I met Greg at a chance meeting. He was obviously tired, but when he saw my friends and I were fans, he took time to talk to us and give us autographs. Great guy 👍
I grew up watching Greg back in the 80s I hated him for breaking Titos leg but I see his interviews what a genuine guy so many great stories. It was a pleasure watching him wrestle on tv.
I liked them in the AWA when they would empty the locker rooms just get get Animal and Hawk out of the ring. I was a kid when the Road Warrior first appeared in leather on Georgia Championship. Always liked their style because it was brutal and fast. I also loved to hate the Hammer.... as a kid breaking Wahoo's leg made all of us hate the Hammer LOL! Glad to see Greg Valentine doing well, he was a great force in the sport.
@@jvac1129 yep… I remember when I saw the road warriors for the first time back before wwf…I had only seen them hyped in magazines before… and that’s exactly what i thought… whaaaa??? Very limited, awkward, and… well more impressive in the still pics!
The Road Warriors exploded onto the NWA scene like a nuclear bomb. They were one of the greatest tag teams for sure simply for the energy they brought into the ring. Everyone would be waiting for the match to start then boom, right into 5th gear as they charged across the ring and started smashing away before the bell rang. Great stuff.
I gotta say, kudos to Demolition for making that gimmick work. It's hard to be a "knock off" of another popular wrestler or team, but they made it work and people, like myself, loved Demolition.
I never saw Demolition as "ripoffs" they were thier own thing. And by far, the most badass theme music ever. Heels or faces the pop they got when music hit was astonishing.
I really do enjoy these videos. I’m 56 years old, grew up in Richmond, so I watched MidAtlantic championship wrestling on tv on Saturday morning or afternoon as I recall. Went to the colosseum or the Arena with my dad to see the matches on about 3 occasions. Was a Wahoo guy back then. Not sure now if I actually saw a live match with Greg. But much respect to you and keep the episodes coming.
The Road Warriors were one of the best ever. Maybe not the best wrestlers for sure. Pure brutes. And the crowd loved them. Always fun to watch. Great video
Yes they were. Massive mistake coming to WWF but unfortunately most of the famous wrestlers outside of WWF including Rick Flair switched over to WWF. I didn’t even like Rick Flair at WWF.
Good point. Same thing with the Sheepherders becoming the Bushwhackers, but the kids embraced their over the top silliness. The Sheepherders were one of the most violent, brutal, scary teams ever, but obviously took to the new role
@@CRAZYHORSE19682003 you’re right. Two of the all time teams. Loved both. Glad the Sheepherders got to make some real money at the last stop in their careers, while doing a lot less damage to themselves in much shorter matches. Real good guys, Butch and Luke. RIP Joe and Mike
@@fc872e1 It is funny, I never got to see the Sheepherders live. I always lived in the Northeast and WWF was all we got. I could get a very static reception of a Baltimore TV station that did NWA but it was hard to make anything out. Part of the fun was reading Pro Wresting Illustrated they would have articles covering other territories and promotions. That is how I knew about the Sheepherders, through black and white pictures and articles about them. Wrestling was so much better in the days of territories and different promotions. I remember arguing with my friends over who was better Hulk Hogan or Rick Flair. Those were fun times.
Same with the SHEEPHERDERS who were a GREAT HEEL TEAM TURNED true CARTOONERS by VINCE!! BUSHWACKERS. I Loved the SHEEPHERDERS and Hated the BUSHWACKERS!!
Road Warriors were past their prime in my opinion when they got to WWF. Both in their early 30s and didn't look as shredded and mean as they were in their 20's. They were still huge guys that tossed people around, just didn't have that same hunger as their early years where they just squashed everyone and made it look and feel believable.
Vince usually ruined the NWA guys, Luger, Tully, Arn, Windham, Harley Race, shit, he put Dusty Rhodes in Polka Dots for fuckssake!!...Sting was the smartest one for never selling out and going to Connecticut..
I remember when the Road Warriors first appeared. Instantly my favorites and who could forget the way the brutalized their opponents with clotheslines and body slams! Especially those guys that Georgia Championship Wrestling was bringing in off the streets!
i remember how much i liked demolition. but when lod came in, I immediately fell in love with them. my uncle used to watch the nwa and i'd watch flair, road warriors and others. but at my house it was wwf only. when i saw the nwa guys on wwf tv, it blew my 7 year old mind.
When i was 13 in about 1985,i couldnt BELIEVE how cool the Road Warriors looked..how tough they were...just Amazing! Right time,right guys,right look back then. When they said they were gonna kick your ass you believed it!
I didn't know Road Warrior Animal and Greg were pretty close to where Joe texted Greg 3 days prior to his passing. I agree with Greg, very sad about Animal's death. As far as The Road Warriors did better in NWA, they also had a better stint in AWA than any of their runs in the WWF.
No one ever ask Valentine about the time he broke Wahoo leg. 1976 or 1977. When Wahoo came back he and Valentine had some of the best matches I have ever seen. They beat the crap out of each other. Indian strap matches. Great .
“What a Rush” is the wackest catch phrase ever.. The Road Warriors were absolute beasts during AWA/NWA run... By the time they reached WWE, their intensity had diminished by 50%... Greg Valentine is a living legend and a true gentleman... Thanks for the great interview guys...
Saw Road Warriors vs Ash/Smash at Milwaukee house show. They stole the show BIGTIME, we were surprised how well the 4 worked together, all ACTION all of the time
i was never a fan of the valentines but greg has been great on his interviews. he made a good heel. he never bad mouths any other wrestler but has good comments on his opponents. in my opinion he is a living legend. he has outlived some of the greatest wrestlers. god bless
Because a large part of the WWE audience saw the road warriors as a copy of demolition. Alot of the WWE audience only watched WWE and didn't understand anything else. It was the same problem Ric Flair had went he went there the first time.
Probably a fair point. Because that's how it was for us in Europe as well. We only knew WWF. So to us they were another tag team in the style of demolition and the powers of pain. But besides that, I still think demolition was also just better then them. Better wrestlers and more versatile how they sold a match.
Vince Russo had them doing the "Hawk is out of his mind on drugs angle" which nobody liked. And helped ruin the Road Warriors image. Corny is right about Russo ruining everything.
Always felt strange when the big wheels in the NWA switched to the WWF. They all seemed to be diminished, for example Dusty Rhodes, the brain busters Arn and Tully, Barry Windham, Harley and Flair did okay but maybe not to the same level as their NWA days, more counterpoint to Hogan than anything else.
Same thing with the UWF too, Jim Duggan, Ted DiBiase, Steve Williams, & especially Terry Taylor were also diminished along with The Sheepherders(Bushwackers)
The timing of the road warriors appearance was perfect keep in mind the Mel Gibson movie had just come out as well I believe and that thought of apocalyptic desolation was on the minds of people because of the movie. The road warriors were definitely the pioneers of that gimmick… all those that followed were good but not nearly as sensationally awesome because they were not the original. And the style of wrestling that the road warriors brought into the ring fit perfectly with their image they were brutal they threw people around bash them to the ground didn’t use a lot of wrestling moves because they didn’t need to when they first came out they were an instant success and one of my favorite tag teams.
The Road Warriors had been champions around the world before they entered the WWF. Demolition was the knock off like The Barbarian and Warlord in NWA. The Legion of Doom the Road Warriors in the AWA were the best.
Demolition were actually great in ring workers and real life friends with the Road Warriors and in particular Barry Darsow. Bill Eadie as The Masked Superstar was one of the greatest workers and Masked performers in the history of the business.
@@saveus228 it was pretty obvious… I remember being pretty unimpressed by the road warriors even in nwa… looked like a million bucks… but actually kind of awkward. Demolition I laughed at when they appeared - I was thinking, why didn’t Vince get muscle men… this looks like two balding middle age uncles… but they worked in the ring and the Great music helped! Also, barbarian was better than the everyone else on these teams combined in terms of athleticism!
@@datacipher Barb was very underrated for sure but I'd take Bill Eadie/Ax/Masked Superstar over him in terms athleticism though. Eadie could literally do any style of match with anyone. He was a powerhouse that could also go hour long broadways.
I remember valentine's first match in Calgary against angelo Mosca . Mosca was rough with valentine , and Ed Whalen, said to Mosca give him one year and he won't be so easy to beat. About 6 months later he was tag team champions with donny Fargo, valentine was Johnny Fargo. They were called the fabulous Fargos . They held the belts on 2 occasions for several months.
The way the WWF/E has seemingly always treated the tag-team division is criminal. No matter how great of a team you were the WWF/E would break them up or gimmick them to the point where the wanted to break on their own.
I think Greg was kind telling that story, as he is/was friends with both demolition and the late great road warriors... Everyone in there right mind know who the road warriors were at all times...
The Road Warriors could have been the all time top tag team. They were misused in many places, including the WWF. Their AWA days gave me a taste of how over they were in those days.
The WWF wasn’t a place for established WCW/NWA stars to crossover. Even Ric Flair couldn’t do it in the WWF. Guys like Diesel and Steve Austin became huge stars in WWF, but they were nobodies in WCW. Road Warriors and Cactus Jack might be the most successful crossovers from that era.
IDK about that, they were over without a doubt, but JCP had a lot of good Tag Teams. LoD had some great squash matches but have them go 60 min Broadway and they were gassed
Ultimately, the reason that Legion of Doom had a short run in the WWE, was because if Hawk’s substance abuse problems. He was stumbling during the L.O.D. vs Money, Inc. match at SummerSlam ‘92 in Wembley Stadium. Not long after that, both Hawk and Animal were released from the WWE.
This wasn’t mentioned in the interview but I had heard when Vince started going national in 1984 he had asked Greg to try and recruit the road warriors to come in. I think at that time they were headed to the AWA.
I remember when they were in WCW and Sting tagged with them, calling them "brothers in paint." They lost the match and the Road Warriors turned on Sting and destroyed him.
The Road Warriors had already been around for awhile. There was a lot of crossover with wrestling fans like myself as a kid I watched both WWF and NWA/WCW so I was already very familiar with the Legion of Doom. Plus, WWF had Demolition which was basically a Road Warriors knock off but they had a cool intro song and were already very popular and had been around WWF awhile by the time the Road Warriors came around. So it was not any sort of novelty or as thrilling as it should have been when they finally arrived. We had seen their gimmick before. Please Hawk had developed a drug addiction by that point too so they weren't really in their prime anymore performance wise.
Doesn't seem bitter at all. A lot of the mid-card guys are always moaning on these shoots about how they never made to the top and who is to blame. Valentine seems like a happy guy these days and speaks objectively.
There were 2 matches that pulled 19-25 year olds back into wrestling and made it cool again….Hogan beats Iron Shiek for championship….Road Warriors intro to AWA as they rage into ring to Black Sabbath and destroy Nacho Herrera and Cesar Pavon in the ultimate squash. Milwaukee started selling out for first time since Hogan departure
When the Road Warriors went to the WWE, they had past their peak. They were still great, but it was like they were just missing something. The WWE was also very cartoony when they first got in, that hurt also. They were also at their best when they come in, tear the tag team division apart for a few years and then leave. Sad to say, the WWE just ruined them.
Funny how people and wrestlers look back fondly on road warriors and sort of kindly dismiss their shortcomings wrestling wise... But many look back on ultimate warrior, who had similar shortcomings and similarly over, with disdain and negativity. I know warrior rubbed guys the wrong way and that's why, but funny how peoples' perceptions of someone's personality in real life can effect how they view their work.
As a kid, I was absolutely in awe of Demolition, especially with their thundering entrance music & sweet masks/outfits that made them look like superhuman, soulless monsters. That nostalgia has carried over to my adulthood and I will always prefer them, at least in terms of presentation. Road Warriors/LoD were fun to watch too, that was a little more my dad's era, but as a kid, I was much more easily taken in by WWF's slicker presentation, and the LoD in WWF was kinda redundant to me. I think it's unfair when people dismiss Demolition as "rip-offs"... just because someone did something first doesn't mean they did it best. Cool ideas can always be improved upon, and it really annoyed me when McMahon & co. pretty much jobbed out Ax & Smash as soon as LoD showed up. 🤨 But out of all those teams, even as a youngster, I thought the Powers Of Pain legit looked way scarier PHYSICALLY than Demolition or LoD. Warlord's massive shoulders and Barbarian's ginormous head lol No charisma really, but extremely intimidating physiques, and even as a kid I was kinda surprised that I was supposed to believe they were only "equal" to Demolition in terms of physical power. But here it is about thirty years later, and we're all total geeks for talking about it still. 🤷♂️ It's entertainment after all, so everyone has their preference. There is no "better" or "worse". And Vince McMahon pretty much ruined them all waaaay before their time, anyway, like he does with everyone who works for him.
As a young teen,I thought the NWA had the better talent over the WWF by far.. Although I watched both,I liked the NWA way more...During that time the NWA had less gimmicks,better angles,and it seemed more believable.
Everybody has a right of there favorite westler or westlers I always liked demolition they where.fast strong and tough they where better without crush lod where ok but like I said to each is own rip hawk and animal up the irons!!!maiden manic🤘🎸🤟🤟🇬🇧🇬🇧
I totally forgot about Demolition. I had stopped watching regularly before then. They were a Road Warriors rip-off. Greg is too much of a good guy to call them that.
Nothing against Demolition but they were no name economy brand compared to The Road Warriors - if you saw the Road Warriors first Demolition seemed lame (or at least I thought so)
During the 80s when the Road Warriors began, they truly felt like 2 bad ass bikers had entered the ring with the ring skills of 2 bad ass bikers -- all brute force and no finesse. During the kayfabe era, they seemed 100% legit. When Demolition came along, Vince had already begun his parade of cartoonish characters and Demolition felt 100% fake: two big guys who might have been tackles on a football team dressed up to be Road Warrior knockoffs. I never cared for them at all, because of that.
Other than Demolition,Vince also brought in The Powers of Pain who looked even more like Road Warrior rip offs so by the time the actual warriors got there,it wasnt nearly as much of an impact as it could have been,not to mention they werent a team created by Vince as well
wwe is also a different set of fans. the northeast didn't see the road warriors in Georgia or Charlotte. when they got in, NY / NE fans were actually more familiar with demolition. same with Tully and Arn, they were nobody to the wwe audience.
3 reasons they didn't do good in wwe. 1.The name sucked Lod was a catch phrase hawk used in promos Road Warriors is who they are 2. That wack %%$ music what a rush. thats sucks that Iron man sent chills up ur spine when they rushed to the ring . 3. No Horsemen to beat up or midnight express. The warriors have to be the BIG team when they fight doom and skyscrapers and warlord and demo. etc etc they dont look as good. .Should have got Nikta to come with them
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I met Greg at a chance meeting. He was obviously tired, but when he saw my friends and I were fans, he took time to talk to us and give us autographs. Great guy 👍
No you didn’t
I grew up watching Greg back in the 80s I hated him for breaking Titos leg but I see his interviews what a genuine guy so many great stories.
It was a pleasure watching him wrestle on tv.
I liked them in the AWA when they would empty the locker rooms just get get Animal and Hawk out of the ring. I was a kid when the Road Warrior first appeared in leather on Georgia Championship. Always liked their style because it was brutal and fast. I also loved to hate the Hammer.... as a kid breaking Wahoo's leg made all of us hate the Hammer LOL! Glad to see Greg Valentine doing well, he was a great force in the sport.
I heard that they even intimidate or bullied Verne Gagne by pulling his pants down.
Joe talked about it many interviews.
@@kenterminateddq5311 AWA was good back in the day when the Road Warriors ruled it.
As limited as their moves may have been, they were the most popular team ever.
Ya very limited like Hogan and Warrior but bigger then life because of there look.
The Warriors did more than just suplex a guy for ten minutes, at least.
@@jvac1129 yep… I remember when I saw the road warriors for the first time back before wwf…I had only seen them hyped in magazines before… and that’s exactly what i thought… whaaaa??? Very limited, awkward, and… well more impressive in the still pics!
the Black Sabbath intro was a genius idea. That bent E note ringing out over the PA really got the people in the arena excited
I like how Greg has good things to say about others.
The Road Warriors Will Always Be The Best. No Other Tag-Team Will Ever Compare To Them Ever.
The Road Warriors exploded onto the NWA scene like a nuclear bomb. They were one of the greatest tag teams for sure simply for the energy they brought into the ring. Everyone would be waiting for the match to start then boom, right into 5th gear as they charged across the ring and started smashing away before the bell rang. Great stuff.
Hammer never buries anyone .even talking about demolition he was careful to complement them
Class act all the way
Never burn bridges
“Even” - Demolition are some of the nicest guys in wrestling. It was the road warriors who were marks for themselves all the time.
yea hes a good dude
I gotta say, kudos to Demolition for making that gimmick work. It's hard to be a "knock off" of another popular wrestler or team, but they made it work and people, like myself, loved Demolition.
At first I thought Demolition was cheap copy, but I gave them a chance and I think they are great in their own right.
I never saw Demolition as "ripoffs" they were thier own thing. And by far, the most badass theme music ever. Heels or faces the pop they got when music hit was astonishing.
I love demolition’s theme music
I was a kid at the time, I had no idea who the Road Warriors or the NWA was. Demolition was it for me and other kids that only had access to WWF.
I really do enjoy these videos. I’m 56 years old, grew up in Richmond, so I watched MidAtlantic championship wrestling on tv on Saturday morning or afternoon as I recall. Went to the colosseum or the Arena with my dad to see the matches on about 3 occasions. Was a Wahoo guy back then. Not sure now if I actually saw a live match with Greg. But much respect to you and keep the episodes coming.
Still my favorite 💪
RIP
Hawk and Animal.
The Road Warriors were one of the best ever. Maybe not the best wrestlers for sure. Pure brutes. And the crowd loved them. Always fun to watch. Great video
There is a reason a big pop is called a Road Warrior Pop.👍
Yes they were. Massive mistake coming to WWF but unfortunately most of the famous wrestlers outside of WWF including Rick Flair switched over to WWF. I didn’t even like Rick Flair at WWF.
The NWA was more adult oriented where WWF was more kid oriented. They turned the Road Warriors into cartoon characters to sell merchandise to kids.
Good point. Same thing with the Sheepherders becoming the Bushwhackers, but the kids embraced their over the top silliness. The Sheepherders were one of the most violent, brutal, scary teams ever, but obviously took to the new role
I agree with the both of you.
@@fc872e1 Yep the Sheepherders looked the part of some rough and tumble bad asses and it was believable they could beat the crap out of you.
@@CRAZYHORSE19682003 you’re right. Two of the all time teams. Loved both. Glad the Sheepherders got to make some real money at the last stop in their careers, while doing a lot less damage to themselves in much shorter matches. Real good guys, Butch and Luke. RIP Joe and Mike
@@fc872e1 It is funny, I never got to see the Sheepherders live. I always lived in the Northeast and WWF was all we got. I could get a very static reception of a Baltimore TV station that did NWA but it was hard to make anything out. Part of the fun was reading Pro Wresting Illustrated they would have articles covering other territories and promotions. That is how I knew about the Sheepherders, through black and white pictures and articles about them. Wrestling was so much better in the days of territories and different promotions. I remember arguing with my friends over who was better Hulk Hogan or Rick Flair. Those were fun times.
If there's ever a biography of Nick Nolte, Greg Valentine can play the role.
Likewise if there is ever a Greg Valentine biopic, nick nolte will play him
@@davidkos74 - Even better.
Crockett unleashed them as Monsters. Vince had em as Cartoons. Plastic spikes and dolls
Thats because Vince hates the wrestlers. They took time away from him and his dad
Truth
Exactly! The first time I heard Animal call the young fans “Little Doomers” I was done. 😡😡😡
Same with the SHEEPHERDERS who were a GREAT HEEL TEAM TURNED true CARTOONERS by VINCE!! BUSHWACKERS. I Loved the SHEEPHERDERS and Hated the BUSHWACKERS!!
Animal outsmarted Vince suggesting legion of doom for a name knowing he already had it trademarked.
Really? I honestly didn't know that!
I think DC Comics has the trademark rights to the "Legion of Doom" going back to the 70's.
I used to be scared of The Hammer growing up. His voice was so deep and he seemed mean for real, but what a wrestler.
Road Warriors were past their prime in my opinion when they got to WWF. Both in their early 30s and didn't look as shredded and mean as they were in their 20's. They were still huge guys that tossed people around, just didn't have that same hunger as their early years where they just squashed everyone and made it look and feel believable.
fax
Vince usually ruined the NWA guys, Luger, Tully, Arn, Windham, Harley Race, shit, he put Dusty Rhodes in Polka Dots for fuckssake!!...Sting was the smartest one for never selling out and going to Connecticut..
They made them sell way too much in WWF in 90-92
True, by the time they went to WWE they didn't look as imposing as they were in NWA, Hawk got smaller every year in the 90's too.
I remember when the Road Warriors first appeared. Instantly my favorites and who could forget the way the brutalized their opponents with clotheslines and body slams! Especially those guys that Georgia Championship Wrestling was bringing in off the streets!
Really like Greg valentine. I grew up watching his dad.
Always be a legend superstar in my books of course i mean The Hammer
These interviews are priceless...a job well done...thank you
i remember how much i liked demolition. but when lod came in, I immediately fell in love with them. my uncle used to watch the nwa and i'd watch flair, road warriors and others. but at my house it was wwf only. when i saw the nwa guys on wwf tv, it blew my 7 year old mind.
As a little kid in the nyc area. I only knew demolition at first and loved them,
When i was 13 in about 1985,i couldnt BELIEVE how cool the Road Warriors looked..how tough they were...just Amazing! Right time,right guys,right look back then. When they said they were gonna kick your ass you believed it!
Greg's hands look like a friggin catchers mitt
I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS WORKING OUT AT THE Golds Gym here in Las Vegas at that time I was bench pressing 515 pounds!
I didn't know Road Warrior Animal and Greg were pretty close to where Joe texted Greg 3 days prior to his passing. I agree with Greg, very sad about Animal's death.
As far as The Road Warriors did better in NWA, they also had a better stint in AWA than any of their runs in the WWF.
Really like hearing Greg talk wrestling.
Don't think anyone would have anything negative to say about him as a person . Genuinely a decent guy
No one ever ask Valentine about the time he broke Wahoo leg. 1976 or 1977. When Wahoo came back he and Valentine had some of the best matches I have ever seen. They beat the crap out of each other. Indian strap matches. Great .
They were absolute classics. Here is Greg’s take on Wahoo th-cam.com/video/qoKyt17PoLw/w-d-xo.html
Greg The Hammer Valentine he's very knowledgeable about old time wrestling
Road warriors vs ivan and nikita great times
Shit yeah!!! And vs 4 Horsemen
The Hammer seems like a really good dude.
I see him at the bar at wrestling conventions all the time, he is very cool dude. Buy him a beer and he will talk your ear off...
“What a Rush” is the wackest catch phrase ever..
The Road Warriors were absolute beasts during AWA/NWA run... By the time they reached WWE, their intensity had diminished by 50%...
Greg Valentine is a living legend and a true gentleman...
Thanks for the great interview guys...
The intensity of LOD was an all time high. They got their money & the titles just like they wanted.
Saw Road Warriors vs Ash/Smash at Milwaukee house show. They stole the show BIGTIME, we were surprised how well the 4 worked together, all ACTION all of the time
That Hammer was awesome. Loved watching this guy.
They had best finisher in all of wrestling
i was never a fan of the valentines but greg has been great on his interviews. he made a good
heel. he never bad mouths any other wrestler but has good comments on his opponents. in my opinion he is a living legend. he has outlived some of the greatest wrestlers. god bless
Because a large part of the WWE audience saw the road warriors as a copy of demolition. Alot of the WWE audience only watched WWE and didn't understand anything else. It was the same problem Ric Flair had went he went there the first time.
Probably a fair point. Because that's how it was for us in Europe as well. We only knew WWF. So to us they were another tag team in the style of demolition and the powers of pain. But besides that, I still think demolition was also just better then them. Better wrestlers and more versatile how they sold a match.
Always my favorite tag team
Vince Russo had them doing the "Hawk is out of his mind on drugs angle" which nobody liked. And helped ruin the Road Warriors image. Corny is right about Russo ruining everything.
Down in South Carolina, we referred to Demolition as the fake Road Warriors lol. Man I miss territory wrasslin’
Always felt strange when the big wheels in the NWA switched to the WWF. They all seemed to be diminished, for example Dusty Rhodes, the brain busters Arn and Tully, Barry Windham, Harley and Flair did okay but maybe not to the same level as their NWA days, more counterpoint to Hogan than anything else.
Same thing with the UWF too, Jim Duggan, Ted DiBiase, Steve Williams, & especially Terry Taylor were also diminished along with The Sheepherders(Bushwackers)
They also took NWA/WCW castoffs and made them into stars, like Stone Cold, Mick Foley, HHH, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash.
Exactly. That's why I hate McMahon.
Id day WWF did ok with Stunning Steve Austin, Terra Ryzing and Mean mark callous..
@@saveus228 and Austin was all pretty much by accident. It's not like he wasn't being wasted as The Ringmaster for a year.
The timing of the road warriors appearance was perfect keep in mind the Mel Gibson movie had just come out as well I believe and that thought of apocalyptic desolation was on the minds of people because of the movie. The road warriors were definitely the pioneers of that gimmick… all those that followed were good but not nearly as sensationally awesome because they were not the original. And the style of wrestling that the road warriors brought into the ring fit perfectly with their image they were brutal they threw people around bash them to the ground didn’t use a lot of wrestling moves because they didn’t need to when they first came out they were an instant success and one of my favorite tag teams.
The Road Warriors had been champions around the world before they entered the WWF. Demolition was the knock off like The Barbarian and Warlord in NWA. The Legion of Doom the Road Warriors in the AWA were the best.
Demolition were actually great in ring workers and real life friends with the Road Warriors and in particular Barry Darsow. Bill Eadie as The Masked Superstar was one of the greatest workers and Masked performers in the history of the business.
yep. any pro wrestlers will tell you Ax and Smash were the far superior in ring workers of the teams
@@saveus228 it was pretty obvious… I remember being pretty unimpressed by the road warriors even in nwa… looked like a million bucks… but actually kind of awkward. Demolition I laughed at when they appeared - I was thinking, why didn’t Vince get muscle men… this looks like two balding middle age uncles… but they worked in the ring and the Great music helped! Also, barbarian was better than the everyone else on these teams combined in terms of athleticism!
@@datacipher Barb was very underrated for sure but I'd take Bill Eadie/Ax/Masked Superstar over him in terms athleticism though. Eadie could literally do any style of match with anyone. He was a powerhouse that could also go hour long broadways.
I remember valentine's first match in Calgary against angelo Mosca . Mosca was rough with valentine , and Ed Whalen, said to Mosca give him one year and he won't be so easy to beat. About 6 months later he was tag team champions with donny Fargo, valentine was Johnny Fargo. They were called the fabulous Fargos . They held the belts on 2 occasions for several months.
RIP The Road Warriors!
I seen Greg Valentine at a gas station in largo ,Florida he was cool .♥️
Greg is a great guy
The way the WWF/E has seemingly always treated the tag-team division is criminal. No matter how great of a team you were the WWF/E would break them up or gimmick them to the point where the wanted to break on their own.
As Bubba Ray Dudley said, tag team wrestling is gravy for Vince McMahon
"The 2nd coming of more leather" got to love the Hammer!
I think Greg was kind telling that story, as he is/was friends with both demolition and the late great road warriors... Everyone in there right mind know who the road warriors were at all times...
The Road Warriors could have been the all time top tag team. They were misused in many places, including the WWF.
Their AWA days gave me a taste of how over they were in those days.
Hey y'all remember when the Road Warriors won the Crockett memorial cup?
I remember demolition as a 3 man tag team wrestle legion of doom with the ultimate warrior. They beat demolitions ass.
Hawk's lifestyle was catching up with him a little bit in their WWF run. Damn though, they were awesome still.
I agree and it was sad
The WWF wasn’t a place for established WCW/NWA stars to crossover. Even Ric Flair couldn’t do it in the WWF.
Guys like Diesel and Steve Austin became huge stars in WWF, but they were nobodies in WCW.
Road Warriors and Cactus Jack might be the most successful crossovers from that era.
Road warriors in N.W.A and W.C.W. were the greatest tag team ever.
IDK about that, they were over without a doubt, but JCP had a lot of good Tag Teams. LoD had some great squash matches but have them go 60 min Broadway and they were gassed
Ultimately, the reason that Legion of Doom had a short run in the WWE, was because if Hawk’s substance abuse problems. He was stumbling during the L.O.D. vs Money, Inc. match at SummerSlam ‘92 in Wembley Stadium. Not long after that, both Hawk and Animal were released from the WWE.
Agree with Valentine by time Road Warriors came to WWF wrestling was going in a different direction with Vince McMahon. It was too late.
I wonder why Valentine never become a booker or an agent after his career wound down. He sounds like he'd be incredible at it!!!
Yup, such a smart man and a good talker. His wrestling knowledge is second to none man.
I wish the Road Warriors would've fought the British Bulldogs when both teams were at their peaks but McMahon wasn't into cross promotions.
This wasn’t mentioned in the interview but I had heard when Vince started going national in 1984 he had asked Greg to try and recruit the road warriors to come in. I think at that time they were headed to the AWA.
You're right, thank you for adding this. We touched on it briefly in a previous interview with the Hammer th-cam.com/video/07EqwnF7Ki0/w-d-xo.html
NEVER WAS AND NEVER WILL BE ANOTHER HAWK AN ANIMAL.THE FEKIN BEST!!!
Vince resents anyone who got over without him.
I remember when they were in WCW and Sting tagged with them, calling them "brothers in paint." They lost the match and the Road Warriors turned on Sting and destroyed him.
I saw ax and smash. Wrestle at the old meadowlands. In nj. Vince wanted his version of. The road warriors.
The Road Warriors had already been around for awhile. There was a lot of crossover with wrestling fans like myself as a kid I watched both WWF and NWA/WCW so I was already very familiar with the Legion of Doom. Plus, WWF had Demolition which was basically a Road Warriors knock off but they had a cool intro song and were already very popular and had been around WWF awhile by the time the Road Warriors came around.
So it was not any sort of novelty or as thrilling as it should have been when they finally arrived. We had seen their gimmick before. Please Hawk had developed a drug addiction by that point too so they weren't really in their prime anymore performance wise.
#blackdiamondpresscomix🤩2k21 exactly 🔨! Word up.
Doesn't seem bitter at all. A lot of the mid-card guys are always moaning on these shoots about how they never made to the top and who is to blame. Valentine seems like a happy guy these days and speaks objectively.
There were 2 matches that pulled 19-25 year olds back into wrestling and made it cool again….Hogan beats Iron Shiek for championship….Road Warriors intro to AWA as they rage into ring to Black Sabbath and destroy Nacho Herrera and Cesar Pavon in the ultimate squash. Milwaukee started selling out for first time since Hogan departure
Ifyoubuildittheywillcome
Great vid Hammer 🔨
They were just killer in the AWA so when 15 year old me marked ALL the way out when Crockett brought them on their first Chicago show.
Someone screwed up the subtitles...A grade team? Threw them in the car? Grabbed a halt?
When the Road Warriors went to the WWE, they had past their peak. They were still great, but it was like they were just missing something. The WWE was also very cartoony when they first got in, that hurt also. They were also at their best when they come in, tear the tag team division apart for a few years and then leave. Sad to say, the WWE just ruined them.
Absolute Truth. WWF / E is shit.
NWA was more hardcore, WWF was more kid & family friendly .
"The Second Coming of More Leather"
Warrior costumes over the top.
Funny how people and wrestlers look back fondly on road warriors and sort of kindly dismiss their shortcomings wrestling wise... But many look back on ultimate warrior, who had similar shortcomings and similarly over, with disdain and negativity. I know warrior rubbed guys the wrong way and that's why, but funny how peoples' perceptions of someone's personality in real life can effect how they view their work.
They were great in nwa cause they were younger and in prime and new. Thats why.
There were those WWF-only fans that thought LOD were the Demolition knock offs. 😂
Hawk used to do clean ass suplexes
As a kid, I was absolutely in awe of Demolition, especially with their thundering entrance music & sweet masks/outfits that made them look like superhuman, soulless monsters. That nostalgia has carried over to my adulthood and I will always prefer them, at least in terms of presentation.
Road Warriors/LoD were fun to watch too, that was a little more my dad's era, but as a kid, I was much more easily taken in by WWF's slicker presentation, and the LoD in WWF was kinda redundant to me. I think it's unfair when people dismiss Demolition as "rip-offs"... just because someone did something first doesn't mean they did it best. Cool ideas can always be improved upon, and it really annoyed me when McMahon & co. pretty much jobbed out Ax & Smash as soon as LoD showed up. 🤨
But out of all those teams, even as a youngster, I thought the Powers Of Pain legit looked way scarier PHYSICALLY than Demolition or LoD. Warlord's massive shoulders and Barbarian's ginormous head lol No charisma really, but extremely intimidating physiques, and even as a kid I was kinda surprised that I was supposed to believe they were only "equal" to Demolition in terms of physical power.
But here it is about thirty years later, and we're all total geeks for talking about it still. 🤷♂️ It's entertainment after all, so everyone has their preference. There is no "better" or "worse". And Vince McMahon pretty much ruined them all waaaay before their time, anyway, like he does with everyone who works for him.
As a young teen,I thought the NWA had the better talent over the WWF by far.. Although I watched both,I liked the NWA way more...During that time the NWA had less gimmicks,better angles,and it seemed more believable.
@Teddy Long
Of course you would say that Teddy Long, working for the Crockett's like you did ; )
Everybody has a right of there favorite westler or westlers I always liked demolition they where.fast strong and tough they where better without crush lod where ok but like I said to each is own rip hawk and animal up the irons!!!maiden manic🤘🎸🤟🤟🇬🇧🇬🇧
Why The Road Warriors Did Better in NWA. Answer: Because the Competition was way better, that's why.
fax. and that iron man intro didn't hurt either
Do more, omni matches, from Atlanta.
I totally forgot about Demolition. I had stopped watching regularly before then. They were a Road Warriors rip-off. Greg is too much of a good guy to call them that.
Never realized Demolition was essentially disbanded for the Road Warriors at the time.
Cuz Vince is known for taking hot talent from different promotions getting them to wwf/wwe and burying them. yeah they had wwf tag titles
Nothing against Demolition but they were no name economy brand compared to The Road Warriors - if you saw the Road Warriors first Demolition seemed lame (or at least I thought so)
It's True 💯
Always felt the same way. They seemed like a cheesy knockoff.
During the 80s when the Road Warriors began, they truly felt like 2 bad ass bikers had entered the ring with the ring skills of 2 bad ass bikers -- all brute force and no finesse. During the kayfabe era, they seemed 100% legit.
When Demolition came along, Vince had already begun his parade of cartoonish characters and Demolition felt 100% fake: two big guys who might have been tackles on a football team dressed up to be Road Warrior knockoffs. I never cared for them at all, because of that.
3:56 When you order the Road Warriors off Wish
The Hammer is great on these shoot interviews! Checkout Greg Valentine in the 350 Days Documentary. Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Other than Demolition,Vince also brought in The Powers of Pain who looked even more like Road Warrior rip offs so by the time the actual warriors got there,it wasnt nearly as much of an impact as it could have been,not to mention they werent a team created by Vince as well
wwe is also a different set of fans. the northeast didn't see the road warriors in Georgia or Charlotte. when they got in, NY / NE fans were actually more familiar with demolition. same with Tully and Arn, they were nobody to the wwe audience.
3 reasons they didn't do good in wwe. 1.The name sucked Lod was a catch phrase hawk used in promos Road Warriors is who they are 2. That wack %%$ music what a rush. thats sucks that Iron man sent chills up ur spine when they rushed to the ring . 3. No Horsemen to beat up or midnight express. The warriors have to be the BIG team when they fight doom and skyscrapers and warlord and demo. etc etc they dont look as good. .Should have got Nikta to come with them
1:14 Huh. It looks like Warrior copied Hawk's face paint design. No wonder Hawk had to change it when he came into WWF.