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The Legion Of Doom's Legacy In WWE & Why They Never Had A Great Run

The Legion Of Doom's Legacy In WWE & Why They Never Had A Great Run

Posted: Jul 30th 2022 By: Joey Haverford - TheSportster.com

The Road Warriors are a legendary tag team, but their run in WWE as The Legion of Doom didn't live up to expectations.

The Road Warriors became the Legion of Doom in WWE to enter their tag division after years wrestling all over the world. Many fans and wrestlers still use the term “Road Warrior Pop” to describe the audience going wild for someone. Unfortunately, WWE didn’t have the same level of success with the iconic tag team that they had elsewhere.

Vince McMahon is known for being hot and cold with tag team wrestling throughout the years. Even when the boss believes in a team, they are slated to be much below the top singles stars. Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior Hawk thrived working together everywhere. However, WWE didn’t see the Legion of Doom didn't hit their full potential during the stints there.

The Legion Of Doom's Disappointing First WWE Run

WWE became quite aggressive with signing the most noteworthy names on the free agent market after playing a role in the territories dying off. The Road Warriors joining WWE felt like an even bigger move than some other main event acquisitions since they were an attraction tag team. However, Vince McMahon’s desire to make some changes led to the legendary duo losing some momentum and feeling frustrated.

The Road Warriors name was changed to the Legion of Doom due to Ultimate Warrior already having ties to the warrior name. Legion of Doom was a fun name to make it less negative, but the change showed they weren’t as valued as the top singles stars of WWE. Their manager Paul Ellering wasn’t even there at the start until a return down the line.

Fans still treated them like a big deal with huge cheers for moments like winning the WWE Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam 1991 in Madison Square Garden. The duo left the promotion for a few weeks after having disagreements about pay with Vince McMahon. WWE brought them back in time for WrestleMania 8 with Ellering as the manager.

However, there was a strange dynamic, with Ellering having a ventriloquist dummy named Rocco. Hawk despised this angle and chose to leave the promotion to work in Japan. Animal remained in WWE to finish his house show dates and the rest of the schedule on his contract, but an injury even caused Animal’s in-ring work to end faster than expected.

The Legion Of Doom Return To WWE During The Attitude Era

The Legion of Doom returned to WWE in 1997 right around the time of the New Generation Era moving to the Attitude Era. WCW had the Road Warriors for a short time during the early stages of the Monday Night Wars, but they could not agree to a long-term contract with Eric Bischoff. WWE was more than willing to bring them back after falling behind in the ratings war.

There were some fun moments during this time with LOD teaming with Ahmed Johnson to defeat the Nation of Domination at WrestleMania 13. WWE also placed Animal and Hawk with other face wrestlers to feud with the Hart Foundation. However, the same issues came up once more with WWE eventually losing interest in their general act.

Vince McMahon had them take some time off after putting over the New Age Outlaws as a new top team, losing the tag titles to them and having them shave Hawk’s head. The return came at WrestleMania 14 as LOD 2000 with Sunny as their manager. Unfortunately, there was little chemistry, leading to more disappointment.

A Horrible Storyline Ruined Legion Of Doom's WWE Legacy

The final storyline for the Legion of Doom came during the thick of the Attitude Era when everyone was in outlandish roles. Former NFL player Darren Drozdov joined WWE and looked to find the right character to get over. WWE placed him in a ridiculous storyline, joining the Legion of Doom and seemingly trying to drive a wedge between the two long-term partners and best friends.

Hawk’s real-life alcohol and drug abuse issues were things that he always struggled with. WWE ran an angle of Animal getting frustrated with Hawk's issues and him being unfit to wrestle. Droz trying to replace him just made fans groan as they watched the story unfold. A low moment came when Hawk threatened to jump off the titan tron and Droz accidentally pushed him off.

The storyline flopped with no pay off as they just made a few appearances afterwards. Animal and Hawk both left WWE and saw their tag run reaching the end of the road. Animal signed with WCW on his own for a few months before the company closed. WWE did later bring the Legion of Doom back as a surprise team to challenge Rob Van Dam and Kane to a massive pop. Unfortunately, the overall WWE run didn’t work out, becoming yet another story of Vince struggling to book a tag team perfectly.

 

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  • 1982 King Kong Bundy & Bill Irwin def. The Von Erichs (Kerry Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich) for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 1983 Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart def. Magnum T. A. & Jim Duggan for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 1988 The Samoan SWAT Team (Samu & Fatu) def. John Tatum & Jimmy Jack Funk for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Titles
  • 2004 Chris Matthews def. Brandon Bishop for the ACW Heavyweight Title
  • 2009 Bobby Starr def. Kevin James Sanchez for the BYEW Entertainment Title
  • 2010 Xavior def. Kevin Morgan for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
  • 2015 Double D def. Aaron Neil for the IZW Impact Division Title
  • 2015 Erica def. Paige Turner for the IZW Queens Title
  • 2015 Brad Michaels def. Johnny Z for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 2015 Richie Adams def. Jake O'Brien for the ComPro Heavyweight Title
  • 2015 Shawn Hernandez became the DI2IW Intercontinenal Champion
  • 2015 What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) def. Impact, Inc. (Damon Windsor & Johnny Z) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
  • 2015 The K. C. Wolves (Graham Bell & Luke Langley) def. What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
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Week of Sun 09-06 to Sat: 09-12

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  • 09-07 2004 Kenzo Suzuki & Rene Dupree def. Paul London & Billy Kidman for the WWE Smackdown World Tag Team Titles
  • 09-07 2012 Brandon Walker def. Tim Rockwell for the ComPro Heavyweight Title
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  • 09-07 2018 Nikki Knight def. Erica for the MSWA Ladies Title
  • 09-07 2019 Brian Dixon def. Tommy Dean for the BPW Oklahoma Title
  • 09-07 2019 Luke Langley def. Brandon Groom for the BPW Lion Heart Title
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  • 09-08 1947 Leroy McGuirk def. Buddy Rogers for the NWA Midwest World Title
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  • 09-08 1974 El Gran Markus def. Jose Lothario for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
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  • 09-09 1980 The Grappler def. Ted DiBiase for the MSW North American Heavyweight Title
  • 09-09 2002 Papa Voodoo def. HIMM for the ACW Hardcore Title
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  • 09-09 2011 Michael Barry def. Dustin Heritage for the MWA MAX-Division Title
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  • 09-09 2017 Michael Wolf def. Aaron Anders for the ComPro Heavyweight Title
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  • 09-10 1968 The Spoiler & Gary Hart def. Fritz Von Erich & Grizzly Smith for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 09-10 1971 Ramon Torres def. Roger Kirby for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
  • 09-10 1978 David Von Erich def. Bruiser Brody for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
  • 09-10 1979 Oki Shikina & Sugar Bear Harris became the TSW United States Tag Team Champions
  • 09-10 2011 Drake Gallows became the BYEW Entertainment Champion
  • 09-10 2016 Psycho Sawyer def. Ray Martinez for the SRPW Heavyweight Title
  • 09-10 2016 Psycho Sawyer def. Spyder for the SRPW United States Title
  • 09-10 2021 Legend Has It (Thrash & Killbane) def. Two Man Sam (Sam Stackhouse & Samuel Savage) for the CPW Tag Team Titles
  • 09-10 2022 Team Boner (Drake Gallows & MLP) def. Psychotic Messengers (Maniac Mike & Malachi) for the AIWF Tag Team Titles
  • 09-10 2022 MLP def. Duncan Kincaid for the RDW Iron Man Title
  • 09-10 2022 Nashoba def. Al Farat for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 09-11 1957 El Medico def. Duke Keomuka for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 09-11 1958 Angelo Savoldi def. Dory Funk for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
  • 09-11 1963 The Bolos (The Great Bolo [1st] & The Mighty Bolo) def. Bill Watts & Jerry Kozak for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
  • 09-11 1967 The Von Erichs (Fritz Von Erich & Waldo Von Erich) def. Brute Bernard & Mike Paidousis for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 09-11 1967 Danny Hodge & Skandar Akbar def. Chati Yokouchi & Togo Shikuma for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
  • 09-11 1968 Danny Little Bear & Kit Fox def. Jack Dalton [1st] & Frank Dalton for the TSW Louisiana Tag Team Titles
  • 09-11 1978 Bruiser Brody def. Fritz Von Erich for the WCCW American Heavyweight Title
  • 09-11 2010 Ryan Reed became the NCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 09-11 2010 The Unknown & Yoshi became the NCW Tag Team Champions
  • 09-11 2010 Aerial Assault (Ky-ote Joe & Eric Rose) def. The Future Hall of Famers (Dane Griffin & Shane Rawls) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
  • 09-11 2010 Team Shake It (Josh Evans & Martin Casaus) def. The D-Stinguished (Elias Castaneda & Arik Angel) for the ACW Tag Team Titles
  • 09-11 2021 Warren Powers def. Drake Gallows for the EPW All-American Title
  • 09-11 2021 Drake Gallows def. Warren Powers for the EPW Internet Television Title
  • 09-11 2021 Revan became the RDW Iron Man Champion
  • 09-11 2021 Most Wanted (Dan Webber & Reese & T-Arsenal) def. The Rejecs LM (Dr. Corvus & Elijah Sparks) for the WAH Tag Team Titles
  • 09-12 1982 King Kong Bundy & Bill Irwin def. The Von Erichs (Kerry Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich) for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 09-12 1983 Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart def. Magnum T. A. & Jim Duggan for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 09-12 1988 The Samoan SWAT Team (Samu & Fatu) def. John Tatum & Jimmy Jack Funk for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Titles
  • 09-12 2004 Chris Matthews def. Brandon Bishop for the ACW Heavyweight Title
  • 09-12 2009 Bobby Starr def. Kevin James Sanchez for the BYEW Entertainment Title
  • 09-12 2010 Xavior def. Kevin Morgan for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
  • 09-12 2015 Double D def. Aaron Neil for the IZW Impact Division Title
  • 09-12 2015 Erica def. Paige Turner for the IZW Queens Title
  • 09-12 2015 Brad Michaels def. Johnny Z for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 09-12 2015 Richie Adams def. Jake O'Brien for the ComPro Heavyweight Title
  • 09-12 2015 Shawn Hernandez became the DI2IW Intercontinenal Champion
  • 09-12 2015 What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) def. Impact, Inc. (Damon Windsor & Johnny Z) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
  • 09-12 2015 The K. C. Wolves (Graham Bell & Luke Langley) def. What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
  • 09-12 2025 Floyd Maystorm def. Clover Botello for the WAH Hunger Dojo Title
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