8 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2006
5. But Not As Random As Animal’s Repackaging
It's somewhat of a surprise that Animal didn't need to lay down alone in a darkened room after being tasked with dragging something worthwhile out of Jon Heidenreich in 2005. Their alliance as the 'new (but definitely not improved)' Legion Of Doom had been a farce, but WWE believed Animal still had some worth as a star-maker.
So, in 2006, they stripped away all of the LOD stuff and called him ‘The Road Warrior’. This was a nod to his original gimmick from the 1980s before linking up with Hawk and redefining what it meant to be a powerhouse duo. Initially, Animal teamed with Matt Hardy (who didn’t?!), then turned on him during the 3 March SmackDown.
After that, he ditched the face paints, grabbed some leathers, and went all Sons Of Anarchy pilot on everybody. If you'd told someone that Animal was dressing up as an NPC from side scrolling beat 'em ups of yesteryear like Final Fight, then nobody would've blinked. For the record, even he wouldn't have stood a chance against Mike Haggar.
Animal was released in late-June because things weren’t working out, but his late-career repackage job remains one of the most curious things about this era when looking back. His hopes of snagging a push didn't even last long - Animal was jobbing to Chris Benoit in 2 minutes by late March, then found himself lumped onto 'C' show Velocity against guys like Paul Burchill.
What a seriously odd time to be a fan. WWE weren't looking forwards so much as backwards to ye olden times.