10 Things You Didn't Know About Road Warrior Animal

10. He Almost Quit Wrestling Early On

Road Warrior Animal
VICE

VICE's excellent 'Dark Side Of The Ring' series shone the spotlight on Hawk's demise and how Animal plodded on without his old partner, but it also gave some much-needed insight into the latter's earliest years in the wrestling biz by revealing that he once wrestled nine times in one week for a total of $150.

That lowly sum almost made Animal chuck it.

He told VICE that he came very close to calling it a career just months into his run. Animal's girlfriend was pregnant, and he realised he couldn't afford to p*ss around playing wrestler if Ole Anderson was only going to pay him around $16 per show. So, he decided he should move back into bouncing at nightclubs.

Shortly after that, he met Hawk and everything changed. The pair united as the iconic Road Warriors, and payoffs picked up big time from then on - Ole turned the Warriors into one of his top acts, and they helped revolutionise tag-team wrestling.

Advertisement
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.