“Ohhhhhh … What a Rush!” - Mike Hegstrand (aka Road Warrior Hawk) 1957-2003
by Adam Knight on 2003-10-28

What can a guy like me possibly say to eulogize an absolute icon like Hawk?

Precious little, I’m thinking.

After all, I only got to hang around Mike (as he insisted I call him) for about 15 hours last year. And in that too-short time, he left an undeniable impression upon me. Certainly one that I’ll never forget.

I remember waiting for Hawk and Animal to arrive at the show that day with Darren Dalton, my tag partner for the night. I was nervous as hell, I admit it. Why shouldn’t I have been? This wasn’t a simple tag match with a bunch of other indy guys from around North America that I was preparing for, this was the Legion of Doom for pity’s sake. The Greatest Tag Team in the HISTORY of the industry.

So yeah, I was a bit nervous.

But Mike, man … He was just so easy. No trouble, no worries, no problems.

Mike walked into the dressing room and immediately became one of the boys. Shaking hands, giving hugs, and genuinely glad to meet everyone.

I remember us briefly talking over our match as Mike and Joe got geared up. I was offering to bump my ass all over the ring and give the L.O.D. the world. But Mike wouldn’t hear of it. “We’re coming in here to work with you guys, not eat you up,” he said to me. “Just do whatever, man. There isn’t a move I don’t know how to take.”

That was how the whole night went. We talked, we joked and then we partied.

I’ll never forget the last words I had with Mike before I left the party. After getting a picture with Hawk for my Dad (the L.O.D. were his favourites), Mike gripped me in a massive bear hug.

“Thanks for everything, brother,” he said to me. “God Bless You. I hope to see you again soon.”

“I hope so too Mike. I hope so too.”

A.K.