WWE Hall of Famer Joe Laurinaitis, better known as Road Warrior Animal, dies at 60. The news was confirmed by his family members who sent out a post from his verified Twitter account.
Road Warrior Animal dies at 60
The Tweet shared by the family confirmed the demise of Road Warrior Animal and asked everyone to keep them in their prayers and thoughts. According to reports, police responded to one call at 911 from the Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach, on Tuesday. When the officers arrived, it was 11:49 pm. By then, emergency personnel declared the man dead.
The death of Road Warrior Animal saddens WWE. So, they sent out a statement with condolences for his friend, family, and fans.
WWE is saddened to learn that Joe Laurinaitis, known to WWE fans as Road Warrior Animal, has passed away.
WWE extends its condolences to Laurinaitis' family, friends and fans. https://t.co/hurorEDVff
— WWE (@WWE) September 23, 2020
Wrestling star Hulk Hogan, who worked with Joe, sent out a post on social media with grief and condolences. His post expressed his love for “Animal” and said, “you and Hawk have a lot of unfinished business to take care of!” He sent out love and blessing for the family and ended his post.
RIP Animal,love you my brother, I know you and Hawk have a lot of unfinished business to take care of! God speed and blessings to your beautiful family,one love4Life. HH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) September 23, 2020
Laurinaitis was renowned in professional wrestling thanks to his wacky clothes and face paint. He was covered with metal spikes. Michael Hegstrand, known as Hawk and Animal, made a team that will go down in history. Together, they were called the Road Warriors.
Hawk and Animal presided over several matches and dominated them. The phrase people used to use as Road Warrior pop is familiar still now for WWE behind the scene times. Many times, the crowd uses this term to express their reactions.
Who was Joe Laurinaitis?
Joseph Laurinaitis was born and brought up in Chicago before moving to Minneapolis to train in wrestling with Hawk. They were under the guidance of Eddie Sharkey. Soon, they joined manager Paul Ellering or “Precious” and got recognition in the pro-wrestling circuit for years before they joined WWE in 1990.
Initially, they were called The Legion of Doom and won World Tag Team Titles once in 1991 and then 1997. Hawk died in 2003, and Animal won this title again in 2005. This time, he teamed up with Jon Heidenreich.
Joe Laurinaitis is the sibling John Laurinaitis, who was also a pro-wrestler and producer. His performance name was Johnny Ace. He is married to Kathy Laurinaitis, the mother of Bella Twins, Brie and Nikki. The Laurinaitis also have another brother named Marcus, who was also into wrestling, and we popularly know him as The Terminator.
