Michael Hegstrand, best known as Road Warrior Hawk (January 26, 1957-October 19, 2003) was an American professional wrestler born in Chicago, Illinois.
For many years he has been with Joseph Laurinaitis, also called Road Warrior Animal. Together they were a muscular tag team called the Road Warriors. The Road Warriors burst onto the wrestling scene in 1983 wearing mohawks, dog collars, spiked shoulder pads, and face paint. Indeed, they were a modern-day version of Bruiser and Crusher. Their interview style was vicious, yet charismatic and a bit humorous.
The Road Warriors wrestled across the globe, capturing the IGWP Tag Team titles, as well as every American version of the World Tag Team titles (WWF, NWA and AWA) - a feat that no other tag team can claim.
Several years ago Hegstrand developed Cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that stopped him from wrestling for a short while. He was able to overcome its effects and still manage to keep a regular working schedule - a testament to his will and courage. He recently became a born-again Christian and appeared at many of the wrestling/religion events run by Ted DiBiase.
Hegstrand died on October 19, 2003 in the early morning in his home in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida at only 46 years old. His friends said he and his wife, Dale, had recently bought a condominium near their current home and were packing their boxes Saturday evening. He felt tired and went to take a nap. When his wife checked on him about 1 a.m., he was dead, they said. A cause has not been determined Monday.
