10 Things You Didn't Know About Road Warrior Animal

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Animal Wanted To Become SmackDown GM

Road Warrior Animal
WWE.com

That would've happened had WWE not turned down his pitch.

In the same interview with Cult Of Whatever, Animal revealed that he wanted to return to the company as a babyface counterpoint to his heel brother. His big idea was to be named SmackDown GM and run a product that was completely different to John's one over on Raw.

WWE didn't show much interest in that though. They maybe didn't see the value in acknowledging that the dorky Laurinaitis was Animal's sibling, or didn't think that he'd be very good as the blue brand's main talking head. It just wasn't going to happen.

Animal also mulled over the thought of another singles run. He did make a one-off appearance on the 20 July 2012 episode of SmackDown to squash Heath Slater, but that was about it. The warring GM angle he had in mind was scrapped.

What other facts or stories do you know about the late, great Road Warrior Animal? For more wrestling, check out 10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 1997 and WWE Clash Of Champions 2020: 10 Nightmares That Could Come True!

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.