a_good_brotha Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 I'm not sure if any of you are wrestling fans but two members of the wrestling community have recently passed away. Below is an article (sorry, I don't know how to paste links) about Stu Hart, father of Bret "the Hitman" and the late Owen Hart. The other who passed away is Road Warrior Hawk of the tag team Legion of Doom. I couldn't find any articles on him. According to Jim Ross, Hawk passed away sometime on Sunday morning. That's all I know right now. May they both rest in peace. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stu Hart passes away at the age of 88 Submitted by William Martinez on Thursday, October 16, 2003 at 5:48 PM EST Stu Hart, patriarch of the legendary Hart family, has passed away at the age of 88. His death came as a result of complications from a pneumonia. WWE has released the following statement regarding Stu Hart's death: Statement from Vince McMahon, Chairman, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. It was with great sorrow that we learned today of the death of Stu Hart. Stu was a pioneer in professional wrestling. More importantly, he was a great man. His influence within our industry, his community and his country was immense. He will be missed, but his legend will live on. All of us at WWE™ send our condolences to Stu’s family. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them during this difficult time. Everyone here at LoP would like to offer their condolences to the family and friends of Stu Hart. Credit: 1wrestling.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endzone_dave Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 I was a big Road Warriors fan back in the day. They never seemed to do well with the new soap opera type wrestling of today. Real sad to hear about Hawk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridironmike Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 :( The Road Warriors were my team in the days of Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff and the Warriors (LOD) versus the Four Horsemen. Man, I hate to hear that. Heres one for Hawk.."WHAT A RUUUSH!" :notworthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledeuce Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 Let us know if you hear anything about Hawk. Man, hard to believe he's gone. In their heyday, who was tougher than the Road Warriors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridironmike Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 http://www.prowrestling.com/ Road Warrior Hawk Passes Away at the Age of 46 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- October 19, 2003 We have some very very sad news to report today and that is that Road Warrior Hawk has passed away. He passed at approximately 1:30AM this morning in his sleep. Hawk was born on January 26th and we believe he was just 46 years old. He had just sold his condo and was scheduled to move into his new home in Florida today. His wife Dale said "he was going to lay down for a while, he didn't feel well." When we get more details, we will pass them along. Mike has been a good friend of ours at the site for several years now. This is such sad news for me and the rest of the wrestling world. Mike will always be known as a class act in the business and will be missed. On behalf of all of us here at ProWrestling.com, we send out condolences to the family and friends of Mike. We are really at a loss for words right now. http://www.wrestling-online.com/index.shtml Road Warrior Hawk passes away - It's sad to report another death from the world of professional wrestling within a couple of days as Michael Hegstrand - better known to wrestling fans as Hawk of the Road Warriors/Legion Of Doom - passed away during his sleep in the early hours of this morning. The 6'3" former multiple time tag team title holder was born on January 26, 1958 in Chicago, IL., but resided in Florida. Hawk was last seen on WWE TV earlier this year with his partner Animal when they were introduced by Eric Bischoff as surprise challengers for Rob Van Dam and Kane during RAW. The Road Warriors did a few more dark matches with the company but no offer was made for a long term deal. Updated: Oct 19, 2003, 16:48 http://www.wwe.com/news/commentary/drtom/1242434 Goodbye, Hawk by Dr. Tom Prichard I have been a loner most of my life. It has always been hard for me to open up or get close to anyone. For as long as I can remember, I was extremely uncomfortable around people. So to get into a profession that demands being in front of people and performing, you think it would go against my instincts. But through the years, I have found a group of misfits, outcasts and “loners” who can come together and somehow find common experiences and survive in the world together. They say you can count your true friends on one hand. I have found that to be so in my lifetime. There are some good people in this business. People I can talk with about absolutely nothing for hours. It’s sad when one of those few people I can count on one hand dies. Mike Hegstrand, better known as Hawk of The Legion of Doom passed away late Saturday night. Hawk and I laughed and shared stories on many occasions. He was wild, crazy and, at times, completely outrageous. And he had a heart of gold and was one of the nicest guys in this business. I keep telling myself over and over that I need to stay in touch with some of the people I have met through the years and have really come to like. The last time I talked to Hawk was in May when he and Animal were coming back to WWE for a couple matches in Philadelphia and Baltimore. We talked on the phone and it seemed as if he had really got his life together and was excited about coming back. I was hoping to see The LOD back in action myself. Fate had other plans. Darren Drozdov joined LOD as “Puke” and became one of them immediately. The Legion of Doom had an aura around them and not just anyone could fit the mold. Droz had the attitude, and fit right in. Droz was like Hawk in a lot of ways. Tough, crazy and outrageous at times, but had a heart of gold and would go out of the way to help anybody. It didn’t surprise me when Droz and Hawk became the focus point of the LOD storyline at the time. Animal and Hawk helped Droz and made him feel welcome. Hawk wanted to wrestle one on one with Droz and give him an education you can only get from a seasoned veteran. I’m sure Droz appreciated it. Hawk told me on more than one occasion that Droz “had it.” There is no denying that The LOD made an impression on this business that made many young Superstars of today want to emulate. In the November RAW Magazine, nearly 150,000 fans came to the conclusion that The Legion of Doom was the greatest tag team in WWE history. That covers a lot of ground. When the fans heard “Ahhhhh, what a rush!” they were on their feet giving what is known backstage as a “Road Warrior pop.” And when Hawk and Animal came thru the curtain, they were energized as well. It usually meant an extra stiff night for their unlucky opponents! Before coming to WWE, Hawk and Animal were known as The Road Warriors. Both came from Minnesota. Both had that intangible “it” factor that is often talked about, but hard to describe. The Warriors held tag titles in the NWA, AWA and WWE. I believe they were the first team to capture the titles in all three major organizations. In the ring, The Road Warriors were unstoppable. It was a magic combination of charisma, physicality, and talent that made Hawk and Animal legitimate Superstars. I’m sure Joe Laurinaitis (Animal) is grieving the loss of his friend and tag team partner. Hawk was 45. I’m 44. While I feel the aches and pains from years in the ring, I don’t think of 44 as old. Seasoned, maybe. I got chills when I received the call Sunday telling me Hawk had passed away in his sleep. After hanging up I called Brad Armstrong to tell him the news. Brad, like Hawk, is one of those people who made life in this business fun and never boring. I left a message on his cell phone and when Brad called me back I could tell he didn’t want to believe what he’d heard. We had lost another friend. It’s difficult to write about anyone passing away. It’s a part of life everyone must face, but no one wants to talk about. Hawk lived life to its fullest and I don’t think he had too many regrets. I feel lucky to have known him. My condolences go out to his wife Dale as well as family and friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledeuce Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 http://www.startribune.com/stories/466/4165670.html For nearly a decade, Mike Hegstrand was part of the hottest act in all of professional wrestling. With his biker boots, spiked shoulder pads, face paint and sculpted physique, the Minneapolis body builder teamed with friend and fellow weightlifter Joe Laurinaitis to make up the Road Warriors, pro wrestling's dominant tag team of the 1980s. "I would say at their peak, they were the most popular tag team in the history of wrestling," said Dave Meltzer, editor and publisher of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. "They had a certain look and ferocity that really appealed to people." Hegstrand, a Minneapolis native who wrestled under the nickname Road Warrior Hawk, died in his sleep early Sunday at his home near Clearwater, Fla. He was 46. The cause of death was not known. However, the 6-foot-3, 280-pound wrestler had suffered from a heart ailment in recent years and had other health problems, friends said. "It's such a shock," said Jim Yungner, part owner of a gym in Plymouth where Hegstrand and Laurinaitas, who wrestled under the name Road Warrior Animal, often trained. The two helped Yungner finance the business. Yungner said he heard from friends Monday that Hegstrand and his wife were moving from their home over the weekend when Hegstrand said he wasn't feeling well. He went to bed and told his wife to wake him in a few hours. When she tried to wake him, she couldn't, Yungner said. Yungner said Hegstrand is the fourth wrestler from the Minneapolis area to die in recent years. In 1998, Dean Peters, who graduated from Robbinsdale High School in 1976 and wrestled under the name Brady Boone, died in a car accident while driving to his home in Tampa. A year later, Peters' high school classmate and fellow pro wrestler, Rick Rood, died of heart failure at 40. Earlier this year, Curt Hennig, another Robbinsdale classmate, was found dead in a hotel room in Tampa. Investigators said Hennig, 44, died of a cocaine overdose. Yungner said Hegstrand, who attended Minneapolis North, and Laurinaitas, who attended Irondale High School in New Brighton, lifted weights with the others at his gym. "They were all good friends," Yungner said. "They were all guys we grew up with. I told a couple of friends today, it's like, 'Gawd, who's next in our group?' " Came out of nowhere Yungner said he got to know Hegstrand and Laurinaitis about 1980 when they began lifting weights and training in a gym he ran in Golden Valley. At the time, the two were bouncers at a Minneapolis bar. They got into wrestling after being approached by trainer Eddie Sharkey. They later went out on their own, "but they didn't do very good and came home," Yungner said. Later, they were approached with the tag-team idea. Soon, the painted mugs of "Hawk" and "Animal" were on millions of TV screens across America. "They came out of nowhere," said Verne Gagne, who promoted them for a time when they were part of Gagne's American Wrestling Association. "They weren't polished wrestlers. They pounded on guys more than they did any scientific wrestling." But notoriety had its price. "It was more like a rock-'n'-roll-star lifestyle that they lived," Yungner said. "And Hawk lived it to the max. He had 20 years of hard living. But in the last three or four years, he really settled down." Several years ago, Hegstrand became ill while wrestling in Australia. According to a 2001 article in the Orlando Sentinel, Hegstrand was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease that attacks the muscle fibers. "I was no saint," Hegstrand told the Sentinel. "For years I put a lot of stuff in my body that I shouldn't have. Now it's just the God-made stuff. I'm eating healthy and feeling stronger." He resumed wrestling, although not as seriously as before. Earlier this summer, the Road Warriors were reunited with their former manager at a show in Chicago to celebrate their years together. "These guys who had really been such huge stars really weren't anymore," Meltzer said. "People wanted them to be, but they weren't. Physically, they couldn't do it anymore. One of the reasons for their decline in recent years is that he just couldn't do anything because he'd been so sick. He paid the price." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridironmike Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 For those that didn't know... (sorry for the goofy download...I don't know how I did it this way!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_good_brotha Posted October 21, 2003 Author Share Posted October 21, 2003 Thanks Doubledeuce and Gridironmike for the info on Hawk. I too would have to vote that the Legion of Doom/Road Warriors was the greatest tag team in WWE history. I liked how the Dudley Boys payed tribute to Hawk last night by winning their match using LOD's finishing move. For Hawk... :notworthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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