Road Warrior Hawk
- Like most everyone else, I was shocked when I heard the news of Michael Hegstrand, aka Road Warrior Hawk. He passed away just 2 weeks ago from an apparent heart attack. I grew up watching the Road Warriors in the old NWA, and loving their smash mouth style of wrestling. I can remember them running down the aisle and sliding into the ring under the bottom ropes while �Iron Man� was blasting in the arena. Their opponents would already be in the ring, and when the Warriors started towards the ring, their victims, uh opponents would scatter. One of the reasons I loved wrestling as a child was because of Hawk and Animal and their pure intensity. Maybe other tag teams were better ring technicians, but in my mind they will always be the best tag team in wrestling. Their promos were as intense as their matches. Who can forget Hawk uttering that famous Warrior phrase, �Oh, what a rush!!� One of the most memorable matches they had was the Skywalkers match at Starrcade 86 when they fought the Midnight Express in a scaffold match. If you haven�t seen this match, please find a tape of it. It may look fairly tame compared to the type of matches we are used to now, but it was and still is awesome. Anyways, my point here is that Road Warrior Hawk will be missed. You contributed so much to the wrestling world and paved the way for guys like the Dudley Boyz. May you rest in peace Michael and may God bless your family and friends and all of your fans that love you. OH, WHAT A RUSH!
RAW Ramblings
- I like what I have been seeing on RAW over the last few weeks. First of all, Goldberg as World Champion works and it works well. Really, as long as Triple H is not the champion things are good. But, I have an uneasy feeling in my stomach when it comes to their upcoming match at Survivor Series. With Goldberg�s contract, he doesn�t have to make many appearances at house shows, so this tells me that his days as champ are numbered. I really hope that Goldberg will retain at the Series, and then will continue a feud with Jericho to allow the king of bling-bling to be the next World Champion. RAW has also been showcasing Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade as of late. This is a step in the right direction, just simply because these 2 young guys look very good in the ring. If they are pushed in the correct way, they could be as big as Randy Orton is now. And with Batista back and looking as good as ever, a feud with Goldberg cannot hurt him. Don�t look for Batista to win the title yet, but he could be the next big thing, no pun intended. Finally, the old school Survivor Series matches are back, and I like it. I really thing the WWE are doing something smart here. Maybe they are finally listening to what the fans want. Plus, the RAW 5-on-5 match has a stipulation, which will make the fans interested in it, even if they don�t like these types of matches. If Austin�s team wins, he can attack anyone with physical provocation. However, if his team loses, he is gone as Co-GM. This should make for a good storyline tie-in to this classic-type match.
Smackdown Ramblings
- I have also been enjoying Smackdown as of late. However, I am just a bit tired of the WWE Title scene. It seems like the title is just being passed from Angle to Lesnar. There needs to be someone else to step up and make a run for the gold. Chris Benoit is the first name that comes to mind. He has been close to the gold, but since his historic match with Angle at this year�s Royal Rumble he has been pushed down the ladder. Benoit is definitely over with the fans and his abilities in the ring continue to improve. My other choice for a top contender would have to be Eddie Guerrero. He has impressed me more than anyone else on the Smackdown roster this year. He educates his opponents every time he enters the ring, and his mic skills are one of the best in the business. Vince, please listen to the fans and give Eddie his shot.
- Most of you probably already know that Stone Cold Steve Austin�s autobiography has been released. I have been reading it for the last week, and once I finish I will offer a review of this book. I must say that I�ve been waiting for this one for a long time, and it is delivering the goods so far. So, stay tuned. Also, I picked up the WWE Bloodbath: Wrestling�s Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches DVD over the weekend. This one looks to be very good as it offers some very hard to find matches from the old NWA as well as the WWF. One of the coolest matches on this 2-disc set is the Magnum TA/Tully Blanchard �I Quit� match from Starrcade 85. I will offer a review of this DVD as well once I watch the rest of the matches. Anyways, I think that�s about it for now. So, take care and keep checking back for updates. Fade�.
- Written by "The Samster" of The Wrestling Round Table - November 4, 2003