As most blatant a case of nepotism as there has ever been in WWE. Road Warrior Animal was welcomed back into the fold primarily because his brother John Laurinaitis was head of Talent Relations. WWE had flirted with the idea of bringing the LOD back in 2003 but, after a disastrous match with RVD and Kane on Raw (during which Hawk no-sold several moves), the idea was nixed. Hawk died in October of that year, meaning a proper Road Warriors comeback was never going to happen. When WWE decided to release a DVD on the legendary tag team in summer 2005, however, they felt that Animal could be used to help promote it and brought him back for a run in a new-look Road Warriors with the clueless Heidenreich. They won the Tag Team Championships from the promising MNM at the Great American Bash and held them for several months. After Heidenreich was released in January 2006, Animal was given a solo run, changing his name to The Road Warrior, and swapping the tights and shoulder pads for jeans and a leather vest. He made no great waves in the singles ranks and was clearly struggling out there. After several interminable months of a heelish, ordinary-looking Road Warrior wrestling in slow-motion, he was released in June.
