Bully Ray believes The Road Warriors deserve to be considered the greatest tag team of all time, despite admitting that Hawk and Animal were never the best wrestlers or in-ring workers.
The debate over wrestling’s greatest tag team emerged during Busted Open Radio, with David LaGreca describing The Road Warriors as an “anomaly” who stood apart from other teams of their generation.
Bully Ray agreed with the overall assessment but argued that what made The Road Warriors special was not necessarily their ability inside the ring. Instead, the WWE Hall of Famer pointed towards their drawing power and ability to attract audiences based purely on their name.
“The Road Warriors were not the greatest wrestlers in the world. The Road Warriors were not the greatest workers in the world. But the Road Warriors didn’t need to be the greatest wrestlers or the greatest workers to be the greatest tag team of all time,” Bully said.
“Because the Road Warriors were able to do one thing that no other tag team on their own were able to do, and that is draw money, put a**es in seats, and sell out a venue on their name value alone.”
Bully Ray Says The Road Warriors’ Drawing Power Made Them The Greatest
For Bully Ray, the ability to generate money and sell tickets ultimately outweighs other criteria when determining wrestling greatness.
“That’s how over the Road Warriors were. And that’s what truly matters in this business; your ability to draw. That’s what makes the Road Warriors the greatest tag team of all time.”
Hawk and Animal began teaming as The Road Warriors in 1983 and became one of wrestling’s most recognisable teams through their distinctive face paint, physiques and presentation. The pair competed for promotions around the world during their careers, including Georgia Championship Wrestling, All Japan Pro-Wrestling, the NWA, WCW, NJPW and WWE.
Together, Hawk and Animal accumulated 14 tag team championship reigns and were eventually inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hawk, whose real name was Mike Hegstrand, died in 2003. Animal, whose real name was Joe Laurinaitis, died in 2020.
