**mods it’s now accepted that pro wrestling is pure entertainment. It’s not a sport.
The Road Warriors were a scary tag team in the 80’s. I was worried they’d permanently cripple one of my favorite champions. This was back when most fans thought wrestling was real.
The Road Warriors were huge, muscle bound men. Most likely from Steroids. I don’t think they ever admitted using them.
Hawk died in 2003 age 46 (cardiac arrest)
Animal has just died at age 60.
Wut? I don’t think the year had anything to do with people thinking wrestling was real or not. I know I turned 13 or 14 and came to the realization that it had to be fake.
I lost interest in pro wrestling back in the 1980s when I turned eleven years old, but I still have fond memories of watching the likes of Rowdy Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, the Junkyard Dog, and even the Road Warriors. My memories are a little tainted by the fact that so many wrestlers who entertained me have had their lives prematurely ended.
A lot of the wrestlers I watched in the 70’s & 80’s have died. It’s especially shocking because they were so fit in their prime. Animal was 6’ 2" 300 lbs and muscular. He was very coordinated and quick (for a big man) in the ring.
It’s a long list. Any fan will recognize a lot of these names.
Prayers and cares to his family and everyone that loved and enjoyed his work!
He did some great full shoot interviews and he’s amazingly almost nothing like his character. Super cool guy. The best story is about how he and the other tough guy wrestlers were afraid of Haku. Who was a real badass if you ticked him off!
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=animal+road+warrier+interview
No.
Not unless we’re talking about an alternate universe.
In the late fifties we were all sure that wrestling was real as could be. I was about 12 when I Igor Vodik and Mad Dog Vachon who were mortal enemies sitting in a local restaurant and obviously getting along very well. It changed my world.
Suspension of disbelief - Fans wanted to believe wrestling was real. Kayfab was strictly enforced and it was easier to accept what we were seeing.
Movie fans do the same thing. You have to accept the plot of the story. Any movie can be ruined if you think about it too much.
Deep down we do know that entertainment isn’t real.
I quit watching Wrestling in the mid eighties. Vince Mcmahon turned some of the wrestlers into walking cartoon characters. It got too silly to watch.
I still appreciate the athleticism in wrestling. It took a lot of time in the gym to get ripped like the Road Warriors and other wrestlers.
Steroids enhanced their size, but it still required a lot of weight training.
I saw the Road Warriors regularly in Mid South wrestling when they first got started. They were great heels.
I started getting into the NWA/AWA wrestling when I was 12. I don’t think “most wrestling fans” thought it was real back then (early 80’s) more than any other period. But the Kayfabe started to loosen up a bit more in the 90’s, and some of the characters/storylines started to go completely off the rails. Anyone remember Sting and Robocop teaming up? The Robocop character could barely move in his costume, but the 4 horsemen acted like they were scared to death of him! Many other examples that fans back then will remember…
I loved the Road Warriors though, they were very entertaining, physically intimidating, colorful characters, hilarious interviews, they were awesome. I was very sad when Hawk died, now Animal is gone 
and my condolences go out to his family. The Road Warriors weren’t the only awesome wrestlers out there, but they definitely helped make it popular and drew plenty of fans.
Define “real”.
Pro wrestling has always been very punishing, even if the outcomes were known in advance. The uptick in PEDs made it even more so.
I always thought it was similar to rock and jazz artists trading years off their lives for better work, fueled by drug and alcohol abuse.
“real” in regards to professional wrestling would mean matches/storylines/characters not heavily scripted in advance and match outcomes not predetermined. Which is not the case. And yes, injuries are common and cause many things to change.
The wrestling itself wouldn’t even have to be “real” for it to be a sport. You could have a panel of judges that give scores for best performance like couples ice skating.
I watched the shoot interview @didi44 linked earlier. Animal said he had been doing anaerobic exercises during the quarantine. He was looking forward to the gyms reopening. Apparently he was keeping himself fit. His son James Laurinaitis played for the Rams. Animal was enjoying his grand kids.
It was a wide ranging interview. He seemed like a really sharp business minded guy. Someone you’d enjoy talking too and hanging out with.
They haven’t announced a cause of death. I guess they will after the coroner’s report.
I listened to part of one his interviews at work and I thought the same thing. A gentle giant that would be a great guy to hang out with, but you’d NEVER want to get on the wrong side of!
One of the things that I found cute (BTW, I’m a guy) was that he never uses profanity. When he described Hawk’s tirades, he basically substituted “blankety, blankety, blank!” and when he talked about some great hot sauce he used to eat, he it hurt when he “pooped”!
Thinking back on his wrestling interviews, if when he was spitting and foaming at the mouth, he was always clear and really articulate!