SPIKES

MESSAGE: THIS IS GONNA HURT

The first foray into spikes for Hawk & Animal were studded collars (steel studs on black leather), largely introduced to indicate their wild and unpredictable nature (like the dogs that wore such collars). Soon thereafter, Hawk switched to using a collar with snaps, so that he could flex his neck and traps to pop off the collar during interview segments.

Gauntlets and forearm cuffs bearing studs in the same color scheme soon followed. By 1986, they introduced vests with larger spikes as part of their entrance attire (again, steel spikes on black leather).

THE CAPE

In 1987, Animal introduced a new level of intimidation to his entrance attire.

It began with a leather vest, added two elaborate daggers on the front, large spikes crowded on top of metal shoulder platforms, a three-pointed metal cowl to surround his head, and a long red cape.

If the men themselves and their music weren't enough to intimidate their opponents, this sight certainly would.

THE ICONIC SPIKES

Adversity became the catalyst for a revolutionary change in July of 1987, as Animal recounted in his autobiography:

"We were staying at a hotel in Weslaco, Texas, slightly above the Rio Grande River from Mexico and west of the Gulf of Mexico. I guess somebody had been watching us during our stay. All I know is that the next morning when Hawk and I went outside to our van, one of the side windows was smashed in. When we opened up the van and took a look inside, it was as I feared: they'd taken our spiked vests. I could have killed somebody.

Hawk was livid. 'Fuck, man. That's bullshit.'

I felt violated in the worst way and cursed the fact that we had spent $3000 each on them, including big, custom foam carrying cases. Poof! Gone. It makes me sick to think that today, somewhere out there, Hawk's and my prized vests are probably sitting in a pawnshop collecting dust.

But, you know what? Maybe it was all meant to be because the loss made me think even bigger. I decided to give a call to a buddy who worked at Riddell, makers of collegiate and professional grade shoulder pads, and ran some ideas past him. He sent me a couple pairs of the pads, and I went to work on the vision I had for The Road Warriors' newest piece of artillery.

I called an old coworker from my days at Honeywell and asked him if he could fabricate a few nickel-plated spikes in various sizes. He said it would be no problem, and got to work right away. The next step was drilling holes in the tops of the pads and then spray-painting the entire sets with a flat black.

When the spikes were ready, I simply popped them in place like rivets into the holes. After clamping some chains between the breastplates, I tried them on. They were even better than I'd hoped. Like an excited little kid, I called up Hawk and told him to get his ass over and check out my newest creation.

'Holy shit, Animal, those are badass,' he said.

We both put our pads on and looked at each other in the mirror. It was love at first sight. The Road Warriors had been supersized."

In 1989, spiked catcher’s shin guards were added in the same color scheme, covering even more of their massive surface area with steel spikes during their entrances.

In the years that followed, additional colors for their accessories were introduced.

Upon joining the World Wrestling Federation in 1990, the soft goods went red, and the spikes became black.

This iconic look would be immortalized on countless types of merchandise, from action figures and t-shirts to bedspreads and slippers.

For a brief time (mostly for photo shoots, and for the record-setting crowd in Wembley Stadium), they upgraded to gold pads with black spikes to match the WWF Tag Team Championships around their waists.

When they reunited to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1996, their pads became blue while the black spikes remained a constant. They later introduced gray atop their red pads.

Their spikes became fewer and larger, joined by skulls on their shoulders, when Hawk & Animal returned to the WWF in 1997.

The biggest change to their appearance in general, and their spikes specifically, occurred when they were re-branded "L.O.D. 2000" in 1998.