Road Warrior Animal Visits Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis

The kids at Riley Hopital for Children in Indianapolis got a real rush when Joe Laurenitis aka Road Warrior Animal of the legendary Road Warriors paid them a visit on Friday.

Laurenitis is in town for the All American Championship Wrestling event in Kokomo, Indiana, and attendees will be asked to donate money to support the services and programs offered by the hospital and St. Vincent House, which helps families who have children being treated at Riley.

Laurenitis made the rounds, showing off one of his numerous championship belts to kids too young to have ever seen him wrestle, but there seemed to be plenty of smiles.

When he was asked about his visit, Animal said “My faith has taught me that you can conquer anything.”

Laurinitis, is of course, known to generations of fans as one half of the legendary tag team, The Road Warriors, aka, The Legion of Doom, who dominated tag team wrestling in the United States and Japan throughout the 1980s and early 90s, winning gold in every promotion they worked for. Michael Hegstrand, aka Road Warrior Hawk tragically died in 2003. In 2011, the Road Warriors and their manager, Paul Ellering were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

A little background on Riley Hospital: It was founded in 1916 by friends of Hoosier poet, James Whitcomb Riley, who was very fond of children. The hospital opened in 1924 and serves 57,000 patients a year. Unlike St. Jude or Shriners’ (both wonderful institutions that always need donations), Riley takes care of children with myriad problems, from car accidents to cancer. Like St. Jude and Shriners’, children are treated at Riley, even if their family can’t afford the bills. They also have a Camp Riley, which allows kids with physical disabilities to experience summer camp and life without limits.

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