5 of the worst pro wrestling character changes, and 5 of the best

Best Repackaging #2: The Road Warriors

The Road Warriors with "Precious" Paul Ellering.

Hawk and Animal were always called the Road Warriors, but believe it or not when they debuted there were no spikes, no face paint, and no wild haircuts.

Instead, the Road Warriors were meant to portray 1% biker gang members, and came to the ring dressed like the 'leatherman' from the Village People.

Yes, that's Hawk and Animal before their face paint days. We dare you to laugh!

However, the best possible thing happened; Mel Gibson released the second in the Mad Max trilogy of films, the Road Warrior. The movie was a huge international hit, and deeply influenced other films, music, and culture during the 1980s.

Since Hawk and Animal were already calling themselves the Road Warriors before the film hit, there were no copyright issues. Hawk and Animal adopted the outlandish post-apocalyptic look of the Gibson film, and never looked back.