[WWW] Wade Keller 10.19.03 Road Warrior Hawk dies at age 46 at home in his sleep

Mike Hegstrand, who wrestled as Road Warrior Hawk, died early this
morning around 1:30 a.m. at his home in his sleep in Florida. He was
46 years old.

Hawk grew up in Minnesota and was friends over the years with the late
Rick Rude and the late Curt Hennig who have also died in recent years.

His cause of death is unknown at this time. He had experienced some
heart problems in recent years and had other health difficulties over
the years.

Hawk most recently wrestled on one episode of WWE Raw with his
longtime partner Road Warrior Animal (Joe Laurinatis), but otherwise
had not been active full time in the U.S. for a few years. The Road
Warriors reunited with Paul Ellering at a Chicago indy show on June 7
to celebrate 20 years as a tag team.

The Road Warriors, whose careers took off in the AWA and NWA in the
mid-'80s, were one of the top tag teams of the '80s/'90s era. They
were voted by Pro Wrestling Torch readers the "Tag Team of the Decade"
for the '80s. They were on the covers of more wrestling magazines than
perhaps any other tag team in history and second to only Hulk Hogan
during the '80s.

The Road Warriors spawned many imitators over the years who copied
their muscular look, no-selling tough-guy style, and facepaint, such
as Demolition and The Powers of Pain.