Road Warrior Animal (a/k/a Joe Laurinaitis) was one of wrestling's true originals.
Beyond being half of the greatest tag team that ever lived (which in itself is massive), Animal also personified toughness and that larger-than-life character that we as wrestling fans are drawn to. As the original Road Warrior (before there was even a tag team), his post-apocalyptic look was emulated dozens of times in dozens of wrestling promotions, even to this day.
His accolades in the AWA, NWA, WWF and Japan are unparalleled - unless you include his partner, Hawk, of course. And from a merchandise standpoint, I fondly remember purchasing a black Road Warriors shirt at a WCW event in 1990 -- one of the first wrestling shirts I remember buying.
RIP, Animal. You will be missed.