Hawk wrestled as a singles wrestler in Europe and Japan, and although winning virtually every singles battle, he was mostly regarded as a tag team wrestler (at least by North American and Japanese fans). As a result, he always fought mid-card opponents or formed partnerships with better-known singles players. He never achieved the same level of success as his friend and rival Warrior, who held the World Heavyweight Championship during most of their partnership.
Hawk started his career in France where he became one of the top wrestlers in that country. In 1986 he moved to Japan where he continued to wrestle until 1992 when he decided to retire from professional wrestling. During his time in Japan he won the All Asia Tag Team Championship twice, but other than that he mainly competed on local promotions where he often teamed up with another ex-Warrior, "Bulldog" Bob Brown, as they were sometimes called.
In 1993 Hawk came out of retirement when he and Brown returned to France where they captured the French Tag Team Championships. This is when both countries ended their relationships with Road Warrior Wrestling and started working with French and European promoters instead. When Brown left Hawk again went back to wrestling in Japan where he worked on small independent shows until finally ending up on All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) where he saw some more successful matches against top wrestlers.
Hawk was an infrequent pay-per-view contender for world heavyweight belts outside of The Road Warriors from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. He was the main attraction at ECW's largest yearly event, November to Remember, in 1993.
Hawk competed as a singles wrestler in Europe and Japan, and while winning virtually every singles battle, he was more known as a tag team fighter (at least by North American and Japanese fans). As a result, he always fought mid-card opponents or formed partnerships with better-known singles players.
Hawk wrestled for Pro Wrestling America, Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation, Smokey Mountain Wrestling, and Midwest Territorial Wrestling on the independent circuit. He held several records in these promotions including most wins by any wrestler with 88 matches.
Hawk's career ended prematurely due to injuries he received during his matches. The nature of his career ending injury has been a subject of debate among wrestling historians. Some believe that he suffered a neck injury during a match against Greg Gagne on May 23, 1990 at the National Guard Armory in Evansville, Indiana that caused him to suffer a stroke which in turn led to his death two months later on July 8, 1990.
Others claim that he had a hand injury that prevented him from performing stunts which involved using his arm to break away from holds.
Regardless of the cause, Hawk is considered by many to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He was named to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's 100th Anniversary Team honoring the top hundred wrestlers in history.
Hawk was born Robert Howard on January 4, 1957 in Louisville, Kentucky to parents who were professional wrestlers themselves. His father, "Big Bob" Howard, was a heavy weight wrestler while his mother, "Gorgeous Georgeic" Howard, was an amateur wrestler.
He was one half of the tag team The Road Warriors/The Legion of Doom, along with Road Warrior Hawk. He headlined many WWF and WCW pay-per-view events, including the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match at Sin in 2001. After leaving the company in 2003, he returned in 2006.
Hawk debuted on January 4, 1989 at the Royal Rumble as one of eight wrestlers to enter the ring during the opening segment. He spent most of his time there just getting beaten up by everyone else in the ring. On February 23, 1989 at WrestleMania IX, he competed in a battle royal for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship; he was the last man standing after 30 minutes but didn't win because Vince McMahon decided not to add another man to the match. However, this would be Hawk's first and only title shot.
Two days later at the Wrestling Challenge, he defeated Cyclone Thor to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
He held the title for nearly two months before losing it to Hulk Hogan at the Great American Bash. After losing the title, he dropped down to the WWF Tag Team Division where he formed a duo with Terry Gordy known as The Headbangers. They captured the titles from The Warlord brothers at SummerSlam 1990 but were stripped of them a month later when Hawk left the company to pursue a career in Hollywood.
There, he formed a tag team with Matt Hardy called The Beastmasters. The pair won the ECW World Tag Team Titles on three occasions.
Hawk also competed in the World Wrestling Federation during this time under the name Terry Gordy. He was never able to capture a championship but did manage to finish in the top two at the 1994 WWF European Championships tournament. His best match during his time in the company may have been one where he faced Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1997. The match was awarded "Match of the Year" by WWE 2 years later.
After leaving the federation, Gordy started his own wrestling school named The Academy of Wrestling. He had great success with it for several years, training many future wrestlers including John Cena, Wade Barrett, and Daniel Bryan.
In 2001, Hawk joined the then-new X Division as a coach. He has gone on to become one of the division's most successful coaches ever, helping bring about multiple championships.
He has also done commentary for X Division events during this time. In addition, he has appeared at many X Division live events over the past decade.
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