10 Things You Didn't Know About Road Warrior Animal

5. LOD Took Care Of A Young Rocky Maivia

Rocky Maivia
WWE

In early-1997, a young Rocky Maivia was only cutting his teeth in the wrestling industry, and things weren't exactly going smoothly. Fans had rejected his cookie-cutter babyface character. Further, stories leaked by Bret Hart since have revealed that Rocky was struggling to ingratiate himself to veterans like Shawn Michaels.

Through all that strife though, there was a beacon of hope. Two beacons of hope, actually: The Road Warriors. Both Hawk and Animal became mini-mentors for Maivia and helped guide him through troublesome early months in the WWF. That's something Dwayne Johnson would never forget.

He posted a message of respect and thanks on his official Instagram page upon learning of Animal's passing. It was a humble reminder that LOD weren't thoughtless meat heads who didn't give a rat's ass about young talent. They went out of their way to help Rocky where they could, and that meant the world to him.

Lovely.

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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.