In a venue where the craziest and most colorful come to compete on a daily basis, all looking to make their marks in the minds of the fans who, at the end of the day, pay their salaries, one duo has always stood head and spiky shoulders above the rest -- bringing with them a mixture of terror, excitement, and pure insanity. The Road Warriors burst onto the scene in 1982, looking like post-apocalyptic warmongers from the movie that named them. Their enormous physiques made them stand out from the crowd, while their spiked shoulderpads and face paint captured imaginations in every territory to which they traveled. Both Hawk and Animal were untested rookies, but they steamrolled their opponents in squash matches en route to capturing titles and forming a legacy for themselves. Even today, over a decade after Hawk's passing, the two are spoken about in reverent tones -- and frequently called the greatest tag team of all time. Dozens of other duos, from Demolition to The Dudley Boyz to the A.P.A., knowingly owe The Road Warriors a huge debt. For all Hawk and Animal's skill, though, it was their image that remains burnt in our minds for all time.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
