The Road Warriors are back in the news for the first time in several years. The Legion of Doom recently received attention after immediate comparisons were made between them and the Ascension. Does one half of the L.O.D. feel the same way?
[adinserter block=”1″]You have to feel sorry for the Ascension. They were anchored from the start with a terrible gimmick and immediate comparisons to arguably the greatest tag team in pro wrestling history. Influence is one thing but when the Ascension look like blatant rip-offs, they aren’t going to win. Road Warrior Animal Joe Lauriniaitus is rooting them but even he believes the comparisons are a bit of a stretch.
“I wish The Ascension nothing but the best and hope they are successful,” Laurinaitis said. “I know they are just doing what they are told, but when they run down teams like the Road Warriors and Demolition before ever accomplishing anything, they will be dead in the water. The fans today are just too smart for that and you can tell by their reaction.”
“You have to look the part. Hawk and I did and we were allowed to be an extension of ourselves. The Ascension is being fed a part by Hollywood writers, not all of whom understand the business. At the same time, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
I think that is the biggest problem with this analogy. The Ascension don’t look the part and look more like guys dressing up as the Road Warriors for Halloween than a tag team influenced by them. I look at Demolition and while they looked nothing like the Warriors, they had their own style and gimmick that separated them from the Warriors. It worked for them. Animal also took some time to reflect on Demolition and what happened when the big “Dream Match” finally took place.
“I felt bad when we came in and Vince had us beat Demolition in like 5 minutes,” Laurinaitis said. “Those guys are friends of mine and were great in the ring, but that’s what [McMahon] wanted and it’s the way the business is.”
Animal finally talked about the legendary Road Warrior Pop. I experienced it many times and I can tell you that the first time I saw the Warriors it was something to behold. I saw them live at the Philadelphia Civic Center in 1986 and the reaction they received was on par with what Hulk Hogan was getting at the Spectrum. It was insane.
[adinserter block=”2″]“It’s unbelievable that even today when iconic wrestlers like the Rock or others get a loud reaction people still say you just got a Road Warrior pop,” Laurinaitis said. “We just came along at the right place at the right time just as Vince McMahon was taking the business national with the WWE.”
Check out the entire interview with Road Warrior Animal over at ABC2News.com
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