Michael Hegstrand
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Hawk.jpg
Michael Hegstrand, best known as Road Warrior Hawk (September 12, 1957-October 19, 2003) was an American professional wrestler billed from Chicago, Illinois.
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Profile
- Height: 6'3"
- Weight: 275 lbs.
- Birthday: September 12, 1957
- Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Billed From: Chicago, Illinois
- Other Gimmicks: Crusher Von Hoag
- Managers: Paul Ellering, Sunny
- Tag Teams: Road Warriors & "LOD 2000" with Animal, Power Warriors with Kensuke Sasaki, Badd Boys with Brett Sanders
- Trainer: Eddie Sharkey
- Quotes: "Oh... what a rush!"
Career
For many years, he was with Joseph Laurinaitis, also called Road Warrior Animal. Together they were a muscular tag team called the Road Warriors. The Road Warriors burst onto the wrestling scene in 1983 wearing mohawks, dog collars, spiked shoulder pads, and face paint. Indeed, they were a modern-day version of Bruiser and Crusher. Their interview style was vicious, yet charismatic and a bit humorous.
The Road Warriors wrestled across the globe, capturing the AJPW Tag Team titles, as well as every American version of the World Tag Team titles (WWF, NWA and AWA) - a feat that no other tag team can claim.
Several years ago Hegstrand developed Cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that stopped him from wrestling for a short while. He was able to overcome its effects and still manage to keep a regular working schedule - a testament to his will and courage. He became a born-again Christian in 2003 and appeared at many of the wrestling/religion events run by Ted DiBiase and Nikita Koloff.
Hegstrand died on October 19, 2003 in the early morning in his home in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida at 46 years old. His friends said he and his wife, Dale, had recently bought a condominium near their current home and were packing their boxes Saturday evening. Hegstrand said he felt tired and went to take a nap. When his wife checked on him about 1 a.m., he had died of an apparent heart attack. He had battles with alcohol and drugs throughout his career and was an admitted steroids user. Any one of the above circumstances could have weakened his heart.
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Championships/Accomplishments
- 2-Time WWF World Tag Team Champion (with Animal)
- 1-Time NWA World Tag Team Champion (with Animal)
- 1-Time AWA World Tag Team Champion (with Animal)
- 1-Time AJPW International Tag Team Champion (with Animal)
- 2-Time IWGP Tag Team Champion (with Kensuke Sasaki)
- 3-Time NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champion (with Animal & Dusty Rhodes twice and Animal & Genichiro Tenryu once)
- 4-Time NWA National Tag Team Champion (with Animal)
- 1-Time Catch Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time MTW Tag Team Champion (with Bobo Brazil, Jr.)
- 1-Time Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champion (with Doug Gibson)
- 1-Time MEWF Tag Team Champion (with The Comet)
- 3-Time Superstars of Wrestling Tag Team Champion (with Animal)
- 1-Time IPW Tag Team Champion (with Animal)
- Won 1986 NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament in 1986 with Animal.
- Won 1989 NWA Iron Team Tournament at StarrCade '89 with Animal.
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 47 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked twice in the best tag teams of the "PWI Years". He was ranked # 1 with Animal and # 58 with Kensuke Sasaki.
- Hawk won four PWI Tag Team of the Year Awards with Animal. They were in 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1988. He was also involved in the 1987 Feud of the Year which was the Road Warriors & the Super Powers (Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes) vs. the Four Horsemen.
Trivia
- Hawk once dated Missy Hyatt.
External Links
- Official Site: http://www.roadwarriorsinc.com/