tag team
03:11than there is the single.
03:12You can't just put two guys together
03:14and make them a tag.
03:16You have to have two guys that really know each other.
03:20My name is Barry Darso.
03:22I was the repo man
03:23in Demolition Smash.
03:26And I always thought
03:27we had incredible matches
03:29with the Road Warriors.
03:30What made the Road Warriors successful
03:32was there were two guys that really clicked.
03:34Everybody believed
03:35that they could beat anybody.
03:37And they looked incredible.
03:39I saw the it.
03:42These two have the it factor.
03:45Paul Ellery,
03:47manager of the Road Warriors
03:48for 20-some years.
03:50The Road Warriors,
03:51it's a group that comes along
03:53once in every generation.
03:55And they're always copied,
03:57never duplicated.
03:59Hawk and Animal are just two
04:00no-nonsense badasses.
04:02Hawk was the off-the-wall flyer guy
04:04and Animal was like,
04:07the buck stops here.
04:08Most teams had one big guy
04:10and one little guy.
04:11Here you got two freaking monsters.
04:13They could do things in the ring
04:14that prior to them,
04:16big guys didn't do.
04:19I'm Nikita Kolov,
04:20not from Russia,
04:21although that's what I portrayed
04:22for many years
04:23in the wrestling business.
04:24It was the chemistry of tag team,
04:26picking the guy up the shoulder
04:27and coming off the top rope.
04:29The doomsday, you know,
04:31he flew off of the top turnbuckle
04:33and that was the ultimate finish
04:36in wrestling for decades.
04:39They knew what each other
04:40one was thinking all the time.
04:42But sometimes Animal knew more
04:44than Hawk as far as
04:45what was going on.
04:47Joe was much more patient
04:48than Mike was.
04:50Again, you hear some of the stories,
04:51right, of how Mike would snap
04:53in an instant or fly off the handle.
04:56Oh yeah, man,
04:56we got along instantly.
04:57I was like 18 years old
05:00and I knew of Mike Hegstrand,
05:02known as a loose cannon,
05:03tough guy.
05:05In 1977,
05:07Mike Hegstrand
05:08and Joe Laurinaitis
05:09are two kids growing up
05:10on the streets
05:11of northeast Minneapolis,
05:12a tough,
05:13working-class neighborhood.
05:15You know,
05:16I was at Jesse Labonte
05:18Ventura's gym
05:19and I'm sitting there
05:20and I'm doing inclines
05:21and I got like 315 pounds
05:23on the bar
05:24and all of a sudden
05:25in the middle of my set,
05:26I get this whack
05:28on my chest,
05:30this big, fat palm print.
05:31And he goes,
05:32Laurinaitis, you ain't right.
05:33You should be lifting
05:34more weights than me.
05:35That was my meeting
05:36with Mike Hegstrand.
05:39This is a great school photo
05:40of Mike
05:41and he was voted
05:42class bully.
05:44Yeah, you can see it there.
05:46I think that was staged,
05:48but...
05:50Mike's reputation in school
05:51was a scrapper.
05:52His idea of a good time
05:54was to go beat up someone.
05:56Just stay away from them.
05:57You'll be a great friend to you,
05:59but don't cross them.
06:00I'm Rich Hegstrand,
06:02Mike's older brother.
06:03And I'm Dan Hegstrand.
06:05I was four years younger than Mike.
06:07Mike was a lost soul
06:09as far as what am I going to do
06:10and everything.
06:11And our mom had passed away.
06:17Come on, bro.
06:18You can do it.
06:21But he obviously found his way,
06:23but it was a bit of a road
06:25to get there.
06:26He was hyperactive.
06:27He didn't sit still.
06:28You know,
06:28if he was sitting still,
06:29his leg was bouncing up and down
06:30and he had a lot of energy
06:32to lift weights
06:34and punch people.
06:36Yeah.
06:37The way we put it
06:39is I'm from the other side
06:40of the tracks
06:40and Hawk was pretty much
06:42the toughest guy
06:43on his side of the tracks
06:44and I was pretty much
06:44the toughest guy
06:45on my side of the tracks.
06:46My name is Scott Norton.
06:47I'm a professional wrestler
06:49from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
06:51I grew up with Mike Hankstrand,
06:52known as Hawk.
06:53He was going to kind of like
06:55mark his territory
06:56in his school.
06:57So he got a little brawl
06:59with a guy
06:59from South High School.
07:01Knocked his ass out.
07:02Got a woman
07:02with a guy
07:03from North High School.
07:04Knocked him out.
07:05Went to West.
07:06Same thing.
07:07And he would condition himself.
07:09He would punch himself
07:11in the face.
07:12And I mean,
07:12it wasn't just a...
07:13I don't even want
07:14to hit my hand that hard.
07:16Fractures between
07:17each one of his teeth.
07:19You know,
07:19basically broke his face.
07:21Their hard-hitting lifestyle
07:22growing up
07:23in Northeast Minneapolis
07:24would serve as a training ground
07:26for their careers
07:27in the ring.
07:28And their circle
07:29of friends
07:29soon expands
07:30to include
07:31a massively talented roster
07:33of future superstars.
07:35Pretty interesting
07:36that in Minneapolis
07:37was just a mecca
07:38of guys
07:39who ended up
07:40in the crazy,
07:41wacky world
07:41of professional wrestling.
07:43Mr. Perfect Kurt Henning,
07:45the Road Warriors,
07:45and John Nord,
07:47and Barry Darso.
07:49Nikita Kolov,
07:52Rick Rude,
07:53Scott Norton, too,
07:54right around the same time.
07:54We all knew of each other.
07:56We got closer
07:57as Hop would ask me
07:59to fill in
08:00working at this bar,
08:02Grandma B's,
08:02down in Minneapolis.
08:04It's at one of Minneapolis'
08:06toughest bars
08:07that Joe and Mike
08:08get a chance
08:08to cut their teeth.
08:11Paid the bills,
08:11and it was
08:12a perfect outlet
08:14for him,
08:15I guess you might say.
08:15And why was that?
08:17Just because he could
08:18beat up people
08:18and get paid for it.
08:20I mean,
08:20it was just like wrestling.
08:23I can't mention
08:24any names,
08:25but the guy
08:25that used to own
08:26the bar
08:26we used to bounce at,
08:27he dealt in coke,
08:28and when someone
08:29owed him a lot of money,
08:30he'd say,
08:31hey, man,
08:32you need to go
08:32have a conversation
08:33with this guy.
08:34I remember one time,
08:35you know,
08:35Hawk had one leg,
08:36I had the one leg
08:37of the guy,
08:37and we were hanging him
08:38over the Frankel Avenue
08:39Bridge here in Minneapolis
08:40and said,
08:40listen, man,
08:41you need to freaking pay up.
08:42At Grandma B's,
08:44there was a strip bar
08:45in the afternoon,
08:46and then they'd always
08:47have wet t-shirt contests
08:48and everything,
08:48so I mean,
08:49it brought some
08:50of the worst
08:51of the worst guys.
08:52Every night,
08:53something happened.
08:54Lo and behold,
08:55the bartender
08:56was Ed Sharkey.
08:58I knew I heard
08:59of Ed Sharkey before
09:00because he wrestled
09:00for Virgiani
09:01in the AWA,
09:02and he comes up to us
09:03and he goes,
09:04hey,
09:05we're going to do
09:05a wrestling school.
09:06You guys want to do it?
09:07And we all
09:07did each other
09:08and said,
09:08ah, man,
09:09I don't know
09:09if I want to do that.
09:10And I'm thinking
09:11to myself,
09:12well,
09:12what could it hurt?
09:13My name is
09:14Eddie Sharkey.
09:14I've been in
09:15the wrestling business
09:16for, well,
09:17most of my life,
09:18starting on a carnival.
09:19I've been a professional
09:20wrestler,
09:21referee,
09:23promoter,
09:23trainer.
09:24I've done just
09:25about everything.
09:26Eddie ended up
09:27having a church
09:28in northeast Minneapolis,
09:30and he had a boxing ring
09:32downstairs.
09:33Eddie was a character.
09:35He'd sit down there
09:35and he'd go,
09:36yeah, guys,
09:37good tackle,
09:38you know,
09:39good drop kick
09:39or good whatever,
09:40but Eddie really
09:41never got out
09:42of his chair.
09:43Well, you know,
09:44if I would leave
09:45the room or something,
09:46I said,
09:46now don't try a suplex.
09:47I mean, you know,
09:48you're going to hurt yourself
09:49and I'd walk out of the room
09:51for whatever reason
09:51and the one's got the other
09:52up in the air
09:53and oh my goodness.
09:54Ed never showed us
09:55how to throw
09:56what they call today
09:57a working punch.
09:59So,
10:00we would literally
10:01back up and go,
10:02bam!
10:03You know,
10:03and punch each other.
10:05His nose would be broken
10:06and bleeding like crazy.
10:07Eddie never really
10:08smartened us up
10:09on exactly
10:10what was going on
10:11until after a while
10:12he says,
10:13you know,
10:13well,
10:13here's what you do.
10:15Eddie soon realizes
10:16that this promising
10:17crop of talent
10:18might have a future
10:19in the squared circle.
10:21Olly Anderson
10:22was a very,
10:22very good wrestler.
10:23Another Minnesota guy
10:25and he became a promoter.
10:26He worked for Ted Turner
10:27so he was the main guy
10:28and he came up
10:30to Grandma B's.
10:31One night,
10:32some guy was
10:34misbehaving
10:35and I had to escort him out.
10:36Well,
10:37I had one hand
10:38behind his collar
10:39and one hand
10:39on his belt loop
10:40and I threw him
10:41through the front door
10:41and we had this
10:43trip wire outside
10:44and we used to
10:46gauge each other
10:47by how many flips
10:48the guy could do
10:48around this wire
10:50and when the guy
10:50gets done flipping,
10:51he lands right on
10:52Olly Anderson's shoes
10:53and all I did
10:54is say,
10:55hey,
10:55how you doing?
10:56And I turned around
10:56and went back
10:57at the bar.
10:58Next thing you know,
10:58Olly brings me down
11:00to Atlanta.
11:01While Olly recruits
11:02Joe to work
11:03in his Georgia territory,
11:04his future tag team
11:06partner has already
11:07been scouted
11:08by another promotion.
11:09Mike started first
11:11for Al Tomko
11:12up in Canada.
11:14Now,
11:14you men up there
11:15that are married
11:15to some good-looking wife,
11:17you know,
11:17when your wife
11:18takes a look
11:18at this man,
11:19she's gonna go crazy.
11:20I went down
11:22for Olly Anderson
11:23as the road warrior
11:25singularly by myself.
11:26I look like
11:27a giant version
11:27of the village people.
11:29Now,
11:29keep in mind
11:30when Joe broke
11:31into the business,
11:32he had got his
11:32girlfriend pregnant
11:33and Joe did
11:35the right thing
11:36and by that meaning
11:37he got married
11:39because he wanted
11:39to, you know,
11:40raise his child.
11:42You know,
11:42I was sending
11:43all my money
11:43that I was making
11:44back home.
11:45I was wrestling
11:46nine times a week
11:47making $150 total.
11:49You know,
11:49I lost 50 pounds
11:50of body weight.
11:51I said,
11:52I can't live off this
11:52and Mike's experience
11:54wasn't that great
11:55up in Vancouver.
11:56So,
11:57we both came back
11:58to Minnesota.
11:59I actually could
11:59make more money
12:00at one night bouncing
12:01than I was making
12:02working there
12:02in two weeks.
12:03Olly Anderson
12:04came back
12:05into the bar
12:05and Ed Sharkey
12:06showed him a picture
12:07that Mike had taken
12:08up in Vancouver.
12:10Olly thought
12:11it was a picture
12:11of me.
12:12Eddie Sharkey goes,
12:13no,
12:13that's not Joe,
12:15that's Mike.
12:16Then Olly goes,
12:17there's two
12:18of these guys?
12:19Joe and Mike,
12:20you're a tag team.
12:21Be in Atlanta
12:22next week.
12:23You're a son of a bitch.
12:24Then Olly called me up
12:25and said,
12:25hey,
12:25I want to bring you guys
12:26in as the road warriors.
12:28From rough and tumble
12:30beginnings
12:30in the Minneapolis
12:31bar scene,
12:32Joe and Mike
12:33are about to be
12:34catapulted
12:34into superstardom
12:35and eventually
12:37towards their own
12:38undoing.
12:43In 1983,
12:45Joe Laurinaitis
12:46and Mike Hagstrand
12:48are recruited
12:48to wrestle in Georgia,
12:50except this time
12:51as a tag team.
12:52They have no idea
12:53they're about to
12:54revolutionize
12:55the world of wrestling.
12:57Hawk,
12:57thanks for spending
12:58a few moments with us.
12:59What got you
13:00started in wrestling?
13:01I just started
13:02watching it one time
13:03and I thought
13:04if they could,
13:05I could do it better
13:05and the first time
13:06we appeared together
13:07on TV,
13:09you know,
13:09we were both
13:10real green.
13:11And the road warriors
13:12moving up.
13:13The start of the road warriors
13:15on TV was like surreal
13:17for Hawk and I
13:18because it was like,
13:19man,
13:19here's all these
13:20megastars of Georgia
13:21championship wrestling.
13:22There's Sergeant Slaughter
13:23and there's Tito Santana
13:25and there's Dusty Rhodes
13:26and I'm going,
13:27holy crap,
13:28there's some major
13:28superstars here.
13:29And then here we are,
13:31now we're a part of this.
13:33Upon their arrival
13:34in the territory,
13:35matchmaker Oli Anderson
13:37approaches his new tag team
13:39with a bold new idea.
13:41They actually handed us
13:43the belts
13:43what we got
13:44at the TV station.
13:45They say,
13:46here's your belt,
13:48here's your belt
13:48and we're going,
13:50where do we say
13:50we want them?
13:51They say,
13:51I say,
13:52you want them
13:52in a tag team tournament
13:53in Chicago.
13:54From Chicago.
13:56Oli says,
13:57this is going to be
13:58the new tag team
13:59and their Minnesota boys
14:01like you
14:02take care of them.
14:03The names,
14:04they both came up
14:05with themselves.
14:06I think Oli pointed at them,
14:08he says,
14:08you look like an animal.
14:11And then he said to Hawk,
14:12you look like,
14:13I forget what he said,
14:14but Hawk says,
14:15I think I'm a Hawk.
14:17So it became
14:18Animal and Hawk.
14:20After their very
14:21first match together,
14:23newly crowned champions
14:24Hawk and Animal
14:25soon joined forces
14:27with Paul Ellering.
14:28He acts as both
14:29their on-
14:30and off-screen manager,
14:31leading them
14:32to the big leagues.
14:34So I just took them
14:35from that day one,
14:37they jumped in my van,
14:38and that was it.
14:40Paul was great
14:41at fine-tuning us.
14:44You know,
14:44he said,
14:45go with your raw strength,
14:46go with what you do best.
14:48We used to sit there
14:49at Denny's
14:49and Paul would take
14:51the time
14:51to draw on a napkin.
14:53Animal,
14:53you're here.
14:54Hawk,
14:54you're here.
14:55Throw this guy
14:56into this ropes
14:56after you make the tag.
14:58Hawk,
14:58you drop down,
14:59let's incorporate that in.
15:00We had the motorcycle boots
15:01and everything,
15:02you know,
15:02and that's what we wore
15:04down to the ring.
15:05After about a month,
15:06all he said,
15:07hey,
15:07we got an idea
15:08for you guys.
15:09Remember the heel guy
15:10in the Road Warrior movie
15:11that had the red mohawk
15:12and the feather in his ear?
15:13Well,
15:14we want you to try
15:15and do something
15:16with the face paint.
15:18And that became
15:19an evolution
15:19because the early face paint
15:21was, you know,
15:22like a black eye
15:23or something.
15:23But we were trying
15:24different things
15:25at that time
15:26to try to get a painting
15:28of expressing
15:29the way we feel.
15:31And Mike Hextran goes,
15:32hey,
15:33I got another idea.
15:34What if Animal
15:36shaves his hair
15:37into a mohawk
15:38to look like
15:38the guy in the movie?
15:39I'll shave my head
15:40in a double mohawk
15:42so when Animal
15:43bends over
15:43and I bend over
15:44and we plug our heads in,
15:45it looks like one unit.
15:47How did the spike
15:47shoulder pads
15:48kind of work its way
15:49into the fold?
15:50You know,
15:50that came from Animal.
15:51That was his idea.
15:53And it was genius
15:54on his part.
15:55I had a friend of mine
15:56that worked for Honeywell.
15:58He milled me some spikes.
16:00I said,
16:00listen, man,
16:01I need some six inch spikes.
16:02I want some four inch spikes,
16:04some two inch spikes.
16:05And I sat in my garage
16:06with my drill
16:07and I drilled holes
16:08to those shoulder pads
16:09licking my thumb
16:11like freaking Picasso,
16:14right?
16:14Then I put some chains
16:15on them
16:15and that was the birth
16:17of the Road Warrior
16:17shoulder pads.
16:18They put them on
16:19and it was just
16:20frosting on the cape.
16:23And the old people
16:24just ate it up.
16:25These poor guys
16:25they're working against,
16:27I mean,
16:27they ran people over.
16:29I just apologized
16:31to them and back
16:32for what's going to
16:33happen to you,
16:33but your ass
16:35is getting kicked.
16:38They were bad boys,
16:40but when they were bad,
16:41they were very good.
16:43Man,
16:43as long as we stayed away
16:44from the guys nuts
16:45and we didn't break
16:46their nose or anything,
16:47it was cool.
16:48But if you look back,
16:50some of those clotheslines
16:51we hit guys with,
16:52guys were doing
16:53natural flips,
16:55we were hitting them
16:56so hard.
16:57This cable was spreading
16:58across the country.
16:59It was creating
17:00a revolution
17:01in the wrestling business.
17:04Unlike other promotions
17:06in the early 1980s,
17:08Georgia's World Championship
17:09Wrestling enjoys
17:10a prime time spot
17:12on Atlanta's TBS,
17:14the first superstation
17:16to be broadcast
17:17across the entire USA.
17:20I told the guys,
17:21I think it was 84,
17:22I said,
17:23we can work
17:24the whole world.
17:26We'll just make it
17:26our territory.
17:28Paul would book us
17:29in the AWA
17:30or he would book us
17:31for the Rougeos
17:32up in Canada,
17:33go to Puerto Rico
17:34for Carlos Colon
17:35and then go to the NWA
17:37and then, you know,
17:38we were going
17:38all over the world
17:40not tied to any one company.
17:42Paul's very instrumental
17:43in not letting
17:45the promoters
17:46manipulate us.
17:47We were one of the few
17:48tag teams
17:48that were main events
17:49every night in the arena.
17:52We never stayed
17:53any one place
17:54and it kept us fresh
17:55and it was always good
17:57because they'd bring us in
17:59and the place would fill up.
18:01Everybody in the business
18:02recognized
18:04that Road Warrior pop
18:06just loud.
18:08I've lost all my hearing.
18:10Even today,
18:12if someone gets a good cheer
18:13going down the match,
18:14it's called
18:15the Road Warrior pop.
18:17At what point
18:18in your career
18:18did you realize
18:19that you guys
18:19were getting used?
18:21You know,
18:22first trip to Japan,
18:23we got there,
18:24we got off the flight,
18:25we got to do an interview.
18:26In this room
18:27was literally
18:29150 photographers
18:30and reporters
18:31from all over
18:32the country of Japan.
18:33They said
18:34there was more reporters
18:35there than when
18:36Michael Jackson
18:36came over to Japan.
18:38We will fight tonight
18:39like we will
18:41never fought before!
18:42Well, Japan wanted us
18:44and the Japanese people
18:46always like to be scared.
18:49You know,
18:49we're entertainers
18:51as well as wrestlers.
18:53Hey,
18:54you guys hungry?
18:55You know,
18:56the Japanese responded to us
18:57because we were so far
18:58ahead of our time.
19:00We were so nothing like
19:02the Japanese wrestlers.
19:03We don't care who it is,
19:05we're going to stop
19:05everybody in the country.
19:07I mean,
19:07we wrestled some top guys,
19:09man,
19:09you know,
19:10Killer Khan.
19:11When I pressed Killer Khan,
19:13Japanese people were like,
19:14what kind of nai?
19:15Like,
19:16I can't believe it!
19:17Killer Khan was
19:186'3",
19:196'4",
19:20365 pounds.
19:22I press slammed him
19:23over my head,
19:24then I gorilla slammed him down.
19:28It was national news.
19:32It was no secret that,
19:34you know,
19:35Mike liked to party.
19:36Partied hard,
19:37ran hard.
19:39There was nothing
19:39he was afraid of.
19:41No situation bothered him.
19:43Mike got involved
19:44with these people.
19:45The Japanese mafia
19:46over there,
19:47they would pick him up
19:48and he would go out
19:49dinner with them
19:50the next, you know,
19:50he wouldn't see them
19:51for two days.
19:52He'd meet Japanese mafia
19:53over there
19:53and he'd tell me about
19:55if you made a mistake
19:56over there,
19:56they just took a digit
19:57off of your fingers.
19:58He'd come home
19:59with just stacks
20:00of $100 bills,
20:01which he declared.
20:03I think Joe
20:04was more of the guy
20:04that would rather,
20:06you know,
20:07go out to dinner
20:07and go to the room
20:09and get some sleep
20:09so you can get up
20:10and have a great workout
20:11the next day.
20:12Where Hawk,
20:13he was wild.
20:14He wanted to go out
20:15to the bar,
20:15he wanted to do this.
20:17He had no shutoff valve
20:18to it, man.
20:19It was just like,
20:20go,
20:21100 miles an hour
20:21all the time.
20:23That's when it started
20:24hitting a nerve with me.
20:31By 1986,
20:33the Road Warriors
20:34have become one
20:35of the top wrestling
20:36attractions in the world.
20:38To be that good
20:39in that many
20:40different territories,
20:42it's unprecedented.
20:43My vision was,
20:45of course,
20:45to make money,
20:46you know,
20:46for all of us.
20:47This is an opportunity
20:48that only comes along
20:50once in a lifetime.
20:51Everybody out there
20:52watching,
20:54we like to kick
20:54your teeth in too.
20:56My first reaction
20:57to seeing Mike
20:57and everything
20:58was,
20:59wow,
20:59this is amazing.
21:01And it just took you
21:03by surprise
21:04at how far
21:05he had come
21:05in such a short
21:07period of time,
21:08really.
21:09As their popularity
21:10grows,
21:11the promotions
21:12booking the Road Warriors
21:13realize they're not
21:14just getting
21:15a run-of-the-mill
21:16tag team.
21:17They're getting
21:17rising stars
21:18with a guaranteed
21:20sell-out crowd.
21:21The greatest thing
21:22about the Road Warriors
21:23is that we never
21:25had to change
21:25who we were,
21:26whether we were
21:27babyface or heel.
21:28I mean,
21:29we were stone-cold heels
21:30until we wrestled
21:32the Kolofs.
21:33Probably some of the
21:33best matches
21:34that I remember
21:35are the Russian
21:36chain matches
21:36that we had
21:37against them.
21:38And now we're
21:38getting USA cheers
21:40and cheers
21:41from the fans.
21:42We were over
21:43so bad as heels
21:44and made us
21:45great babyfaces.
21:46Your winners
21:47of the match,
21:48the Road Warriors!
21:49In early 1986,
21:51Carolina-based
21:52Jim Crockett Promotions
21:54approaches the Road Warriors
21:56with an offer
21:56to headline
21:57their flagship event.
21:59Dusty Rose
22:00comes to us
22:00and he says,
22:01hey,
22:01we got this idea.
22:05A scaffold match
22:06had never been done
22:08on a national scale.
22:09Man,
22:09I was 310 pounds,
22:11315 pounds
22:12and Hawkins
22:13was 70.
22:13Then you had
22:14both the men
22:15at Express up there
22:16as they were
22:17over 200 pounds each.
22:18About three days
22:19before a scaffold match,
22:21Hawkins broke
22:21a small bone
22:22in the bottom part
22:22of his leg
22:23over in Tokyo.
22:24We were the old school
22:26the show must go on.
22:27And he wrestled up there
22:28with a broken leg
22:29in a boot.
22:30You know,
22:31he didn't want
22:31to let the people down
22:32because it was sold out
22:34and it was a big,
22:35big deal.
22:36Well,
22:37what you see
22:37in a lot of sports
22:39and wrestling
22:40is no different
22:41is there's injuries
22:42and there's pain
22:44and you just self-medicate
22:47after a while.
22:48You don't even go
22:48to a doctor
22:49and then it becomes
22:50a vicious cycle
22:51and that's probably
22:53where Hawk was
22:54at that time.
22:55So when
22:55and what signs
22:56did you start noticing
22:57when Hawk's lifestyle
22:59out of the ring
22:59was kind of getting
23:00a lot in?
23:00It started getting bad
23:02the latter part
23:04of NWA WCW run
23:06before we went
23:07to WWF.
23:08The drinking's
23:10a no-brainer.
23:11I mean,
23:11that's,
23:12you know,
23:12Hawk was a straight up
23:13vodka on the rocks guy.
23:14The muscle relaxers
23:16were a big part.
23:17I would say
23:1885% of the guys
23:20that died early
23:21in the wrestling business
23:22become a denominator
23:23with muscle relaxers.
23:24I think
23:25Joe was very disappointed
23:27in Hawk
23:28and he didn't let
23:30that out
23:30so people knew it
23:31but knowing Joe
23:33I could see that.
23:34I think it's just
23:35like any marriage,
23:37you know,
23:37which it kind of was
23:38that I don't think
23:39they all, you know,
23:40saw eye to eye
23:41on everything
23:41so I think there was,
23:42you know,
23:42some friction there
23:43at times.
23:44It wasn't until
23:45we really got into
23:48WWF years
23:49where it really
23:51started to get bad.
23:53The road warriors
23:54have conquered
23:55the wrestling world
23:56with one big exception
23:57and the pressures
23:58of performing
23:59in the WWF
24:01will soon set the stage
24:02for their downfall.
24:05WWF
24:05was always
24:06on our screen.
24:08It looked like
24:09they were the place
24:10to go
24:11in this wrestling war
24:13if you want to be
24:14on the winning side
24:15and we did.
24:16You're going to feel
24:17the pain
24:18by the hands
24:19of the Legion of Doom.
24:20Vince had just hired
24:21the modern day warrior,
24:23Kerry Von Erich.
24:24He already had
24:25the ultimate warrior.
24:26He says,
24:27hey,
24:27I know you guys
24:28have been the road warriors.
24:29Can you think
24:29of a different name
24:30that we could use
24:31to call you guys?
24:33I said,
24:33how about the Legion of Doom?
24:36Oh, that's great.
24:37I love the Legion of Doom.
24:38Let's call you guys
24:39the Legion of Doom.
24:40It was actually
24:41He-Man,
24:42the most powerful man
24:43in the universe.
24:45And Hawk would watch
24:47that all the time.
24:48He always watched
24:49He-Man.
24:50This was Hawk
24:51back at the Legion of Doom
24:53and then he'd just
24:55start to make up stories
24:57and this is while
24:57we're driving in the car
24:59and he'd just start
25:00to make up
25:00that we were
25:01the Legion of Doom.
25:04The WWF
25:05on the road
25:06at the time
25:07was a grind
25:08and you were busy
25:1014 days on,
25:124 days off
25:13all year long.
25:14So it's like
25:15your whole life
25:15is no sleep.
25:16But when you get
25:17in the ring
25:17then all of a sudden
25:18you get an injury.
25:20Well,
25:20now there's no sleep.
25:22You have to train.
25:23That injury
25:24doesn't go away
25:25and you have to perform.
25:26So now all of a sudden
25:27you take a pain pill.
25:28Pretty soon
25:29you're drinking,
25:30you're taking pain pills,
25:31you're taking this,
25:32you're taking that.
25:32and that's kind
25:33of the cycle
25:34that a lot of guys
25:35got into.
25:37But now
25:38Hawk's downward spiral
25:40is about to intersect
25:42with the Road Warriors
25:43historic climb to the top
25:45and in front
25:46of a record-setting crowd.
25:54To the non-wrestling fan,
25:56I wrestled for many years
25:58in the WWF.
26:00The Godfather
26:00is probably what I'm
26:02most well-known for.
26:05All right.
26:07So,
26:07we're in this club
26:08and then all of a sudden
26:10for some reason
26:10Vince decides
26:11to take everybody's finish.
26:14In the Road Warriors case
26:16it hurt people.
26:17Have you seen their finish?
26:19I wouldn't take it
26:20in the ring.
26:21And Vince took that finish
26:23in the club.
26:24The CEO
26:25of this big
26:26f***ing company
26:27is taking people's
26:28finishes
26:29in a f***ing
26:31titty bar?
26:32Just,
26:32I was like...
26:36Just as the Road Warriors
26:37are reaching new heights
26:39at Vince McMahon's
26:40WWF,
26:41Hawk's substance abuse
26:43was becoming harder
26:44and harder
26:44to hide.
26:45That's when we were
26:47starting to get in the age
26:48of doing the
26:49pay-per-views now
26:50and now we're doing
26:51the big huge events
26:52and everything else.
26:53so there was a lot
26:55of respect
26:55and a lot of pride
26:56in what you did
26:57for your work
26:58because you wanted
26:58to be that guy
26:59that was going to be
27:00top dog in that pay-per-view.
27:01Those WWF years
27:03is when it started
27:03getting real
27:04kind of nasty.
27:06He would fail a drug test
27:07and then there would be
27:08three months off
27:09and of course
27:10me being a tag team partner
27:11I'd take three months off
27:12with him.
27:13But Mike, again,
27:14he wasn't shy about
27:16hiding anything
27:17whether it was
27:18his drinking
27:19or his drug use
27:21or his steroid use.
27:23He was pretty outspoken
27:24about all of it.
27:26As Hawk drifts
27:27closer to the edge
27:28over 80,000 fans
27:31await their match
27:31at London's
27:32Wembley Stadium
27:34and things are about
27:35to come to a head.
27:37Wembley Stadium
27:38was a classic event
27:40because they had
27:4090,000 people there.
27:43We were supposed
27:43to wrestle for
27:44the tag team championships
27:45on Wembley Stadium
27:46and getting ready
27:48to go out to the show
27:49and we're doing
27:50a run through.
27:51Vince McMahon's trying
27:52to tell us
27:53what we're going to do
27:53and I could just see
27:55where Vince is fuming
27:58because every time
27:58Vince tried to say
27:59something,
28:00Hawk's going,
28:02Vince,
28:03I got this idea.
28:04Found out later
28:06there was this thing
28:07called Placidils
28:08which is another
28:09kind of little
28:10like a hallucinogenic drug
28:11that Hawk had to do
28:13and it lasted
28:13like for six hours.
28:14Here we are
28:15going to drive
28:15motorcycles down to the ring.
28:16We went from
28:17semi-main event match
28:19against the
28:19Natural Disasters
28:20to Wrestling Money Incorporated
28:23I think the first
28:24or second match.
28:25As Animal watches
28:26his partner
28:27step into the ring,
28:29it's clear that
28:30Hawk is in no shape
28:31to perform.
28:32Get in the ring
28:33and they wanted us
28:34to do the finish,
28:35the doomsday
28:36off the top rope
28:37and everything.
28:37I said,
28:37we can't do it.
28:38He's going to fall
28:39off the top rope.
28:40He goes,
28:40no, no, we got it.
28:41I said,
28:41look at him,
28:42he can't do it.
28:42They're watching him
28:43and Hawk was
28:45kind of like
28:46inebriated
28:47quite a bit
28:48and so we changed
28:49the finish.
28:50Hawk's like right
28:51in the middle.
28:52I kind of had to
28:52push him out of the way
28:53and when Hawk was on,
28:55he was the best, man.
28:57Nobody was better
28:58but when he kind of
29:00was like that,
29:01it kind of really,
29:03I wasn't very happy
29:04with him.
29:05I knew there was
29:05a suspension coming on
29:06and I was freaking hot.
29:08You know,
29:09and it's like,
29:09we're going to spend
29:10millions of dollars
29:11on TV and do all
29:12this stuff for these guys
29:13at Wembley.
29:14The biggest show ever,
29:16if he came in messed up,
29:18right there,
29:19you're not the top guys
29:20anymore.
29:22Irritated by Hawk's
29:23recklessness,
29:24Animal chooses
29:25to go his separate way
29:26alone.
29:28We went to,
29:29from that London taping
29:32to Hershey, Pennsylvania
29:33to do TV
29:34and when we got
29:35to Hershey, Pennsylvania,
29:36Paul, Aaron, and I
29:36are ready to do TV
29:37waiting for Hawk
29:38to do interviews.
29:39Well, Hawk hasn't
29:40shown up yet.
29:40Nobody knew
29:41where Hawk went.
29:42What do you mean?
29:42Well, he's just not
29:44on the plane.
29:45Nobody knew
29:45where Hawk was.
29:46Got a phone call
29:47and Hawk called
29:48Vince's secretary
29:49and said,
29:50hey, I quit.
29:51We're sitting there
29:52like, okay,
29:52now what am I going
29:53to do?
29:55Animal decides
29:56he's not going
29:56to chase after
29:57his partner this time
29:58after performing
30:00the role of fixer
30:01for so many years.
30:03I think that it
30:04just got the time
30:06to draw the line
30:07in the sand
30:08and listen, man,
30:09shit, I've had enough.
30:10That's it?
30:11Frick, I'm done
30:12with this.
30:13Joe's probably
30:14in a panic
30:15wondering how
30:15in the world
30:16are we going
30:16to solve this?
30:17Wrestling is your
30:18whole life.
30:19That's all you have.
30:20Your family's at home
30:21and you're with the guys
30:22and you finally
30:23get that push
30:23and you can't
30:24have something
30:25be negative
30:26to bring you back down
30:27and that's
30:27what was happening.
30:29Mike, the short fuse
30:30and losing his temper
30:31and whether it was
30:33with a promoter
30:33could have a real impact
30:35on Joe's career
30:36and even Ellering's
30:37career, right?
30:37So I'm thinking
30:38to myself,
30:39well, I'm going
30:39to be a businessman
30:40and I'm going
30:41to serve out
30:42the dates
30:43that I had left
30:43with WWF
30:44to protect our name
30:46in case we ever
30:47want to come back.
30:47I said, man,
30:48I want to do
30:48these dates, Mike,
30:49so we leave
30:50on good terms,
30:51right, to be
30:51businessmen.
30:52I put my foot down
30:54and Hawk was
30:55so out of his mind
30:56he called up
30:57a couple guys
30:58and ended up
30:59working out
30:59his own deal
31:00in Japan.
31:02Like, screw the team.
31:03He just went
31:04on his own
31:04then we were done.
31:06Well, he took
31:06the gimmick over there
31:07and had Kesuke Sasaki
31:09dressing up
31:09as the Power Warrior
31:10and all Spike
31:11shoulder pads
31:11and face paint
31:12and I said, man,
31:17that's our gimmick.
31:25Hawk inadvertently
31:26leaves the future
31:27of the world's
31:28biggest tag team
31:29in limbo
31:29by replacing Animal
31:31and continuing
31:32the Road Warrior's
31:33brand in Japan.
31:36Standing in front of you
31:37lies the future
31:39and tag team wrestling
31:41my new partner
31:43Power Warrior.
31:45What are you doing, bro?
31:46I'm not doing that
31:46here in the U.S.
31:47I'm not having anybody
31:49replace you.
31:50I'm by myself.
31:52I ended up doing
31:53a two-on-one match
31:54and I herniated
31:55a couple discs.
31:56Animal got injured
31:57and, you know,
31:58there were like
31:59two years there were.
32:00I didn't do anything
32:01with wrestling anymore
32:02and I didn't think
32:04I'd ever go back.
32:05While Animal lies
32:07in wait
32:07recovering from his injury,
32:09Hawk presses on.
32:11But without the guidance
32:12of his partner,
32:13he spirals
32:14out of control.
32:16Like three different times,
32:18you've been rushed
32:18into an emergency room
32:20of drug overdoses.
32:21He told me
32:22a head-on collision
32:23with an 18-wheeler
32:24and rolled the pickup truck
32:25six times
32:26with no seatbelt on
32:27and walked away from it.
32:29You know,
32:30I don't know how many
32:32near-dead experiences
32:33Hawk had.
32:33I know he had a few.
32:35When he got Hep C,
32:38it's like he got
32:39slapped in the face.
32:40Like, wow.
32:41He's not the first wrestler
32:42that had contracted that.
32:44You know,
32:44guys in this wrestling
32:45business, man,
32:47used to do some crazy things,
32:48you know,
32:50speedballing,
32:50mixing different drugs together,
32:52different things like that
32:53where the old guys
32:54would share a needle
32:55and just go,
32:55oh, god dang, man.
32:57You guys are nuts.
32:57He was on the Interferon,
33:00which is the medicine
33:01you get for Hep C.
33:02He freaking cured himself
33:03of the Hep C.
33:04But the worst part about it
33:06is the doctor gave him
33:07the green light
33:08to go do whatever
33:09he wanted to do.
33:10So he thought that meant,
33:11okay,
33:11I guess I could keep
33:12drinking and partying.
33:14Hawk's wild side
33:15shows no sign
33:17of slowing down.
33:18But in 1997,
33:20a new opportunity arises
33:22from the WWF
33:23and is too tempting
33:25for either man to resist.
33:27Vince McMahon
33:28has been great to us
33:29and the WWF
33:31has been great to us.
33:32And they're a class organization
33:34and we only want to
33:34associate ourselves
33:35with a class organization.
33:36I knew eventually
33:37that it would come back
33:39to what was going to be
33:39the Road Warriors.
33:40We were so unique
33:42in the way
33:43we did everything
33:44and we were so unique
33:45as a tag team
33:45and it's like nothing else
33:47like it in the wrestling business.
33:48Animal and I
33:49have become so close.
33:51We're probably the only
33:52tag team that's been
33:53around 14 years straight.
33:54We're pretty much a unit.
33:56Their new contract
33:57comes with a strict
33:58insurance policy
34:00guaranteeing
34:01they will make
34:02their matches.
34:02But WWF introduces
34:04a third member
34:05to the team,
34:0629-year-old
34:08ex-Denver Bronco,
34:09Darren Drozdov.
34:11They introduced Droz
34:13and he was going
34:14to be like the
34:15youngest member
34:16of the Road Warriors.
34:17Actually, I remember
34:18when I first saw them,
34:20you know,
34:20they've been icons forever.
34:22Hey, this is Droz.
34:23You know,
34:24I'm one of the players
34:26they brought in
34:26for the Road Warriors
34:27to work with
34:28and I had a great run
34:30with them.
34:32While the WWF
34:33has enforced
34:34the contingency plan,
34:35it also sees
34:36the Road Warriors'
34:38real-life problems
34:38as something
34:39it can capitalize on.
34:42Vince McMahon
34:43came to us
34:43and said,
34:44hey,
34:44we want to do
34:45this angle
34:46with you guys
34:46where Hawks
34:47we're going to
34:48portray him
34:48as drunk
34:49and having
34:49habits on TV.
34:51I don't know
34:51if he's inebriated.
34:52The referee's not
34:53going to start
34:53this match.
34:53Yeah,
34:55he'd come out
34:55like staggering around
34:56while,
34:57you know,
34:57they were saying
34:57I was trying
34:58to separate them.
34:59But Droz
34:59is assaulting Hawks
35:01if you don't need him,
35:02you know,
35:02he's messed up again,
35:04so.
35:05Droz,
35:05delivering Hawks
35:07on move
35:07to Hawks!
35:08Yeah,
35:09it was heartbreaking,
35:11but that's wrestling.
35:12They take the dominant
35:14part of your personality
35:15and they just make it bigger.
35:18You know,
35:19it's kind of tough.
35:19It's like,
35:20you know,
35:20they're doing this,
35:22but he had been through it
35:23and he didn't have
35:24a problem with it.
35:25They wanted Hawks
35:26to climb to Titan Tron
35:27and they wanted me to,
35:29you know,
35:29they wanted me to portray like,
35:31hey, Hawks,
35:32don't jump type of thing.
35:33Hawks,
35:34I wish I could say
35:35I know how you feel,
35:36but I can't!
35:38But I care about your life!
35:40Droz did a deal
35:41where they made up,
35:42made pretend he was going
35:43to go up to Titan Tron
35:44and help Hawks
35:45and Hawks
35:46had all his demons
35:47there he else
35:47and he was drunk up there
35:48and when he really
35:49went to go grab him,
35:50he really went
35:51and pushed him.
35:51Get his shirt!
35:52Oh,
35:52what?
35:54God almighty!
35:55You know,
35:56to be honest with you,
35:57I didn't really
35:58have it in me
36:00to want to do the angle
36:01that was too close
36:02to what was going on
36:03in real life
36:03and that bothered me.
36:06The angle is not only
36:08unpopular with Hawk
36:09and Animal,
36:10but with the fans as well.
36:12And once again,
36:13the road warriors
36:14make the choice
36:15to hit the road
36:16on their own terms.
36:18We're a resident
36:19of Australia
36:19and you got the beach,
36:21you got drinks,
36:23you can buy Xanax
36:24over the counter
36:24and so it's just
36:26not a good mix.
36:28Rumor had it
36:29that three or four
36:30of the guys
36:31and Hawk was one of them
36:32had gotten a hold
36:34of some party essentials,
36:37let's just say,
36:37and they were pretty much
36:39up for two days.
36:40So when you're doing
36:42the coke
36:42and you're doing
36:43the muscle relaxer,
36:44you're going,
36:45yo, yo, yo,
36:47like a yo-yo,
36:48your heart can't take
36:49that all the time.
36:50And as I'm looking
36:51around the arena
36:52by the entrance area
36:53there,
36:53I see this big crowd
36:55of people.
36:56I don't think unto myself,
36:57well,
36:57somebody just came back
36:58from the last match
36:59and was laying down
37:00and I push everybody aside
37:01and it's freaking Hawk
37:03and they're putting
37:04the oxygen mask on
37:05and I said,
37:05whoa, whoa,
37:05what are you doing?
37:06I said,
37:07he's got to go out
37:07and wrestle.
37:08They said,
37:08man,
37:09he can't wrestle
37:09because this guy's
37:10about ready to stroke out
37:12and they took him
37:12to the hospital.
37:13Hawk had cardiomyopathy
37:15and his heart was
37:16about ready to blow up
37:18and he calls me up
37:19and he says,
37:20animal,
37:20you got to come get me.
37:22I said,
37:22what's going on, man?
37:23He goes,
37:24I am not dying
37:25in this freaking country.
37:27Hawk and I were literally,
37:28when we were on the road,
37:29we were brothers.
37:30It was a hard situation
37:32because
37:32there was such a love
37:35of the guy
37:36but the hate
37:37of what was going on.
37:39So I went,
37:40picked Hawk up,
37:41checked him out
37:41of the hospital
37:42against doctor's orders
37:44and from Sydney
37:45flew all the way to LA
37:46and I said,
37:47from LA,
37:48he was going back to Tampa.
37:49I said,
37:49you're on your own now.
37:51When it seems
37:52Hawk and Animals run
37:53as wrestling's
37:54most dominant tag team
37:56is about to come to an end,
37:58an unlikely event
37:59brings them back together
38:01in a way
38:02nobody expects.
38:08Animal is faced
38:09with no choice
38:10but to strike out
38:11on his own
38:11when Hawk's drug affliction
38:13threatens to ruin
38:14both of their careers.
38:17I had just gotten home
38:18off the road.
38:19We got done working out
38:20at the gym
38:20and there were six
38:22300-pound guys
38:23called the Christian Power Team.
38:25They did this event.
38:26So I went to it
38:27and I was pretty impressed by it.
38:28Eventually,
38:29Joe shared that story
38:30with me
38:30and I said,
38:31man,
38:31why don't you come out
38:32to this conference
38:33in Phoenix?
38:34Come on out.
38:34He goes,
38:35could Hawk come?
38:36They came to Phoenix
38:37and I just remember
38:39Mike was the first one
38:41to the altar
38:41and wanted to make a decision
38:43to give his life
38:44to the Lord
38:44and that weekend,
38:46we actually even baptized him.
38:48We did a,
38:48in the swimming pool,
38:49we did a water baptism
38:50with him.
38:51And from that point on,
38:53Hawk lived in a good way.
38:55I think he found religion
38:57and then he married
38:58a gal named Dale
39:01and he was very happy with it.
39:03He was a different person
39:04then with her.
39:06Now my motivation
39:07is different
39:07than what it was
39:08when I first started out.
39:09My motivation now
39:10is my family,
39:11my fiancee
39:12to make sure
39:12that if something
39:13would ever happen to me,
39:14she's not going to be heard.
39:15He used to say,
39:16Cat has nine lives
39:17but God gave me ten
39:19so I could give my life to Jesus.
39:21He was moving out
39:22of his house
39:22off the beach
39:24and he had just moved
39:25the last piece
39:26of heavy furniture
39:27in the house
39:28for his wife, Dale.
39:29And he said,
39:30Dale, I'm going to go upstairs
39:31and lay down
39:32for a little bit.
39:33I don't feel well.
39:34And I was out in my backyard
39:35and all of a sudden
39:36I get a phone call.
39:38A friend of mine,
39:39Bob Muller,
39:39and he goes,
39:40hey, have you talked to Mike?
39:42I said, yeah, man,
39:42I talked to him last night.
39:43He goes,
39:45huh,
39:45have you talked to him
39:47yet today?
39:48I said, no.
39:49And he goes,
39:50Joe, Mike died.
39:52It was an early Sunday morning,
39:54October the 19th,
39:55when the world of wrestling
39:56was saddened to hear
39:57that Michael Hegstrand
39:59had passed away
40:00at the young age of 46.
40:02And it wasn't that he OD'd
40:04or whatever,
40:05you know,
40:05it's just that his heart
40:06just stopped.
40:08It was probably
40:08one of the hardest things
40:09I ever had to go through.
40:11Well, it was, you know,
40:12I was just at home
40:13and an animal calls me up
40:15and tells me,
40:19you know,
40:19Hawk is gone.
40:23Joni, my wife,
40:24I said,
40:26we got to get the,
40:30yeah, we got,
40:31we got to get the black man
40:34and drive to the funeral.
40:36The old black man
40:38that I took him
40:39to the airport in,
40:40our first day together.
40:42I still had that black van.
40:45Went to the Kmart
40:47and got cans of black spray paint,
40:51cover up all the rust.
40:53And we got in the black van
40:56and drove all the way to Tampa.
40:5955 miles an hour.
41:01Got passed by 10,000 cars.
41:05Do you remember
41:06what are some of the things
41:07that you said
41:08of the eulogy?
41:09Yeah.
41:11I remember.
41:13Ah.
41:15October 19th, 2003.
41:21The dark clouds
41:23covered the bright sun.
41:26Today we lost our friend.
41:30Our brother of planes,
41:32trains, and automobiles.
41:36Many miles.
41:39If I could steal a line
41:41from the outlaw Josie Wales.
41:46Hawk, it is good
41:48that men like us
41:50met in the struggle of life.
41:55Hawk's death brings to an end
41:57a partnership that has not been matched
41:59in wrestling ever since.
42:00He was unique both
42:02in and out of the ring.
42:04A warrior,
42:05a partner,
42:06a friend,
42:08and a brother.
42:10He wasn't Hawk.
42:14Yeah.
42:15I think that is a key point.
42:18He was still Mike.
42:20And I...
42:21I never looked at him as Hawk.
42:22Yeah, yeah.
42:22He just...
42:24He really gave a shit
42:25about his friends.
42:26He just had your back.
42:28And he probably knew I needed it.
42:34The biggest compliment
42:36that I make to Hawk
42:38is that everybody
42:40liked to be around him.
42:43So it was a huge void.
42:45And Animal would know
42:47a lot more about that than me.
42:48Because they'd been together
42:49and always thought of
42:51as a two-some.
42:53Had a lot of things in common.
42:54I mean,
42:55Jim worked hard.
42:56They were a great day team.
42:57They performed unbelievably
42:58in the ring.
42:59But, you know,
43:01totally different.
43:02They were brothers.
43:03You know, brothers,
43:04they love each other.
43:06But they'll have a fight
43:07once in a while.
43:09I mean, listen, man.
43:10There were times
43:10where we were at each other's throat
43:11because we were together so much.
43:13But 99.9% of the time
43:15there was a common respect there.
43:19It's...
43:19Over half my life, man,
43:20I was with Hawk.
43:22From being stars in Japan
43:24to being family members
43:25to being brothers
43:27to everything else.
43:29You know,
43:29now what do I do?
43:30Now he's gone.
43:31And that's the hardest thing.
43:32Well, I think
43:33what we really remembered
43:33as the greatest state team
43:34in professional wrestling
43:36and I just liked him
43:37to go down
43:37as one tough dude.
43:39I had one tough partner.
43:41Hawk should be remembered
43:42as one of the...
43:43One half of the greatest
43:44tag team ever.
43:46He had one of the best punches
43:47in wrestling.
43:49One of the best interviews
43:50for sure.
43:51Well!
43:53Hawk was definitely
43:54a character.
43:55To be honest with you,
43:56a part of the wrestling business
43:57died when Hawk died.
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