Pro-wrestler puts a move on Millstone

BY TARA PETERSEN
Staff Writer

Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis MILLSTONE — Legion of Doom fans will recognize the phrase “Ohhhh, what a rush” uttered by the late Mike “Hawk” Hegstrand, 45, as he entered the room before a fight.

Now they will have an opportunity to meet his partner, Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis at Black Bear Lake Day Camp on Laurinaitis’ 44th birthday.

Hegstrand died unexpectedly one year ago next month after the pair had been together as a “tag team” for 20 years.

“We knew each other as kids,” Laurinaitis said.

Laurinaitis plans to speak to children at the camp from 1-4 p.m. on Sept. 12 about overcoming adversity.

He is also giving a motivational talk at the Emley’s Hill United Methodist Church in Cream Ridge at 9:30 a.m. the same day.

Laurinaitis, who grew up in Philadelphia and now lives in Minneapolis, said that he and his partner changed wrestling when they first debuted in the 1980s.

“It used to be like the vaudeville days of wrestling. Then Hawk, at 275 pounds, and me, at 305 pounds, were coming in doing the same moves,” Laurinaitis said, noting that they were in better physical shape at the time than other wrestlers.

“The moves that we were doing and the athleticism that we were showing changed the face of wrestling,” he added.

Laurinaitis said they were the first to paint their faces and wear leather and that because of their looks, fans first thought of them as the “bad guys.” However, their fans grew to look up to Animal and his partner — something the wrestlers relished.

“If you predict you are going to do something in the ring and you don’t do it, people will boo you out of the ring,” he said. “Once you get the crowd behind you, it’s smooth sailing.”

According to Peter Grandich, of Manalapan, who represents Perrineville-based Trinity Financial Sports and Entertainment Management Co., Laurinaitis knows what he’s talking about when it comes to overcoming problems.

At the height of their career in the then-WWF (World Wrestling Federation), Hawk and Animal refused to play bad guys in front of their fans.

Laurinaitis claims that the two were pressured to have Hawk play the part of a drug addict losing control. This hit too close to home, since Hawk had just come out of drug rehabilitation, according to Laurinaitis.

“I commend him for standing by his convictions,” Grandich said of Laurinaitis. “He knew that along with his partner, Hawk, he had tremendous influence over children, so they would not go along with the horrendous style of ‘bad [behavior] is good’ and ‘good [behavior] is bad’ that overcame professional wrestling. It meant leaving a literal fortune on the table, but they did it because they knew it was right and moral.”

Laurinaitis said that although wrestling contains sexual content and violence, he was always mindful of the children who looked up to the pair as role models.

“We sell too many toys and dolls to kids to be associated with that dark side,” he said.

“I’ve never had to swear, drink or do any sexual stuff to make wrestling a success for me,” Laurinaitis added.

He wants to pass along a message to children to encourage them to do what is morally right, even in the face of opposition.

“I want to tell these kids [that] you have road A and road B, and if you choose the low road, there will be lots of bumps and bruises,” he said.

He added that he also wants to tell children that they should not be ashamed of being religious.

“It’s not corny. It’s not square,” he said.

Grandich said he is “thrilled to sponsor Animal’s appearance here because I believe he brings to our children an important message about right and wrong.”

“Animal is truly a man of great integrity, a moral and just and godly man — one who reached the pinnacle of his sport,” he added.