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.