[WWW] Volunteer Times 10.22.03 Pat's Place: Remembering a hero

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Pat's Place: Remembering a hero

A weekly column by Patrick Pebley, Volunteer Times Sports Reporter   

Last night started out as a typical Monday night for me. My friends
and I settled in for our weekly viewing of WWE Raw. When the show
opened I was floored to learn that Road Warrior Hawk had passed away
in his sleep over the weekend.

The Road Warriors were among my all time favorite wrestlers and they
were a huge part of my wanting to get in to the wrestling business.
Hawk and his partner, Animal, were one of the most exciting and
revolutionary tag teams of all time.
While most wrestling fans at the time were caught up in Hulkamania I
had discovered the NWA. One morning I was watching when I heard the
first guitar riffs of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". This song brought
out these two absolute monsters that slid in the ring and destroyed
their opponents before the opening bell sounded. I was instantly a fan
of these spike wearing monsters with painted faces. During the post
match interview I learned that these men were the Road Warriors, part
of Paul Ellering's Legion of Doom.

I never missed another episode of the NWA's Saturday wrestling
programs. Back in those days the promoters put their top draws on TV
against "jobbers". In wrestling terms a jobber is an opponent that is
sent out to make the top draws look good. After the matches the
headliners would do an interview to help sell tickets to the upcoming
house shows.

Hawk and Animal dominated the tag team ranks even though they rarely
held the NWA tag team belts. They eventually became the first tag team
to hold the AWA, NWA, and WWF tag titles. They were also the prototype
for so many muscular and/or face painted wrestlers. The Ultimate
Warrior, Demolition, Sting and the Powers of Pain all started out as
Road Warrior clones. Their style was widely copied by so many teams
that they lost their uniqueness.

Recently the WWE brought in Hawk and Animal and gave them a shot at
the tag team titles held at the time by Kane and Rob van Dam. Sadly
the once mighty Road Warriors failed to capture the gold and the WWE
chose not to use them any more.

On an equally sad note Stu Hart, father of Bret and the late Owen
Hart, also passed away recently at the age of 88. Even though he was a
great wrestler in his own right Stu Hart is most known for all of the
wrestlers he trained in his legendary "Dungeon".

Hart was one of the best and most prolific trainers ever in the sport
of wrestling. He did not teach his pupils sports entertainment he
taught them how to wrestle. I would guess that he trained more WWF/WWE
superstars than anybody else. At the height of his training career he
also ran Stampede Wrestling up in Calgary, it was one of the top
proving grounds for talent in the days when wrestling was broken up
into regional territories. His influence will be felt in wrestling for
years to come as we watch some of his former students every Monday and
Thursday night on our favorite wrestling shows.

Wrestling much like any other sport (trust me -- it's a sport), will
continue to lose its legends. But the influence that men like Stu Hart
and Road Warrior Hawk have had on the business will always be felt.
Both men truly had a passion for the wrestling business. Both of these
men will be missed not only by their millions of fans worldwide, but
they will also be missed by the men and women in the locker room. I
will always remember them for helping instill a love of wrestling in
me and I send my deepest sympathy to their families.