Wrestling legend and one-half of the Legion of Doom, Road Warrior Animal recently spoke with Justin Barrasso for Sports Illustrated Extra Mustard’s Week In Wrestling. You can read a few highlights below:
Animal praises The New Day, but says chemistry is largely missing from today’s wrestling:
“I’ll admit it, I love those guys. I helped train Big E for a couple weeks in Tampa. I know those three and they’re all really good guys and very talented. People believe in them, and American Alpha is the only other team with a chance to be great. They just need to improve their interviews, but right now, so many other teams are not ready for that push nor are they utilized in the fashion they should be. Dolph Ziggler is a perfect example. He is the modern day Mr. Perfect, but all they do is build him up to beat him. They have a third generation star in Joe Hennig—who they call Curtis Axel—who is a superstar that is underutilized and one of the most talented wrestlers in the company. Why not use his heritage with the Hennig name? That’s a conversation I’ve had with many other legends.
“For tag teams, you can’t just throw two guys together and call them a team. Hawk and I knew each other for years, we bounced in bars together. People love chemistry. That’s why the Four Horsemen were so great, and The New Day has that and that is part of the reason why they are so phenomenal.”
Animal comments on Demolition vs the Road Warriors never happening:
“Now with Demolition, that was a travesty. Wrestling fans were cheated that they didn’t get to see Demolition against the Road Warriors. That was the match-up that people had asked for all along. People always asked if we hated Demolition because they were a knockoff of the Road Warriors. We were street fighters, they were wrestlers. I’ve known Barry Darsow since we were sixteen years old, and he and Bill Eadie were great guys, great wrestlers, and great athletes. Hawk and I were very vocal that the people got cheated.”
Animal comments on hitting Vince McMahon with the Doomsday Device in a gentleman’s club:
“We were in San Antonio, and this was a great time in the business. This was a great time in the wrestling business. Hogan waved at me when Vince wasn’t looking and gave me the thumbs up,” said Animal. “I looked at Hawk and said, ‘Bro, let’s give Vince a Doomsday.’ So I got behind Vince and got him on my shoulders, and Hawk literally jumped on the stage at a male dance place—with female dancers, mind you—and the dancer moved aside, because she probably wasn’t used to seeing a 275-pound man with traps coming out of his ears. Then Hawk came running off the stage and clotheslined Vince off my shoulders.
You can only imagine all of us doing this right in the middle of a dance club, but it was all done in fun. Shortly after, we were all escorted out.”
