WWE’s Icon Joe Laurinaitis AKA “Road Warrior Animal” Dies At 60 Years Old
Joe Laurinaitis, better known to pro wrestling fans as Road Warrior Animal, died at the age of 60, according to the WWE. The cause of Laurinaitis' death has not been disclosed.
Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis was born on September 12, 1960 and was best known by his ring name Road Warrior Animal. He officially announced his retirement from the ring in February 2014 after winning multiple tag team championships as The Road Warriors and as Legion of Doom.
Along with Road Warrior Hawk, Animal was a member of the tag team known as Road Warriors. Joseph is the brother of former RAW general manager, John Laurinaitis.
Several friends and colleagues have taken social media to pay tribute to the late wrestler.
The official Joe Laurinaitis Twitter account confirmed the sad news first…
Then Hulk Hogan wrote on Twitter:
“RIP Animal,love you my brother, I know you and Hawk have a lot of unfinished business to take care of! God speed and blessings to your beautiful family,one love4Life. HH”
Others also paid tribute to the late wrestler:
The Iron Sheik wrote: “MY ROAD WARRIOR ANIMAL BROTHER. YOU WERE MOST OVER TAG TEAM EVER. WE HAVE THE BEST TIME IN THE MINNESOTA FOREVER I LOVE YOU. RIP BUBBA”
The WWE page on BT Sport paid a beautiful tribute highlighting Joe’s career achievements:
Joe is credited with being the inventor of the "Cutter" movement, referred to himself as "Ace Crusher". Before being hired by WWE, Laurinaitis was an executive at World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
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