The Man, the Myth, the Legend Vol. 6: The Road Warriors

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#9. Finding stardom in Japan

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The Road Warriors often competed in Japan either between contracts in the United States or with their home promotion's blessing.

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The huge, muscled and spiked face painted men were a huge hit with Japanese audiences. Their popularity was such that when Animal was injured, Japanese wrestler Kensuke Sasaki was folded into their team. Kensuke would become known as "Power Warrior," while Hawk was called "Hawk Warrior," and they became the Hell Raisers.

Kensuke Sasaki had been a mid-carder whose career was stagnant when he joined the team. The Road Warriors increased his stock in such a way that when Animal returned from injury Sasaki was pushed to the main event as a singles star.

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The Road Warriors were a big draw in Japan, but they have the ignoble legacy of losing the NWA International tag team championship when it was unified with the All Japan tag team championship.

Sasaki would later team with Animal after Hawk's death, and they called themselves the Hell Warriors.

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Edited by Shiven Sachdeva
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