During his initial days, Paul Ellering was a champion powerlifter. He joined the American Wrestling Association in the mid-1970s after surviving through Verne Gagne’s training methods. He competed in all major levels, locking horns with future WWE Hall of Famers like Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jesse Ventura. However, his promising wrestling career would meet a sudden end as a series of knee injuries left him unable to perform at the highest echelons of professional wrestling.
Ellering, clad in sharp clothes made a perfect foil to the Hawk and Animal. The three performers first joined up together at the Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1983.
It started an era of complete domination. When Hawk and Animal, together known as the Road Warriors delivered on the ring, Ellering delivered with the microphone.
The trio joined the WWE in 1992. The Road Warriors, now known as The Legion of Doom continued their domination in WWE as well.
When The Road Warriors violently fired Paul Ellering, he turned on them to join Disciples of Apocalypse in 1997.
However, these incidents did not matter much as Paul Ellering and The Road Warriors continued to be the best of alliances in sports entertainment history.
He managed The Road Warriors for the last time on an episode of Sunday Night Heat during a tag-team battle royal for a shot at the tag-team titles at WrestleMania XV.
Paul Ellering was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011.
Paul Ellering returned to WWE NXT in 2016 whilst managing The Authors of Pain, comprising of wrestlers Akam and Rezar. He led the duo to their first NXT Tag Team Champion title.
December 25, 1977
“Precious” Paul Ellering
244 lbs. (111 kg)
Melrose, Minnesota