The Road Warriors: Best Team Ever Or Over Rated?

[L 0 T T 0]

So, many of us are aware that the Road Warriors : Hawk & Animal, are considered by most to be the greatest tag team in wrestling history. The standard bare of tag team wrestling.

Anybody disagree with that?

Were they a bit over rated? Or that damn good.

What do you true Hawk & Animal experts think about this?

[hulk86]

I always felt The Road Warriors were the best tag team of the 1980s, simply because they brought a different look to the wrestling industry which at that time was unheard of. They were not your average tag team these guys were brawlers, who did alot of powerful wrestling moves that would dominant their opponents. Their the first team to introduce facepaint in pro wrestling in the 80s, their interviews were always explosive and crazy. By listening to those guys talk you knew whatever came out of their mouths they meant it, they made the fans believe in their work.

[Deleted]

I think the Road Warriors were the best tag team ever because they were exciting and innovative. They headlined promotions, influenced guys like Sting, Ultimate Warrior, Demolition, and any other face paint wearing muscle-bound bad ass ever to put on a pair of tights, and were hugely over all around the world. They were the best tag team in the greatest era of tag team wrestling.

That said, I've heard two main lines of criticism regarding the Road Warriors. The weakest of these criticisms comes from WWF diehards who only know or care about the Warriors in their WWF incarnation, and don't give proper weight to the work done in their wrestling primes in Georgia, the AWA, the Mid-Atlantic, and Japan. If you view only the work done by LOD in the WWF, and regard the rest of their career as being done in some kind of minor leagues, I could see how you might think of the Road Warriors as being overrated. But you'd be wrong.

The other criticism is the "smart mark" argument that the Road Warriors were poor "workers" and that their exciting style consisted primarily of no-selling and power moves. I actually take this criticism more seriously, but ultimately I think it doesn't hold much merit. Yes the Road Warriors no-sold as part of their gimmick, but this was partly masterful ring psychology, and a big part of the reason audiences were so captivated by them. Having seen tons of Road Warrior matches, I don't get criticism of their in-ring skills. They flew around the ring with power and agility. Hawk off the top rope? Animal's 300 pound ass doing dropkicks? Check their work against the Midnight Express and 4 Horsemen for proof of their in-ring ability, selling, and story-telling. It takes good "work" by everyone involved for fans (in the kayfabe era, no less) to believe that either of those teams could hurt the Warriors and put them in jeopardy.

[Jimmy]

I consider them overrated in that I find the vast majority of their matches dull. That said, they were very important to the business and drew a lot of money.

[kahnspiricy]

Overrated, but did a lot to help the company.

[Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai]

I think you can look at it two ways, both of them valid:

-- Their gimmick (and how great they were at playing their roles) had an incredible influence on wrestling in the 1980s and beyond, and the proof is in their fan following and the number of wrestlers that copied elements of their act

-- In terms of straight-up wrestling ability, they're probably not even top 30 of all time. If anyone tells you the Road Warriors were the greatest of all time in terms of pure wrestling talent, then yes, they are overrating the Roadies. But I think most Road Warriors fans would concede that they weren't great technicians.

The Road Warriors didn't have the technical wrestling chops of Tully and Arn, but that was never their role. By the same token, the Road Warriors (by being musclebound world-beaters with funny interviews) probably reached a demographic of wrestling fan that Tully and Arn would have had difficulty drawing. Both teams probably made more money for the other's existence.

[Deleted]

Mar 16, 2010 18:24:03 GMT -5 @magnumta said:

I think the Road Warriors were the best tag team ever because they were exciting and innovative. They headlined promotions, influenced guys like Sting, Ultimate Warrior, Demolition, and any other face paint wearing muscle-bound bad ass ever to put on a pair of tights, and were hugely over all around the world. They were the best tag team in the greatest era of tag team wrestling.

That said, I've heard two main lines of criticism regarding the Road Warriors. The weakest of these criticisms comes from WWF diehards who only know or care about the Warriors in their WWF incarnation, and don't give proper weight to the work done in their wrestling primes in Georgia, the AWA, the Mid-Atlantic, and Japan. If you view only the work done by LOD in the WWF, and regard the rest of their career as being done in some kind of minor leagues, I could see how you might think of the Road Warriors as being overrated. But you'd be wrong.

The other criticism is the "smart mark" argument that the Road Warriors were poor "workers" and that their exciting style consisted primarily of no-selling and power moves. I actually take this criticism more seriously, but ultimately I think it doesn't hold much merit. Yes the Road Warriors no-sold as part of their gimmick, but this was partly masterful ring psychology, and a big part of the reason audiences were so captivated by them. Having seen tons of Road Warrior matches, I don't get criticism of their in-ring skills. They flew around the ring with power and agility. Hawk off the top rope? Animal's 300 pound ass doing dropkicks? Check their work against the Midnight Express and 4 Horsemen for proof of their in-ring ability, selling, and story-telling. It takes good "work" by everyone involved for fans (in the kayfabe era, no less) to believe that either of those teams could hurt the Warriors and put them in jeopardy.

I agree 100% with everything said in this post.

[Deleted]

Mar 16, 2010 20:17:10 GMT -5 JokerFC said:

Mar 16, 2010 18:24:03 GMT -5 @magnumta said:

I think the Road Warriors were the best tag team ever because they were exciting and innovative. They headlined promotions, influenced guys like Sting, Ultimate Warrior, Demolition, and any other face paint wearing muscle-bound bad ass ever to put on a pair of tights, and were hugely over all around the world. They were the best tag team in the greatest era of tag team wrestling.

That said, I've heard two main lines of criticism regarding the Road Warriors. The weakest of these criticisms comes from WWF diehards who only know or care about the Warriors in their WWF incarnation, and don't give proper weight to the work done in their wrestling primes in Georgia, the AWA, the Mid-Atlantic, and Japan. If you view only the work done by LOD in the WWF, and regard the rest of their career as being done in some kind of minor leagues, I could see how you might think of the Road Warriors as being overrated. But you'd be wrong.

The other criticism is the "smart mark" argument that the Road Warriors were poor "workers" and that their exciting style consisted primarily of no-selling and power moves. I actually take this criticism more seriously, but ultimately I think it doesn't hold much merit. Yes the Road Warriors no-sold as part of their gimmick, but this was partly masterful ring psychology, and a big part of the reason audiences were so captivated by them. Having seen tons of Road Warrior matches, I don't get criticism of their in-ring skills. They flew around the ring with power and agility. Hawk off the top rope? Animal's 300 pound ass doing dropkicks? Check their work against the Midnight Express and 4 Horsemen for proof of their in-ring ability, selling, and story-telling. It takes good "work" by everyone involved for fans (in the kayfabe era, no less) to believe that either of those teams could hurt the Warriors and put them in jeopardy.

I agree 100% with everything said in this post.

As do I...If I had more time, I probably would've written something very much akin to that, well said, Magnum!

[Deleted]

Mar 16, 2010 19:48:35 GMT -5 Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai said:

I think you can look at it two ways, both of them valid:

-- Their gimmick (and how great they were at playing their roles) had an incredible influence on wrestling in the 1980s and beyond, and the proof is in their fan following and the number of wrestlers that copied elements of their act

-- In terms of straight-up wrestling ability, they're probably not even top 30 of all time. If anyone tells you the Road Warriors were the greatest of all time in terms of pure wrestling talent, then yes, they are overrating the Roadies. But I think most Road Warriors fans would concede that they weren't great technicians.

The Road Warriors didn't have the technical wrestling chops of Tully and Arn, but that was never their role. By the same token, the Road Warriors (by being musclebound world-beaters with funny interviews) probably reached a demographic of wrestling fan that Tully and Arn would have had difficulty drawing. Both teams probably made more money for the other's existence.

I generally agree with what you're saying, except I would want a more detailed sense of what we're calling "pure wrestling talent." To me, this encompasses a lot of things. Are we talking about "shoot" wrestling ability, like the Steiners? The ability to string a series of moves together smoothly, in the style of a mat technician. High flying moves? Selling an opponent's offense (I'm sure you can find Hawk on youtube getting his ass beat like Ricky Morton)? I ask not to be simply rhetorical, but because I feel like power wrestling (done with speed and skill, not clumsily or plodding) is an underrated component of "wrestling ability."

Put a different way, I would argue that the Road Warriors' success was not just about their image or their promos. They were solid workers and compelling in the ring. I honestly think it diminishes their accomplishments to consider them all show and no go. It's not like they were Hogan or the Ultimate Warrior. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that the Road Warriors were marvels of technical wrestling, but I strongly resist the idea that their place in wrestling history is entirely based on image and charisma. Hell, a big chunk of their reputation was earned in the 80's NWA, which is widely reknowned for its great matches and stellar in-ring work.

Everybody has their own criteria for wrestling greatness. For me, it's at the intersection of charisma/image and in-ring performance (not limited to technical skill). A wrestler has to be able to get me interested and then put on a hell of a match. I'm old school, so I'm more likely to judge a match by kayfabe standards (did it look like a fun and convincing fight?), then I am to judge by modern, "how many moves did he do" standards. But making the fight look fun and convincing (the latter factor being why I rarely enjoy WWF/E matches) is an important part of wrestling "ability."

[Jimmy]

The Road Warriors were good when they were in a real power match and could put on an awesome squash match, but their good matches only came against good teams. The truly good/great teams could have good matches against almost anyone.

[NAЯDO]

I would have to say during the 80's and 90's, The Road Warriors were the best wrestling tag team in their time, they pretty much dominated the tag team division.

[Deleted]

Mar 16, 2010 22:29:41 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

The Road Warriors were good when they were in a real power match and could put on an awesome squash match, but their good matches only came against good teams. The truly good/great teams could have good matches against almost anyone.

Yes, great teams can have a good match against anyone, or so the saying goes. I thought about that as soon as I used the examples of the Midnights and the Horsemen. But the Warriors weren't being "carried" in those matches. I used those matches as examples of things Hawk and Animal could do well that don't fit their stereotype of bruisers. And really, if you have great squash matches, and great matches against the only good teams that can "kayfabe" threaten you, what else is there really?

What qualifies as exciting can legitimately vary from one fan to the next. I get that, and respect that you found most of their matches boring. But there's this vague sentiment that the Road Warriors sucked in the ring, and it's just not true. A lot of modern fans don't respect kayfabe power wrestling and think it doesn't take skill to make it look real. The Road Warriors could do amazing things in the ring for guys their size. Remember, Hawk at his size was working from the top rope at the same time that the much smaller Bobby Eaton was being praised for his top rope innovation. Bottom line, there's a stereotype that Road Warriors were just punching and slamming people and no-selling, and it doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

[carly1988]

The Road Warriors were a special breed. To me I see them as the Hulk Hogan of tag team wrestling. Are they the best technical wrestlers? No but they are the best entertainers. They were huge draws and put butts in the seats. However much like I consider singles wrestlers the Road Warriors fall 2nd in an all time greats list. I put the Steiner Brothers as #1 because not only can they draw well but they also have the in ring talent to go with it.

[Deleted]

You know I feel i have to offer an opinion here folks.....the Road Warriors and Paul Ellering were a sight to behold.When I first saw them in the mid 80's.I happaned to be in Las Vegas for a motel conference,{I loved getting an opputunity to get out of Jersey on someone elses expense}and I happaned to wander in to the Showboat Pavillion and see the old Gagne based AWA.A friend of mine who took the with me knew a gentleman named Kenny Renick who was the play by play guy for the tv tapings.We exchanged plesantries and were invited into the locker room areawhere I met the cream of AWA wrestlers.I can not forget hearing "What a Rush" over the loudspeaker as these two behemoths came down the aisle.Both were massed up to the max in spikes on what were football shoulder pads.They were the challengers for the titles by another old timer I had remembered from WWWF days,The Baron Rascke and the CLAW!.Boy he did not change a bit.Well these two muscle guys did this move and nearly broke Rascke's neck.Kind of a somersault power move.I had never seen a more complex team except in my heyday it was the Mongols.Shear force and power.I did not ever see anything come close til Vince tried the retorical team of Demolition.

[Stevo]

Mar 19, 2010 13:13:09 GMT -5 @bobstacklum said:

You know I feel i have to offer an opinion here folks.....the Road Warriors and Paul Ellering were a sight to behold.When I first saw them in the mid 80's.I happaned to be in Las Vegas for a motel conference,{I loved getting an opputunity to get out of Jersey on someone elses expense}and I happaned to wander in to the Showboat Pavillion and see the old Gagne based AWA.A friend of mine who took the with me knew a gentleman named Kenny Renick who was the play by play guy for the tv tapings.We exchanged plesantries and were invited into the locker room areawhere I met the cream of AWA wrestlers.I can not forget hearing "What a Rush" over the loudspeaker as these two behemoths came down the aisle.Both were massed up to the max in spikes on what were football shoulder pads.They were the challengers for the titles by another old timer I had remembered from WWWF days,The Baron Rascke and the CLAW!.Boy he did not change a bit.Well these two muscle guys did this move and nearly broke Rascke's neck.Kind of a somersault power move.I had never seen a more complex team except in my heyday it was the Mongols.Shear force and power.I did not ever see anything come close til Vince tried the retorical team of Demolition.

That's fine and dandy, except the Road Warriors used "Iron Man" as their theme in AWA.

" . . ."

They had the look. The charisma. The mic skills. The manager. The title wins. The intensity. The historic feuds (did they ever face Harlem Heat? That's the glaring omission in their track record). And they had the in-ring skills.

Calling them the Hulk Hogan of tag teams is a put down; the Road Warriors could go all out in the ring. Taking bumps, calling spots, chain wrestling, it was all there when the match was important. They're known for their squashes because that was their characters, but to say that they could not wrestle is just wrong. They were just more of Dusty Rhodes style wrestlers than a Ricky Steamboat. It was a gritty, rough, and smart NWA-style, which we don't see as often today.

Are they the greatest ever? Probably, because they were the first to revolutionize tag team wrestling. Ask me on any other day and I could possibly throw out Harlem Heat or The Hart Foundation, but for today I'm saying the Road Warriors.

[Jimmy]

Mar 17, 2010 6:30:39 GMT -5 @magnumta said:

Mar 16, 2010 22:29:41 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

The Road Warriors were good when they were in a real power match and could put on an awesome squash match, but their good matches only came against good teams. The truly good/great teams could have good matches against almost anyone.

Yes, great teams can have a good match against anyone, or so the saying goes. I thought about that as soon as I used the examples of the Midnights and the Horsemen. But the Warriors weren't being "carried" in those matches. I used those matches as examples of things Hawk and Animal could do well that don't fit their stereotype of bruisers. And really, if you have great squash matches, and great matches against the only good teams that can "kayfabe" threaten you, what else is there really?

What qualifies as exciting can legitimately vary from one fan to the next. I get that, and respect that you found most of their matches boring. But there's this vague sentiment that the Road Warriors sucked in the ring, and it's just not true. A lot of modern fans don't respect kayfabe power wrestling and think it doesn't take skill to make it look real. The Road Warriors could do amazing things in the ring for guys their size. Remember, Hawk at his size was working from the top rope at the same time that the much smaller Bobby Eaton was being praised for his top rope innovation. Bottom line, there's a stereotype that Road Warriors were just punching and slamming people and no-selling, and it doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

Oh I'm not saying the Warriors sucked and I didn't even use the word 'carried' although I could see how you could get it from my statement. I don't know, maybe we're just cut from a different cloth. Something about the Road Warriors just never fully clicked with me personally, but I still feel they are one of wrestling's 'best' and definately most successful tag teams.

[carly1988]

Mar 19, 2010 15:59:22 GMT -5 Stevo said:

Mar 19, 2010 13:13:09 GMT -5 @bobstacklum said:

You know I feel i have to offer an opinion here folks.....the Road Warriors and Paul Ellering were a sight to behold.When I first saw them in the mid 80's.I happaned to be in Las Vegas for a motel conference,{I loved getting an opputunity to get out of Jersey on someone elses expense}and I happaned to wander in to the Showboat Pavillion and see the old Gagne based AWA.A friend of mine who took the with me knew a gentleman named Kenny Renick who was the play by play guy for the tv tapings.We exchanged plesantries and were invited into the locker room areawhere I met the cream of AWA wrestlers.I can not forget hearing "What a Rush" over the loudspeaker as these two behemoths came down the aisle.Both were massed up to the max in spikes on what were football shoulder pads.They were the challengers for the titles by another old timer I had remembered from WWWF days,The Baron Rascke and the CLAW!.Boy he did not change a bit.Well these two muscle guys did this move and nearly broke Rascke's neck.Kind of a somersault power move.I had never seen a more complex team except in my heyday it was the Mongols.Shear force and power.I did not ever see anything come close til Vince tried the retorical team of Demolition.

That's fine and dandy, except the Road Warriors used "Iron Man" as their theme in AWA.

" . . ."

They had the look. The charisma. The mic skills. The manager. The title wins. The intensity. The historic feuds (did they ever face Harlem Heat? That's the glaring omission in their track record). And they had the in-ring skills.

Calling them the Hulk Hogan of tag teams is a put down; the Road Warriors could go all out in the ring. Taking bumps, calling spots, chain wrestling, it was all there when the match was important. They're known for their squashes because that was their characters, but to say that they could not wrestle is just wrong. They were just more of Dusty Rhodes style wrestlers than a Ricky Steamboat. It was a gritty, rough, and smart NWA-style, which we don't see as often today.

Are they the greatest ever? Probably, because they were the first to revolutionize tag team wrestling. Ask me on any other day and I could possibly throw out Harlem Heat or The Hart Foundation, but for today I'm saying the Road Warriors.

LOL how is being called the Hulk Hogan of Tag Team wrestling a put down? Hogan is clearly the biggest name in wrestling of all time. No he wasnt physically gifted in every aspects but neither were the Road Warriors. They're matches were never botch free. Again, You have to put them in a different category of wrestling. Theres guys like Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Road Warriors, Sting who are big powerful average to above average workers then you have your all around guys like Flair, Steiner Bros, Brain Busters that could get in the ring and do it all.

[Stevo]

Mar 19, 2010 19:06:55 GMT -5 @carly1988 said:

Mar 19, 2010 15:59:22 GMT -5 Stevo said:

That's fine and dandy, except the Road Warriors used "Iron Man" as their theme in AWA.

" . . ."

They had the look. The charisma. The mic skills. The manager. The title wins. The intensity. The historic feuds (did they ever face Harlem Heat? That's the glaring omission in their track record). And they had the in-ring skills.

Calling them the Hulk Hogan of tag teams is a put down; the Road Warriors could go all out in the ring. Taking bumps, calling spots, chain wrestling, it was all there when the match was important. They're known for their squashes because that was their characters, but to say that they could not wrestle is just wrong. They were just more of Dusty Rhodes style wrestlers than a Ricky Steamboat. It was a gritty, rough, and smart NWA-style, which we don't see as often today.

Are they the greatest ever? Probably, because they were the first to revolutionize tag team wrestling. Ask me on any other day and I could possibly throw out Harlem Heat or The Hart Foundation, but for today I'm saying the Road Warriors.

LOL how is being called the Hulk Hogan of Tag Team wrestling a put down? Hogan is clearly the biggest name in wrestling of all time. No he wasnt physically gifted in every aspects but neither were the Road Warriors. They're matches were never botch free. Again, You have to put them in a different category of wrestling. Theres guys like Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Road Warriors, Sting who are big powerful average to above average workers then you have your all around guys like Flair, Steiner Bros, Brain Busters that could get in the ring and do it all.

Simple. The Road Warriors could wrestle.

Sting and the Road Warriors should not be compared to the Ultimate Warrior. Similar looks? Yeah, but totally different styles of workers. I'm not saying botch free, but since when has wrestling ever been botch free? Especially tag teams? There is no Steamboat/Flair for tag teams, four guys have never been in perfect timing and tandem with each other. But check out any Road Warriors vs Minn. Wrecking Crew/Brain Busters, Steiners, or any of their solo matches against the likes of Flair (there's a few). They could WRESTLE, not just play off of the crowd like Warrior or Hogan (not that either man is the worst worker ever).

I'm still going to compare them to a bulkier Dusty Rhodes.

[Flava Dave]

Mar 17, 2010 9:40:53 GMT -5 @carly1988 said:

To me I see them as the Hulk Hogan of tag team wrestling.

I was going to post this exact sentence. As far as teams I like to watch, they wouldn't crack the top ten for me, but if I ranked teams as far as influence and money-making is concerned, they're #1.

[carly1988]

Mar 19, 2010 19:27:53 GMT -5 Stevo said:

Mar 19, 2010 19:06:55 GMT -5 @carly1988 said:

LOL how is being called the Hulk Hogan of Tag Team wrestling a put down? Hogan is clearly the biggest name in wrestling of all time. No he wasnt physically gifted in every aspects but neither were the Road Warriors. They're matches were never botch free. Again, You have to put them in a different category of wrestling. Theres guys like Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Road Warriors, Sting who are big powerful average to above average workers then you have your all around guys like Flair, Steiner Bros, Brain Busters that could get in the ring and do it all.

Simple. The Road Warriors could wrestle.

Sting and the Road Warriors should not be compared to the Ultimate Warrior. Similar looks? Yeah, but totally different styles of workers. I'm not saying botch free, but since when has wrestling ever been botch free? Especially tag teams? There is no Steamboat/Flair for tag teams, four guys have never been in perfect timing and tandem with each other. But check out any Road Warriors vs Minn. Wrecking Crew/Brain Busters, Steiners, or any of their solo matches against the likes of Flair (there's a few). They could WRESTLE, not just play off of the crowd like Warrior or Hogan (not that either man is the worst worker ever).

I'm still going to compare them to a bulkier Dusty Rhodes.

You're comparing matches where they wrestled basically 3 of the best tag teams of all times. I would argue that most of those teams carried the Road Warriors. When the RWs would face a Arn/Tully, Midnight Express or a Rockers, they looked like a $1,000 because the other team made them look great. When you watched them face a jobber team like the Mulkey Bros or another talentless/brawler team like the Nasty Boys...It doesnt look good. You dont walk away going "Wow, LOD and the Nastys stole the show tonight" but you might look back and say "Wow, Arn/Tully and the Road Warriors were great". Simply put because the RW had another team that could work in the ring. The same can be said for Hogan. Some of Hogans most memorable matches were with guys who could work. Vs Piper, Vs Savage, Vs Rock. Sure he had big matches with less talented people like Andre and Warrior but those occasions were a little different. If Hogan didnt slam Andre and Warrior was a heel nobody would think anything of it. Wrestling comes in levels of in ring work, drawing ability, charisma. The road warriors had 2 of the 3 but there are many other tag teams that had all 3. If their in ring work was so great when they had to go solo so many times they would have accomplished more, like every other tag team in the 80s did.